+++ Whoops! Here comes the cheese! +++

doingitanyway

Just to let you know they have magnolias in Mr L from 23.03. I plan to buy one..my garden is a bit shady but I'm hoping it will survive out there in a pot...

redofromstart

Garden news: the pink flowered Stellata Rosea magnolia is also starting to flower. That was a supermarket purchase many years ago which is now a good sized tree, I chose one with a single stem as I wanted a tree rather than a shrubbier form so that I can under plant it.  Lots of other things bursting into flower pretty much overnight - tulips and crocus in pots, and the first (Spanish sadly) bluebell in the front.  Normally in this weather I would have been too busy catching up with housework after a full on week of work or out walking and the garden would be ignored so it is quite soothing to give it the time it needs. Lots of progress yesterday cutting down a huge (prickly, ugly) dog rose that was blocking access to a water butt and a south facing brick wall that could be used to grow much nicer things. Between that and the neglected flowering currant next to it I managed to fill both green waste bins.  Cutting down the horrid rose should also give me access to the water butt trapped behind the greenhouse. It used to fill from the shed roof and be accessed from inside the greenhouse via a pipe but it has been blocked for years. That gives me two extra water butts, the stone shed one I need to replace a short stretch of guttering which has twisted due to the rose, but I rescued all the offcuts from the building works so that should be simple. The one behind the greenhouse can be relocated now I can reach it, and be put somewhere more accessible. 

Cauliflower rice turned out to be a demon in disguise. Crippling IBS. Never eating it again. Friday was a bit of a write off between that and having done too much on Thursday. 

In-between gardening though it was a spendy day again. I was up early and went to the big retail park up the motorway (FP). Accidentally timed it right for the N3xt sale. No, I did not buy jumpers. I did buy a duvet cover, a bedspread, some curtains, and two huge shallow bowls for mini ponds/bird baths for the garden. These things were on my look out for list and at on average 75% off a fair spend, c£65 in total.  Didn't even look at the clothes.

M4rks to laugh at the reductions but frittered on a pot of blueberries (lovely though - my current favourites).  I also went to the very local farm shop for compost and bark (for the magnolias).

KajiKita

Ooh … bad luck on the cauliflower rice 😢 Still, you now know! 

Serious envy about the shallow bowls for bird baths … 😊

Excellent progress in the garden and rearranging water butts. I added two more last year to existing locations - it has really helped, especially in the greenhouse. 

KK

Cherryfudge

The IBS sounds dreadful, I hope you're better now?

I have giant 'saucers' for bird baths too and it's lovely watching them in use. Mine also serve as a dumping ground for small pots of things that would otherwise dry up! It actually adds to the look, though I do get lazy about moving them on.

greenbee

My mum has some huge shallow metal bowls on her septic tank cover. They're surrounded by gravel, irises, and agapanthus and are fabulous. Although the pigeons/pheasants/partridges do poo in them... 

KajiKita

greenbee said:

My mum has some huge shallow metal bowls on her septic tank cover. They're surrounded by gravel, irises, and agapanthus and are fabulous. Although the pigeons/pheasants/partridges do poo in them... 

This is exactly why I want them, to cover up the manhole covers for the septic chamber that we have. 

KK

greenbee

KajiKita said:

greenbee said:

My mum has some huge shallow metal bowls on her septic tank cover. They're surrounded by gravel, irises, and agapanthus and are fabulous. Although the pigeons/pheasants/partridges do poo in them... 

This is exactly why I want them, to cover up the manhole covers for the septic chamber that we have. 

KK

She has a very nice metal egret in with the planting too... 

doingitanyway

Sorry to hear about the cauli rice...
The Next sale buys were excellent value!

redofromstart

Much better now, thanks Cherry, and yes absolutely one to avoid in the future KK.  Shame because I actually quite liked it.  

Lots of progress in the sunshine today.  Washed and line dried the dark green old bedspread (clashes with the headboard velvet in my room) ready to relocate it to the spare bedroom, and two of the dogs blankets.  Built and filled the fourth raised bed, and built a stand for the newly found waterbutt at the end of the veg plot.  It'll be a hosepipe fill but really useful and greatly increases the chance of things actually getting watered.  Major renovation pruning of the four lovely david austin roses that line the veg plot and a lot of squashing of the green waste bins to fit them in.  This will give me better access to the raised beds but will also improve the roses as I cut a lot of dead material out.  

The two lovely huge flat bowls will need coating with PVA glue before I put them into use but I am delighted with them.  I had only gone to the horrid retail park to see if the tk maximum had any suitable bowls or a bedspread that wouldn't clash so it worked out well.

redofromstart

Lots of decluttering progress. I've got into a routine of watch an episode of Sort Your Life Out while I empty an area and am being far more ruthless than I was in the early days. What's good is my fellow residents are seeing the difference it is making and are being less resistant to the changes.

a pile of stuff went to the local charity shop today, but I did come back with three balls of proper wool, another set of curtains (all of the upstairs ones want to be replaced, I bought random cheap ones when we moved in and they are disintegrating), and another nice flat ceramic bowl for the birds. 

I also bought a low grey velvet upholstered elegant chair for my bedroom on FB market place. PP had already had a nice sleep in it while it aired on the patio and is currently showing it her favourite toys. It'll want a good scrub and an air in the sunshine tomorrow too. It's got a supportive back and is the right height for arm support for reading or knitting/crochet so I am really pleased with it.