An amazing array of plants Anni, my goodness you've been busy,that should make a fair bit for charity. It must be nice to have space back again,though I suspect it will soon be filled with your bulbs. I hope Norman is enjoying reading about himself!😊
We have rain here today,so in between the prolonged showers will be my time to venture out. The birds are still coming to the food,I thought it would have tailed off by now,but still they come,The Siskins have had a lot of young,also the sparrows.I don't think the Bullfinches and Goldfinches bring their young.
The seagulls you mentioned Fran and Purplerain, was a coincidence,as yesterday I was standing about a metre from a baby Herring gull, we both eyed each other up,and I thought how beautiful he was, what a pity they are such scavengers. But I suppose we humans have encouraged it,and made them this way.
I have to agree about the GBB, some of the stuff they make is laden with fat and sugar. I used to enjoy that programme till Nadia came first,when she didn't even get to fill her vol au vents! I thought it was very unfair. The fact that the filling was nice shouldn't have had anything to do with it. Ah well I'm no chef!
Like you Fran,my lavender is leaning over and looking scruffy,but the amount of bees still on it has made me leave it alone,I seem to remember leaving it alone last year for the same reason. Unfortunately it's hidden my heathers,which are now in flower,so it looks like they will have to be moved to a more open location.
Well I think Anni has encouraged us to go and get our spring bulbs......looking forward to that! I've decided to put my two year old ones out in the lane at the back,just in case anything sprouts. Yesterday I saw masses and masses of Crocosmia growing beside the road,someone must've started them off.
Have a nice day all,despite the weather.
The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
I enjoy GBBO 😊 , but l know what you mean about the sugar etc. While l admire the craftsmanship, l think "Life's too short" ! I have seen a couple of episodes from the first couple of series and it was totally different, much more simplistic . I have been out cutting stuff back. Someone once described the garden as a "riot of bloom", now it's just "a riot" (aka "a mess"). There is rain forecast for this afternoon, so l thought l'd let it get to the soil. I have also started emptying pots ready for the bulb fest, even though l won't be planting them up for a while. I'm just in one of those tidying up moods !
Good Evening all, A lot cooler today but later in the afternoon the sun came out and it warmed up considerably. @AnniD I ended up cutting the rest of the grass. I had a google and it said you could try it out (along with other warnings) and as I couldn't look at it any longer the mower came out and it worked fine. The grass wasn't really that wet so I was lucky. Now just lots of edges to trim off which could take some time as it's not a straight edge but up against curved roofing tiles. Hard to get the shears round it. Almost forgot to do a little more of the privet hedge. Looking at the hydrangea I got from M&S the leaves look as though they have been eaten by something. No sign of slugs and the others haven't been touched. There is one plant I have which I don't know the name of but it has finished now. Thought I had found the label but not the right one. It has self seeded everywhere even in a pot nowhere near it. The leaves are grey and it grows tall with small crimson flowers on the top. The bottom leaves die off as it's growing and makes it look so untidy and by the time the flowers are out they are about the only thing that looks decent. Any ideas? Don't know whether to keep the self seeded plants. The main one is getting dug out. The verbena self seeds everywhere but I don't mind that. @Purplerain The baby seagull was flying around on its own today. Think the parent has given up on it. Don't know what the babies get to eat as the adults are so aggressive. Goodness knows what I shall find under my lavender @Valley Gardener ! Plants I have forgotten all about. You will find crocosmia growing in quite a few places over here. It's rather like the buddleia you see everywhere. I'm sure your garden isn't a riot @AnniD Don't forget we've seen the photos. Hope tomorrow's weather is suitable for the garden. Enjoy the rest of you evening.
Good Morning A very wet and windy day today so not sure if there will be any gardening done today. Yesterday the choice of what I was going to do was taken away as the grass at the entrance had just been cut and neighbours out of control hedge had been completely cut down to almost no leaves. That made my little patch just outside the allotment rather untidy so felt obliged to tidy it up. That entailed cutting the edges of the grass to the flower bed, dead heading the clematis which grows up the side of my shed, which forms part of the fence, and tidying up my heucheras. Does look a lot better now but growing along the rest of the fence to the main entrance is, yes, another fuchsia hedge so that will have to be trimmed off as well. Another job to keep up with the Joneses. After that was able to start on some weeding inside. It was slugs that had attacked my hydrangea. They had left their mark. Didn't think they would bother but probably the young leaves attracted them. The mystery flower I was on about isn't actually "grey" but very pale green. Will have to get a photo of one of the seedlings. Plenty of gold finches for company but that was all. It was very windy but not cold. Today will just depend on whether the weather improves. Will have to wait and see.
I had to go outside for a warm up! Finished the filling I could reach,did some sanding down,got really hot,then really cold during lunch!
However I took the secateurs with me,for some serious deadheading,and wasn't very happy to see my Huskers Red,completely stripped,even some stem had been eaten,it was looking so good too. I must find a new location for the undercover heathers,and Alleluja,my Poppies are all in fat buds again! I hope I get to see them this time before the rain decimates them once more. Well done Fran for having a tidy up outside your patch.it all takes time,but you feel better to see it looking nice.
The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
Potted on my 24 foxgloves of various colours. To be honest, I am a bit sick of the sight of foxgloves at the moment 😁. Washed the pots, some for recycling, some to keep. My pot store has never looked so tidy ! I've also been able to get all my plants up together so that they are in one place instead of all over the garden, it's very satisfying but tiring ! Hedgehog is still turning up every night, he has been leaving the dish so clean that l hardly need to wash it. The dark coloured hedgehog has also been turning up, but seems more interested in just snuffling around the patio. There was a rook (or possibly crow), making a right racket above me this morning - when l looked up, it was hassling a sparrowhawk. Next door neighbour said he'd seen a sparrowhawk around, that may be one of the reasons why there are so few birds around (that, and the moulting season). The amelanchier tree is starting to change colour, it is always quite early but it's still August (just about). @Valley Gardener, l have been finding some humongous slugs while l've been tidying up, and our weather has been very dry. I think there are quite a few lurking underneath the box hedging. Have l told you that l sing to them as l put them in the green waste bin ? Oh, l wonder who that man is, in the white coat ? @Fran IOM, there is something very satisfying about tidying up, l have found
Good evening all ☹️. You will guess that my plans for the outdoor theatre have been rained off! Not happy. It has been raining heavily all day so nothing was done in the garden and some areas are flooded. Fortunately, it drains away quickly and the grass is looking very green.
That's amazing that your poppies are coming up again @Valley Gardener . Is that supposed to happen?
When do the hedgehogs decide to hibernate @AnniD? That will save you a fair bit of money when they do, as it must cost you a fortune the amount of food that they manage to tuck away.
That's a shame about the slugs Fran (couldn't get the @to work. You might be typing somewhere). I hope you manage to get the fuchsias tackled and the edging. Everything looks nice when it's been snipped and sorted.
Enough from me, and enjoy the rest of your evening.
Good Morning, After a wet start again it seems to have brightened up now. Still very windy but if the rain keeps away it could be a gardening day. Yesterday was a definite washout for doing anything on the allotment. Even the birds had to do without. At least the fuchsia hedge still seems to be standing even though it has been so windy. @Valley Gardener Sounds as though you have been really busy indoors with your decorating. At least you got some dead heading done. Your Huskers Red seem to have had a visit from the snails. Amazing what they can do in one night. That's what happened to my lupins which I have given up on. Can't believe your poppies are in bud again. I cut mine right down recently as they look so untidy when they are finished. Did notice there were some shoots coming up but doubt very much they will come to anything now. Any wet or windy weather doesn't do them any favours. @AnniD Can imagine how you feel about your foxgloves but just think of what they will look like in the future. I will be looking to buy mine when they are next in season. Maybe there is nothing left for the other hedgehog by the time he arrives. Hope the sparrow hawk didn't encounter Mr B. When I am weeding I find a lot of slugs hiding under the leaves of plants. I haven't yet started to sing to them and they usually end up in a plastic waste bag along with all the other rubbish. It amazes me as to how they find their favourite plants as the hydrangea they fed on was completely on its own with nowhere for them to hide but they still found it. @Purplerain Sorry you missed your night out and you had the same weather as here yesterday. So frustrating when you could be getting on with things in the garden. It's a wonder I don't dream about fuchsia. You can guarantee when it has been clipped the next day there will be more shoots coming out. If only all of my plants did as well as the fuchsia. Anything my son has planted in the past has taken off so maybe there is a lesson to be learnt there or maybe he just wanted to make sure I had plenty of work to keep me occupied. Plus he never bought anything as such. Taken from a skip or an auction lot. Well I think I will take it easy this morning and save any energy for what I hope will be a fine afternoon. Hope you all have a good day and better weather.
Posts
We have rain here today,so in between the prolonged showers will be my time to venture out.
The birds are still coming to the food,I thought it would have tailed off by now,but still they come,The Siskins have had a lot of young,also the sparrows.I don't think the Bullfinches and Goldfinches bring their young.
The seagulls you mentioned Fran and Purplerain, was a coincidence,as yesterday I was standing about a metre from a baby Herring gull, we both eyed each other up,and I thought how beautiful he was, what a pity they are such scavengers. But I suppose we humans have encouraged it,and made them this way.
I have to agree about the GBB, some of the stuff they make is laden with fat and sugar.
I used to enjoy that programme till Nadia came first,when she didn't even get to fill her vol au vents! I thought it was very unfair. The fact that the filling was nice shouldn't have had anything to do with it. Ah well I'm no chef!
Like you Fran,my lavender is leaning over and looking scruffy,but the amount of bees still on it has made me leave it alone,I seem to remember leaving it alone last year for the same reason. Unfortunately it's hidden my heathers,which are now in flower,so it looks like they will have to be moved to a more open location.
Well I think Anni has encouraged us to go and get our spring bulbs......looking forward to that! I've decided to put my two year old ones out in the lane at the back,just in case anything sprouts. Yesterday I saw masses and masses of Crocosmia growing beside the road,someone must've started them off.
Have a nice day all,despite the weather.
I have been out cutting stuff back. Someone once described the garden as a "riot of bloom", now it's just "a riot" (aka "a mess"). There is rain forecast for this afternoon, so l thought l'd let it get to the soil.
I have also started emptying pots ready for the bulb fest, even though l won't be planting them up for a while. I'm just in one of those tidying up moods !
A lot cooler today but later in the afternoon the sun came out and it warmed up considerably. @AnniD I ended up cutting the rest of the grass. I had a google and it said you could try it out (along with other warnings) and as I couldn't look at it any longer the mower came out and it worked fine. The grass wasn't really that wet so I was lucky. Now just lots of edges to trim off which could take some time as it's not a straight edge but up against curved roofing tiles. Hard to get the shears round it. Almost forgot to do a little more of the privet hedge. Looking at the hydrangea I got from M&S the leaves look as though they have been eaten by something. No sign of slugs and the others haven't been touched. There is one plant I have which I don't know the name of but it has finished now. Thought I had found the label but not the right one. It has self seeded everywhere even in a pot nowhere near it. The leaves are grey and it grows tall with small crimson flowers on the top. The bottom leaves die off as it's growing and makes it look so untidy and by the time the flowers are out they are about the only thing that looks decent. Any ideas? Don't know whether to keep the self seeded plants. The main one is getting dug out. The verbena self seeds everywhere but I don't mind that.
@Purplerain The baby seagull was flying around on its own today. Think the parent has given up on it. Don't know what the babies get to eat as the adults are so aggressive.
Goodness knows what I shall find under my lavender @Valley Gardener ! Plants I have forgotten all about. You will find crocosmia growing in quite a few places over here. It's rather like the buddleia you see everywhere. I'm sure your garden isn't a riot @AnniD Don't forget we've seen the photos.
Hope tomorrow's weather is suitable for the garden.
Enjoy the rest of you evening.
A very wet and windy day today so not sure if there will be any gardening done today.
Yesterday the choice of what I was going to do was taken away as the grass at the entrance had just been cut and neighbours out of control hedge had been completely cut down to almost no leaves. That made my little patch just outside the allotment rather untidy so felt obliged to tidy it up. That entailed cutting the edges of the grass to the flower bed, dead heading the clematis which grows up the side of my shed, which forms part of the fence, and tidying up my heucheras. Does look a lot better now but growing along the rest of the fence to the main entrance is, yes, another fuchsia hedge so that will have to be trimmed off as well. Another job to keep up with the Joneses.
After that was able to start on some weeding inside.
It was slugs that had attacked my hydrangea. They had left their mark. Didn't think they would bother but probably the young leaves attracted them. The mystery flower I was on about isn't actually "grey" but very pale green. Will have to get a photo of one of the seedlings.
Plenty of gold finches for company but that was all. It was very windy but not cold.
Today will just depend on whether the weather improves. Will have to wait and see.
However I took the secateurs with me,for some serious deadheading,and wasn't very happy to see my Huskers Red,completely stripped,even some stem had been eaten,it was looking so good too.
I must find a new location for the undercover heathers,and Alleluja,my Poppies are all in fat buds again! I hope I get to see them this time before the rain decimates them once more.
Well done Fran for having a tidy up outside your patch.it all takes time,but you feel better to see it looking nice.
Washed the pots, some for recycling, some to keep. My pot store has never looked so tidy !
I've also been able to get all my plants up together so that they are in one place instead of all over the garden, it's very satisfying but tiring !
Hedgehog is still turning up every night, he has been leaving the dish so clean that l hardly need to wash it. The dark coloured hedgehog has also been turning up, but seems more interested in just snuffling around the patio.
There was a rook (or possibly crow), making a right racket above me this morning - when l looked up, it was hassling a sparrowhawk. Next door neighbour said he'd seen a sparrowhawk around, that may be one of the reasons why there are so few birds around (that, and the moulting season).
The amelanchier tree is starting to change colour, it is always quite early but it's still August (just about).
@Valley Gardener, l have been finding some humongous slugs while l've been tidying up, and our weather has been very dry. I think there are quite a few lurking underneath the box hedging. Have l told you that l sing to them as l put them in the green waste bin ?
Oh, l wonder who that man is, in the white coat ?
@Fran IOM, there is something very satisfying about tidying up, l have found
That's amazing that your poppies are coming up again @Valley Gardener . Is that supposed to happen?
When do the hedgehogs decide to hibernate @AnniD? That will save you a fair bit of money when they do, as it must cost you a fortune the amount of food that they manage to tuck away.
That's a shame about the slugs Fran (couldn't get the @to work. You might be typing somewhere). I hope you manage to get the fuchsias tackled and the edging. Everything looks nice when it's been snipped and sorted.
Enough from me, and enjoy the rest of your evening.
After a wet start again it seems to have brightened up now. Still very windy but if the rain keeps away it could be a gardening day.
Yesterday was a definite washout for doing anything on the allotment. Even the birds had to do without. At least the fuchsia hedge still seems to be standing even though it has been so windy.
@Valley Gardener Sounds as though you have been really busy indoors with your decorating. At least you got some dead heading done. Your Huskers Red seem to have had a visit from the snails. Amazing what they can do in one night. That's what happened to my lupins which I have given up on. Can't believe your poppies are in bud again. I cut mine right down recently as they look so untidy when they are finished. Did notice there were some shoots coming up but doubt very much they will come to anything now. Any wet or windy weather doesn't do them any favours.
@AnniD Can imagine how you feel about your foxgloves but just think of what they will look like in the future. I will be looking to buy mine when they are next in season.
Maybe there is nothing left for the other hedgehog by the time he arrives. Hope the sparrow hawk didn't encounter Mr B. When I am weeding I find a lot of slugs hiding under the leaves of plants. I haven't yet started to sing to them and they usually end up in a plastic waste bag along with all the other rubbish. It amazes me as to how they find their favourite plants as the hydrangea they fed on was completely on its own with nowhere for them to hide but they still found it.
@Purplerain Sorry you missed your night out and you had the same weather as here yesterday. So frustrating when you could be getting on with things in the garden. It's a wonder I don't dream about fuchsia. You can guarantee when it has been clipped the next day there will be more shoots coming out. If only all of my plants did as well as the fuchsia. Anything my son has planted in the past has taken off so maybe there is a lesson to be learnt there or maybe he just wanted to make sure I had plenty of work to keep me occupied. Plus he never bought anything as such. Taken from a skip or an auction lot.
Well I think I will take it easy this morning and save any energy for what I hope will be a fine afternoon.
Hope you all have a good day and better weather.
"Right a bit...."
"Left a bit"....
"FIRE !!"
Bullseye.