Magazine style - all inclusive

[alp]

Perki Instead of sand, I used shingle as the advice said GRAVEL. Ooops! I think they will live. After that, I realised that I needed some companion planting. A mad rush to find my discarded daffs and especially tulips as they both like heat. Yes, I turned them all sideway. Where I live, there is very little or nearly no chance they will rot as it is dry, dry, and dry and still more! Thank you for the advice. Yes, make it a day to see Wisley and actually, they have a flower festival on 4 to 8 this month. If you could make it, it would be very good. I am sure you would love it. A lot of money has been sunk into it. Son said he hated the new slabs which looked like concrete poured with some silly holes on the surface. Very mean and lack vision.

 

[Perki]

Tulips are probably the best planting companions I can think of. They are quite a statement plant and command attention so I wouldn't worry to much about other plants . keeping the slugs off young shoots and lily beetles off them can be a chore .

 

[alp]

Ah, yes! Slugs had mine the year before last. I must google when roughly they flower as I had to remove one indoors because of slug damage to another one and the whole lean to was SKUNKY! LOL! I thought some compost was contaminated and my epiphany came after johnny canoe told me about the smell! LOL!

I hurriedly planted the bulbs because they fouled the whole of my lean to! I could even smell it outside the patio door!

I might get some more as the blasted foxes had dug another hole, ruining my agapanthus alba seeds! Very annoyed with these nuisance midnight callers!

Go to bed now. Good night, everyone!

 

[alp]

Good morning to an autumnal autumn! Sounds stupid, but oh so apt! Summer is no more! Personally, a very pleasant summer for me as I think I'm one of those whose core temperature is high or I sweat too readily. An allotmenteer, an Indian lady, said her head messed up when it's hot and she came even later than us to her plot. I think about 8pm when we were getting ready to leave.

Using the mac is a nuisance but my laptop is having Windows upgrade, so I have messed up my upload a bit and now I'm at preview! Ooops

This Iris called Midnight Caller was lost in its way and was actually flowering 30th August! Nature's sweet surprise. I'm confused too as every time I clicked Full Image, 2 of the same photos appeared. I'm off now.

 

[alp]

Was very annoyed and heartbroken that the foxes were running amok in my garden. They had cleared a patch already and I put a pot where they had done the damage, ruining my plan to collect agapanthus seeds. But yesterday morning was so much worse. Two of the Lobelia Tupas were snapped right at the base and they were moved to the lawn like two brolleys. One of my dahlias was already very late and I had to chuck a few slug pellets there to give the new shoots a chance. It has been a very disappointing year as most of my dahlias are struggling and some have no leaves, some with leaves but no flowers! Sadness all around! No. The foxes had another idea and the shoots were no more. I remember there was a roll of chicken wire which fenced the trial fields and I think I need that. We ran a green wire fence around the most damaged area and I chucked a bit of coffee grinds all over it. I had never had this problem until this year, probably because of the hens which I now have only 2. One morning, one black one just laid in the cage with rigor mortis already set in. At least, he didn't have to fight. Now I have only two. Repotted some Viburnum Plicatum Mariesiis into new pots. I sowed Salvia Hains and will sow some more later. Cleared a few trays of dead plants. Cleaned the area near the water tap. Going to sow some Echinacea Pallida.

Some more photos

Lovely exotic plants in the greenhouse

What a beautiful display!

What handsome cones!

Whenever I looked at am Hydrangea quercifolia , I asked myself what my fascination for this plant was, as my plant has not flowered at all! Now this reminds me why - double flowers!

Hope it will flower for me sometime in the future!

 

[alp]

Having a bit of of token rain right now.

So glad that I can actually hear the rain - I hope it rains properly for an hour as my garden needs it.

Glad that I watered the allotment plants yesterday. My Lobelia Tupa shaping up nicely. Glad that I have 4 or 5 in the allotment as they are actually flowering now whilst those (2 ripped up by foxes) at home are not even showing signs of flower spike.

Dahlia Blue Bayou is very prolific, but the shapes are not exactly those advertised.

This is a most beautiful big split end cacti dahlia.

Headache 1

An ageing Veronne's Obsidian.

Headache 2

Very intriguing flower! Black Honka

Gladioli are so delicate. The magenta one is a bit iffy - showing diseases in the flower!

of token

Yesterday, I sowed some Helenium Autumnale Leaves, some echinacea and I hope to sow some more today.

 

[alp]

Dorian has certainly wreaked havoc

Here, we have windy weather and it has turned distinctly chilly.

Guess what? It IS raining now! Great!

Spent half a day putting up a chicken wire fence all the way across with the elderly neighbour as foxes had jumped up the gap and turned over quite a few pots. Now I have tiny short fences everywhere. So glad that I got the 10m chicken wire for £2 years ago. Came in so handy yesterday. 10m is not to be sneezed at. Very difficult to find these bargains these days. I remember I could get a tray of delphiniums - very pretty ones at that - for £1 or £2 and now, I can't even find them in diy stores.

Repotting quite a few plants yesterday and started eating another enormous courgette yesterday. This one was better as the skin and the flesh were not that tough. Sowed another tray of salad.

Last few of RHS Wisley

Another trial area - I remember they used to have tons of eryngiums here - now it's grasses and ..

Rudbeckia and helenium

I really like this colour. It's an Aster

RHS is big on Cornus Controversa Variegatas - 3 of them along an avenue near the front - and one with a bit of red in the leaves. Very pretty once they are established.

A perfect day for weeding for me.

I have bought several Viburnum including one unknown, 2 Kilimanjaros, 2 or 3 Mariesiis and then I realised that I didn't have a big garden like Monty! Bit embarrassing! But when they were reduced to £1, how could I say no?!

 

[alp]

Well, my Green Twister Echinacea is not going to flower this year. Just when I was congratulating myself on the success of my fences, I saw a box of bonemeal on the lawn, torn and content spilt. Then I saw my ONLY green Twister Echinacea being uproooted, with a very tenuous hold to the ground. I only found out this when I physically moved the plant to a sunnier spot. Literally only the bottommost bit of the roots was still in the soil. I removed it to the hottest spot where it will have the longest hours of sunshine and after several attempts at watering, it was still limp like a damp squid collapsed on the ground. Just gone outside and had a look. The poor plant is still not perking up !

Then there is the yellow pallida echinacea, called Paradoxa, a tiny clump with thin blades and NO buds. And to top my misery, the weather has turned cold and will keep being cold. I wish I had bought one WITH flower in a Surrey garden centre and it was only £3! I bought my plant for £3.99! Lesson I have learned: coming to Echinacea, but plant with FLOWERS!

Well, I have this photo to cheer me up! LOL!

Great weather for pottering in the garden! Please spare me any nasties in my garden!

Yesterday, I was removing thorns from a very thorny rose! £1 for a very fragrant rose - I just couldn't say no! But thorns will have to go.

Most of the plants around this Centaurea have been reduced to clear ground - my giant ballerina lavender has only some bare stems to show for itself. Agapanthus alba seed heads crushed to the ground, Whilst I separated a clump of Penstemons into 6 pots yesterday, my Apple Blossom is gone and so is another one. But this centaurea has burst out singing!

Cacti and deer antler dahlia - not so spectacular as the one in the allotment though!

This one has gone very well

And every year, it has a deviant flower, at least!

Nature at one of its sweetest moments

 

[alp]

Dorian Shocking story caused by this storm. I feel the pain.

Yesterday morning, I was tracing some money which I sent on 5th and was attempting to change my password several times. Suddenly, there was a pop up notice, saying plug-in blocked due to illegal activity. A few minutes after that, the phone rang. I got a recorded message saying that my internet would be stopped from the next 24 to 48 hours due to illegal activities and I was told to press one to find out more. A woman with SE Asian sub-continent accent answered and said, "Welcome to the BT..." I told her that I was not with BT and she said it didn't matter and that BT was the carrier, which I knew. I had the feeling that it was a dodgy call. I had great difficulty understanding her words, so I said, "Call me when you can speak properly!" That was a bit rich as I couldn't speak very well myself. She immediately terminated the call. Hehe! I felt my intuition vindicated. Beware of this official sounding message on the phone and that aliens have taken over our internet, enabling them to send pop up message via the internet provider. I was using MacBook Pro as son vehemently declared that my Toshiba windows laptop had been a bot since time immemorial!

I remember last year a man with American accent called me trying to discuss some of the duddy shares I had. Yes, I had been on the Suckers' list. I told him I didn't want to trace them via him and I put down the phone. The man just wouldn't take no for an answer and called back to remonstrate with me. I put down the phone again after telling him to get a real job. No, he just wouldn't stop. In the end, I unhooked the phone. I remember my late father in law said he would pretend not to be himself and tell the caller to wait whilst he's trying to fetch "himself"! Of course, he just left the nuisance caller hanging on the phone. I did say to him that it's not nice. Now, I'm actively doing this. How time and experiences change you!

I planted out some more White Lisbon spring onions and will plant out some more salad leaves and Pak Choi. All my Pak Chois are now indoors as it would be a waste of time and money to leave them outside. Slugs, caterpillars ... I removed two very strong looking Pak Chois indoors only to see all the green leaves turned into green tiny balls on the soil. It was then I realised two caterpillars were destroying my plants right under my nose. No bargain hunt for me today as son is working. Hope you all come home with deals ..

 

[alp]

Ouch! 8c here in East London

Yesterday's washing failed to dry properly because we came home late.

My eyes must be failing me! Yesterday, I saw a green soft ball in my growing area bordering neighbour's dwarf wall. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a melon. I was thrilled as I had given up hope on them. I sniffed and stared to look for those small fruits I had once or twice detected along the long stalk and found none. To find one suddenly this big was such a sweet surprise.

Of course, I would be happier if there is a Pied de Selno, but beggar can't be chooser!

Indoor Pak Chois - a bit small, but not bad!

In the allotment, another Black Honka

More Blue Bayou.

Found my old favorite Rajman Firecracker dahlia !

Managed to kill Hazy Days! Saw it dead inside a pot

Yesterday, I was amazed to see a new dahlia which had wonderful lotus like flower. I immediately took loads of photos, only not to find them in the SD card.

But it's something like this

This year has been diabolical for dahlias. Some was damaged by fox and slugs and are still showing tiny new growth.

 

[alp]

No wonder it's so dark! And the ground is slightly wet.

A frantic day of bargain hunting and now my place is now officially a nursery!

Shock horror! Went to Wyevale in Chelmsford - well, son loves driving and indulging me, as well as arguing with me, LOL! It is now Longacres and full of 6 plants for £8.99! So far 2 Wyevales have been taken over - one by Hillier and another by Longacres. The prices are reasonable, but the plants are small and pathetic and might not overwinter. Can't really turn one plant into six! Did buy 6 plants including a Love and Wishes again, Blue note, a white/pink Gaura, and on top of the 6 plants, an iris Sibrica. Then went to BQ, because the proximity to Longacres, the next-door BQ had a lovely collection of Salvias - Golden Girl, and quite a lot others. Didn't buy anything there, but it was an eye opener and a feast for the eyes!

Any way, in another proper Wyevale, bought a tall Wisteria White flowers for £10. 2 2L pots of Box and another tray for £1. A mini tunnel for £5. Another lovely experience was that we went to Greenbrook again. Unlike other nurseries, this place was still singing, dancing and smiling with fresh rigor. For the other places, everything seems to be on sale and flowering waning, and some places with closing down look. Will upload some photos of this lovely well-tended nursery later.

I wish I had bought a Hydrangea Annabelle for £7 and Echinacea Paradoxa in Surrey. The prices there were cheap.

A lovely place!

 

[alp]

Cool and sad

Only a very tiny bit of rain from yesterday. Will do a lot of watering later as the soil in certain area was bone dry.

Had Pak Chois last night - verdict - a bit tough, not so good as Lidl's

Centaurea has a second florish - very unexpected. Like the pink one more, but I only have this blue one.

Pak Choi and now I need to sow more.

Quite a few crickets this year. They probably knew we won the cricket world cup!

Yesterday, I found out that the only Lord Lambourne apple fell onto the ground.

I have only one of this Red Rocket - hope it stays on until it's ripe.

 

[alp]

A bit breezy, but not exactly cold. Woken up to the constant repetitive screaming of the rooster, Hope that neighbour is not going to complain again. I nearly had 2 rooster, but the other one died mysteriously. Had the feeling that the cage was too small - the town was too small for the two of them.

Went to the allotment and come home with most of the big uns'

Got an email saying that my local Wyevale is turning into British Garden Centre in October and customers are encouraged to go to the clearance. If you have one nearby, do go. I got an Early Sensation Clematis for £1. 2 trays of boxus for £1 each over the weekend. A branded rose for £2. I even ventured out into Iris Sibirica, 2 with a silver edge and one normal and looked a bit sad. It might end in tears! Sad as I do like to go to Wyevale and their plants are big and healthy and I sort of just got the drill of their calendar!

Serious weeding is called for in the allotment. I am still waiting for the Green Twister there and here to throw up buds! Will someone pray for me? Crumbs 911 is near. I'm having jitters even though I am not American!

Zenj's Fish and chip got a mention in the paper!

 

[alp]

Went to Wyevale again and got another wisteria white for £5, Azaleas and rhodo - all £1 each. Trying to create a moist and cooler area for some of my plants in the garden yesterday.

Put it simply: no rain for the foreseeable future!

£1 Daphne Princess

My argy'mum is flourishing!

Really like this flower as the flowers are much bigger!

More Daphne - one could be aeromarginata

This is a Garrya Elliptica

Already showing its tassels

Loads of these Patty pans - powdery and not a patch on courgettes!

These lettuces are doing very well.

 

[alp]

Was very busy yesterday. Planted out a white wisteria - I reckon I can leave £5 here and I'm taking cuttings or layering.

Going to be a lovely day

The Gaura I bought from Longacres

Yesterday, I worked hard at this area, The only shaded area - planted out several Iris Sibricias - one with lovely silvery edges. I split them into various smaller plants.

Bought several Daphnes - Princess (not planted here, obviously a very versatile Daphne and can take a lot of heat), Bholua, Spring Beauty and 3 different Aureomarginata! Please gift me your perfume!

Dahlia - one fo the best performers for me. Tons of my previous friends have been trying to throw up shoots or just sit there with tons of leaves. Very disappointing year for dahlia.

Bought this Lobelia - real statuesque beauty and I now have red, pink (Compton Pink - most beautiful), purple and one like magenta or purple.

I stumbled into these two round melony sweet surprise. Ah, too late. I will collect seeds and try again EARLY next year. But hey, don't knock 'em!

And I thought I had cured of my chickens' fussiness over their feeds. I have tried 3 different kinds of pellets and they turned up their noses. Then I stopped feeding them until they had learned not to overturn the feeding tray. Last few days, I went to the coop and saw clean floor and clean trays and was very pleased with myself. Late afternoon, went again and saw A MOUSE!

Now, that's why it has been clean everywhere! Out came my peppermint essential oil. Difficult as mouse/rat is still part of the food chain; but the idea of them gnawing something inside my property is just a bit scary. Peppermint oil is useful, and I thank Zenj for that.