Its still Tuesday as i post this,..i tend to start around midnight as its then i finish up doing everything else,..dinner time is around 07.30 so time flies after its cooked and eaten.
A day which started out with a light drizzle then sunshine for a short spell before returning to drizzle again.
Nothing to do but housework and head off to the Supermarket,..soooooo much garden plants and accessories in store one would be tempted,..not me i am used to not buying plants lol,..however i spotted a Solar Spotlight for 3.99 euro and reckoned i could use it to photograph my Hedgehogs visit,..to save me opening the sliding door disturbing the creatures i could have the spotlight pointed at the food,..then capture an image through the glass door without using the flash.
Second purchase was as below,..Durable and big enough to house a Hydrangea 4.99 euro.
@Fran IOM,..i must look up that Thread on the Hosta 'White Feather',..i don't have one but a friend in the USA has one and it looks very nice,..i wasn't attracted to it as it seemed not quite the colour a Hosta should be,..greenish or with markings.
Yes indeed my Hosta was well sprayed with Neem Oil Mix touch wood nothing gets through to perforate the foliage,..i am very pleased with how the Clematis has clung close to the wall,..the plastic coated wire fence really helped there.
Those fish are hand size and do mess up the tank so i have to have a good filter running plus an aerator,..tonight i had to change the filters in both tanks,..it takes time,..i never have to clean out the entire tank,..just change approx a third every 14 days.
I have my Cornus 'Midwinter Fire' out in the garden for the past few weeks,..it was a cutting given to me by @granma ,..its being outside since it arrived and thriving,..if yours is inside take it out on a warm day to help it get used to the outside,..if you don't feel happy about leaving it out that night take it inside then do a gradual change over to outside.
Your Hypericum,..common name 'St John's Worth',..i don't have one now but when i did i used to prune it back to make it bushy,..cutting out any dead branches as well,..i found them happy in most kind of soils,..i pruned back in March,..give yours some fertiliser liquid on a dry day so the plant will soak it up rather than have it diluted by rain on the wet day,..they produce a beautiful yellow bloom as you know.
@AnniD,..another great image,..what a bout of fighting and of course Black Spot is the one getting the treatment,..mine didn't turn up while i was still up and that was pretty late but the night before i placed the food in the wrong spot so i was looking at Hedgehogs rear end for a change,..i was trying to figure out was that a spot on its back or just natural colouration,..even zooming close didn't reveal anything like human marking?.
@Purplerain,..over the years i try doing something that seems possible with the flowers i have,..letting the Foxgloves self seed is one way of increasing stock though the seedlings will come up in the most unlikely of places,..also when i get a good sturdy tall foxglove i will take a cutting or wait until that plant has side shoots along the stem and save a few of them as you can see it all works,..most gardeners wouldn't bother doing that.
I will have plenty of Amaryllis 'Royal Red' seeds to give away so if anyone has a greenhouse and would like some let me know.
@nultyphilip224. Do you have an "Abutilon" Phillip?? I had a bimble round the garden earlier,and mine is looking very sorry for itself! It was new last spring,and put on a lovely show all summer,it's not Acid soil here or clay,more stoney! It's on the arch,open to the elements. Will it do better if I move it to the wall,which faces South do you think? There's new growth but it's small and shrivelled looking? Any help greatly appreciated.😯
I wonder have you got the ones below or the Chinese Bell Type?
I have 3 Lavatera 'Barnsley Baby',..they are Mallow Family,..i have one facing East and one facing West,..the third is in the middle of the garden and is only a cutting taken last Summer,..the other two are close to a wall in one case the other close to the fence,..i keep them well watered as i noticed they like water often,..i prune mine from time to time to prevent then from getting leggy,..i fertilise them every 14 days along with the remainder of the garden.
Some images of mine from last Season,..they might be like yours.
I often have difficulty selecting the Lavatera images,..not getting them confused with the Hibiscus 'Woodbridge',..they are similar though not exactly the same,..see below the Hibiscus.
Good morning all. No rain, but dullish today. Yesterday, I had another visit to B@Q because I needed a curtain pole. That was chosen very quickly as the garden section seemed like a better place to spend my time. I spotted a great bargain with a heavy wooden garden arch, reduced from £80 to £30. It looked weathered so maybe last years stock but just what I wanted....before I got the metal one. I left it reluctantly.
@nultyphilip224 yes, fish tanks do take up time. My ancient fish has a big tank but no filters, so he needs cleaned out once a month. My son does it as it was his fish in the first place. Anyway, yesterday he did it, and as I had previously said the old water should go in the soil, he dumped the lot all over my waiting to go out plants 😧. Drenched baskets, cosmos, antirrhinum and parsley. Most are recovering except the parsley. Fortunately I have more of that. Grrrrr.
@AnniD and @Fran IOM did you refrain from buying? You are as bad as each other when it comes to SGC lol.
@nultyphilip224 .It's a bell shaped flower,red with yellow coming out,and hangs pedulously.....if that's a word. I ve heard them called Chinese Lanterns. Any way it's torrential rain here today so I can't supervise OH today if it needs moving to a southerly aspect!
@Purplerain . That sounded like a lovely arch,no wonder you were reluctant to leave it! Ive started to think.........hang on,I don't smoke,drink very little and don't buy lots of clothes and jewellery,or cars! That's why I got the stone fairy and other bits for the garden! I've no doubt you deserved to have it!!😄
Everyone have a nice day.......if a bit watery!
The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
I was off the radar yesterday with a sick headache all day - better now, and all the better for reading about hedgehogs, fish, flowers and interesting activities.
@Purplerain - I can't actually hold a conversation in Finnish. I can say "hello", "please" and "thank you", but it's a fiendishly difficult language to learn, being unrelated to anything else I know like French or Latin. And a lot of our songs are in old Finnish, so I can't learn much useful vocabulary from them! But Finns under the age of around 40 are all very fluent in English. They learn their own language and Swedish as soon as they start school, then English, and German or Russian, when they're a bit older. We have encountered some cafes and shops in the countryside where the older staff don't speak any English, but we've always managed with the aid of a dictionary - and sign language!
Busy day ahead, starting with a Novel Appreciation group this morning. We're discussing "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco. If you haven't read it, don't bother... 502 pages of tiny print with lots of quotations in languages I don't know much of, and no footnotes to explain them. We are invited to bring a list of words we don't know, encountered in the book, to improve our vocabulary... I reckon my knowledge of English isn't bad, but my list is 32 words long
I'm afraid I'm a bit of a loner, and therefore not a natural on a chat thread, so please forgive me if I bob in and out a bit... it's nothing personal!
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Good Morning all. Raining today looking very dull, rather cold but not so windy. I am just hoping that there will be a lull come this afternoon to maybe do a few gardening jobs otherwise it will be indoors to work. @nultyphilip224. Thank you for your advice. My Cornus has been outside for quite some time now so think I will risk planting it into the ground when the weather improve. Would hate to lose it as I have looked after it since last year. I shall feed my Hypericum to see if it perks up but can't see it catching up to flower next month or July. It was beautiful last year. Your container is very similar to one I have recently obtained but I use mine for sifting the topsoil into and collecting the weeds and grass cuttings. Never thought it could be used for plants. What a good idea. Will you drill holes in the bottom of it? I know what you mean about the white Hosta. Something different but not recognisable as a Hosta. Hope you manage to photograph your hedgehogs. At least your fish tanks don't take up too much of your time. Lovely white geranium. I bought a Begonia yesterday with red flowers but unfortunately one of the flowers had dropped off by the time I got it home. @Purplerain Not sure whether you did buy the wooden arch? Won't go to B&Q if it's raining knowing I can't go outside to look at the plants accompanied by a trolley. Hope your plants recover from their drenching. Still haven't opened the SGC email! Waiting for a quiet moment to browse. If I succumbed they would have to arrive before my son as he doesn't agree with spending money on plants when you can take cuttings etc and ones that are given away. My Japonica bush with red berries (forgotten the name) came from a garden down the road as they were paving their front and my son asked could he take it. I don't think it ever knew it had moved house it took so well. Hope you enjoy your walk and it's not raining where you are.
Have to go out this morning so must get on. Hope everyone has a good day.
Good (soggy) morning all All peaceful on the Hedgehog front last night I am pleased to say . Lots of comings and goings but no fighting. I think there is only the one who gets aggressive - just like humans, some go looking for trouble, others just want a peaceful life ! @nultyphilip224 , I like that "Barnsley Baby", very pretty. I see what you mean about it's similarity to the hibiscus. Your hedgehog seems untouched by human marking to me, it's just the pattern of the spines I think. @Purplerain I have deleted the SGC email, and emptied my "deleted items" folder (not that that could stop me getting on the website of course....) However, a very nice man called Kevin is apparently going to deliver a parcel of pelargoniums between 11.16 & 12.16 today. I hope he doesn't turn up at 12.17, there could be trouble. Enjoy your walk . @Valley Gardener is this the one you mean ? @Liriodendron, don't worry about chatting, I know how you feel. "In real life" I am happier listening to and observing other people rather than joining in. The good thing about a forum is that you can come and go as you please Glad you are feeling better today. @Fran IOM Re: your son and plants, just do what I do. Say "This one, yes, it was from a cutting". Which it was, when it started life in the nursery. Can you tell I have had years of practice ? Anyway, I have a pile of newspapers to shred for the Rescue, and I need to look reasonably glamorous presentable for Kevin when he arrives with the plants. Have a good day everyone.
Posts
A day which started out with a light drizzle then sunshine for a short spell before returning to drizzle again.
Nothing to do but housework and head off to the Supermarket,..soooooo much garden plants and accessories in store one would be tempted,..not me i am used to not buying plants lol,..however i spotted a Solar Spotlight for 3.99 euro and reckoned i could use it to photograph my Hedgehogs visit,..to save me opening the sliding door disturbing the creatures i could have the spotlight pointed at the food,..then capture an image through the glass door without using the flash.
Second purchase was as below,..Durable and big enough to house a Hydrangea 4.99 euro.
=====================================================
@Fran IOM,..i must look up that Thread on the Hosta 'White Feather',..i don't have one but a friend in the USA has one and it looks very nice,..i wasn't attracted to it as it seemed not quite the colour a Hosta should be,..greenish or with markings.
Yes indeed my Hosta was well sprayed with Neem Oil Mix touch wood nothing gets through to perforate the foliage,..i am very pleased with how the Clematis has clung close to the wall,..the plastic coated wire fence really helped there.
Those fish are hand size and do mess up the tank so i have to have a good filter running plus an aerator,..tonight i had to change the filters in both tanks,..it takes time,..i never have to clean out the entire tank,..just change approx a third every 14 days.
I have my Cornus 'Midwinter Fire' out in the garden for the past few weeks,..it was a cutting given to me by @granma ,..its being outside since it arrived and thriving,..if yours is inside take it out on a warm day to help it get used to the outside,..if you don't feel happy about leaving it out that night take it inside then do a gradual change over to outside.
Your Hypericum,..common name 'St John's Worth',..i don't have one now but when i did i used to prune it back to make it bushy,..cutting out any dead branches as well,..i found them happy in most kind of soils,..i pruned back in March,..give yours some fertiliser liquid on a dry day so the plant will soak it up rather than have it diluted by rain on the wet day,..they produce a beautiful yellow bloom as you know.
That White Geranium was as below.
Now there is a pink hue appearing.
I will have plenty of Amaryllis 'Royal Red' seeds to give away so if anyone has a greenhouse and would like some let me know.
Amaryllis Seed Pods.
Geranium.
Creeping Jenny.
I have 3 Lavatera 'Barnsley Baby',..they are Mallow Family,..i have one facing East and one facing West,..the third is in the middle of the garden and is only a cutting taken last Summer,..the other two are close to a wall in one case the other close to the fence,..i keep them well watered as i noticed they like water often,..i prune mine from time to time to prevent then from getting leggy,..i fertilise them every 14 days along with the remainder of the garden.
Some images of mine from last Season,..they might be like yours.
I often have difficulty selecting the Lavatera images,..not getting them confused with the Hibiscus 'Woodbridge',..they are similar though not exactly the same,..see below the Hibiscus.
@nultyphilip224 yes, fish tanks do take up time. My ancient fish has a big tank but no filters, so he needs cleaned out once a month. My son does it as it was his fish in the first place. Anyway, yesterday he did it, and as I had previously said the old water should go in the soil, he dumped the lot all over my waiting to go out plants 😧. Drenched baskets, cosmos, antirrhinum and parsley. Most are recovering except the parsley. Fortunately I have more of that. Grrrrr.
@AnniD and @Fran IOM did you refrain from buying? You are as bad as each other when it comes to SGC lol.
@Valley Gardener and @Liriodendron I hope you enjoy your day.
Off on my walk now so enjoy the garden all.
@Purplerain . That sounded like a lovely arch,no wonder you were reluctant to leave it!
Ive started to think.........hang on,I don't smoke,drink very little and don't buy lots of clothes and jewellery,or cars! That's why I got the stone fairy and other bits for the garden! I've no doubt you deserved to have it!!😄
Everyone have a nice day.......if a bit watery!
I was off the radar yesterday with a sick headache all day - better now, and all the better for reading about hedgehogs, fish, flowers and interesting activities.
@Purplerain - I can't actually hold a conversation in Finnish. I can say "hello", "please" and "thank you", but it's a fiendishly difficult language to learn, being unrelated to anything else I know like French or Latin. And a lot of our songs are in old Finnish, so I can't learn much useful vocabulary from them! But Finns under the age of around 40 are all very fluent in English. They learn their own language and Swedish as soon as they start school, then English, and German or Russian, when they're a bit older. We have encountered some cafes and shops in the countryside where the older staff don't speak any English, but we've always managed with the aid of a dictionary - and sign language!
Busy day ahead, starting with a Novel Appreciation group this morning. We're discussing "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco. If you haven't read it, don't bother... 502 pages of tiny print with lots of quotations in languages I don't know much of, and no footnotes to explain them. We are invited to bring a list of words we don't know, encountered in the book, to improve our vocabulary... I reckon my knowledge of English isn't bad, but my list is 32 words long
I'm afraid I'm a bit of a loner, and therefore not a natural on a chat thread, so please forgive me if I bob in and out a bit... it's nothing personal!
Raining today looking very dull, rather cold but not so windy. I am just hoping that there will be a lull come this afternoon to maybe do a few gardening jobs otherwise it will be indoors to work.
@nultyphilip224. Thank you for your advice. My Cornus has been outside for quite some time now so think I will risk planting it into the ground when the weather improve. Would hate to lose it as I have looked after it since last year. I shall feed my Hypericum to see if it perks up but can't see it catching up to flower next month or July. It was beautiful last year. Your container is very similar to one I have recently obtained but I use mine for sifting the topsoil into and collecting the weeds and grass cuttings. Never thought it could be used for plants. What a good idea. Will you drill holes in the bottom of it? I know what you mean about the white Hosta. Something different but not recognisable as a Hosta. Hope you manage to photograph your hedgehogs. At least your fish tanks don't take up too much of your time. Lovely white geranium. I bought a Begonia yesterday with red flowers but unfortunately one of the flowers had dropped off by the time I got it home.
@Purplerain Not sure whether you did buy the wooden arch? Won't go to B&Q if it's raining knowing I can't go outside to look at the plants accompanied by a trolley. Hope your plants recover from their drenching. Still haven't opened the SGC email! Waiting for a quiet moment to browse. If I succumbed they would have to arrive before my son as he doesn't agree with spending money on plants when you can take cuttings etc and ones that are given away. My Japonica bush with red berries (forgotten the name) came from a garden down the road as they were paving their front and my son asked could he take it. I don't think it ever knew it had moved house it took so well. Hope you enjoy your walk and it's not raining where you are.
Have to go out this morning so must get on. Hope everyone has a good day.
All peaceful on the Hedgehog front last night I am pleased to say . Lots of comings and goings but no fighting. I think there is only the one who gets aggressive - just like humans, some go looking for trouble, others just want a peaceful life !
@nultyphilip224 , I like that "Barnsley Baby", very pretty. I see what you mean about it's similarity to the hibiscus.
Your hedgehog seems untouched by human marking to me, it's just the pattern of the spines I think.
@Purplerain I have deleted the SGC email, and emptied my "deleted items" folder (not that that could stop me getting on the website of course....) However, a very nice man called Kevin is apparently going to deliver a parcel of pelargoniums between 11.16 & 12.16 today. I hope he doesn't turn up at 12.17, there could be trouble.
Enjoy your walk .
@Valley Gardener is this the one you mean ?
@Liriodendron, don't worry about chatting, I know how you feel. "In real life" I am happier listening to and observing other people rather than joining in. The good thing about a forum is that you can come and go as you please
@Fran IOM Re: your son and plants, just do what I do. Say "This one, yes, it was from a cutting". Which it was, when it started life in the nursery. Can you tell I have had years of practice ?
Anyway, I have a pile of newspapers to shred for the Rescue, and I need to look reasonably glamorous presentable for Kevin when he arrives with the plants.
Have a good day everyone.