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

[alp]

Just to jazz up things a bit, I have created a moan thread

https://www.gardening-forums.com/threads/2017-what-has-failed-you-misereably.12653/

Spill your beans.. I'm off to sort out my hibiscus farm!

 

[Verdun]

Alp, I made and use wire supports to keep plants upright. However I also practise the chelsea chop on suitable plants thus making them more sturdy and self supporting. Research varieties too...achilleas for example can be self supporting or flop according to variety. Heleniums can vary in this as can salvias. And planting them away from the paths and replacing with shorter plants to help support them. Not overfeeding too......overfed plants will be lush and flop!
Now, more important things alp....my new garden toy .I got a new garden leaf blower and vacuum Noisy but fun
Sorry alp....cant give you my sunshine....its all mine

 

[alp]

Alp, I made and use wire supports to keep plants upright. However I also practise the chelsea chop on suitable plants thus making them more sturdy and self supporting. Research varieties too...achilleas for example can be self supporting or flop according to variety. Heleniums can vary in this as can salvias. And planting them away from the paths and replacing with shorter plants to help support them. Not overfeeding too......overfed plants will be lush and flop!
Now, more important things alp....my new garden toy .I got a new garden leaf blower and vacuum Noisy but fun
Sorry alp....cant give you my sunshine....its all mine

Heavens have answered my wish and they said that I would share some of your sunshine. Funny thing is that there were some spits in the air, but nothing called drizzle.

Quite right. I will get some rock roses for the front. Ah, my border faces east and south and all the tall plants I have planted at the back eg. Dahlia Crazy love, Yellow pompons have all collapsed as a heap covering the shorter penstemons and others at the front. By the look of it, I should also do island gardening so that the taller plants in the middle don't have to lean either way to search for the sun.

Thank you for the useful tips.

 

[MaryMary]

@alp, what kind of squash is this? The pattern reminds me of snowflakes! Or maybe frost on a windowpane... Pretty.

I also practise the chelsea chop on suitable plants

Chelsea chop?

Sorry alp....cant give you my sunshine....its all mine

Selfish!! alp, you can have some of my sunshine! Now, if anyone could send me a bit of rain...?

 

[alp]

I think @Sheal might want to send you some rain Don't blame me if it comes with gale(s)!

@Verdun 's jokes always make me cackle.. I looked at the weather reports and two days running, Cornwall had sun earlier in the morning. I certainly would allow it. Cornwall is always raining, but @Verdun has always been blessed by heavens ..

@Verdun will explain Chelsea chop better than me.. He's my resident adviser!

The squash is called spaghetti squash .. A Chinese friend gave me a big one last year and I washed and kept the seeds. Only planted 2 and they have been doing a runner i.e. stretching far and wide with their tentacles (not that one!) I literally couldn't walk as they crossed the paths and nearly went to neighbour's garden!

Their texture resembles the lines of scallops more than anything else. I would say it tastes like a glorified courgette, with an understated sweet flavour. Quite nice. But once cut open, you have to eat it every day, just to make sure they are still fresh. But they keep for months.. Really worth the effort if you have a big garden, which you usually have. To us, acres of land is a DREAM!

 

[MaryMary]

That's odd, alp. I thought all spaghetti squash was yellow. I stole the pictures but that is what I know as spaghetti squash!!

Yours is much prettier! Do you serve it with red sauce, instead of pasta, then?

https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs...-003&fr2=piv-web&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-003

@Verdun 's jokes always make me cackle..

I knew it was a joke! I figured I'd yank his chain a little for you...

 

[Logan]

Why can you only grow white and yellow ones, @Logan . I so want to have more. My Chinese friends really like magenta colour. One man I met at the bootsale even developed his magenta flowers - all blurred - just showed how much he loved them. I have to hide this plant in amongst the similar coloured fuchsia (cream and dark pink) or else it might be stolen.. But they just love the heat near the front where they are baked.

Last year, I had a massive patch of purple single osteospermum, but this year, I had only a stem showing hand, but now, I have a modest patch.. They just love being baked.

View attachment 27410

@alp the other colours don't seem to be as hardy.

 

[Verdun]

Blimey! Its raining again .....ha ha alp
You cant go by weather forecast here in Cornwall....Some places may be raining whilst others are bathed in sunshine. Often near the coast we miss the rain. Today it really is very warm
Chelsea Chop is when mid to late summer perennials like heleniums, taller sedums, phlox and others are trimmed back in late spring. ,"chelsea" because the timing is, give or take, when Chelsea Flower Show is on . This slightly delays flowering but produces much sturdier self supporting growth
Mischevous MaryMary yanking my chain,

 

[alp]

Seeing the azure-blue sky only deepens my "hatred" of you! So unfair, long growing season, balmy weather, lovely moisture and I have NONE of these.. We have drought, drought and drought .. and the meth lab next door even sends the bird fleeing. Even they could tell a surge of toxic fumes..

So, in a word, Chelsea chop is pruning after Chelsea flower show. I blame chelsea flower show for making me buy geums .. Nothing to write home about them, but last year Chelsea was plugging it HARD! And I was gullible enough to buy two.

 

[Verdun]

Geums not my favourite either alp except Totally Tangerine. This flowers for such a long time esp if deadheaded. And evergreen....at least here it is. Easily propagated too....from one plant 4 years or so ago I have a dozen or so full size flowering plants

 

[alp]

I think I have a yellow one Mrs ?? and Mrs Bradshaw, a red one. I'd like some which would PACK A PUNCH! You see what I mean? Hehe!

 

[alp]

That's odd, alp. I thought all spaghetti squash was yellow. I stole the pictures but that is what I know as spaghetti squash!!

Yours is much prettier! Do you serve it with red sauce, instead of pasta, then?


View attachment 27419View attachment 27420View attachment 27421

https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs...-003&fr2=piv-web&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-003




I knew it was a joke! I figured I'd yank his chain a little for you...

I tell you, as long as I can sell the seeds, I don't care what it is called. Among the Chinese, they call them scallop squash. I don't think it is spaghetti squash either as it should look exactly how the one you show here and they look like loads of strings and hence spaghetti squash. I call it Green and white speckled squash .. and I sold 4 or 5 of them .. so no complaint. I think I will just call it scallop squash. Some Bangladeshi ladies were so pleased with them. I was happy as they were so happy with their "finds" and they said they were just ripe for their bhajis .. It's like I made their day! Fun and joy to all!

 

[Logan]

Morning all

 

[BigC]

Good Morning @Logan...and all the early risers

 

[alp]

Well, I'm sort of an early riser!

Do want to get up as the air is cold and apparently it has been RAINING with all my clothes on the washing lines..

Good morning all. Yesterday, I was busy sorting out my insurance. I had the shock of my life when the invitation letter said the Rebuilding amount would not exceed £41165. Crikey, I would give anyone this amount to build me a 3-bedroom brick house. And then the content is £20173 and my surname spelt wrongly and the expiry date for both building and content 6th September.

The operative kept saying that I entered those figures on line. No way, I always put content 19,999 and building 199999. In the end, I got him to amend it as my insurance always expires on 4th October. What a nightmare!

Moral of the lesson is that I must check every single item to make sure that it is correct. Don't expect what I fill in online will be replicated on the policy.. I was furious .. as the implications are serious!