A very late good morning to you all. I have actually been up and about since 6.30, but had to organise a little girl for school although I don't normally have to do this. I also had to spend time planning and emailing lots of people for a day out in late August. I do try to avoid this sort if thing but sometimes there is no escaping it.
@nultyphilip224 I think your little B is a girl for sure. She looks and behaves exactly like mine did. Maybe the females are friendlier, but I do worry about her with Whisper around. I bet you do too. You got some lovely poses from her. I hope you enjoyed your visitors, and like @AnniD I had not heard of Ogham writing. I have moved the pots around and added a orange/gold calla lily against the purple, as it was ready to go out. It looks a little better but not great.
The weather here is coldish, windyish and sunnyish, but put together more like a day in April rather than June. I can sense your frustration @Valley Gardener with all the damage in your garden. On the subject of lupins, the only time I had those great big horrible aphids was on a three year old lupin. It really put me off growing them, but discovered that if I replace them with new plants every second year they don't attack. I grow some new ones every year now to take over from the ones I pull out.
@Fran IOM I would love to know what the silly things you don't normally do are 😀. I am sorry you are suffering from slugs. Those little sods decimated a dahlia to a skeleton before I dealt with the matter effectively yesterday(Slug pellets, and I'm not ashamed to sprinkle a few when required).
@AnniD that is a lovely image of hedgehog. Somehow, he just looks so vulnerable and it's great that you look after him so well. It's ironic that I should mention slug pellets and hedgehogs in the same post, but Philip experimented some time back and the hogs did not touch the pellets. It's a dilemma I suppose, but as I don't get hedgehogs I don't mind putting a few down now and again.
Anyway, I better get on as it is almost afternoon now. Enjoy the rest of your day.
@Valley Gardener One year I had some rather nice lupins only to find that a slug or maybe snail had crawled up the stems eaten halfway causing it to collapse. Those I planted this year just don't seem to be getting established. I have one Penstemon which has done very well. The flowers are purple and not very showy yet but plenty of foliage. Hope washing finished and another coffee maybe. @AnniD. Very clear photos of Mr H considering it's night time. Just taking some water to wash the food down. Hope you remembered to grind (?) it. Never seen the suet pellets. Are they especially for birds? Harry Redknapp also spends £40 a week on bird food! @Purplerain So glad to hear that you are inclined to use slug pellets in dire circumstances. I was very tempted yesterday but held off but now I don't feel so bad so maybe one or two this afternoon depending on what I find. Silly things? As my mobile is an old one I was trying to text with the remote control for the tv. Today I seem to be a bit more sensible so far...
@Fran IOM Last couple of nights I have forgotten to crush the cat biscuits, night before last untouched, last night he scoffed the lot. Bless. I have taken a photo of Mr B's restaurant Kitchen so you can see what I mean - I also took a few photos of the garden -
Thanks @Purplerain, he was a 40th birthday present from my mum and dad (so only a couple of years old ). It's raining again, surprisingly 🙄, but managed to get quite a bit done (posted on the Anyone done....thread). Hope you got all your organising done, it's satisfying when it's all completed isn't it? With regard to slug pellets, obviously l only use them if absolutely necessary, but it's very difficult when planting things like dahlias. I have planted some in the last couple of days and put a few around each plant. l felt justified when l tipped one out of it's pot to find one of those great big orange ones - yuk ! I think hedgehogs tend to go for the small black slugs, they are the ones that are supposed to cause the most damage. The pellets l use are designed so that the slugs don't lie around, they disappear to die. Must admit l haven't found any dead slugs or snails lying about, so presumably it works. I always remember going round to a friend's garden for a barbecue, she'd put slug pellets in little piles all over the place. I had to explain that less is more in this case !
@AnniD Think @Purplerain and I will be looking out for an owl like yours. I do hope Mr B appreciates his restaurant. I thought at first that the label on the container was the menu with terms and conditions! Didn't think you would go to those lengths! You seem to have a lot of colour in your garden and lovely geraniums(?). Have just got back from the allotment (beautiful weather) and found so many slugs hiding that I had to bite the bullet and get out some slug pellets. (Don't have any hedgehogs.) It's hard to shake a few out at a time. Just a reminder that Carol is on tonight 9pm with Great British Gardens.
Some info about Ogham Stones and Ogham writing,..as you will see the writing is on an edge,..reading from bottom left of a stone then down the opposite side,..of course the letters refer to Gaelic Language in about 400 AD.
I slide open the Sitting Room door first thing every morning and then proceed to get dressed,..when i came out of the Bedroom there was little B standing well inside the Sitting Room,..luckily ''Whisper'' hadn't turned up at that time for breakfast,..this was about 07.30,..i had to tell Foxy Molly to Stay,..then went outside with little B,..gave her some food and closed the door,..so no more opening the door in the mornings,..as for the remainder of the day,..fingers crossed.
That Fox is its own enemy upending bins and strewing trash all over the place,..Bin Lids will have to be more secured,..reminds me of friends in Utah and the resorts they had to go to preventing Bears from upending Bins,..heavy self locking lids that took two hands to open one.
Your Hedgehog remains around up to daylight,..very hard to time them appearing,..mine turn up now around the 0200 mark,..it used to be around 10.00.
A nice clear sky almost at 07.30 this morning.
Antirrhinum,..using the Phone Camera.
Cape Fuchsia Phygelius 'Funfare Oranage' growing in the rose bush.
Most people admire the bloom on that Voodoo Lily but its the foliage that draws me as its very tropical looking with its huge leaves and height,..that Acid Yellow Iris is an 'Iris pseudacorus',..very hardy and invasive so they are kept in a container with very moist soil,..some people use them alongside or practically in a pond as that's where they thrive,..i picked up mine on a river walk last Summer.
We are almost dead centre in the Country here so the sea is approx 150 mile away,..i would prefer to be nearer the sea as the fish are more edible compared to freshwater fish,..though its good sport when one catches a 20 pounder,..i catch and release now but at one time what i caught was for the pot,..boating here offers a very long journey either up river or down as the river travels through several big lakes,..the nearest only a half mile away is 12 mile wide and 15 mile long,..that in itself would take some time to investigate its entire area and islands.
Sorry you are having such horrible weather and the damage to your garden plants,..it would put many gardeners off gardening.
Some garden views captured around 07.30 this morning,..not so good as captured with the Phone Camera.
Another warm day,..dark clouds did pass over around noon but no rain,..i have not heard the news so know nothing about Storm coming along,..touch wood they miss here if they are about.
Yes little B has become very tame and also a constant worry,..as i mentioned to @AnniD ,..i left the Sitting Room door open and went into the Bedroom,..as i was coming out there was little B inside the Sitting Room,..panic of course as to where was ''Whisper'' and Foxy Molly wouldn't be the safest critter to confront little B,..gave her snacks outside.
Yes its a female,..as for the parents,..i would say they went their own way as little B would take up a lot of room in a nest and maybe there were more chicks,..more than likely.
Its almost midnight so you can well imagine why i seldom manage to search through the Threads,..i am not sleepy but tired yes,..its a long day since 06.30 this morning.
Foxy Molly is great with visitors and people we meet outside,..she is very friendly and wants to jump on laps,..which is what she was doing with my visitors though they loved the attention.
Sedum 'Dragons Blood' captured this morning,..needs more sun to get really red.
So doing silly things lol,..i get those days,..but you have to laugh at how silly,..cooked the veg and potatoes,..placed them on the dinner plate,..then it hit me,..forgot to grill the Lamb Chops,..ahhhh multitasking lol.
We were up and about around the same time,..where as you had to organise the little girl for school and send all those emails,.. i just ran out of sleep and hate looking at the ceiling,..best to get up and out.
Ah yes little B is a girl,..i had to check on that as i had presumed i was befriending a Thrush,..you could be right about the females being friendlier,..however now i have an extra worry,..i would hate to see something happen to her at the same time how could one shoo her away?,..i will just have to make double sure ''Whisper'' is not around.
Because i have reduced the garden pests each year there wouldn't be a build up of them and so a little Neem Oil Mix often,.. eliminates the odd one in the garden plus the visiting ones,..When the Hedgehogs are hibernating i use Slug Pellets,..until they are about to come out of hibernating then its Neem Oil time,..there are several Safe to use Slug Pellets,..which are safe with Humans Pets and Wildlife,..one happens to be an Irish Product,..i will use that this Winter and so the cycle begins again,..nothing in the garden in the way of pests,..BUT i spotted Ants this morning,..so i will have to spray them.
If we were to rely on nature to help us out we would be in a very bad way,..i grew all kinds of Organic Veg,..Carrot Fly will arrive,..Black Flies that attack Beans,..Blight has to be sprayed against,.. Cabbage have to be protected from Caterpillars unless one has lots of netting,..they can eat a lot of cabbage and destroy it against selling,..one hears people saying so and so said nature would look after your garden,..i have waited for 75 years to see that happen,..looks like i failed to see it come about.
Phone Camera Shots,..fish can be seen if one looks close,..Large Perch.
Back to the garden,..Hydrangeas starting to bloom.
Posts
@nultyphilip224 I think your little B is a girl for sure. She looks and behaves exactly like mine did. Maybe the females are friendlier, but I do worry about her with Whisper around. I bet you do too. You got some lovely poses from her. I hope you enjoyed your visitors, and like @AnniD I had not heard of Ogham writing. I have moved the pots around and added a orange/gold calla lily against the purple, as it was ready to go out. It looks a little better but not great.
The weather here is coldish, windyish and sunnyish, but put together more like a day in April rather than June. I can sense your frustration @Valley Gardener with all the damage in your garden. On the subject of lupins, the only time I had those great big horrible aphids was on a three year old lupin. It really put me off growing them, but discovered that if I replace them with new plants every second year they don't attack. I grow some new ones every year now to take over from the ones I pull out.
@Fran IOM I would love to know what the silly things you don't normally do are 😀. I am sorry you are suffering from slugs. Those little sods decimated a dahlia to a skeleton before I dealt with the matter effectively yesterday(Slug pellets, and I'm not ashamed to sprinkle a few when required).
@AnniD that is a lovely image of hedgehog. Somehow, he just looks so vulnerable and it's great that you look after him so well. It's ironic that I should mention slug pellets and hedgehogs in the same post, but Philip experimented some time back and the hogs did not touch the pellets. It's a dilemma I suppose, but as I don't get hedgehogs I don't mind putting a few down now and again.
Anyway, I better get on as it is almost afternoon now. Enjoy the rest of your day.
@AnniD. Very clear photos of Mr H considering it's night time. Just taking some water to wash the food down. Hope you remembered to grind (?) it. Never seen the suet pellets. Are they especially for birds? Harry Redknapp also spends £40 a week on bird food!
@Purplerain So glad to hear that you are inclined to use slug pellets in dire circumstances. I was very tempted yesterday but held off but now I don't feel so bad so maybe one or two this afternoon depending on what I find. Silly things? As my mobile is an old one I was trying to text with the remote control for the tv.
I have taken a photo of Mr B's restaurant Kitchen so you can see what I mean - I also took a few photos of the garden -
It's raining again, surprisingly 🙄, but managed to get quite a bit done (posted on the Anyone done....thread).
Hope you got all your organising done, it's satisfying when it's all completed isn't it?
With regard to slug pellets, obviously l only use them if absolutely necessary, but it's very difficult when planting things like dahlias. I have planted some in the last couple of days and put a few around each plant. l felt justified when l tipped one out of it's pot to find one of those great big orange ones - yuk ! I think hedgehogs tend to go for the small black slugs, they are the ones that are supposed to cause the most damage. The pellets l use are designed so that the slugs don't lie around, they disappear to die. Must admit l haven't found any dead slugs or snails lying about, so presumably it works. I always remember going round to a friend's garden for a barbecue, she'd put slug pellets in little piles all over the place. I had to explain that less is more in this case !
Just a reminder that Carol is on tonight 9pm with Great British Gardens.
Enjoy your evening.
Some info about Ogham Stones and Ogham writing,..as you will see the writing is on an edge,..reading from bottom left of a stone then down the opposite side,..of course the letters refer to Gaelic Language in about 400 AD.
Ogham Stones of Ireland
I slide open the Sitting Room door first thing every morning and then proceed to get dressed,..when i came out of the Bedroom there was little B standing well inside the Sitting Room,..luckily ''Whisper'' hadn't turned up at that time for breakfast,..this was about 07.30,..i had to tell Foxy Molly to Stay,..then went outside with little B,..gave her some food and closed the door,..so no more opening the door in the mornings,..as for the remainder of the day,..fingers crossed.
That Fox is its own enemy upending bins and strewing trash all over the place,..Bin Lids will have to be more secured,..reminds me of friends in Utah and the resorts they had to go to preventing Bears from upending Bins,..heavy self locking lids that took two hands to open one.
Your Hedgehog remains around up to daylight,..very hard to time them appearing,..mine turn up now around the 0200 mark,..it used to be around 10.00.
A nice clear sky almost at 07.30 this morning.
Antirrhinum,..using the Phone Camera.
Cape Fuchsia Phygelius 'Funfare Oranage' growing in the rose bush.
Most people admire the bloom on that Voodoo Lily but its the foliage that draws me as its very tropical looking with its huge leaves and height,..that Acid Yellow Iris is an 'Iris pseudacorus',..very hardy and invasive so they are kept in a container with very moist soil,..some people use them alongside or practically in a pond as that's where they thrive,..i picked up mine on a river walk last Summer.
We are almost dead centre in the Country here so the sea is approx 150 mile away,..i would prefer to be nearer the sea as the fish are more edible compared to freshwater fish,..though its good sport when one catches a 20 pounder,..i catch and release now but at one time what i caught was for the pot,..boating here offers a very long journey either up river or down as the river travels through several big lakes,..the nearest only a half mile away is 12 mile wide and 15 mile long,..that in itself would take some time to investigate its entire area and islands.
Sorry you are having such horrible weather and the damage to your garden plants,..it would put many gardeners off gardening.
Some garden views captured around 07.30 this morning,..not so good as captured with the Phone Camera.
Looking skyward at Clematis 'Dorothy Walton'.
The leaning 'Spanish Bayonet Tree'
Another warm day,..dark clouds did pass over around noon but no rain,..i have not heard the news so know nothing about Storm coming along,..touch wood they miss here if they are about.
Yes little B has become very tame and also a constant worry,..as i mentioned to @AnniD ,..i left the Sitting Room door open and went into the Bedroom,..as i was coming out there was little B inside the Sitting Room,..panic of course as to where was ''Whisper'' and Foxy Molly wouldn't be the safest critter to confront little B,..gave her snacks outside.
Yes its a female,..as for the parents,..i would say they went their own way as little B would take up a lot of room in a nest and maybe there were more chicks,..more than likely.
Its almost midnight so you can well imagine why i seldom manage to search through the Threads,..i am not sleepy but tired yes,..its a long day since 06.30 this morning.
Foxy Molly is great with visitors and people we meet outside,..she is very friendly and wants to jump on laps,..which is what she was doing with my visitors though they loved the attention.
Sedum 'Dragons Blood' captured this morning,..needs more sun to get really red.
So doing silly things lol,..i get those days,..but you have to laugh at how silly,..cooked the veg and potatoes,..placed them on the dinner plate,..then it hit me,..forgot to grill the Lamb Chops,..ahhhh multitasking lol.
We were up and about around the same time,..where as you had to organise the little girl for school and send all those emails,.. i just ran out of sleep and hate looking at the ceiling,..best to get up and out.
Ah yes little B is a girl,..i had to check on that as i had presumed i was befriending a Thrush,..you could be right about the females being friendlier,..however now i have an extra worry,..i would hate to see something happen to her at the same time how could one shoo her away?,..i will just have to make double sure ''Whisper'' is not around.
Because i have reduced the garden pests each year there wouldn't be a build up of them and so a little Neem Oil Mix often,.. eliminates the odd one in the garden plus the visiting ones,..When the Hedgehogs are hibernating i use Slug Pellets,..until they are about to come out of hibernating then its Neem Oil time,..there are several Safe to use Slug Pellets,..which are safe with Humans Pets and Wildlife,..one happens to be an Irish Product,..i will use that this Winter and so the cycle begins again,..nothing in the garden in the way of pests,..BUT i spotted Ants this morning,..so i will have to spray them.
If we were to rely on nature to help us out we would be in a very bad way,..i grew all kinds of Organic Veg,..Carrot Fly will arrive,..Black Flies that attack Beans,..Blight has to be sprayed against,.. Cabbage have to be protected from Caterpillars unless one has lots of netting,..they can eat a lot of cabbage and destroy it against selling,..one hears people saying so and so said nature would look after your garden,..i have waited for 75 years to see that happen,..looks like i failed to see it come about.
Phone Camera Shots,..fish can be seen if one looks close,..Large Perch.
Back to the garden,..Hydrangeas starting to bloom.