I have the same waterbutt @Nollie, featured below! If it's any assistance @Mr. Vine Eye I replaced a 100 litre slimline in this same spot and seems to take up the same amount of ground space. Obviously it's a non-dunk but the tap is huge and I find flow rate really good, to the point I use a large tub underneath instead of a can. I keep meaning to measure up and see if I can fit another in the little yard on the right. This bed used to be excessively autumnal, flowering wise, so I've been increasing the Spring interest and added another 7 roses dotted about. It's the only bed (rest are borders due to garden width) so needs to work harder as it's more of a feature. I'm probably going to add one more rose at the back end and will continue to critique! From another angle, my image resizer makes it a bit fuzzy, sorry. From front to pole, Mrs Oakley Fisher (red foliage), Night Owl (fresh green), Westerland (brownish) and Rhapsody in Blue (tall green). The Poet's Wife just about visible on the right under the table.
Two bits of non-rose good news, I found a hedgehog collecting nesting material in the garden this AM although it was taking the bits under next doors decking. I also think a bumble bee might have a nest in wildlife heap 4, route in and out seemed too direct to be scouting and she was in there quite a while so will keep an eye on that. Wildlife heap 4 at rear, and for rose interest, front centre, Leah Tutu, centre, Fountain (red foliage) which I'm going to replace with LD Braithwaite where the cane is. Behind the cane is Goldbusch starting its second year and behind the stumps species rugosa, pink which I chopped back to the ground the other year intending to dig out but lost my enthusiasm.
Funny we should be talking about water butts I have got my patio sorted for rainwater this last winter. I like dunking too so the butts are set high enough to get a wide trug underneath which I keep full for dunking (different can). Mine is on wheels because I like to drag it to the pots.
I've also ordered this 200lt one because I want rainwater on my balcony now I've migrated 5 potted roses up there, our mains water is really hard. Now it just has to actually rain because I am watering like mad already.My Ab Fab bought potted last summer, in a sunny spot looks like this today
Over 100 posts to catch up on made for a lovely Sunday morning read. Really great to see what others have been buying and I was another guilty one and placed an order with Macplants. I ordered 3 Hakenechloa macra 'Aureola' that I've been wanting for a while for the shadier part of the garden.
Yesterday we went to Burncoose Nurseries and got 2 Ceanothus Skylark, 1 Sambucus racemosa 'Sutherland Gold', 4 lavandula Felice for the side of the chicken coop and 2 Skimmia for shade.
Eustacia Vye is looking nice. As is Royal Jubilee.
Also one of the jobs I did yesterday was to dig out the old dead Wisteria roots. I have to admit I did end up on my backside a couple of times Luckily Charlie chicken was in front of me and not behind.
So I now need something to grow up that side of the arch. The other side has Clematis Mayleen growing up but I'm not sure what to put on this other side. Since demolishing the old wooden chicken coop my Ghislaine de Feligonde has nothing to grow over so I wondered whether that would work or whether I should get another Clematis or whether a different climbing rose would be better. Any suggestions would be great.
No green water butt in that style available @Marlorena, but actually I rather like the beige there, blends with the wall better and will do more so when I remove the black webbing, a temporary fix.
Ah, thats useful you have the same one @Victoria Sponge you could answer some queries for me! One was the flexible rubber collector inside the drainpipe, does it fill quickly with that? I wondered how much rain would bypass it and go straight down the drain. Or did you fit your drainpipe straight through the top access hole? The other thing was how on earth do you clean out the gungey water below the tap, as there seems no easy way of doing that?
Enjoying everyone’s spring planting, there is a distinct lack of that in mine. Perennials do start earlier here, but I’m feeling the lack..
This is my Ab Fab for comparison purposes, could well be it, but it depends what else you might have mixed it up with @peteS, if you tell us what the options are it might be easier to say rule it in or out.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Mrs OF does have great early foliage @Marlorena, I don't remember it particularly in its first year last year but it did get caterpillared straightaway so I might have overlooked it. I added Leah Tutu to my winter order from Lens, I noticed it was cheaper than Beales. I'll post a photo when it progresses, I'm currently trying to keep it from getting swamped in Allium leaves.
To tell the truth @Nollie, I bodged the installation of that water butt. When I measured the space before buying it seemed like I could connect through the downpipe but it turned out to be too tall. I ended up putting the spout from the gutter inside the butt through the lid at the top and making a contraption of a cover using the collar from the lid and some thick plastic sheeting to stop things falling in. As for the gunge in the bottom, with how I've installed it, I could just undo the top, pull it away and swill it out. Having said that, I have two 650 litre butts on the side of the house which are designed in the same way with a sort of gunge sump. I put them together properly and haven't the least intention of ever taking them apart and cleaning them out, it was difficult enough putting them in place to start with.
Editing to say, Charlie chicken looks like fun @poppyfield64, I love how friendly and curious hens are.
I went to Scampston today and I think I found that robust mature Munstead Wood that I've spoken about being here before.
I showed a photo last year but they were all in-between flowers so I was going from memory of where it was when I had seen it last in flower.
I looked at the one I said was Munstead and while it looked very similar - the new leaf colouration was subtly different and because they had not properly leafed yet, only just starting to, I couldn't really tell one way or the other see here:
Anyway - this other one definitley is Munstead Wood:
Very upright and sturdy isn't it, 4.5ft
I'm just confused because they've either moved it, or that first rose is also Munstead Wood, or my memory of where I found it that first time is incorrect...and that's very hard for me to accept! 😅
I just uncovered my outside, fleeced, lidded, huge pots of dahlias and found I have lost nearly all of them. This is the first time it has happened since I have been growing them. Feeling gutted.
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This bed used to be excessively autumnal, flowering wise, so I've been increasing the Spring interest and added another 7 roses dotted about. It's the only bed (rest are borders due to garden width) so needs to work harder as it's more of a feature. I'm probably going to add one more rose at the back end and will continue to critique!
From another angle, my image resizer makes it a bit fuzzy, sorry. From front to pole, Mrs Oakley Fisher (red foliage), Night Owl (fresh green), Westerland (brownish) and Rhapsody in Blue (tall green). The Poet's Wife just about visible on the right under the table.
Two bits of non-rose good news, I found a hedgehog collecting nesting material in the garden this AM although it was taking the bits under next doors decking. I also think a bumble bee might have a nest in wildlife heap 4, route in and out seemed too direct to be scouting and she was in there quite a while so will keep an eye on that.
Wildlife heap 4 at rear, and for rose interest, front centre, Leah Tutu, centre, Fountain (red foliage) which I'm going to replace with LD Braithwaite where the cane is. Behind the cane is Goldbusch starting its second year and behind the stumps species rugosa, pink which I chopped back to the ground the other year intending to dig out but lost my enthusiasm.
... Mrs O Fisher has great foliage doesn't it? in Spring.. I loved that about this rose...
I didn't know you had Leah Tutu, it's one I've had my eyes on for some time, so look forward to seeing that one later on..
Yesterday we went to Burncoose Nurseries and got 2 Ceanothus Skylark, 1 Sambucus racemosa 'Sutherland Gold', 4 lavandula Felice for the side of the chicken coop and 2 Skimmia for shade.
Eustacia Vye is looking nice.
As is Royal Jubilee.
So I now need something to grow up that side of the arch. The other side has Clematis Mayleen growing up but I'm not sure what to put on this other side. Since demolishing the old wooden chicken coop my Ghislaine de Feligonde has nothing to grow over so I wondered whether that would work or whether I should get another Clematis or whether a different climbing rose would be better. Any suggestions would be great.
Ah, thats useful you have the same one @Victoria Sponge you could answer some queries for me! One was the flexible rubber collector inside the drainpipe, does it fill quickly with that? I wondered how much rain would bypass it and go straight down the drain. Or did you fit your drainpipe straight through the top access hole? The other thing was how on earth do you clean out the gungey water below the tap, as there seems no easy way of doing that?
Enjoying everyone’s spring planting, there is a distinct lack of that in mine. Perennials do start earlier here, but I’m feeling the lack..
This is my Ab Fab for comparison purposes, could well be it, but it depends what else you might have mixed it up with @peteS, if you tell us what the options are it might be easier to say rule it in or out.
To tell the truth @Nollie, I bodged the installation of that water butt. When I measured the space before buying it seemed like I could connect through the downpipe but it turned out to be too tall. I ended up putting the spout from the gutter inside the butt through the lid at the top and making a contraption of a cover using the collar from the lid and some thick plastic sheeting to stop things falling in. As for the gunge in the bottom, with how I've installed it, I could just undo the top, pull it away and swill it out. Having said that, I have two 650 litre butts on the side of the house which are designed in the same way with a sort of gunge sump. I put them together properly and haven't the least intention of ever taking them apart and cleaning them out, it was difficult enough putting them in place to start with.
Editing to say, Charlie chicken looks like fun @poppyfield64, I love how friendly and curious hens are.
I showed a photo last year but they were all in-between flowers so I was going from memory of where it was when I had seen it last in flower.
I looked at the one I said was Munstead and while it looked very similar - the new leaf colouration was subtly different and because they had not properly leafed yet, only just starting to, I couldn't really tell one way or the other see here:
Anyway - this other one definitley is Munstead Wood:
Very upright and sturdy isn't it, 4.5ft
I'm just confused because they've either moved it, or that first rose is also Munstead Wood, or my memory of where I found it that first time is incorrect...and that's very hard for me to accept! 😅