Good Morning all, Haven't posted for a couple of days but not much to report. @Valley Gardener Cush looks so contented. Those stones are really good. Don't know how you do it or where you get your ideas from. @AnniD How long did it take you to put that poem together? I would never get past the first line! Very clever. @Purplerain Hope your family appreciated the tomatoes. I certainly would have. Well the fuchsia hedge did get finished on Saturday and wasn't I glad. Looks so much tidier but because it is so tall (can't reach the top with shears) it hangs over the wall to the outside pavement. (That is covered in red flowers). Was a bit concerned I was encroaching on the public footpath but looking out of the house window it looks good and adds a bit of colour to the area. Yesterday I started on the privet as it is mostly in the shade at that time. That is going to take some time but not so important as the fuchsia was. I might, only might, cut the grass this afternoon. I went to B&Q yesterday to look for a pair of hand shears (like a very large pair of scissors) which Monty seems to use a lot. I thought they would be ideal for cutting the edges of the grass where the mower can't reach and they have proved to be just the job. Had a trolley as I fully intended to also go outside to look at the plants and yet another hydrangea to add to my collection plus another plant namely Euonymus which I have a place for. On looking in the trolley at the hydrangea OH said that's a fine pair of shears. Also started on some weeding in the shade which I have to admit is my favourite job. Haven't seen my cat for quite some time now so hope she has a home and nothing has happened to her. If she reappears I will know all is well and that a visit to me is bottom of her list. The allotment was her favourite place to go when she lived here. Planted a semi trailing begonia in a hanging basket and it has taken off. It's amazing what one plant has produced. What to do with lavender? It has gone so mad that the woody part is quite high from the ground so if it is trimmed it is still going to take up a lot of room and not look that good. Would you think it best to dig it out and start afresh next year? Had a look through the dead plants in the pound shop and found one clinging on to life and yes believe it or not it was a heuchera, the only one. Melting fire. Have potted it up and hope it will appreciate it having been rescued. We shall see. Best get on now and hopefully achieve something more in the allotment this afternoon. Have an enjoyable day all.
@Fran IOM, the poem didn't take long at all to be honest. I looked at the photo and thought "Cush looks very comfortable", and it just went from there. I was trying to think of one for @Purplerain 's bowl of tomatoes, but inspiration wouldn't come ! Regarding your question about lavenders, there was a bit on Gardeners World about cutting back lavenders (l think, or it might have been Beechgrove 🤔). It's true that you're not suppose to cut into the old wood, but sometimes if you delve into the centre of the bush, you can see little green shoots nearer to the base. You can cut back to those, and it will regrow from there. l've done it, and it does work. If they've got really out of control though, you might be better off getting rid and starting again. Hope the heuchera makes it !
It was quite cool and cloudy here until nearly midday, then the sun came out and the temperature rocketed, so l have retreated indoors . When the sun goes round l might try a few photos - l haven't seen so many bees and butterflies altogether in the garden for quite a while.
Good Evening, A good day for gardening. It certainly didn't reach record breaking temperatures here thank goodness. Cut some more of the privet hedge so every little helps. I didn't mow the grass and couldn't have done even if I had wanted to as I had left the battery in the mower from last time instead of taking it home to charge. It is well charged now so no excuse for tomorrow. Planted out my two purchases from B&Q and my heuchera is still alive. @AnniD Thanks for the advice on the lavender. I shall have a look tomorrow to see if there are any shoots, if not I think it will get dug up which I don't think will be easy. The bees still seem interested but the flowers are pretty much on the way out. There were a lot of bees and butterflies on the allotment this afternoon. At least there is still the verbena and buddleia for them. @Valley Gardener and @Purplerain Hope you have both had a productive day. No cat and very few birds today but plenty of apples everywhere.
@AnniD Well done! I am sure they will sell well and raise money for charity. You have put a lot of work into that. What are they mostly? A lovely selection of bulbs. Decided where you are going to plant them or put them in pots? Hedgehog looks delighted with your final purchase. You will now have so much more room now the plants have gone.
@Fran IOM, they are mostly foxgloves of various colours. The other things are iris, salvias, pulmonaria and some "odds and sods". Those bulbs will mostly be going in pots in the greenhouse for (hopefully) a nice display in the Spring. All l need to do now is tidy the place up, there are trays everywhere and a load of other pots to go to the recycling place. It is a tip !
@AnniD You certainly have been busy! Looks like tomorrow is going to be a tidying up day. The weather here was much hotter this afternoon than yesterday. Decided I had to cut the grass as I think there is some rain on the way. After having been busy in the house all morning I didn't have that much energy left but got the mower out. I might be cutting it too short as I haven't a clue but I can adjust the length if I could find out which way to do it. I think I managed to cut seven eighths and just couldn't summon up the energy to finish it off. Looks a bit odd with some still to be done but maybe it could be finished off tomorrow. It all looks tidier already. The amount of grass cuttings is unbelievable. The container is pretty big but I had to empty it so many times. Didn't really have the time to do much else. Once the grass is finished I can start on the weeding and cutting back etc. and just remembered the privet hedge as well. The more I think the more jobs keep cropping up. Seagull came to visit today to see if there was anything worth having. The baby came as well and just cried all the time and wouldn't leave the parent alone. It didn't look as though it had learnt to feed itself. I thought they were all on their own by now. What I can do with all these apples I have no idea. Had a look at the lavender @AnniD but couldn't see much and I didn't want to disturb the bees. Heuchera is doing very well along with the hydrangeas. Hope you have all had a good day. Till tomorrow..
What a lot if work you have put in @AnniD and I love the patriotic boxes. I hope the charity makes plenty of money for the cause. The bulbs look good and I doubt there is much in the little hedgehog book that you don't already know, but it would have been hard to resist. It's amazing how pots etc accumulate and I have a similar problem. I know that Monty says we should treasure our plastic but sometimes there is just too much to treasure.
Glad you got most of the grass cut @Fran IOM with just a little bit to do. I notice that the seagulls often drag a youngster around with them, certainly at the coast. I think it is to make us feel sorry for them, because people here get fined if they feed them.
Well, last night was a nightmare as I was forced to watch The Great British Bake Off by someone who knows who she is and reads the posts here! I have managed to avoid it all these years but not last night. It really makes me feel quite ill, all that sugar and stodge 😧. Not sure what we will get up to today as the weather is quite dull but will look in later and report back.
Posts
Haven't posted for a couple of days but not much to report.
@Valley Gardener Cush looks so contented. Those stones are really good. Don't know how you do it or where you get your ideas from. @AnniD How long did it take you to put that poem together? I would never get past the first line! Very clever.
@Purplerain Hope your family appreciated the tomatoes. I certainly would have.
Well the fuchsia hedge did get finished on Saturday and wasn't I glad. Looks so much tidier but because it is so tall (can't reach the top with shears) it hangs over the wall to the outside pavement. (That is covered in red flowers). Was a bit concerned I was encroaching on the public footpath but looking out of the house window it looks good and adds a bit of colour to the area. Yesterday I started on the privet as it is mostly in the shade at that time. That is going to take some time but not so important as the fuchsia was. I might, only might, cut the grass this afternoon. I went to B&Q yesterday to look for a pair of hand shears (like a very large pair of scissors) which Monty seems to use a lot. I thought they would be ideal for cutting the edges of the grass where the mower can't reach and they have proved to be just the job. Had a trolley as I fully intended to also go outside to look at the plants and yet another hydrangea to add to my collection plus another plant namely Euonymus which I have a place for. On looking in the trolley at the hydrangea OH said that's a fine pair of shears. Also started on some weeding in the shade which I have to admit is my favourite job.
Haven't seen my cat for quite some time now so hope she has a home and nothing has happened to her. If she reappears I will know all is well and that a visit to me is bottom of her list. The allotment was her favourite place to go when she lived here.
Planted a semi trailing begonia in a hanging basket and it has taken off. It's amazing what one plant has produced.
What to do with lavender? It has gone so mad that the woody part is quite high from the ground so if it is trimmed it is still going to take up a lot of room and not look that good. Would you think it best to dig it out and start afresh next year?
Had a look through the dead plants in the pound shop and found one clinging on to life and yes believe it or not it was a heuchera, the only one. Melting fire. Have potted it up and hope it will appreciate it having been rescued. We shall see.
Best get on now and hopefully achieve something more in the allotment this afternoon.
Have an enjoyable day all.
I was trying to think of one for @Purplerain 's bowl of tomatoes, but inspiration wouldn't come !
Regarding your question about lavenders, there was a bit on Gardeners World about cutting back lavenders (l think, or it might have been Beechgrove 🤔). It's true that you're not suppose to cut into the old wood, but sometimes if you delve into the centre of the bush, you can see little green shoots nearer to the base. You can cut back to those, and it will regrow from there. l've done it, and it does work.
If they've got really out of control though, you might be better off getting rid and starting again.
Hope the heuchera makes it !
It was quite cool and cloudy here until nearly midday, then the sun came out and the temperature rocketed, so l have retreated indoors . When the sun goes round l might try a few photos - l haven't seen so many bees and butterflies altogether in the garden for quite a while.
A good day for gardening. It certainly didn't reach record breaking temperatures here thank goodness. Cut some more of the privet hedge so every little helps. I didn't mow the grass and couldn't have done even if I had wanted to as I had left the battery in the mower from last time instead of taking it home to charge.
@AnniD Thanks for the advice on the lavender. I shall have a look tomorrow to see if there are any shoots, if not I think it will get dug up which I don't think will be easy. The bees still seem interested but the flowers are pretty much on the way out. There were a lot of bees and butterflies on the allotment this afternoon. At least there is still the verbena and buddleia for them.
@Valley Gardener and @Purplerain Hope you have both had a productive day.
No cat and very few birds today but plenty of apples everywhere.
took them to the shop...
went to the garden centre...
and Norman approved of my purchase !
Those bulbs will mostly be going in pots in the greenhouse for (hopefully) a nice display in the Spring.
All l need to do now is tidy the place up, there are trays everywhere and a load of other pots to go to the recycling place. It is a tip !
The weather here was much hotter this afternoon than yesterday. Decided I had to cut the grass as I think there is some rain on the way. After having been busy in the house all morning I didn't have that much energy left but got the mower out. I might be cutting it too short as I haven't a clue but I can adjust the length if I could find out which way to do it. I think I managed to cut seven eighths and just couldn't summon up the energy to finish it off. Looks a bit odd with some still to be done but maybe it could be finished off tomorrow. It all looks tidier already. The amount of grass cuttings is unbelievable. The container is pretty big but I had to empty it so many times. Didn't really have the time to do much else. Once the grass is finished I can start on the weeding and cutting back etc. and just remembered the privet hedge as well. The more I think the more jobs keep cropping up.
Seagull came to visit today to see if there was anything worth having. The baby came as well and just cried all the time and wouldn't leave the parent alone. It didn't look as though it had learnt to feed itself. I thought they were all on their own by now. What I can do with all these apples I have no idea.
Had a look at the lavender @AnniD but couldn't see much and I didn't want to disturb the bees. Heuchera is doing very well along with the hydrangeas.
Hope you have all had a good day.
Till tomorrow..
What a lot if work you have put in @AnniD and I love the patriotic boxes. I hope the charity makes plenty of money for the cause. The bulbs look good and I doubt there is much in the little hedgehog book that you don't already know, but it would have been hard to resist. It's amazing how pots etc accumulate and I have a similar problem. I know that Monty says we should treasure our plastic but sometimes there is just too much to treasure.
Glad you got most of the grass cut @Fran IOM with just a little bit to do. I notice that the seagulls often drag a youngster around with them, certainly at the coast. I think it is to make us feel sorry for them, because people here get fined if they feed them.
Well, last night was a nightmare as I was forced to watch The Great British Bake Off by someone who knows who she is and reads the posts here! I have managed to avoid it all these years but not last night. It really makes me feel quite ill, all that sugar and stodge 😧. Not sure what we will get up to today as the weather is quite dull but will look in later and report back.