Just joined up

[Micky]

Well it’s been a beautiful day today Alp .. my California Poppies are still blooming, they think it’s summertime again

 

[alp]

View attachment 28320 Well it’s been a beautiful day today Alp .. my California Poppies are still blooming, they think it’s summertime again

Yes, and my Trollius Chinensis is having 3 blooms. I followed @zenji 's instruction to cut them down and now there are 3 buds. And today, I actually have COMPOST TEA! About a month after starting my wormery!

California poppies are so beautiful. There is something electric about that orange and the sheen coming with them is just out of this world.

 

[Micky]

Ide like to grow those Trollius Chinensis Alp ..they are so different and lovely ..to be honest ide never heard of them ..also compost tea , that’s a new one for me as well .. your very resourceful indeed .. wouldn’t mind a few gallons of that stuff for next years garden
Geranium Roxanne , took this photo this morning

 

[Colin]

Hi,

At last Micky I've got on top of all the digging and today turned out dry after all; yes I've got lots of short clout nails for securing my cap and with a surname of Wood say no more.

Below I've added a few pictures of the struggle I've had over the last few days in fact more than a struggle just plain hard graft; every spadeful has brought up more roots than soil; millions of small interlaced roots interspersed with much thicker roots and with lots of stones.

I now wish I had never seen the Snowberry hedge which was planted by a previous owner over 30 years ago; anyone contemplating planting Snowberry have a look at the work involved in getting rid of it; Snowberry is invasive. I'm amazed though because we've endured lots of rain for so long but when I dig these roots up the soil is so dry it's giving off dust.

I've now got two big piles of stumps and roots that I hope to compost; it was sheer joy this afternoon to finally rake over where the hedge had been knowing most of the roots were now out. The second to last picture shows the hedge before I started to remove it. The final picture shows a bit more of our rear garden; we regard this garden as our mini park.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[alp]

@Micky That's a good show. I used to have a red/pink one and it literally took over as Essex has everything going for it. Soon, it went everywhere and the root system was like the thickest carpet you can think of. I got rid of them two summers running and even now I can see one or two popping up. I got rid of them about 10 years ago. When I saw Roxanne, I really liked them. It's like Chelsea FS pushing Geums. But I have decided against them. Compost tea is very easy to make. just take a short bucket, drill one hole for the tap and just add whatever you have from kitchen, eggshell, vaccuum materials from the cassette and do some research. You don't really need to buy a wormery and just stack the bucket on top of one another and place it in a sheltered place with the correct temperature .. I didn't buy the worms either. Research says that you can see them at the top of the compost bin. So I went around all my compost bins and just transferred them. I myself would never place the wormery inside my house.. There are enough dirty smells without adding to them! Besides, some people report that the worms escape .. ahhhhhhhhhhh ... escape into their house ..

@Crikey! @Colin You have WORKED REALLY HARD! How about my nasty neighbour's bitter cherry roots. They went to the other side of my garden. When I pulled one, I fell down! He refused to cut it shorter.. So now, I let my plum and damson tree grow .. Besides, they stop balls from coming over.

 

[Micky]

Hi,

At last Micky I've got on top of all the digging and today turned out dry after all; yes I've got lots of short clout nails for securing my cap and with a surname of Wood say no more.

Below I've added a few pictures of the struggle I've had over the last few days in fact more than a struggle just plain hard graft; every spadeful has brought up more roots than soil; millions of small interlaced roots interspersed with much thicker roots and with lots of stones.

I now wish I had never seen the Snowberry hedge which was planted by a previous owner over 30 years ago; anyone contemplating planting Snowberry have a look at the work involved in getting rid of it; Snowberry is invasive. I'm amazed though because we've endured lots of rain for so long but when I dig these roots up the soil is so dry it's giving off dust.

I've now got two big piles of stumps and roots that I hope to compost; it was sheer joy this afternoon to finally rake over where the hedge had been knowing most of the roots were now out. The second to last picture shows the hedge before I started to remove it. The final picture shows a bit more of our rear garden; we regard this garden as our mini park.

Kind regards, Colin.

View attachment 28322 View attachment 28323 View attachment 28324 View attachment 28325 View attachment 28326 View attachment 28327

Crikey , you have worked so hard .. your as fit as a fiddle, I could never take on that amount of graft .. thanks for the photos .. you must feel very satisfied at having completed the challenge .. Weather here is cloudy but warm .. and even warmer the weekend .. I bought an African Lilly yesterday Agapanthus .. I have 2 now in pots , but unsure how to look after them through the icy months ..they are still in the original pots I bought them in and within another better looking pot .. any ideas , I haven’t a green house,, and am worried the frost may kill them ..and is it better to keep them in pots or plant them out in the garden ..in which case , they will be exposed to frosts .. I will take a photo of them right now on the patio

 

[alp]

Leave them in the pots. They like it pot bound. Do not do any division. Some might be tender.. They look very nice.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=60

@Verdun will give you expert advice.

 

[Micky]

Leave them in the pots. They like it pot bound. Do not do any division. Some might be tender.. They look very nice.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=60

@Verdun will give you expert advice.

Thanks Alp .. I will leave them in the pots, but I will bring them close to the house where it’s warmer and also cover the top of the pots with straw to protect them from hard frosts..
Nice warm day out there this morning ..have a nice day .. Micky

 

[alp]

Yeah 16c, save me a bit of money .. no need to shiver or turn on the radiator .. Always good news!

google Hoyland as I think he's the master breeder of agapanthus in the UK. He has some useful advice on a video. Love agapanthus.. Bought some tiny ones and they both flowered - polar ice and ocean somethng??

 

[Micky]

Yeah 16c, save me a bit of money .. no need to shiver or turn on the radiator .. Always good news!

google Hoyland as I think he's the master breeder of agapanthus in the UK. He has some useful advice on a video. Love agapanthus.. Bought some tiny ones and they both flowered - polar ice and ocean somethng??

Thanks Alp, I will google Hoyland .. thanks for the link on Agapanthus yesterday , very interesting.. there is an Agapanthus called Atlantic Ocean and Ocean queen .. as far as I remember .. my California poppies are loving this weather

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks alp. Good on you; it should be give and take with neighbours so let your trees grow. It really is fun isn't it to pull so hard on a root and when the root lets go we go head over heels rolling on our back especially so in a steeply sloping garden like ours.

Thanks Micky; I'm more determined and stubborn than fit as a fiddle; I've suffered lots of hospital stays over the years and am still applying cream and ointment to my legs which are playing host to dermatitis; last year I was rushed into hospital as an emergency spending three days with lots of tubes sticking out of me; I'm intolerant of dairy products and have had surgery from small ops to major surgery for Crohn's disease; I've said many times I'm a dinosaur and I just get on with it because no one likes a moaner. I thought the last few days were hard enough digging out all the roots but yesterday was a real corker; I spent the entire day attacking Ivy; English Ivy that is and later today I'll start a new thread covering the story; I'm just having a brew then I'll attack Ivy a bit more.

Kind regards, Colin

 

[Logan]

Welcome to the forum @Micky

 

[Logan]

Lovely dog @Micky we've got 2 golden retrievers
Barley

But we did have 5

Out in the back garden

 

[Micky]

Lovely dog @Micky we've got 2 golden retrievers
Barley
View attachment 28421


But we did have 5
View attachment 28423

Out in the back garden

That’s an amazing photo , you really should have it enlarged and put in a frame .. but I guess you probably have , it’s one of the nicest pictures I’ve seen ..we haven’t a dog, but share our daughters.. I will send you photos .. they are my best friends

 

[Logan]

Thanks @Micky there's a thread called your pets There's a lot on there.