Another lovely day for gardening and more to follow according to the forecast for Bristol. My visitor of yesterday brought lots of food presents so no need to go shopping. It is lovely to be saved time for gardening.
I've been wondering what to do with my tibouchina (bought from Lidl this year) which has developed into quite a large shrub and is covered in buds. It's still outside on the patio but reckon it should be coming indoors soon. Any advice on how hot/cold it might like to be?
Then like you I will be struggling for space in my lobby as I bring in the geraniums. I'm too much of a softy to throw out plants that are in full flower!
They do not like it too hot but where you put your geraniums should be fine. They like a light position to open their buds. I have 13 buds on mine now and they all look as if they will be open by the end of the week. The leaves are beautiful too when they turn red after flowering is over. Nice to hear from you, Gardening Granny.
What more could a gardener want ! Blue skies as far as the eye can see, sunshine, temperature to go up to 18 and no rainfall forecast till through the night. Does not seem possible that November is round the corner on Saturday. No doubt there will be more spring flowers duped into flowering this week in my garden and the late sown annuals will just carry on as if it is the height of summer still. Yesterday in the garden the illusion was carried on by the birds. They were very vocal indeed. Some of it was them chiding me for disturbing them with my pruning. The blackbirds are relishing the bounteous berries in the ivy thickets; the starlings are getting drunk on fallen apples which are fermenting .I join in by munching at a sweetcorn or gobbling grapes.
It has been rather wet overnight in Bristol but dry and cloudy now with forecast for rain most of the day so may give the garden a miss outside today and concentrate on the conservatory. I really must make room for more tender subjects that need to come in soon and there is a lot of pricking out of perennials to do. I have started putting pots of gazanias into the cold frame to see whether they will survive till next year there but will bring one basketful into the conservatory to be safe, They are still flowering . When i went out to an AGS Committee meeting last night I left the lights on in the conservatory to make it look like someone was home and it did look beautiful so must try and get a nighttime picture of it. As my friend said when she saw it "That makes all the hard work worthwhile".
I emptied the potato planter of its "Xmas" potatoes as all the haulms were spent and got 1 kilo of admittedly gorgeous new potatoes but will not be repeating this experiment. Such a tiny crop cannot have depleted the compost much so I will use it in big pots of tulips for the spring.
Getting dark now so gave in as I did not come in for lunch but ate it in the garden from the garden. I did feel like a hunter - gatherer with my two corn cobs, bunch of grapes,CharlesRoss apple and two large red strawberries, but quite replete and able to do much more work. Before the light went I took some pictures . I found three pea flowers on my new Pea meteor plants i am trialling for Mr. Fothergills Nation of Gardeners. The winter jasmine is going to be covered in its yellow flowers this November. The roses are still delightful and what a year it is for red berries! Oh and I have blue mushrooms.
Oh my such a weather forecast for today in Bristol. It could be the middle of summer except the length of the daylight hours. No excuse not to have a wonderful start to the garden in spring next year. Everything done now will save time then. I started planting my tulips yesterday. At 50 per day they should all be planted this year! Late sowing of salads, annuals, perennials as instructed by Mr. Fothergills for their trials means the garden too looks like it is midsummer and some of the roses like "Generous Gardener" and "Iceberg"are still covered with buds. I normally rely on my very old Queen Mother roses for a bunch at Xmas but it looks like I may have a mixed bunch this year.
Posts
Another lovely day for gardening and more to follow according to the forecast for Bristol. My visitor of yesterday brought lots of food presents so no need to go shopping. It is lovely to be saved time for gardening.
Three buds open on my tibouchina today. I can see why its common name is the Princess Plant. It is definitely the royal purple.
And in close up.
I've been wondering what to do with my tibouchina (bought from Lidl this year) which has developed into quite a large shrub and is covered in buds. It's still outside on the patio but reckon it should be coming indoors soon. Any advice on how hot/cold it might like to be?
Then like you I will be struggling for space in my lobby as I bring in the geraniums. I'm too much of a softy to throw out plants that are in full flower!
They do not like it too hot but where you put your geraniums should be fine. They like a light position to open their buds. I have 13 buds on mine now and they all look as if they will be open by the end of the week. The leaves are beautiful too when they turn red after flowering is over. Nice to hear from you, Gardening Granny.
What more could a gardener want ! Blue skies as far as the eye can see, sunshine, temperature to go up to 18 and no rainfall forecast till through the night. Does not seem possible that November is round the corner on Saturday. No doubt there will be more spring flowers duped into flowering this week in my garden and the late sown annuals will just carry on as if it is the height of summer still. Yesterday in the garden the illusion was carried on by the birds. They were very vocal indeed. Some of it was them chiding me for disturbing them with my pruning. The blackbirds are relishing the bounteous berries in the ivy thickets; the starlings are getting drunk on fallen apples which are fermenting .I join in by munching at a sweetcorn or gobbling grapes.
It has been rather wet overnight in Bristol but dry and cloudy now with forecast for rain most of the day so may give the garden a miss outside today and concentrate on the conservatory. I really must make room for more tender subjects that need to come in soon and there is a lot of pricking out of perennials to do. I have started putting pots of gazanias into the cold frame to see whether they will survive till next year there but will bring one basketful into the conservatory to be safe, They are still flowering . When i went out to an AGS Committee meeting last night I left the lights on in the conservatory to make it look like someone was home and it did look beautiful so must try and get a nighttime picture of it. As my friend said when she saw it "That makes all the hard work worthwhile".
Normal service resumed in garden today as it is dry.
I emptied the potato planter of its "Xmas" potatoes as all the haulms were spent and got 1 kilo of admittedly gorgeous new potatoes but will not be repeating this experiment. Such a tiny crop cannot have depleted the compost much so I will use it in big pots of tulips for the spring.
Getting dark now so gave in as I did not come in for lunch but ate it in the garden from the garden. I did feel like a hunter - gatherer with my two corn cobs, bunch of grapes,CharlesRoss apple and two large red strawberries, but quite replete and able to do much more work. Before the light went I took some pictures . I found three pea flowers on my new Pea meteor plants i am trialling for Mr. Fothergills Nation of Gardeners. The winter jasmine is going to be covered in its yellow flowers this November. The roses are still delightful and what a year it is for red berries! Oh and I have blue mushrooms.
Oh my such a weather forecast for today in Bristol. It could be the middle of summer except the length of the daylight hours. No excuse not to have a wonderful start to the garden in spring next year. Everything done now will save time then. I started planting my tulips yesterday. At 50 per day they should all be planted this year! Late sowing of salads, annuals, perennials as instructed by Mr. Fothergills for their trials means the garden too looks like it is midsummer and some of the roses like "Generous Gardener" and "Iceberg"are still covered with buds. I normally rely on my very old Queen Mother roses for a bunch at Xmas but it looks like I may have a mixed bunch this year.