Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

Morning all........yesterday evening was hot and windless which was a surprise after the start.

Lovely paddle, may go deeper tonight but still not right in.

That dawn is something! I'd be almost glad to wake early for that

We had a weird but orange sunset last night too - all the flower colours turned a rich deep colour in the light. Didn't try a photo because automatic it will just adjust it to 'normal'

Thanks for the tips Bluey, I saw some real smashing Sambuca in Tescos for £8. They were huge and healthy so a good price.

Some before and after photos of the rose and the storm

 

Hope the drive goes well Farway, will you find some odd plants get stuck in wheelarches as you go by?

No plant plans today, should do a bit of watering, it's hot and beautiful out there so far. Got to make the most of it.

LessImpecunious

Bluey - the no-dig people claim that you can improve clay soil by NOT digging, but just mulching the surface with compost/manure etc. I'm currently experimenting on the clayier bits of my own garden, but can't confirm if correct yet. Might ruin your chances of finding any more buried treasure tho...

ArbitraryRandom

Good morning all (I think it's still morning). Apologies that I'm skipping over the 100+ comments you've all made since I was last logged in - I did see a number of lovely pictures  

Trip was good. I swear I spent the two nicest days of the year so far on trains, but it was generally lovely weather and the event itself went really well. 

Got home and everything was a little wilted, so they got a good water. I picked my second courgette(!) and gave it to my neighbour who was putting out her washing. She was a little confused when a hand appeared over the fence waving a courgette as she thought I was still away  

RE the courgettes - I've got two courgette plants, four winter squash and three summer squash - they're all different sizes (ranging from a couple of leaves to nearly a meter across), but the one courgette is the only one that's produced anything harvestable as yet. I'm hopeful a couple of the patty pan will be good this weekend maybe, but I've never grown these before so it's a bit of trial and error.

Potatoes are looking good. The three 'experimental' potatoes are all healthy looking (though the ones that I hilled up have distinctly paler foliage - not sure if it's because those leaves are 'younger', because they were buried, because they've all had the same water/ferts). In my non-experimental tubs, some of my early crop have flowers. Which is nice as I don't think I've ever seen potato flowers before. strangely similar and different to tomatoes - which should't be surprising given they're cousins. I'm going to give them maybe another month then tip one out. My parents are talking about visiting towards the end of July and I think they'd appreciate some fresh new potatoes for lunch (plus peas!).  

Herbs are also looking good (pic of thyme, marjoram, sage, chives, and in the background you can see the bergamot)   

Plans for today are to do a proper bindweed patrol (it's going to have been a week since I last checked, but I didn't see anything heinous while I was watering), then hopefully it'll stay nice so I can water. I've also texted a different local gardener as no word from the bloke that did it before and it's now awfully overgrown with the bind weed away from the beds starting to flower. 

-taff

Dusty, I'm glad I don't have a partner who likes gardening. I could forsee a nuclear event in the case of garden centre visits..Just because of the sheer amount of plants I would buy with precisely nowhere to put them. It's not the sort of thing you can say, Oh this old thing? I found it in the wardrobe....Have you two got to stop yourselves from buying things? Beautiful sky, hopefully positively portentious. The nearest I've ever got to farming is my rellies in Italy. But that was pigs. ound there it's just corn corn and more corn, no respiite, same thing every year. And yeah to the moving. The physio told me once, use it or lose it..

YBE, I have t admit, I rushed out to try your trick and in spite of using a split rose head which promptly fell in the can, it is a sound working thing! How marvellous! I'm really liking that

Farway, maybe for you they root easily I have to go through an esoteric ritual of taking five hundred cutting for one to live...I kid you not, last year I took about sixty cuttings from my favouite rosemary and only at the last did about ten of them decide to live. I do have my hopsital trug to put anything that breaks off in [ currently housing some deliberately taken philadelphus] and that seems to work quite well. Hope the funeral goes easily.

2p, take farway up on the offer! He hasn't got a granny annexe has he? [which is not to say you're a granny, just the expression, honest!] Blimey that was some storm...fingers crossed it decides to show it what for and bloom some more.

Less, you can improve it like that but I have noticed quite a lot fo intructions for no dig begin with, lay your cardboard. I didn't follow that injunction, I dug a spit because it was full of bindweed [ the chickens pecked or scratched everything esle off apart from that] took all th roots out, then kept covering the top with what I had. It's very good now, three or four years later, I don't stand on it, but when I have to, it gives under my feet. Very friable, full of worms, still like clay, but holds moisture, and apparently quite healthy.

Arb, your stuff look s so healthy. I love your raised bed, those plants are fab! Glad you had a nice easy trip too.

No gardening today,I agreed to cater for a friends party [ having a tough time, no time to organise food] so that's me cooking for the next three days. I don't mind, if we do quid pro quo I get myself the use of an electrician.

Working_Mum

YoungBlueEyes said:

Secondly - I got talking to a woman in morries who said the best thing for clay soil (which I have she said, cos it was her niece who was our seller so she knew who + where I was ) is to mix in looser stuff like compost and horse doings and a bit of gravel before doing anything else. Bit late for that now like. Apparently that's why I keep turning up bits of pottery because niece's husband wouldn't listen and thought the shards would provide drainage. So there's that. Also - if you have a watering can with a rose on it (not the funny shaped ones you get now but the old fashioned round ones), they're designed to be a lid over the hole to keep beasties etc out when your can's full. I tried it when I got home and she's right. It's an exact fit! Why is that not more widely known? 

I have LOADS of gravel I trying to Freecycle at the moment YBE if you need any to give your clay soil a bit of drainage  . To be fair the clearing of the big gravelly area is going ok  - a chap came and collected the 20 rubble bags I had cleared and then returned yesterday to dig out a further 20. He's doing a project for his daughter! I am happier with how this area is shaping up. He reckons he will be back again after the weekend so I am pleased it's going to a good home.

The lady you met in my Uncle's garden isn't his wife YBE (sadly my Aunt died 4 years ago) but a lady you'd call Auntie as we've known her so long. She used to be the Head of a primary school on a very large and deprived estate to the north of our City. She worked there with my Aunt and did amazing things for their pupils. When my Aunt died old pupils and parents turned out to her funeral.

I am loving this warmer drier weather. We haven't had any storms since Sunday. Yesterday I potted up my Open Garden goodies and a few plants a friend had given me so it felt good to get my hands dirty yesterday. I also collected several large pots on Tuesday from a Fre3cycler so am now making plans to incorporate those into my garden. 

I really love this thread - I find it so inspirational. Thank you everyone.

twopenny

If you love it you're one of a kind  

Wow that's a lot of hard core you're digging out. I had a big garden with the same effect. I bundled it one end, added steps and a central bird bath. It went well with the birds and I could watch from afar.

Taff I'm waitng to see how Farway gets on with his wine from the vine before I make my aproach.

Arbs (I'm trying to improve a shortened form of your name but it's not easy) that is some amazing sucess considering it started from scratch not long ago. Ever though of going into garden design?

Ok another sign, very professional but a chuckle

Dustyevsky

I've been out, owl spotting. Sat myself on the bug dumper, still parked on our muck heap, and Owly was there within  minutes. He/she spent some time covering our bottom field, before moving on to pastures new. I have one or two photos, but the camera was set up wrongly.   I'll have to try again another night. 

As I locked the hens in, the moon came up, looking almost full, and there wasn't a breath of wind. An almost perfect midsummer's evening, but the temperature was wrong. Brrr! 11c.

YoungBlueEyes

I hope the funeral went as well as can be expecting yesterday Farway. If anyone can get something to flower it's you, so get pics when your geranium plugs are in full bloom. Next weekend probably  

Jeez 2p, that storm sure kicked your rose's erse Has it damaged it or just blown the flower heads off? I hope it's alright. Love the garden sign I'd lift one of them if I saw it ha haa! 

Thanks for the gravel offer wm but I'm going to see how far I get with Less's no-dig mulching. I've too many plants and bulbs and trees all in now to start messing about trying to get gravel under them all. I've a healthy amount of worms so I think the top dressing method will work, even if it takes a while. I'm sorry to hear about your aunt. If she was anything like the raffle ticket lady I'm not a bit surprised so many turned out for the funeral. How's your garden getting on btw? Are you sick of that dog yet? You're right, this thread really is inspirational. I'd be lost without it, really I would. Also - are you sick of that dog yet?  

Welcome back Arb. Good to hear your trip was a success (did they ask you to speak..?) and your garden is really coming on now eh. Beautiful tatty flowers too And look at your peas! Good luck with your new gardener. 

Aye the watering can lid is good innit taff, it seems so obvious when you see it. I hope there's a never ending stream of chatty folk in morries gc, I never know what I'm gonna learn next! That woman knowing who I am was a bit freaky though

Yesterday was the start of astrological summer said the weatherman last night. Mind he also said the UV today would be 7+ :rolleyes: We've had some beautiful skies here, and lovely mild evenings. Proper summer heat is on it's way though, possibly. They gave clouds for nearly all day yesterday but it bladdy wasn't - it was scorchio and burny by 1100, I didn't get out again 'til 1700. It'll be a full moon tonight then will it? I hope the sky's clear Early up and out today cos I don't want to be out in the heat they promise is coming.

Oh another tip - if you've bought something electrical from a B00ts shop and it doesn't work, they'll say you can return it to any other B00ts but they don't mean it. You need one that has an electrical dept *sigh* so I've gotta brave the city today  

Dustyevsky

I love that potato flower picture, Arbs. Your other crops do look healthy as well. Bindweed may be tackled organically, but it's a long job! Yesterday, I sprayed a neighbour's bindweed where it was climbing the fence between us. We're bindweed-free here now, and it's staying that way!

We have an estate agent visiting today. The big barn needs valuing, and it's good to pick up advice from long-established purveyors of rural property. Some spotty youth in a shiny suit won't cut it! George sounds like the real deal on the phone, and when he locates his 'roundtoit,' Bob will also pay us a visit. The property market here seems dead right now, but it will only take some Bad News and people will be deserting the South East in their thousands... perhaps!  OTOH, there might be a local builder with ideas. Personally, I'd flatten the ugly thing and build something reflecting the architecture across the way, but with eco features and no damp or flooding. 

Last night's Owl Watch was successful in the sense that the Barn Owl followed its normal routine, but my camera was still set up for different conditions, so I got a lot of strange results, like this:

Just imagine how good that would have been if I'd checked my equipment! Story of my life...

With all the action shots peculiar, I was left with some rather tasteful watercolours, like this:

And just one closer shot, when Owl perched for a moment on the chicken run fence. By that time the light was going...

Dustyevsky

Good luck in big town, Bluey. I've just realised how little we visit cities now. We go maybe 3 or 4 times a year, maybe, and only when we have to. It's funny to think we lived in a small one for about 35 years, and now even that feels cramped and very scary to drive in.  

Speaking of driving, that was a fair journey you had yesterday, Farway. I hope the service was as uplifting as the one  we went to last month, where I didn't even consider the vegetation. A dire one, near Slough, two years ago, yielded a promising cotoneaster from the churchyard, but it didn't take.   It stood to reason; Uncle was an engineer, not a gardener.

taff, we're rather strapped financially, so profligate purchases of plants isn't a problem. When we bought the hedging, Mrs Dusty bought nothing extra, and I only came away with Salvia 'Cherry Lips' at £5. I'm pleased to say it's just started doing its two-tone thing. Mrs Dusty thought I'd bought a reverted one!

Less, you're making me feel guilty for not doing the Oliver Charles Dowden stuff with cardboard and old manifestos. I keep meaning to, but the fact is, muck's cheap or free here. One day.....

2p's 'The Garden of Weedin!' Can't we relate to that, this ultra-bad year? They've had their big push; any day now they'll run out of steam! Won't they?