Magazine style - all inclusive

[Perki]

Petrol hedge trimmer, electric wired tools aren't much use to me. I haven't finished that job yet normal takes 2 to 2 half days of cutting, I'll take a picture when I go back which should be tomorrow but I am not sure if my arm would of revived its self by then.

I normal buy seeds off ebay ( nutscones ) petunia - begonia etc. who sell king seeds. but they don't seem to of restocked all there seeds on ebay .

I am glad I don't have a water metre , I only wash my small 7cm pot what I use for seedling . I do have a water bin about 90L , rain water better for the plants than tap.

Been to b&q this afternoon and picked up some more supplies , not that I can do anything with them at the moment. No pansys are much else of interest I bought some from a gc but they are naff covered in blackspot already.

 

[alp]

Nutscones and happygreen??? are both good. Seekay or Just seeds are good as well. I had a packet of Mary Washington asparagus which was about 8 years old and they still germinated (from Just Seeds). 10 packets for £10 from Thompson and Morgan today only. Some companies on ebay are so much cheaper.

Does your dad drive you around? Good idea to learn to drive. Is your name on the title deed for the house?

I have been working flat out today, just washing pots and nothing else. I think I should dig up my dahlias which I don't normally do. I do have a lot of favorites this year. All this rain is making me edgy.

I grow some kale and I'm telling you that it's just a lot of hassle washing them. I used 5 rounds of water and salt to get the little ss out of the florets. Cost me a lot of water.

The blessed foxes toppled one of my pots and out came some erythronium tubers, an allium bulbs. They played with my irises (divided and repotted) which I bought for £2 and all the labels got strewn around the pots. Very annoying. They also dug around the edges of the hen coop. Keeping chickens attract foxes and rats. As soon as your barricaded the top, they went for the bottom. No peace for the wicked! LOL!

 

[Perki]

My other seed order was from seekay , I've used them before with good results.

Yes my dad drives me around he get fed up easy so it doesn't take much convincing, I normal walk or go on the bike. Thinking of learning to drive early next year but it never interested me and ridiculously expensive to put a van / car on the road throughout a year. My name is on the deeds for the house , the house will belong to me 100% one day and not be split between my older step sibling.

 

[alp]

Yes, a car is almighty expensive, and to add insult to injury, there is the electric version that is hoisted on us because Johnson's woman is green-keen. So suddenly, all the green directives might be issued to him as ballistic missives and all his mandarins have now sent out aspirations coated as ridiculous targets which would be miraculously achieved in a very short term. Having said that, electric cars don't give out CO2 or nitrate or cause the formation of other particulates. But as any green energy, there is always a downside. We might need nuclear energy to supplement our energy supply, which is pet hate! New nuclear energy site to be built on Suffolk and now that's one place I would not move to. A decent electric car costs £30k. And if you buy 2nd hand, there is the battery health to look out for! How many bars...

As your dad has a car, it will be easy. It's an important skill. Don't be put off by the expense. As long as your dad has one going around, you could put down your name as a secondary driver. You're not under 25, so try not to worry so much. It's a SKILL!

That's a lot of hedge cutting. Is it a public/private place? Hope your arm and hand get better. Now stay away from mischief!

Petulant Mourinho was ranting again! Great! Arsenal in trouble again. They couldn't even beat Southampton. Oh, dear! Drop zone in Christmas is dangerous!

Small camera

Interesting that the photos have more details than the bigger camera photos; but it could be that it was brighter yesterday than the day before. I think I will stick to this one. Not so bulky.

Supposedly to be sunny

Seems to be a glorious day. I have turned on my washing machine! Feeling happy already!

 

[alp]

Been washing pots again, but the water was cold despite a lovely glorious sunny day; came in for a breather to hear clanking noise outside the house. A pile of woodchips appeared on my driveway. I explicitly told them not to dump it in front of the garage as my son needed to use it. I gave the driver £5 and I then proceeded to shift the lot. It's like 1/3 of a lorry load. But the woodchips were full of pins and needles and even logs and twigs. Very annoying. For 3 hours, I shifted everything to the back. I was totally exhausted.

Flowers of the day!

 

[alp]

The chickens thought they would be free-ranged and there were 4 eggs by 10am, which was fine by me. Any way, they don't eat their eggs any more. Just showed that 2 of them wouldn't lay any more. All except two have beautiful feather now. Need to dust the whole coop again, which is a bit tiresome.

I have now used Harpic to clean my toilet. The fumes this chemical gave out invariably sent me scampering. I had to hold my breath and dash out of the bathroom. Wonder what it does to the fish in the sea. I only use 3 cleaners, Jif, Harpic and bleach. They are all nasties. Hope someone suggests a calming and organic way!

It was morose the whole day, with a bit of spits at times. Tidied up most of the pots and now need to tackle the compost in the lean to. Need to close the tubs with lids before sS find homes in them.

Farmyard nursery has a lovely collection of all sorts of hellebores, not so pricey as Ashwood YET! But the a good range of different nectaries/coronas, colours, edges and markings. Horrible thing is that they charge £10 for p&p which is too greedy. Might be more, but I haven't bought from them for a year, so no idea. Their value collection is £55 for 9 plants. Not much value for me. Apparently, they are now part of RHS partnership.

I have to say, I really love penstemon Blackbird: It has a much darker scarlet red than it's being captured here. My camera just can't memorise its sumptuous sultry shades. A beauty to have for its size and its long flowering period.

Etna with new buds as well.

Omega is a pale version of it summery self.

This dahlia collarette had its back towards the sun, which was a bit strange and because of that, the colours were not well memorised.

Even this red is darker and deeper than what is being captured here. A true beauty! Flowering on 19 December! Thank you very much! A song is being sung, music serenading; with colours and details regaling me on a deep dark dull dank day.

 

[DrCase]

That I haven't done any research on. But you can use your magnification on your phone. I used my son's iphones and to me, it's only got 12mpx and I read that a woman photographer actually got very good macro photography just by clipping a simple thin macro lens. There are loads on sale on ebay, but I need to do more research.

Samsung has now got phones which boasts 64mpx and 8k, but they cost a bit. I am not happy with the rendering of colours of my compact cameras - orange and red are troubles for my samsungs. Samsung is famous for not issuing support but now they are saying they will give 3 years' support. You blink your eyes, 3 years is up.

Go around and ask about these macro thin lens which is like a clip on. Very simple to use, apparently. The reason I got rid of my Samsung NX was because it couldn't take photo close up and there were very few compatible macro lens. When they are compatible and new, the price can be £499. The cheapest was £150, but I didn't go to London to get it. Once you get into mirrorless or DLSR, it would be costly, restrictive (compatibility) and you have to lug this and that in a bag. That's why I always use my new 2nd hand compact rather that the bulkier WB1100F.

This page is for macro-photography. You can google for panoramic view lens as well, but I am not sure if they are cliip ons.

Here is a case with Samsung

Iphone compatible from Amazon. I would research more as this is a bit old.

I got my lens set the other day . But my wife wrapped them up

 

[alp]

I got my lens set the other day . But my wife wrapped them up

All is fine if you're still within the warranty period. If from ebay, you probably don't need to worry. It's a sellers' paradise. You're a man of great restraint, DrCase! Your better half has done a good job!

Merry Christmas to Mrs DrCase and family!

 

[Perki]

well it started off dry so I've been out and cut some of the perennials back not all of them just the messy ones near the front of the border . Loads of bulbs showing already crocus - snowdrops and a few daffs which I wouldn't of noticed if I hadn't of cleared the dead perennials .

Still got dahlias flowering alp that's fortunate I wondering if they will be a nearly all year flowering plant in future due to climate change . I've got a rose still flowering and new buds forming on another but its supposed to get cold late next week which will probably see them off.

This is the garden I've been trimming the hedges / shrubs in , its very long and full of conifers planted in the 90s when that was the craze, quite a few are finished now and need removing its a very exposed site the the wind knock them around splitting them . Not many different plants other than giant laurels balls - hebes and some nice big rhododendrons not many perennials other than ones I've brought from home and plonked in. Normally do the top of the conifer hedge but a load of new houses got built 2 year ago so they went it a bit taller.

 

[alp]

Wow! Brilliant! You must have them all on your phone, Perki! A lot of tradespeople store their works in their phones. It's amazing how direct and powerful these images are! Have you finished the job already?

Oh, omg! A view! A view! All I have is traffic shunting down and crawling up the road, the worse is that we even have long vehicles to Aldi and Tesco and even co-op! It's a nightmare. 10 doors away is a roundabout, so tons of cars remain stationary because of the roundabout and Tesco just before the roundabout. And the compound the matter, there is a slight climb up to the top. I so wish I could move away from here! Thank heavens that I have smelt that dodgy smell for a long time.

Lovely work, Perki! But be very careful as wet and electric can be a dangerous combo!

I actually still have some 5 Cafe au Lait, but they are a bit taffy, only around the edges. I really like penstemons - long time flowering, good show, different colours and different sizes. I would say Salvias, penstemons, heleniums and Rudbeckia herbstonne/lacinata , hellebores are my favorites.

A very dry day and very warm. But there was something vicious in Aldi and I have something bugging my throat. I bought 10 bags x 2.5kg of potatoes, 6 bags of carrots and 5 bags of sprouts. We spent £3.91 for all those in Aldi. Thank heavens I can store them in my dilapidated garage which helper had done a tremendous job tidying up! I tried to grate 6 carrots. In the end, the laziness in me gave up the ghost and I actually grated 3 or 4. So with some 4 thinly cut sprouts, and some previously grated and cooked potatoes, I mixed them with pellets and the chickens were very, very happy! So I think any way! Better than eating dry pellets every day!

 

[Perki]

I don't really take many pictures of gardens I work in. I've been going to this particular garden since I were 5 - 6 years old , someone else used to look after the shrubs years ago ( 20 years or so ) hence why some are way to big in my opinion . I'd love to rip a load out and replant it with more interesting plants , everyone plants shrubs to close together which is terrible for conifers as they dieback when they are butted up against each other so you can't remove one without removing nearly all of them.
The shrub bed with the laurel on is very steep which you can't make out on the pictures then add wet slippery laurel leaves make it problematic to even stand on. I have to do most of them off a two tier ladder . Finished now till early spring when I'll scarify the lawn and may mention removing a island bed which is finished.

It does have excellent views , the house is up for sale if you fancy it alp ??? you might need to look down back of the sofa for some extra pennies, it were up for sale at £900K but its come down a little making it much more affordable at £870K

 

[alp]

I would never move to your part or Zenj's part of the world! Just think about how fed up Zenj was when it rained non-stop! A trip to Cumbria confirmed just that. Shame that all the houses were of horrible native brick or rock colour. Miserable grey. If an area rained non-stop, I would paint the house a light shade green/blue/even yellow. In fact, I love my house with its white weather boards which need replacing soon. I do love a view. Was very surprised to see Sarah Beeny built the house in a lower area. She bought the house with permission to build, but she wanted to move the approved area to an even lower area. The foundation area was covered with rainwater, like a pond. Build a house in Somerset can come with a lot of troubles. But she might know better than me.

I love those lumpy close together topiary though. However, a cornus controversa invariegata, Miss Satomi, or even my Cornus Rainbow or rubra or Wolfe Eye or Cercius Chinensis will be so more more uplifting than voluminous lumpy topiary. Some finely palmated acer or an elegant gingko is my cup of tea!

Despite the drought, this area is OK. I hope to arrange for a mortgage and see if I can buy a house with a plot of land. Some houses here come with 360 ft garden. Whoa! A lot of land for me to make a mess on! LOL!

Geee! Just found out we're in T4! So tomorrow's trip might be dodgy! T4. We should just curl up in a duvet and watch TV! What has the world come to!? Who has unleashed this virus(es)? Soon, another country can send in Trojan horse to release deadly biological weapon on another country. All you need is a mad man at helm of a rouge country. The world has become a very dangerous place.

 

[alp]

Who would have thought that Bill Bailey, a balding 55 year old man might win Strictly. But here is his other talent! A bit hyped up, but it's a good laugh when the US anthem sounds Russian!

 

[alp]

From 0.01hours last night, we have been plunged to T4. The message for Xmas is XXXX! No socialising. My idea of me time is gone!

Wonder if the Boxing sales will see stampedes! Aldi was surprisingly quiet yesterday.

1st one is microgreen which really is beetroot babies and flexseeds which are a source of omega 3. The nexc 2 are curly cress and simple cress.

Rejman's Firecrackers are very good germinators!

I am testing some of my green squash seeds as well. Hopefully I can grow them on my compost heap.

 

[DrCase]

All is fine if you're still within the warranty period. If from ebay, you probably don't need to worry. It's a sellers' paradise. You're a man of great restraint, DrCase! Your better half has done a good job!

Merry Christmas to Mrs DrCase and family!

lol.. Merry Christmas too you and your family alp


I did open it up and try them out before my wife took them away
no restraint with new stuff

I