Awful weather - typical Brits talk

pink_poppy

I wasn't singing Bob Marley yesterday until you mentioned it, YBE   

I had two very sweet robins come to the door this morning   One always sits on the whirly waiting for me to throw food out and flies down when I open the door. They both flew out of the garden with the food so the babies must be elsewhere. The blackbirds are all still wanting sultanas every time I go outside too. When I was back inside the bunny also appeared - I feel like I'm in a Disney film sometimes   

Lovely dramatic pic, goldfinches. Our weather has been very mixed with sunshine and showers and a cold breeze - we've had to have the fire on.

Brilliant pic of the bull, Dusty.

AR, are you off to Wales again??

Well done on taming the brambles, twopenny. Hope you enjoyed your raspberries.

wort and taff, I'm envious of your GC visits and lovely plants. I had a Barnsley Lavatera in my very first garden (recommended by my gardener sister) and I pass one in the village when I'm out for a walk and always think I want another one. Ditto the Verbena longname (I like that descrilption) - a neighbour used to have them - they spilled over onto the pavement and every time I walked past I thought to myself I want one of them.

Tatties were earthed up (sort of) a couple of days ago - I do wonder if the lush foliage on top means there's nothing happening 'down below' - I suppose I'll find out in weeks to come   My tomato plants that lovely neighbour gave me are doing really well in the house and no sign of any compost gnats, thank goodness.

Weather is looking not too bad this morning - mostly dry, so I might get outside to do some tidying up...

YoungBlueEyes

Yeah the bull pic was deffo calendar worthy, brilliant angle  

The Japanese garden was really good eh taff. What she managed in that space was marvelous, I want her to come do mine too ha haa!  No Death Stare Cat this morning when I opened the curtains - suspect the Holey Roamin' Terror had a hand paw in that  

Did you get your toms planted 2p? I had a look at freegle/fb marketplace etc on himself's phone but it wasn't worth the bother signing up. We're rural but fairly near 'Ull so its either stuff that just wants binning frankly, or things that have clearly fallen off the back of a lorry are suspiciously cheap This is a joke! Not being serious! (Need to be careful making jokes - they're quietly stripping out that supermarket thread...) 

Nice to read you're up and about wort, that looks like a good haul. That's one big baby you got there

Hurray for making a dent in your bindweed Arb. And double hurray for T+M coming through

I can't help with (serious) suggestions gf, but you could try doing wot Lugs does and talk to them nicely. Ooh you are lovely, you're only short now but you'll be tall and strong before you know it. You'll be colourful and tasty and a good member of society and I'll be proud you're mine Well it works for him. 
That's some walk to work you have, I'd have to set off early to give myself time to umm ...stand and stare... 

Everyone seems to be raring along and I've done nowt. Toms aren't flowering yet, my 3 lavenders haven't done the decent thing yet so I'd feel guilty binning them, my sweet peas are only diddy too but they're in the ground now so it's up to them. Will do gardening today so I've something to report. I've something growing at the front that's coming out and it's lovely looking. I think it's the same plant as the 'please id this plant for me before I dig it up and bin it' thread from a wee while ago. Pleased I left mine now Pic in a min.

It didn't rain yesterday as they forecasted, it gathered itself up all day and then at about 2030 it dumped the whole lot in one horrendous booming sky-cracking go. I thought either the roof had come in or there was a huge pile up of lorries at the end of the road, it was that loud!
Sunny and cool so far, but cloudy and dry this aft. They say. So as I've a wash out and another on it'll start raining the second I go food shopping. *sigh*

pink_poppy

We cross posted there, YBE. It took me a few seconds to realise what 'Ull was. Duh   Hope the rain stays off for you.

-taff

wort, it was! Arb , well doe with the bindweed patrol. GF, that's a massive sky! [one of the reasons I moved from Wales was the sky always felt like it was on top of my head it was so low] maybe a cloche type thing around them would help? 

So I've just watched this open over the space of an hour which is has been threatening to do for days..Out of many sown, only two lived and the other one is a white one I think [no filters either]

YoungBlueEyes

Ooh so we did pp! Rain is staying off so far and it's already meant to be cloudy but the sun's lovely. I'll have a look in my Adam the Gardener book and see what he says about tatties. I'd get my fingers wiggled down into the soil to check what they're up to down there... if they're earlies it could be time to harvest  

I've remembered to save draft and refresh the page before hitting post, and that's a gorgeous poppy taff. It looks so silky and delicate

ArbitraryRandom

pink_poppy said:

AR, are you off to Wales again??

Tatties were earthed up (sort of) a couple of days ago - I do wonder if the lush foliage on top means there's nothing happening 'down below' - I suppose I'll find out in weeks to come  

Nope, this one is a London trip - and there's a delegation from India coming in for an important senior meeting (I'll be taking notes and eating the free biscuits ) so I have to pack not only 'work clothes' but 'proper smart clothes' as well. My direct boss can't make this one, so hopefully no-one expects me to speak at any point and I can get the mud out from under my fingernails by then Only proper downside is travelling on Sunday (as there are more engineering works/fewer trains) but I've got my eye on a couple of books and I can take the time back later in the week. 

Re potatoes. I can't remember what variety you are growing, but main crop you wait until the tops are dying back to harvest and I always assumed that was like with bulbs (you wait so the goodness can go into the bulb) and a lot of their growth will happen relatively late?

I have bushy and healthy looking potato plants and no signs of blight (I know it's still early), but there is a little bit of yellowing on some even with feeding tomato feed. I'm going to give them a handful of seaweed before I go and an extra good water as I think the leaves are blocking the rain a little too effectively. 

Raining again this morning, and the slugs are getting more of my strawberries than I am - but as long as they stay there and away from my other plants I can live with it  

Edit: has everyone got that red banner at the top, or are we special?  

Edit, Edit: (I take too long to write my post in the mornings!) And yes, that's a beautiful poppy! None of mine germinated where I scattered them but I might have to try again next year. 

twopenny

That poppy makes me feel guilty! My poppy seeds are still in the packet. There didn;t seem to be enough time between monsoon and drought again this year.

Didn't get any gardening done yesterday so tomatoes still suffering in their pots. Lovely day if a cold wind so I went paddling on a beach, swimming in a warm pool, 2 lots of coffee and flapjack and some photography. I've learned to walk again a bit but need to 'pace' myself - that means stopping for coffee and cake.

Cooler today but bright is the best I can say - clouds much like the photo here too.

I've been fighting pigeons, sheesh they're huge, one is more agile than the others and found a way to land on the seed catchers I hung to deter the rat - but the pigeons have tipped the fallen seed right where the rat goes.

Not many birds around. I've noticed that they often vanish in these very dry spells we're getting and head for somehwere more temperate I guess. So I may take the seed down for a while.

Going to download some of the thousands of photos I have on 2 cameras so watch this space.

Happy travelling Arbs. Hope it's a good one.

Oooh a Copper Beech seedling. I've always loved a copper beech.

Hmmm Poppy seems to have a way with the birds I don't. Perhaps that's where all mine have gone?

wort

YBE up and about thank goodness or I’d go sir crazy, unfortunately not able to lift,push,pull or put my arms up. So the baby will need to stay in it pot for now ! I really shouldn’t have lifted it yesterday as I could feel it all night ,hope everything’s ok 🫣🤞🏻
pluckily we didn’t inherit your rain, but looking iffy at the moment. 

We are forcast rain at lunchtime ,so keep an eye on the washing.

twopenny

Oh bad luck Wort. Stuff happens. I'm looking at a big branch of a tree that I couldn't cut back because of the brambles. Now I don't think my legs are up to hoiking a ladder etc and climbing the badger run. It will still be there when I'm fit.

Arbs is right about main crop potatoes. I've no idea about the others. I fancy some new potatoes now the supermarkets do just dire ones so some research needed. It will have to be a pot.

Hope London goes well Arbs, it's so long since I've been. As soon as I'm fit it's on the list for a bit of culture. We have a lot of peace and beauty here but some stimulation is needed as well.

Photos downloaded and here's some on topic cows - the Jersey is Peppa, the one that gives my milk

The other two are shorthorns I believe.

Gone cold, cloudy and windy here but no sign of rain.

pink_poppy

Lovely poppy, taff - what a colour.

YBE & AR, my tatties were planted on 2nd May. They weren't seed potatoes - just some lifted from a Greengrocers (Kerr's Pink and Rooster) and some I lifted from Aldi (Maris Piper and Saxon). I have no idea if they're earlies or main crop?? I've never grown potatoes before so I'm just winging it and seeing what happens   The foliage is nowhere near dying back, so I think I've a way to go yet.

Enjoy your trip to London, AR and your free biscuits. I suppose muddy fingernails could be a conversation opener... oh, I see you're a gardener, AR... (not sure why I said that in a Father Ted accent in my head)

twopenny, coffee/s and cake/s sound good to me. Hope you're more mobile soon. Looking forward to the pics.