3: Gardening Diaries ...

[alp]

So glad you're OK......it's so scary how these things happen in a split second. Accidents happen so easily ,but thankfully you've escaped unscathed and wiser.

Yes, certainly WISER! Such a shock. Watching Evil on line - the father is searching for his daughter - so frightening. I can feel his pain. Such a lovely girl and yet evil lurks around.

 

[Upsy Daisy]

It sounds like you're having a really scary evening all round!!!

 

[Leeski]

I am going to get some free top soil from Gumtree

# very jealous I need about half that pile of topsoil and could I poss lend you digger alp? Lol - just got back from work 7 hrs sleep before next shift starts can sleep easy as think my seedlings have survived the harsh weather night/morning all

 

[alp]

Good morning to all! A bit of bomb scare, @Upsy Daisy ! Imagine how my next door but one neighbour felt when he had two consecutive ones?" Also last night that bathroom window was open wide and that really made my heart sink. Then I removed the duvet which is 4.5 tog only to find the heavier duty ones were in the loft. In the end, one undersize blanket and that 4.5 saw me through the night. Need to sort it out today.

@Leeski Glad that you will get OT money, but such a busy schedule. You can get top soil for £2 /70L in Asda around this time if you care to look around. Or put in an advert in freegle. Or contact a tree surgeon like me (Tree surgeons: have you got excess woodchips?), but only ask for 3 of those big bags or you would cry like me. Any way, I thought the woodchips would reduce the heat retention of the concrete in the awful summer heat. We know what the freaky weather has in mind, don't we! Glad that I put the toms minigreenhouses up again. I bet in the next 4 days, the weather will heat up again. Just can't win! But my toms are so small. This has been a very disappointing year, most of my plants sulk, no flowers, no movement. Asters (x2) with one flower, Sour grapes very sour, Mother of Pearl still in deep sea, Embers Wishes dead, Black and Blue dead, sweetcorn puny! Alstroemeria very few and very pale seeds. No seeds for my Trollius Chinensis! The list goes on... not forgetting massive amount of leaves in my dahlias..

 

[Logan]

Morning all, yes it's been a very disappointing year.
On gw monty said that there could be a shortage of spring bulbs because of the hot weather.
@alp glad that you are feeling better now after last night.

 

[alp]

Morning all, yes it's been a very disappointing year.
On gw monty said that there could be a shortage of spring bulbs because of the hot weather.

Are you buying any spring bulbs. I don't think I will as I struggle to keep those I bought last year alive. I'm going to extend the border and plant some old ones later. I will look around when they are reduced. I reckon bulb growers have had a hard year as it has been so dry and hot. Normally, I have about 1000 alstroemeria seeds. Not this year. Very traumatic!

On the other hand the asclepias Tuberosa seeds are forming. Very happy with them.

 

[Upsy Daisy]

Morning!!
How are you all this morning?

@alp hope you've got over the shock of yesterday. We only use a 4.5 tog duvet too ,but have a large fleece blanket handy to throw over if it feels nippy.

I have loads of bulbs waiting to go back in . Most I dig up because I forget where they are and they get damaged by spade / fork digging.

I have my usual problem though.......didn't label them!!!! Now left with loads of mixed up bulbs The only ones that are stored separately are the tulips

Why oh why do I always convince myself at the time that I will recognise/ remember what certain things are at a later date.....I should know by now that I never, ever do!!!

Hope you've put your feet up until the next shift @Leeski .

I've also noticed that some plants aren't producing very good seedheads either this year...probably due to the weather too

Waiting for the rain to arrive.....about 9am through to 9pm, hopefully some of it will do some good.

Have a good day everyone

 

[alp]

Yes, I spent a little fortune buying those skunky bulbs and now they are languishing and literally flaked to death in front of my eyes! I'm going to find out and just lump them together in a free draining compost and hopefully they come back to life. Tricky to have so many things in pots and the labels just have a mind of their own. I tied some labels to the plants and some plant stalks died and the labels have become strays. An iris breeder said he wrote the name of the plant ON THE BLADE OF LEAF!

I wonder how much rain I'm going to get. But need to find all pots and drain the water to them to welcome newcomer. Here in Droughty Essex, every little helps!

1st September is the meteorological autumn! Now I think it feels like it. Who would have thought? One would think the heat will come back. Off to prepare pots and pans now!

 

[Upsy Daisy]

Perhaps I could write on the actual bulb....once I know what it is
When I'm weeding I often dig up a plant label.....suppose that proves that I do try!!

The rain that is predicted and what we get are two completely different things.......it's a postcode lottery rea!ly

If it rains then I will write up plans in my new gardening diary....that's another problem I have....... don't usually stick to my plans either

Oh well thai the story of my life...the mind is wil!ing, even though the actions often aren't

 

[Logan]

@alp Yes they have and yes i'll buy some, i always like to get new tulips and plant the old ones somewhere else. Going to order those from fothergills, they've got free p&p until after tomorrow. Risk getting the hyacinths for the tubs from the local GC, they've got a better colour range.

I don't label the bulbs, because i only have tulips and hyacinths.

But i have got other things mixed up because i don't label them right.

 

[alp]

Perhaps I could write on the actual bulb....once I know what it is
When I'm weeding I often dig up a plant label.....suppose that proves that I do try!!

The rain that is predicted and what we get are two completely different things.......it's a postcode lottery rea!ly

If it rains then I will write up plans in my new gardening diary....that's another problem I have....... don't usually stick to my plans either

Oh well thai the story of my life...the mind is wil!ing, even though the actions often aren't

Same here. Used green ties to label the plants, and the ink faded into pure white. We're are triers! But obviously, @Upsy Daisy , we need to try harder! Love your avatar! let me stop and have a look what it is! Lovely dahlias! I think I might change mine to Crazy Love and that would stop me snapping them all the times.

Yes, it is raining now. 11.30. Very fine rain. Been out the whole morning, tidying up suckers and holly. I really hate holly or plants with thorns, but we need it for the neighbour. Even when we fell a branch, we don't dare to remove it entirely for fear of stray bullets. The grandson use his bullets to terrorise birds. Uprooted some lavenders and plan to plant them near the front. Keep the flowers and branches to scent the room. Aquilegias are my bane. All I have are the simple blue ones. They will go to the front as well. After the rain, need to tackle the front.

My gardening diary has a blank gap of 2 months. I have about 10 containers (plant pots with no holes) with water in them. Just in case I have more rain water and I hate to see it going to the ground.

 

[alp]

@alp Yes they have and yes i'll buy some, i always like to get new tulips and plant the old ones somewhere else. Going to order those from fothergills, they've got free p&p until after tomorrow. Risk getting the hyacinths for the tubs from the local GC, they've got a better colour range.

I don't label the bulbs, because i only have tulips and hyacinths.

But i have got other things mixed up because i don't label them right.

I did label them, once I even stapled the labels to my hellebores from T&M just to see if they have sent me something else. I reckon all the reblooming irises they sent me were Indian Chief. That's the only thing I have in my garden!

Lo and behold, one called Diana died. Ooops! Poor Diana!

I prefer to have varieties and new stuff. My elderly neighbour has a very tidy garden, but I'm no control freak. My joy is to see colours, flowers and new arrivals.

 

[alp]

Don't think I'm going to buy any seeds this year unless they are reduced. Will have to have a look at Wyevale tomorrow.

 

[MaryMary]

@MaryMary Great minds think alike!

It only stands to reason. If great minds think alike, then surely ours must, too!!

 

[Mark56]

Someone turn the tap off