Awful weather - typical Brits talk

YoungBlueEyes

Cool and damp here this morning, it's been raining overnight with a drop more to come today. I hope this doesn't mean we'll get a screaming hot summer down the line like wot the hot countries are having atm. Maybe it'll run out of puff by the time it gets to us so we'll have a mild summer Does anyone else have a variety of countries on their weather app thing, just for the curiosity of what the world is getting in different places...? 

Yep that's the squirrel-battling/scoffing Holey Roamin' Terror pp. He's started laying there for some reason.... Maybe I should teach him to stab slugs with his claws - I've taught him to sit if he wants dessert after he's finished his lunch (He gets a small handful of dried food around lunchtime, and a meaty stick treat thing if he finishes it all up. He won't sit for his lunch but he will for the treat *shrug*)  Cute Bunny made a right mess of your hollyhock but I think it'll come back if you protect it

I'm glad your persistence is paying off with the bindweed Arb, you've such a lovely garden there now. What's up with your gardener? Probably just busy busy season is it? Your left hand lemon balm looks like my one, which was only a diddy wee thing last year and this year it's at risk of smothering out my Berry Patch I'll look into lemon water, thanks 2p Did you get your bramble patch sorted btw? 

Great border there Dusty, I'll have to keep my eye out for astrantias cos I really like the look of both of them ones And remember - you're not allowed to shoot your neighbours, no matter how right you'd be

Aren't the leaves of your coleus pretty Farway, not a colour combo I've seen before. As for Fantasy Rottery Acres I was thinking the whole thing would be non-PC Flinging fish to penguins gets my vote Means we'll need a lot of water too (yay!) Pools/ponds/streams/rivers whatever gets my vote. Speaking of which, did anyone else watch Beechgrove last night and think 'ooh I'll have to start again, I want that Japanese-y one'..? What she did in such a small space was amazing  

I've never seen a foxglove open up either Pas, it's quite beautiful in a visitor-from-outer-space way. And ha haa for your local gardener! Did you go somewhere nice...? From that pic I'm gonna guess Turkey.

Nothing from wort... I hope you're busy watching films and reading books and recovering.

There's another cat appeared here - a Tippex white one with jet black shiny eyes *shudder* Can someone point the Cat Distribution Machine the other way please, I've enough here now thankyouplease. 

OT well it's trying to brighten up but it's making hard work of it. Not warm either, but I like this better than over warm.  

ArbitraryRandom

Morning all, yet another cool day ahead it seems (low teens, but periodic drizzle and cloud/wind making it feel a bit colder). I think we're due to see the sun in the early evening for a spell, so I should be able to take my hoody off then and enjoy the 'summer'  I'm going to put my wash out anyway as I've another trip in a couple of weeks and I need to get it dry. I'll forget if I wait until after the showers pass at lunchtime and it won't do it any harm to have the blow this morning. 

Nothing exciting today. I've got some yarrow to plant out in the areas around my beds where I'm selectively encouraging pollinators. The lemon balm, I mostly just enjoy the smell being near where I sit. The way I'm setting out the beds (each plant in a fairly large defined area rather than mixed together), I'm hoping it's going to be easier to keep things in check as I can just pull anything that's straying/not where it's supposed to be. We shall see after this first year  

Afterall, anything that self seeds outside the beds can be left to take over (as long as it doesn't mind me walking on it, anything is better than bindweed!)

YoungBlueEyes

Arb I'll see your bindweed and raise you mare's tails and thistles  

Farway

Sunny start, but now the dull & chill has arrived from you lot.

pink_poppy said:

I think I've seen coleus as a houseplant, Farway?? I would say it had an 'earthy' smell. Pretty sure they had some in Lidl a week or so ago and I'm wishing I'd stopped to have a proper look.

Same with lemon balm - I'm sure I've seen it grown as a houseplant (actually an office plant at work) with that lovely lemony scent.

Coleus is normally used as houseplant, it was one of them that put me on the gardening road, I had one on the hallway window sill, near my murky fairground goldfish aquarium.

I have seen coleus used very effectively & strikingly for outdoor bedding, which is what I was hoping to achieve before I knocked the lot on the floor

Lemon B indoors, that would good in an office where it was brushed against. Now I think I may get some near my front steps, scent the posties legs now they are in shorts again.

Pats, nice pic, one pest we don't get, could be fabled race to the Hollyhocks otherwise 

YoungBlueEyes said:

Yep that's the squirrel-battling/scoffing Holey Roamin' Terror pp. He's started laying there for some reason.... Maybe I should teach him to stab slugs with his claws - I've taught him to sit if he wants dessert after he's finished his lunch (He gets a small handful of dried food around lunchtime, and a meaty stick treat thing if he finishes it all up. He won't sit for his lunch but he will for the treat *shrug*)  Cute Bunny made a right mess of your hollyhock but I think it'll come back if you protect it

Aren't the leaves of your coleus pretty Farway, not a colour combo I've seen before. As for Fantasy Rottery Acres I was thinking the whole thing would be non-PC Flinging fish to penguins gets my vote Means we'll need a lot of water too (yay!) Pools/ponds/streams/rivers whatever gets my vote. Speaking of which, did anyone else watch Beechgrove last night and think 'ooh I'll have to start again, I want that Japanese-y one'..? What she did in such a small space was amazing  

What a great idea, slug stabbing cats, presumably they would be the adult weeding kittens?

I didn't watch B Grove, no licence, but it appears on YT, so I'll see it then, and plan my Japanese garden with a hump bridge for watching the fish.

I may go non PC and build the bridge like the River Kwai one, in fact it would fit nicely in Rottery Acres for fish flinging train to chug over.

Stand fast Alec Guinness & his plunger

Early start by watering with weak diluted feed, the pots at the front. The sweet corn I planted has greened up a lot since I planted it, some have a few slug bites but generally seem to be fine.

If time permits, I'll pot on the sprouted runners.

Here's one from my outing the other day to a posh garden, don't know what the plant was but the shield bugs loved it

twopenny

Lemon balm. No recipies are straightforward on the net these days.

I used to follow a herb book and tear the leaves and pour just under boiling water on them, stir and leave to cool.

Then you can add honey, lemon or lime slices or sparkling water even an alcholoic beverage of choice.

Odd sort of weather, cool, cold wind, some bright spells. It just can't make up it's mind.

Being cooler I can wear long sleeves etc and may have a go at chopping up the old blackberry bramble pile.

It's not the most essential thing but it's irritating it being there.

Pot pond is green again and full of mossie lavae. The frogs don't seem to like the fountain pump and I can't say I blame them. It vibrates and hums. Must drive them nuts. So that's a to do.

Arbs I love yarrow, so do the bees and butterflies. Used to have it growing on the edge of the trees/lawn self seeded. Seems to like really poor soil if you have any

Poppy, what about my favoured cake/fruit nets to keep bunny off?

Darned if I can find a photo I took - they were in Poundland, charity shops etc. They can be secured if necessary with tent hooks (Poundland).

I've used them to cover just put out plantlets, herbs from frost etc and they fold up and are light.

https://!!!!!!.com/4khd65z9

There are all sorts on that link. I was going to make fruit nets to baffle whatever stole my apples and such. But I'll look at their designs. Not keen on the site but where there's one there's others

Love that stream Dusty. Is that what yours looks like?

Farway you're masterful with your cuttings. But then you look after them which I don't.

I got spoiled being able to just push them in soil in my last garden

Farway

PS, nearly forgot, something to do if it rains

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not everything so beware

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YoungBlueEyes

Aye the weeding kittens will grow into slug-stabbing cats, abso-defo-lutely. Beechgrove was quite good last night, worth watching for the Japanese garden. I’m not into that kiwi woman though, and there’s a lack of George in proceedings too  

Ripping up leaves and pour hot water over them was what I was thinking, thanks for confirming 2p Your link’s gone funny, it’s showing as lots of exclamations marks before the dot com. Is it nawty or another glitch in the matrix…? 

Anyway I came on to say - here’s the new freaky cat. Just standing, and staring

Also (memory test) does anyone remember I said Posh Friend had an amazing rose but she couldn’t remember a thing about it except it was the one that Alan Titchmarsh said should be in everyone’s garden? Well it’s in flower now, and my god it’s an all round winner. Lots of flowers, proper old scent, and the colours

I’ve been promised a clipping… 🤞🏻

ArbitraryRandom

YoungBlueEyes said:

Also (memory test) does anyone remember I said Posh Friend had an amazing rose but she couldn’t remember a thing about it except it was the one that Alan Titchmarsh said should be in everyone’s garden? Well it’s in flower now, and my god it’s an all round winner. Lots of flowers, proper old scent, and the colours 

I’ve been promised a clipping… 🤞🏻

My bet is on Rosa Mundi (https://www.classicroses.co.uk/roses/rosa-mundi-shrub-rose.html) as recommended by Titchmarsh here: https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/garden/580513/How-to-grow-roses 

Not strong evidence, and not a perfect colour match, but that could be due to the blooms being in shadow? 

YoungBlueEyes

Rosa Mundi looks like the answer Arb, thanks The only shade it’s got is what it creates itself for it’s huuge - at least 6ft tall by about 4ft wide. That part of her garden is pure south facing, there was a rosemary next to it but she’s clipped that back to a stick cos it was going mental too. 

And she has no slugs, not one. Cow

pink_poppy

Your rose reminds me of a standard one I had a couple of gardens ago, YBE - Raspberry Ripple - I don't think it's that one, but it looks similar.

Lovely pussycat - we used to have a white one with orange eyes.

I like Japanese themed gardens - I seem to remember one in Peasolm Park in Scarborough. I really need to catch up on Beechgrove, I must have a good few episodes to watch   

Good idea with the cake covers, twopenny, I'll have to look out for them. Baby bunny was back in the garden this morning...