Sorry to see you have rain again,..it promised rain by the look of the sky here but it never happened,..it was sunny,..then dull,..with no breeze.
I can hardly keep up with the rate of growth and blooms just now and i must admit that yellow Rose ( Rosa 'Korresia' ) is blooming better than i can ever remember,..that dark Delphinium 'Bluebird' is a very dark blue and very soon it will be the main eye catcher when it is all in full bloom.
I discovered that the little B will come very close once i am sitting on the garden seat as compared to if i am standing,..it looks like a future hand feeding bird.
Ah yes Cats have the advantage of the claws over a dog be it small or big,..those claws can really sting.
That was a nice treat,..the Rock Plant Container,..yes do let us see how it looks,..like you i often think about that being illegal to take cuttings from certain plants,..doesn't make sense to have it on the tag,..people will take cuttings.
Little B is too trusting,..it comes back several times during the day and turns its back on the direction that ''Whisper'' arrives from,..there was a dead bird at the back door this morning and of course it had to be ''Whisper'' that left what was left of it,..i had to do a good check hoping it wasn't the Robin or little B,.. it was a relief discovering it was a young Sparrow Chick,..still one doesn't like to see that.
Ah yes i remember you posting about the Blackbird you hand reared,..you did a good job there,..not an easy job and a worry as well,..shame they fly away after it all,..oh yes i agree my Mr B gives that beady eye stare,..not a bit friendly,..at least he can sing a good song lol.
About the Digitalis 'Foxgloves',..as yours are later than mine there should be side shoots showing now or very soon,..the side shoot is where my finger is pointing in the image below,..the main stem is left of it,..the best time to cut one off is when the side shoot has some stem below its leaves,..if not then you are just cutting off leaves,..as you can see there is a nice gap between the leaves and the end of the side shoot.
I root mine in seed compost,..you could do so in water but its quicker in seed compost,..of course i know you don't use Rooting Powder but i find i get to root all my cuttings using it as it does have ingredients to enhance growth.
Not to worry about asking again,..searching back is a hell of a chore plus posting about it again might encourage others to increase stock this way.
I see you are having bad weather as well,..i hope it cleared for you by afternoon,..i hate it when its wet plus a strong wind,..plants get waterlogged and top heavy,..Foxgloves in particular.
Interesting about your Pigeons turning up with three adults and the chicks,..maybe the other adult was a last years chick to the two parents,..just a thought as they didn't chase off the intruder.
Congrats on getting your Sedum 'Dragons Blood',..also getting a flattish container,..i have a lovely blue glazed container that would really suit it when it goes red,..at present i have Black Mondo Grass in it,..looks good but i must change it to 'Dragons Blood'.
Hydrangeas are never as they seem,..that's always said about them because of the colour change be it from a garden with iron or aluminium or rusty nails tin cans Lemon juice coffee grinds the list goes on and on and varying colours as a result,..i have four established ones and two about a Metre high that i must get rid of,..they are in the growing area in large pots,..one thing about Hydrangeas they thrive on regular watering,..during last Summer when it was VERY warm i had to water mine every day,..early mornings,.. as the leaves would droop by early afternoon,..they are in those Builders Rubble Containers,..with gravel inside about two inches deep,..and drainage holes just above the gravel.
Ohhhhh not using the computer for two days after a cleaning or air blast,..would be a nightmare,..that's why i have more than one computer,..i am always wondering could i do something on the computer that seems logical to me,..then the computer has other ideas,..like if one plays Scrabble against the computer,..it has different levels of play and its hard to beat it but i do about quarter of the time,..that's without cheating it,..give it a word that its not familiar with and it asks,..are you sure that's a word',..of course lol.
@nultyphilip224. Again some beautiful images. The wildlife pics are so close and detailed,you should go in for competitions....Country File springs to mind. Just look at those shiny little blackbird legs 😊 I love the Swans and their young,what a lovely time of year for it,if a bit precarious. Yes that black cloud looked threatening,you were lucky to get away with it. Are those fishing platforms? Amazed no one is using them if it is.
We have again woken to heavy thundery rain,and I've been out in it to move the ground feeding dish.......too many babies sitting in and around it waiting for the parents to feed them,Cush has been lurking,so it's now on top of the wall,and I'm soaked again!
The rock plants I got........Sedora sunsparkler blue elf. That's the hybrid. Delosperma. Jewel of the Desert Topaz. Plus a Veronica repens.
Two are semi hardy,what does that mean?
Well it looks like a day in folks,can't believe this weather. Have a good day all,whether you are in or out!
The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
Good morning all. @nultyphilip224 thanks for the advice on the foxglove cuttings. That's a great help and I can see plenty of cutting material here:
The rain has just come on and like you @Valley Gardener it looks like a day in here too. I wonder if it's going to be one of those Summers.
So, I was looking at my collection of pots and need some colour. Any ideas?
Everything just seems so dull this year and the lack of sun isn't helping. Your photos of the wildlife are amazing Philip, and I agree with VG that you should enter some competitions.
@Valley Gardener Semi hardy means that they need protecting over Winter, so if you have them in pots bring them in.
@AnniD and @Fran IOM I don't know what your weather is like but have a good day whatever you decide to do.
Morning all . I agree with @Purplerain, you should enter the Countryfile competition @nultyphilip224. I think they are launching the competition for next year's calendar tonight, the only thing is that l am not sure if it's open to entries from "overseas", as it were. Will have to have a look at the small print.
@nultyphilip224 Loved the hedgehog one, and Foxy Molly (of course). How close did you get to the swans and their cygnets ? I know they can get very aggressive and have been known to break people's arms, they are so powerful. With regard to cleaning out the hedgehog house, l don't know how often you do it, but it doesn't need doing all that often, just twice a year is enough. Around April and October, depends on the weather . OH has got ours out before now and we've lifted the lid to find a spiky occupant fast asleep. We just put the lid back and put it out of the way and try again the next day. It's easy here because there is at least one other box around the area and of course they don't always use them every night. Bit of info here if it's of any use https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/cleaning-out-boxes/
@Valley Gardener you've got some nice plants there . I have seen plants marked PBR (plant breeders rights) which means they can't be propagated for profit , so l can't donate them to the charity shop. I've no idea if someone goes around charity shops checking ,but l wouldn't be surprised. I've never come across plants marked no propagation allowed before so did a search online. You learn something new every day! Look forward to seeing a photo of the pot.
@Purplerain that's a lovely story about your teacher and a nice gesture to buy the plant in his memory. You are forgiven Love the way the best foxglove was behind the bins. We plan the way things are going to look but Mother Nature has other ideas. Hope you manage to propagate it succesfully.
@Fran IOM l am trying to avoid the Secret garden site ! The coldframes are full with plants l divided yesterday and l still have to sort out foxglove sowing. I checked in my diary and last year l sowed them on 24th June so l still have a little time left. Trouble is, that sedum is very tempting and l do have a low pot......No !
Right, Mr B has been fed, Hedgehog left the cat biscuits again (forgot to crush them 🙄), time for breakfast and check the camera, then on with the day.
Good Morning all. Rain has stopped but still quite windy but the sun is out promising a good day. Surprise, surprise the keys aren't sticking this morning first time ever. Usually takes me a minute or two to type "Good" with the letter o being on the top line. Will keep my fingers crossed. Yesterday late afternoon it turned out to be really warm but I wasted so much time looking for my missing secateurs. Have others but not as sharp. They were nowhere on the allotment and I had an idea I put them in the container with the weeds in and then emptied that into a bag to take home to the bin. Sure enough that is exactly where they were! @nultyphilip224. Have been looking through the forum and on the thread referring to foxgloves "Mine's Massive.." a referral has been made to the Foxglove thread letting members know they have a while to go before it reaches the height of yours! If you don't enter your photos into the competition you can share them with others on the Wildlife Photos thread. You could be quite right about the other wood pigeon being a relation. He seemed quite welcome. How long will it take before Dragon's Blood turns red and what time of the year is it at its best? Must remember to water my hydrangeas if we get some drier weather but am sure they are well provided for with all this rain at the moment. Can remember your instruction regarding the rubble containers. You can get colourful ones in B&Q on a smaller scale. Didn't know you could play Scrabble on the computer. Winning a quarter of the time seems good to me. @Valley Gardener Bought an anniversary card yesterday with two hares hugging each other and it brought to mind your painting as it was in a very similar vein. The drawings are by Quentin Blake who I'm sure you have heard of but not all his drawings are to my taste. Looking forward to your Alpine rock planter. Hope the rain eases for you. @AnniD Has Mr B whistled for you yet? Well done on avoiding the SGC. I still have two other plants that I need to find room for. Bought one in the pound shop yesterday. Have no will power. @Purplerain Good luck with your foxglove cuttings. Mine is still alive! I am sure the others will come up with some ideas for colour in your pots. I would be useless. They look quite good as they are.
Have a good day all. Do hope that summer weather is around the corner.
@Purplerain Thanks for the heads up on Semi Hardy,I can't bring it inside,but will make sure it's all tucked up with fleece......come winter or even now it's so cold! I can see you have things there that should be flowering,your cornflowers are further ahead than mine. Id be inclined to go for a few begonias,they seem to take the rain in their stride,and flower on into Oct. Marigolds are a waste of time in this weather,mine have all rotted and dropped the flowers. My garden is sadly lacking colour as well,it's not helping having to cut stuff down that has broken with the weight of the rain. Nice Bronze Cordylines by the way.
The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.
The article says that Antirrhinums are half hardy, but as we know they are a lot tougher than they look. I put up the wrong foxglove pic this morning but I've done a few cuttings @Fran IOM so hopefully they will take. Yours sound promising.
Oh the pots are just so dull and slow this year @Valley Gardener I do have some begonias but they are taking forever. I might need to take a trip to the GC to look for something bright 😀. Although we haven't had your rain, it is all very cloudy and grey. It makes me sad 😞.
Posts
Sorry to see you have rain again,..it promised rain by the look of the sky here but it never happened,..it was sunny,..then dull,..with no breeze.
I can hardly keep up with the rate of growth and blooms just now and i must admit that yellow Rose ( Rosa 'Korresia' ) is blooming better than i can ever remember,..that dark Delphinium 'Bluebird' is a very dark blue and very soon it will be the main eye catcher when it is all in full bloom.
I discovered that the little B will come very close once i am sitting on the garden seat as compared to if i am standing,..it looks like a future hand feeding bird.
Ah yes Cats have the advantage of the claws over a dog be it small or big,..those claws can really sting.
That was a nice treat,..the Rock Plant Container,..yes do let us see how it looks,..like you i often think about that being illegal to take cuttings from certain plants,..doesn't make sense to have it on the tag,..people will take cuttings.
Little B is too trusting,..it comes back several times during the day and turns its back on the direction that ''Whisper'' arrives from,..there was a dead bird at the back door this morning and of course it had to be ''Whisper'' that left what was left of it,..i had to do a good check hoping it wasn't the Robin or little B,.. it was a relief discovering it was a young Sparrow Chick,..still one doesn't like to see that.
Ah yes i remember you posting about the Blackbird you hand reared,..you did a good job there,..not an easy job and a worry as well,..shame they fly away after it all,..oh yes i agree my Mr B gives that beady eye stare,..not a bit friendly,..at least he can sing a good song lol.
About the Digitalis 'Foxgloves',..as yours are later than mine there should be side shoots showing now or very soon,..the side shoot is where my finger is pointing in the image below,..the main stem is left of it,..the best time to cut one off is when the side shoot has some stem below its leaves,..if not then you are just cutting off leaves,..as you can see there is a nice gap between the leaves and the end of the side shoot.
I root mine in seed compost,..you could do so in water but its quicker in seed compost,..of course i know you don't use Rooting Powder
Not to worry about asking again,..searching back is a hell of a chore plus posting about it again might encourage others to increase stock this way.
I see you are having bad weather as well,..i hope it cleared for you by afternoon,..i hate it when its wet plus a strong wind,..plants get waterlogged and top heavy,..Foxgloves in particular.
Interesting about your Pigeons turning up with three adults and the chicks,..maybe the other adult was a last years chick to the two parents,..just a thought as they didn't chase off the intruder.
Congrats on getting your Sedum 'Dragons Blood',..also getting a flattish container,..i have a lovely blue glazed container that would really suit it when it goes red,..at present i have Black Mondo Grass in it,..looks good but i must change it to 'Dragons Blood'.
Hydrangeas are never as they seem,..that's always said about them because of the colour change be it from a garden with iron or aluminium or rusty nails tin cans Lemon juice coffee grinds the list goes on and on and varying colours as a result,..i have four established ones and two about a Metre high that i must get rid of,..they are in the growing area in large pots,..one thing about Hydrangeas they thrive on regular watering,..during last Summer when it was VERY warm i had to water mine every day,..early mornings,.. as the leaves would droop by early afternoon,..they are in those Builders Rubble Containers,..with gravel inside about two inches deep,..and drainage holes just above the gravel.
Ohhhhh not using the computer for two days after a cleaning or air blast,..would be a nightmare,..that's why i have more than one computer,..i am always wondering could i do something on the computer that seems logical to me,..then the computer has other ideas,..like if one plays Scrabble against the computer,..it has different levels of play and its hard to beat it but i do about quarter of the time,..that's without cheating it,..give it a word that its not familiar with and it asks,..are you sure that's a word',..of course lol.
Again some beautiful images. The wildlife pics are so close and detailed,you should go in for competitions....Country File springs to mind. Just look at those shiny little blackbird legs 😊 I love the Swans and their young,what a lovely time of year for it,if a bit precarious. Yes that black cloud looked threatening,you were lucky to get away with it.
Are those fishing platforms? Amazed no one is using them if it is.
We have again woken to heavy thundery rain,and I've been out in it to move the ground feeding dish.......too many babies sitting in and around it waiting for the parents to feed them,Cush has been lurking,so it's now on top of the wall,and I'm soaked again!
The rock plants I got........Sedora sunsparkler blue elf. That's the hybrid.
Delosperma. Jewel of the Desert Topaz.
Plus a Veronica repens.
Two are semi hardy,what does that mean?
Well it looks like a day in folks,can't believe this weather.
Have a good day all,whether you are in or out!
So, I was looking at my collection of pots and need some colour. Any ideas?
@Valley Gardener Semi hardy means that they need protecting over Winter, so if you have them in pots bring them in.
@AnniD and @Fran IOM I don't know what your weather is like but have a good day whatever you decide to do.
@nultyphilip224 Loved the hedgehog one, and Foxy Molly (of course). How close did you get to the swans and their cygnets ? I know they can get very aggressive and have been known to break people's arms, they are so powerful.
With regard to cleaning out the hedgehog house, l don't know how often you do it, but it doesn't need doing all that often, just twice a year is enough. Around April and October, depends on the weather .
OH has got ours out before now and we've lifted the lid to find a spiky occupant fast asleep. We just put the lid back and put it out of the way and try again the next day. It's easy here because there is at least one other box around the area and of course they don't always use them every night.
Bit of info here if it's of any use
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/cleaning-out-boxes/
@Valley Gardener you've got some nice plants there . I have seen plants marked PBR (plant breeders rights) which means they can't be propagated for profit , so l can't donate them to the charity shop. I've no idea if someone goes around charity shops checking ,but l wouldn't be surprised. I've never come across plants marked no propagation allowed before so did a search online. You learn something new every day! Look forward to seeing a photo of the pot.
@Purplerain that's a lovely story about your teacher and a nice gesture to buy the plant in his memory. You are forgiven
@Fran IOM l am trying to avoid the Secret garden site ! The coldframes are full with plants l divided yesterday and l still have to sort out foxglove sowing. I checked in my diary and last year l sowed them on 24th June so l still have a little time left. Trouble is, that sedum is very tempting and l do have a low pot......No !
Right, Mr B has been fed, Hedgehog left the cat biscuits again (forgot to crush them 🙄), time for breakfast and check the camera, then on with the day.
Laters x
Rain has stopped but still quite windy but the sun is out promising a good day.
Surprise, surprise the keys aren't sticking this morning first time ever. Usually takes me a minute or two to type "Good" with the letter o being on the top line. Will keep my fingers crossed. Yesterday late afternoon it turned out to be really warm but I wasted so much time looking for my missing secateurs. Have others but not as sharp. They were nowhere on the allotment and I had an idea I put them in the container with the weeds in and then emptied that into a bag to take home to the bin. Sure enough that is exactly where they were!
@nultyphilip224. Have been looking through the forum and on the thread referring to foxgloves "Mine's Massive.." a referral has been made to the Foxglove thread letting members know they have a while to go before it reaches the height of yours! If you don't enter your photos into the competition you can share them with others on the Wildlife Photos thread. You could be quite right about the other wood pigeon being a relation. He seemed quite welcome. How long will it take before Dragon's Blood turns red and what time of the year is it at its best? Must remember to water my hydrangeas if we get some drier weather but am sure they are well provided for with all this rain at the moment. Can remember your instruction regarding the rubble containers. You can get colourful ones in B&Q on a smaller scale. Didn't know you could play Scrabble on the computer. Winning a quarter of the time seems good to me.
@Valley Gardener Bought an anniversary card yesterday with two hares hugging each other and it brought to mind your painting as it was in a very similar vein. The drawings are by Quentin Blake who I'm sure you have heard of but not all his drawings are to my taste. Looking forward to your Alpine rock planter. Hope the rain eases for you.
@AnniD Has Mr B whistled for you yet? Well done on avoiding the SGC. I still have two other plants that I need to find room for. Bought one in the pound shop yesterday. Have no will power.
@Purplerain Good luck with your foxglove cuttings. Mine is still alive! I am sure the others will come up with some ideas for colour in your pots. I would be useless. They look quite good as they are.
Have a good day all. Do hope that summer weather is around the corner.
I can see you have things there that should be flowering,your cornflowers are further ahead than mine. Id be inclined to go for a few begonias,they seem to take the rain in their stride,and flower on into Oct. Marigolds are a waste of time in this weather,mine have all rotted and dropped the flowers. My garden is sadly lacking colour as well,it's not helping having to cut stuff down that has broken with the weight of the rain.
Nice Bronze Cordylines by the way.
https://www.gardenseeker.co.uk/gardening/flowers/half_hardy_perennials.htm
The article says that Antirrhinums are half hardy, but as we know they are a lot tougher than they look. I put up the wrong foxglove pic this morning but I've done a few cuttings @Fran IOM so hopefully they will take. Yours sound promising.
Oh the pots are just so dull and slow this year @Valley Gardener I do have some begonias but they are taking forever. I might need to take a trip to the GC to look for something bright 😀. Although we haven't had your rain, it is all very cloudy and grey. It makes me sad 😞.