Magazine style - all inclusive

[Perki]

Back in after today's graft. Walked down to the GC this afternoon down the road very pricey but picked up some trailing begonia for the baskets which were priced accordingly . Planted my cucumber and melons ( tomatoes yesterday ) in the GH . Emptied the barrels and large pots , put the bulbs I want to keep in pots and stuffed them round the back of the shed to dry out before storage . The robins have been following me around all afternoon , me at one end of the wheelbarrow robin at the other end ( cheeky sod ) then they are in the barrel having a rummage around . And of course more watering .

 

[alp]

Good morning to another sunny day!

Watered my allotment yesterday. One lady who is on the committee and has been there for 15 years or 19? tells me that once plants have roots, you can space watering to 3 days. I was a bit embarrassed to tell her that I have just sown some seeds. Those sown earlier and earlier had not reported for duty!

Trailing begonia - Ember? Or just ordinary ones. I have quite a few baskets, but I never bother to dress them. I'm no expert. I prefer to collect seeds. You did a lot yesterday. Robins like that and they can be quite bold. My garden is now a haven for pigeons, tits, gold finches. Very pleased to see them flying from plants to plants and at very low level.

Potted up all the snowdrops found whilst digging and read that Avon bulb managed to scale snowdrop with big bulb called Midas and he turned one into 20 and then into 300! Quids in!

I wonder where I can buy alcohol. Must have a go. Found a huge bulb yesterday and of course, lost the label again. So fed up with myself.

Harvested a fennel and some coriander leaves for dinner. Also a lot of beans. Need to sow another round of lettuces.

Salvia Coccinea Summer Jewel Pink

Much neglected cactus flower

Would you believe it? Tomorrow is June!

 

[Perki]

Another hot one here as well today lots more done today in the garden. Emptied more pots for summer displays. planted up my two front pots with my standard Brugmansia maya added some petunia axillaris - lemon trailing begonia to pick up on the flowers of the Brugmansia and some trailing nepeta to include the variegation of the brugmansia , I need some more lemon begonia so sent my dad down to the GC to pick some up but all gone they were loads yesterday , looks like I am back on the hunt for trailing begonia. I am after bob standard ones , i have grown some santa cruz from seed but its takes ages but I am going to put a bit more effort in for next year growing from seed fed up of going everwhere looking for them.

Pulled some forget me not out they are starting to look a bit scruffy, planted a Penstemon garnet ( cutting ) I lost the mother plant this year, also move a sedum jose and planted a Agapanthus jacks blue next to it.

They don't look like much at the moment but they fill in , I put a before and after pic on later on in the year .

First rose this year - Generous Gardener

 

[alp]

Good morning to all: Very hot yesterday, but we had a bit of wind. We went out around 12 and just went all over Essex. Bought a Gingko which will promptly go to the back of the house. I don't know if this is male or female. One will stink when it flowers and it will take 2 decades for a plant to mature. I hope this is a young plant. I remember last beautiful plant that I bought, Jacaranda, which stank so badly that I had to kill it. LOL!

Your Brugmansias look great, Perki. Mine had no flowers, so I chopped their heads off and boom go up numerous leaves. A bit disappointed. Another year wasted. Bought a ribbed Abutilon. I really love abutilons and another hardy orchid, only this one is much cheaper. Just so nice to have so many nurseries round here.

Nothing beats a rose of this colour. I have numerous blooms of this same delicate colour growing on very poor soil, but it's so happy that it threw out nearly 10 blooms.

3 blooms from this lovely irises

Light was fading when I took these pics

Salvia Coccinea summer jewel pink

Penstemon Smallii

My veg patch at home! Well chuffed!

This doesn't taste like broccoli, but looks like it!

Was thinking of removing this plant, thinking it was geum! Wow! Out came 2 blooms and I was stopped right on the murderous track!

 

[Zenj]

Morning all another beautiful day whether wise, a few from this morning

 

[alp]

Very pretty. I have the same purple edged sweet pea and the fragrance is just incredible! I bought one white bleeding heart for £2 and hoped to harvest the seeds. Er, no. The 2 little flowers died and no seeds!

Love the nomocharis! But oh, so dear!

Your lilies are EXTREMELY EARLY!

Nice to see sunny weather in Yorkshire. At one point, looking at the weather report, I want to cry for you! LOL!

Been comparing electricity rate. Having the best one Yorkshire Weasel. Sadly, it's going to end and all the comparison sites are rubbish, they say you can save whilst in fact you lose out. It's only when you look at the figures then you realise they are all lying. Savings could mean the OLD or the new tariff. Very naughty, these sites. Going to transplant something in the lean to and then I won't be able to walk through it. Transplanting = more plants.

 

[Zenj]

The very pale pink is also a Nomocharis my lilies are in bud but a fair way off flowering ,still no sign of any rain here in the north east had to get the hose out yesterday.

 

[alp]

Oh, I see! That's a nomocharis as well. I felt a bit lost out again when I thought it was your lilies flowering. Biggest loss is not having meconopsis. Did you watch Beechgrove repeats? Stunning meconopsis pioneered by a lady! And stunning clump in their botanical garden.

Watered just now! Snapped, Zenj! Watered the allotment yesterday. Some of my toms were decimated and deformed.

Went to friend's place! Her mimulus was simply stunning - like a wall of blooms! Fragrant purple rose! I need to tidy up before she can come to mine! But she has been warned!

Sadly, it's not rain water!

Iris Sibrica

Really love this little beauty - 6 flowers now!

Snapped, Zenj and the perfume just incredible while taking photo of this beauty!

The first time I have had such a good show of my red hot pokers and they are not in the hottest place!

This rose is a shrub, but I want it to be a standard and the flowers just keep going every direction.

Delphinium from B&Q, reduced to half price £3.50 and most of the stems broken.

Neon Salvia is singing!

This little beauty has burnt a hole in my pocket!

Now I wish I had bought a red one as well instead of my ginkgo

Verbena can be so beautiful

 

[alp]

Looking at the photos yesterday, it seems to me I must have fiddled with the exposure or lighting by mistake and suddenly everything around the subject matter looks dark.

Zenj Your plants must have had a good soak now. I hallucinated and thought I heard heavy rain and then I worked out that it was the dishwasher! All grey now.

Prospect is not good!
BBC

Met Office

harvested fritillaria imperialis lutea seeds and some cirsium Trevor's Blue Wonder seeds. Yesterday was the 3rd time a bird has flown into the lean to. Shame could never be quick enough to take a photo.

My Deutzias Strawberry Fields and Magicien are both with flowers, but the former seems to be very dry and half of it dying whilst the latter is difficult to get to to take a photo.

One thing puzzled me no end: I sowed some quinoa seeds and out came these. And I thought there must be some mistake!

And then they morphed into these

I had the impulse to pull them out as they resembled some weeds. Now that I have googled, I can rest in peace although the fact that I bought seeds rather than buying actual quinoa from shops still makes me feel very, very, very stupid!

 

[Zenj]

Yes a good soaking rained most of the night very dull and only12 c colder for the weekend .and windy

 

[alp]

Yes a good soaking rained most of the night very dull and only12 c colder for the weekend .and windy

Just finished watering of the back garden! Nothing compares with a good soak!

 

[alp]

Perki You have a good soaking as well? I'm going to burst into tears!

 

[Perki]

Rained here also and still raining on and off now. I was just writing that when your messaged popped up

 

[alp]

I am sure you can hear me cry! Life is so unfair! All grey and cool, and very little wind. Everywhere is a mess. I do need the function to blur or black out everything, apart from the flowers! LOL! Thank heavens I don't have a husband. No sane person can live with me! Little emperor and I are 2 PEAS in a pod.

 

[Perki]

Needed the rain but I don't think my poppies will enjoy it much though, I feel like taking the roof of the greenhouse so it can rain in there as well fed up of watering