Our gardening diaries - from latest toys, flowers to wildlife .. Please upload pics

[mg guy]

I was supposed to have typed It's NOT him lugging the mower.

That slope requires serious health and safety guidelines as it is literally 45 degrees. I wonder if there is a competition for creating mowing patterns on a 45 degree slope. Now, that would be fun!

piece of cake! lol

 

[mg guy]

mg guy, you'll probably get a laugh out of this!

Mowing the yard was my job, weekends, starting when I was about 11 or 12 years old. For months, I mowed the way I had seen Dad do it, ever smaller squares in the yard. The back yard was 2 acres, and it got boring. (Oh, how it got boring!) One weekend, since no one had ever told me why we mowed this way, I went off pattern. I drove the mower "right" for the outer square, then, bored, I started a wide, wavy pattern, weaving back and forth. And when I got done... you could see it. My dad was kind of mad about it. (Mom laughed.)

I can still hear my dad, though. "It looks like I hired a drunken sailor to mow the yard! "

It took two more mowings for the pattern to fade.

good story!

and ironic in a way, as now we actually will do a wavy stripe from time to time!

 

[alp]

mg guy, you'll probably get a laugh out of this!

Mowing the yard was my job, weekends, starting when I was about 11 or 12 years old. For months, I mowed the way I had seen Dad do it, ever smaller squares in the yard. The back yard was 2 acres, and it got boring. (Oh, how it got boring!) One weekend, since no one had ever told me why we mowed this way, I went off pattern. I drove the mower "right" for the outer square, then, bored, I started a wide, wavy pattern, weaving back and forth. And when I got done... you could see it. My dad was kind of mad about it. (Mom laughed.)

I can still hear my dad, though. "It looks like I hired a drunken sailor to mow the yard! "

It took two more mowings for the pattern to fade.

I admire you for being independent in thinking.. What should we follow the norms or convention, especially with regards to mowing a lawn. Hahaha! Bet your dad a conservative nice man!

 

[MaryMary]

and ironic in a way, as now we actually will do a wavy stripe from time to time!

Well. whaddaya know?! I was ahead of my time! Telling my age, but this would have been back around 1979, maybe 1980.

Take a pic for me next time?

I admire you for being independent in thinking.. What should we follow the norms or convention, especially with regards to mowing a lawn. Hahaha! Bet your dad a conservative nice man!

Nice man, yes.
Conservative? Not by a long shot!

But this was his yard, alp!! (Wait...)

His yard !! "Aaaahhh" (-> Sound of chorus of angels.)

 

[mg guy]

Well. whaddaya know?! I was ahead of my time! Telling my age, but this would have been back around 1979, maybe 1980.

well, I'll show my age and tell you that the last pic I posted is a lawn I've been cutting since the time you've mentioned!

 

[alp]

2 acres.. My mouth waters .. He's lucky to have such a big yard! Not so good for the person mowing it though! Haha!

 

[BigC]

piece of cake! lol

View attachment 26757

Loving the form of the tree at the top of the hill

 

[alp]

Nice to see the patterns from the top, @BigC , but close up the plants are really nothing to write home about. I prefer @Verdun 's border to such rigid parterre. I must say the first look took my breath away. Wish they had an area for informal planting. Drifts of heleniums, rudbeckias, and echinaceas are what I am after.

 

[MaryMary]

2 acres.. My mouth waters .. He's lucky to have such a big yard! Not so good for the person mowing it though! Haha!

Now, hold on a minute, alp! Flowers were only allowed to be planted around the house!! That big yard was his dream, though. (The yard...Aaaahhh!!) First thing he did was plant a line of pines across the front, and an ornamental maple in the middle of the front. A small "orchard" of fruit and nut trees in the back. And a small veg plot.

I got the job of mowing because my mother had a habit of daydreaming, and ran over too many of the pines!

A couple years later, thieves came in the middle of the night and stole the maple. Dad called the sheriff.. "You're not going to believe this, but..." Turns out there was a group going around our county stealing all the expensive trees!

 

[alp]

I like your emojis .. really made me laugh, @MaryMary .. Your mum did know how to get out of a tight corner ..

I had a genteel lady pinching my alstroemeria seeds. She told me that and she told me that she put them in the freezer (clever sly genteel lady - I have to admire her cleverness!) for a day and it worked. There are loads of precious plant thieves. Someone had his expensive snowdrops stolen and even I had a hole in my front lawn. After that, I haven't planted anything precious in my front border as there are tons of people walking pass.

Here, some woman was captured on CCTV pinching a lawn! I ask you! And in another incident, a line of tree as windbreaker was stolen ... RHS and National Trust properties said that they had precious plants stolen as well. Acer could be a very expensive tree. We are lucky that because of intensive and calibrated farming / culture, a lot of plants such as orchids have come down in prices dramatically - democratisation of gardening (plants have become so much more affordable if you know where to look) Of course, there are still a lot of places asking for silly prices. My friend said she was thinking of buying a bamboo for her daughters but the price was like £100. I told her that the English didn't buy them at that price, and the moment the sales started, shops looked like they were being burgled...

 

[Logan]

Morning all.
@alp you have to be a 100percent.

 

[alp]

Good morning to all: Need to clear my lawn of rubbish, but I have 1001 jobs to do. If I keep taking cuttings, I will get nowhere.

I wonder how @Perki is getting on and if he gets any notifications?

Saw his Angelica yesterday on a gardening programme. I wish I hadn't killed the seeds. Most of my salvia seeds are thriving - very pleased. Shame that I have forgotten to sow the tithonia seeds for the 2nd year running. The orange flowers are just gorgeous.

Now that I have caught up with all the gardening programmes, I'm suffering from having withdrawal symptoms already.

 

[Logan]

Counted all my wallflowers, got 200 all together.
Got 5 of these

And these

The container is fruit punnets. Put 2 in each.

I sowed a few seeds into toilet rolls with compost. Thinned them out to 1 each. When the roots started growing through,I planted the whole thing into these. I was loosing a lot when i was pricking them out of seed trays.

 

[BigC]

Good Morning all..
Let me know the costs of the seeds and postage @alp when your ready to send some over (no rush)
As expected its back to Autumn/Winter or whatever you like to call it in this godforsaken part of ass end of nowhere..its raining and very blustery so much so its toppled over my large (for my garden) Jackamonti (Silver Birch) tree...even in its large tree planter...never done that before so I may have to weight it down, then again if I do that will I risk it snapping??? hard to know...Anyway today is D-Day for the Leaf moulds, I planned ahead for the inclement weather and covered them over both as a precautionary measure and to stop the cement drying out too quickly..I cant wait to unveil them and clean them up..again fingers crossed

 

[BigC]

Counted all my wallflowers, got 200 all together.
Got 5 of these
View attachment 26771 And these
View attachment 26772
View attachment 26773
View attachment 26774
The container is fruit punnets. Put 2 in each.View attachment 26775
I sowed a few seeds into toilet rolls with compost. Thinned them out to 1 each. When the roots started growing through,I planted the whole thing into these. I was loosing a lot when i was pricking them out of seed trays.

WOW thats amazing @Logan...loving the toilet roll idea...great hack for what to do with the spent loo roll core. Nice one!