5 Gardening Dairy: Happy gardening and happy snapping ..

[Perki]

It been a lovely day sunny , after finishing work washed the GH and rubbed down the pergola trying to get some of the green off. Did a bit of weeding and noticed lots of perennials are coming through including the already nibbled Delphinium put some wool pellets down , I am a bit worried it far to early for perennials to come into growth and I've seen lots of shrubs buds bursting.

 

[Zenj]

Also been in garden tidying up 17 c this aft as Perki says perennials all showing and allium shoots either they know something we don’t, or they will be in for a shock ,no frog spawn yet usually mid March here.

 

[alp]

Camellia will love your location. It needs water when the buds are forming. If there isn't enough water, the buds will drop off like dead flies. Somewhere sunny will be a good spot for them. They are now in flowers and I have seen some spectacular camellias. You can ask your dad to go to B&Q to buy one for you on a Wednesday as he will get a 10% off. I think most of them are with 2 plants i.e. one red and one bi-colour. I have seen quite a few spectacular ones planted next to people's front doors and it must be quite hot there as the front doors and walls release retained heat at night too.

Wish I could give you one of my bird of paradise. They take up sooooooooo much room. Not the roots, but the leaves. I used to have 3 - stupidly I planted one outside and the frost snap the life out of it.

That camellia is a baaaaaaaaaaaargain! Hehe! Hellebores will do well anywhere except totally shaded areas. If somewhere is hot and exposed to sun, it will do very well behind a deciduous shrub. I am sure you know where to put them. I think you mean your garden is already full of plants! Dappled shades for hellebores is best as they like a dry head and sheltered from strong winds. Ashwood recommend growing them underneath a deciduous tree which will shed its leaves in winter. This allows sunshine to access the hellebore crowns and eliminate the chances of the plants getting diseases whilst encouraging the plants to flower. Remove dead or diseased leaves a month or so before flowering.

Been to the zoo in London. London Transport has changed beyond recognition. A most enjoyable day wish my knees hadn't been that tense.

Your neighbour's dogs must be using the garden as a toilet. Imagine walking amongst the minefield. The woman's house was very clean, but the thought of dog mess everywhere in the garden just put me off. Don't think they walk or use their garden. How could they?

 

[alp]

It been a lovely day sunny , after finishing work washed the GH and rubbed down the pergola trying to get some of the green off. Did a bit of weeding and noticed lots of perennials are coming through including the already nibbled Delphinium put some wool pellets down , I am a bit worried it far to early for perennials to come into growth and I've seen lots of shrubs buds bursting.

How about me? Waited one year to see the expensive Diggory and Trym??? snowdrop, only to find the buds had been totally removed before I could say hello.

 

[alp]

Also been in garden tidying up 17 c this aft as Perki says perennials all showing and allium shoots either they know something we don’t, or they will be in for a shock ,no frog spawn yet usually mid March here.

Yes, been in London and it was full of kids on school term breaks. The zoo has some lovely stretches of water for lions and yet there were no elephants and quite a bit missing. No red pandas. I have some Dutch irises and hyacinths coming up, too. Hope there's not going to be a cold snap.

 

[alp]

Good morning to a very foggy day. Going to be warm though. What a bliss to have such balmy weather.

Saw in freegle that a man is willing to give up part of his land for gardening. I wish I had looked at it carefully earlier. I am dreading where to put my plants.

Yes, foggy and miserable. Air a bit foul.

Some pics from yesterday. Don't think I can beat @Zenj

Jessica galanthus

So this camera can't handle regal violet either. Took year nearly 8 years to find out. The iris should have been violet, but no!

The hellebore was sold as Washbabies.

This hellebore bought this year

Talking about galanthus, I saw one Madelaine @£10 and postage £3.45 postage at 4m to auction end time. And you know, it ends with £20 + postage.

 

[alp]

Out house hunting since 8.30am and initially it was very foggy. Then it was glorious. I have been so fed up with house hunting that I just put an offer on a bungalow on its own plot. Went to several. One had a toilet in the middle of the house. Several with tiny lounge. One needed complete revamp and one was perfect in every way and the garden overlooked a country park. When I was to measure the garden, the owner who had a baby said, "Keep to the path." When we went out, the whole garden was covered with dog mess. She had a new baby, so probably didn't help the situation. But completely covered with dog mess and then I read this article and just have to chuckle!

Dog owner, 25, is fined £1,500 after he refused to clear up his pet’s poo from his own garden when neighbours complained about the smell

• Craig Wood, from Benfleet, Essex, ignored warnings to pick up his dog's mess
• Residents claimed about the smell the dog mess in the garden was letting off
• Wood had been warned by the council but ignored their warnings and was fined
• Residents claim there is still dog mess in the garden, even after the court order

Rosemary Warburg

Went to B&Q in Chelmsford and was surprised to see only 2 kinds of hellebores and so was Wyevale. That B&Q is huge. Shopping surely is good in Chelmsford - a lot of retail parks. Shame I don't have the money!

 

[alp]

Couldn't bring myself to post as I am still reeling from the shock that the bungalow can't be mine for £320K. The negotiator said that the owner would accept £320k and now a woman has taken over and they are asking for £335K even though the advert says £325K

Quite foggy. Have a bit of condensation, so must be cold outside.

I have so many plants that I am worried that I will have nowhere to put them when I move!

 

[Perki]

Well thats no good alp , has the house been on the market a while ? if it has I wouldn't increase the offer at all, they can take it or leave it , sometimes its best to walk away from the negotiation for them to come back to you. Best to just keep looking otherwise . got no relatives / friends to leave the plants with ? the only other thing I can think of is a allotment.

Very nice day again sun out cooking my seedling with lids on , think I may of lost one of my digitalis seedling this morning before I got up to take the lids off. Think I will pot my dahlias up today more than a week earlier than normal and then watch the football later.

 

[alp]

My ex's house is a house slotted in an forgotten place, with very little sun. Mind you, he did say he would buy some white hellebores from me. I have now removed some wishy washy pink and whites and pinks.

Yes, Perki! I have seen new shoots from my dahlias potted up in my lean to. Quite right. I dug up 2 snowdrops Blonde Inge and the petals are showing distress because of the heat in the lean to. Such lovely weather, we should be counting our blessings. Someone's advertising their land to be tended to as they are getting old. I have sent in a request, but I am always number two!

I will send in the maximum asking price and at the same time go around to have a look. Love the location of a bungalow in Chelmsford, but the bathroom & toilet is in the middle of the property with no outside windows!

The whole morning, I have been trying to pair off my hellebores for fleabay as I bought just bought another expansive snowdrop. Now, I'm going to have lunch and then go out to enjoy the sunshine and scavenge for food, especially salad.

 

[alp]

I should from now on ban myself from watching Escape to the Country. All the Yorkshire rises and falls, verdant green and gurgling waterfalls will only increase my dissatisfaction with my current choice. A short and stubby bungalow in the middle of a built up area!

Horrible thing is the agent actually called me to see how advanced the buyer's mortgage arrangement was and he said he would help with my £320K! And now I'm suffering COLD FEET big time since watching the couple buying a property in Yorkshire. Oh, geeeeeeeeeeee! What a to-do!

One day whilst housing hunting, the car drove past Thurrock, I actually saw scenery reminding me of the journey to the RHS in Harrogate? Road high above and empty next to the road and yet a clear view of the valley and hills on the other side. So beautiful. I have never seen anything like this here in Essex. There, nestled in the wooded area was a pub where I promised myself we would have a meal one day. Such a sweet surprise and it was totally unexpected.

ipheion uniflorum pink

This could be camellia E G Waterhouse.

 

[alp]

Good morning to all - tomorrow I will find out if they buyer gets his mortgage and tomorrow I will put in some offers to see how they go.

Going to be a lovely day and I'm going to reduce my hellebore number. Was watering most of my borders.

 

[Zenj]

Well it’s been a cracking day reached the dizzy heights of 19c this aft we have been to Tynemouth for a walk than North Shields fish quay for fish and chips which were spot on both close to where we live, heres a few photos

 

[alp]

It's views like these that I think I have been living in a rut. Thank heavens the vendor is still asking for £335K, so no. I am so happy that they raised the price so that I didn't have to explain why I wanted to pull out again. I am going out to see another place tonight at 7pm. Darm! I hope it looks good and worth my while spending on the petrol.

I would love a fish and chips and a kebab, the latter I eat with dread with some very alien meats are included as the shop are always very GENEROUS with the helping of meat.

Will see a place with 340 foot garden and a tiny stream at the back on Saturday. Son has his heart set on a very chic place but it's pricy and comes with no garage. And how can I keep chicken or line the previously astro turf with water butts???? I prefer to go to another red brick with with a decent garden and green house, but the owner wouldn't budge.

Been out sorting out my hellebores - a double pink nearly died as there had not been enough compost at the bottom of the pot. I hate putting plants in pots. They never seed properly and dry out in no time in this area.

 

[alp]

Been to see this house which was full of horrible artexing and is asking for £365 .. I begin to think I'm giving my house away.

Been catching up with A place to call home and am amazed that the plot is actually quite interesting.