Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

I nipped down to photograph my favourite Sitoorie while I was shopping.

It's right by the sea so sea sounds too.

We had sun for a bit late yesterday (no sunset as cloud came over) and sun this morning but then the thick grey and white clouds came in and it's been a breathless day.

That's a real suntrap sitooterie, 2p. Lots more colour in there to come, by the look of it.

Yesterday was mostly clouded-over here too, but I didn't mind because I'd plenty of tough jobs to do. Broke the ratchet loppers again, trying to avoid using the chainsaw. I say 'again,' because none of them last more than a few years.

We had a hen die overnight. No discernable reason, but she'd not laid in a week, so something wasn't right. It happens.

We have pretty high temperatures forecast today and tomorrow, but I'll believe them when I feel them!  Lots of warnings telling old folk to be careful! Should I cancel a potential outing tomorrow and hide indoors, perhaps? I may use a Gardener's World 2 for 1 pass to scope out a garden avoided in the past. It's not drawn us at the usual price, mainly because we've never heard anyone say they enjoyed visiting there. Anyway, if it really is 25c, it might be easier going than the coast path, and I do have to fit in shopping too.

Another bright photo  today. (I have a heap of sitooteries still stuck in the other 'puter ) This is a geranium that rambles, like me, but it's more attractive. 

Good that you sorted your garden waste disposal, Farway. Surely a public service that's funded by the residents should expand to include all who need it?

Farway

Dull but warm, like Dusty, warning of super heated weather. Sun is trying to sneak out as well.

I'm expecting flying ant day as well, like 2P I've had gulls circling vulture like way up in the sky, always a sign of ant doom

Love the geraniums Dusty, nice blotch of purple never goes amiss

I noticed my lavenders from seed are really growing now, if I get around to it today I'll try & pot them on into individual pots to over winter. The same goes for the aquilegias; they also seem to have shot up in the past fortnight.

Dustyevsky said:

Good that you sorted your garden waste disposal, Farway. Surely a public service that's funded by the residents should expand to include all who need it?

They've already expanded, bought new lorries etc. Demand has overtaken supply, even at the price.

No expert on it, but the area is large and quite rural & isolated in parts, with huge old gardens. 

For instance, in my road there are only two of us using the service, so a lorry has to come here, not collect house to house like normal bins.

Get my bin, drive up the road for other bin

Goodness knows how they'll get on if mad cap long overdue extra recycling is introduced, food waste, paper separate from plastic plus the pay per chuck meters etc which I bet is lurking in some departments' box. 

Is it just me who remembers when wheelie bins were sneakily being fitted with microchips?

Went out to photograph the borage, battery died in the camera!

However, I did get these lilies before that, same one as before, but more of them

-taff

Arb, i have such bean envy...If I can stand it, I'll show you mine later...

2P, that's a beautiful sitooterie, now I want to move to Italy by the sea...it's so Mediterranean...

I'm sure there's a Shi**ers Hill or something near the Jurassic coast somewhere...

So I went to that site Dusty and three things have been sititng in my cart for two days waiting to see if I can justify the postage or whether I need to put more in  

Lovely and sunny today, just had my bacon sandwich breakfast, nearly everything has been planted out now, the only stuff in pots needs to grow on a bit so I'm feeling quite relaxed about stuff. I may even sow some carrots today just to see if I can grw them [ never have before] I'm down to one Aleppo pepper thanks to snail snacking in the greenhouse [ can't find the buggers] but all tomatoes plumping up nicely.  Not going red yet though! Or black too...

twopenny

Started cool this morning so I dressed accordingly, long sleeves, jacket and then it came out blistering hot!

Decided now was the time for the sea and it's cooled off - of course.

Went for a walk last night but it clouded over so no sunset. We went for a walk and I did 2miles on rough track  

Would have done more but we got the ponies annoyed and protective just by being there. Then got chased by a cow bellowing angrily so we retreated.Weird weather, no breeze, no birds and almost no people so silence. Apart from the cow.

Baby bunnies, nightjars and an owl before we left.

As for the garden, it sits there at the mo. Confused about the weather, garden birds vanished. The lawn needs mowing which I may do tonight and the rose arch pruning as my neighbour is getting more petals than me so need to clear it up.

Agree Dusty, probably too hot for the coast. And chainsawing or alternative. You take care!

Taff I was going to try carrots. Never managed before but now the ground is so hard I think it's not going to be.

I noticed that the Walnut trees where I was this morning are having their 'drop' - I had to manually break off my apples. Must get around to making bags for them so I get them before the squirels or rats this year.  

OK so late lunch, must look out swimming things. It's all a bit of a rush between the bad weather and the school holidays

Farway

Suns come out & it's baking now.

Taff, do have ago at carrots, my first time in donkeys' decades and seems quite easy so far, well at least they germinated which is a plus by itself so it seems

I got the small round quick grow ones, Parisian Atlas, but I'm sure other ones would be just fine, just mine were on offer & free P & P at the time

twopenny said:

Taff I was going to try carrots. Never managed before but now the ground is so hard I think it's not going to be.

I noticed that the Walnut trees where I was this morning are having their 'drop' - I had to manually break off my apples. Must get around to making bags for them so I get them before the squirels or rats this year.  

You could try in pots, just for a taster of carroty carrots

Oh, love walnuts, none around here. Bagsy one for Rottery Acres

Recharged camera, here's my borage + a handy bee

twopenny

Something (snails?) used to eat the tops as soon as they were getting anywhere and I've tried salad in pots and the same happened - even made a trough on legs and the devils got them!

Love a borage! In my youth the youngsters used to buy them for a chill out effect or something like that.

Hope the flowers are going in your Gin and Tonic   

Temperature dipped but it's sort of sunny out. Finally got into the sea! Lovely swim.

I'm still thinking about mowing the lawn but the flying ants are out in force along with gulls and pigeons. Perhaps thats where my little birds are. Gorging on ants.

ArbitraryRandom

Those lilies are stunning

I chickened out with my borage. It was doing really well (ended up huge with masses of flowers and very popular with the bees). It made for a nice addition to some salads early in the year, but I kept reading about how aggressively it self seeds and decided it was in the wrong place. I pulled the plants and dumped them at the bottom of the garden last week. Might be too early for any of the seeds to have matured, but I did like the plants so I'll get another packet of seed to sow at the end of the garden where they can go a bit wild without taking over the other plants I want to grow. 

Nothing exciting from me today. Just watered the garden and doing a last bit of tidying/weeding. Parents are expected to arrive around 1ish and apparently we're going to a local bird sanctuary for a picnic. At some point this weekend I'll be tipping out one of my tubs of potatoes, plus sending them home with a bag of peas/courgettes. I'm also hoping my step-dad will help with building the new compost bin. Should be a good weekend  

Farway

Hot already, similar to Arbs, I've just fed & watered the pots at the front, including those lilies. I'll do same for the back garden later on.

twopenny said:

Something (snails?) used to eat the tops as soon as they were getting anywhere and I've tried salad in pots and the same happened - even made a trough on legs and the devils got them!

Love a borage! In my youth the youngsters used to buy them for a chill out effect or something like that.

Hope the flowers are going in your Gin and Tonic   

My fingers are crossed my carrots survive slugs etc, I have hopes because the beans are still intact and maybe slugs are full & can't eat another gob full?

No G & T for me, or any alcohol these days , 

I've had my lifetime allowance because any booze prevents the "keep me alive" tablets from working , tough choices but only one real answer

However, should I get some really terminal illness, then I'll be back quaffing pints & smoking Woodbines in a sunny pub garden.

ArbitraryRandom said:

Those lilies are stunning

I chickened out with my borage. It was doing really well (ended up huge with masses of flowers and very popular with the bees). It made for a nice addition to some salads early in the year, but I kept reading about how aggressively it self seeds and decided it was in the wrong place. I pulled the plants and dumped them at the bottom of the garden last week. Might be too early for any of the seeds to have matured, but I did like the plants so I'll get another packet of seed to sow at the end of the garden where they can go a bit wild without taking over the other plants I want to grow.

Thanks, I like the lilies, just a shame they have no smell, and worth a bit of beetle hunting early on. They were only cheapo from somewhere like Wilko.

Maybe borage spreading is subjective, mine seem reasonably well-behaved, but I guess in the right conditions they could go mad.

Managed to pot up the lavender & aquilegia plants yesterday, five Aqulaga and about a dozen lavenders, all from seed. Happy enough with that. I may need to pot on once more before winter, have to wait & see.

Here's my surviving canna, the ones I grew from seed last year never survived winter, luckily the expensive one I bought, “Durban” has made it.

Will it flower? Who knows? Didn't last year, but I wouldn't be a gardener if I didn't think things can only be better this year, or next, or the one after that.

LessImpecunious

Bargain seeds alert (before Farway gets there!) Premier Seeds Direct are selling all their "pictorial packets" for 59p. I think they're all Franchi seeds; and with a short "expiration" date, but worth a punt?

twopenny

Not a lot to report today - again.

Hot and hazy, Summer reported to be over by the weekend

Watering is needed, going to need some more plant food as mines gone wet from earlier. I'll use it up and see if I can get more. Farway makes me feel lazy about this watering and feeding thing  

Dipping down to the garden center. It's been for sale for ages and the rescue section has been banned so no bargains to be had. It's a sad thing.........

Collected more pot marigold seeds and more to come. Once you get one plant started it procreates well. Doesn't fit in with the colours but just bright and cheerful.

Looking round to see if I should move the reading sitoorie as my neighbour leaves the shed doors open to bang where I've got it but it's the best view. Picked up a couple of ants on me while doing so so they haven't all flown.

Couldn't mow the lawn last evening. Her son and small child staying so I didn't want to wake the kid up so that's on the list - still!

I never had a problem with Borage spreading. It mostly just sat there and did it's thing but such a pretty flower.

But it's a good idea to move the site while you have a new garden Arbs.

Wonder if Imps suggestion would have the seeds you want?