3: Gardening Diaries ...

[alp]

That's ok then.

Someone else on the forum has got tons of bark chips and he said he wouldn't need to buy any for the rest of his life. He wants to decompose them quickly, just as I do. I googled and they suggest putting horse manure on top of it or mix it in. Hope to get some freebies if the weather is cool and overcast! Shingles and horse manure!

 

[Logan]

@Logan Does hubby love music and the Carpenters as much as you?

No he doesn't like the Carpenters, but i still play them, he's ok with that. I've got a iPod and a blue tooth speaker and i play it in the kitchen.

He's more into Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream, heavy metal.But he doesn't play them much. I like Pink Floyd, but not the others. I was surprised when he said that he likes country rock.

That's good about getting your horse manure, i hope that you get it.

 

[alp]

The sun has come out and we've been out the whole day. Went to Wyevale and don't think this one will change hands. This one is in an affluent area where people wouldn't have 2nd thought about paying £16 for a pot of hydrangea - very common one at that! I don't live near there, but we go there on the back of some kind of promotion. A packet of Shirley toms is priced at over £4, so even at half price, it's £2. Oh, no! Not for me!

Got the final compost bag with a hole(50L) for £1 and it was a nightmare trying to get out. Never again. I was scared stiff there people parked all over the area leaving space for only one car. And then there were some very aggressive drivers shouting at other people even though he didn't have right of way. He's angry the other person did not let him go first even though he poked his nose in between.

Got a hardy gardinia for £1.50 and an agapanthus for £2 and a surfina single petunia for £1.79 - a tray with several in them.

 

[alp]

Think about this when you eat your carrots next! LOL!

The huge wad of cash you now need to buy a few carrots for THREE MILLION Bolivars in Venezuela as the country is gripped by hyperinflation under socialist regime

• Several basic food supplies require piles of cash to buy them in the cash-strapped South American nation
• Venezuela's socialist government under Nicolas Maduro has ushered in uncontrolled levels of hyperinflation
• Experts fear new measures to increase the minimum wage in the country could put shops out of business
• Workers responded by rushing to the stores to stock up on supplies before the measures come in on Monday

source
Aren't we lucky?!

 

[Upsy Daisy]

We certainly are, unfortunately this is a fact that we tend to forget

 

[alp]

Have you done anything exciting today, @Upsy Daisy ?

 

[Upsy Daisy]

Ummmm let me think....... no not really

Did some google research this morning about how to over winter Dahlias .....up till now I have never had much luck at this
Looked into various ways of over wintering Geraniums....I do this anyway quite successfully but though I would explore different ways of doing so

Took loads of cuttings from various variegated shrubs ( don't you dare ask me to name them). Took more lavender cuttings , this time from the white one and finally took some Geranium cuttings as well.
Dead headed, cut back and weeded 3 big borders, seed collecting as I went.

That's about it really, you've had a good day with some great bargain buys....do Gardinias have a lovely fragrance, or am I thinking of something else?

 

[alp]

Are you going to pour mulch on dahlias to overwinter them? I never bother digging them up. They are being sunned by west setting sun even in winter. I actually found the cold was too much for Salvia Black and Blue (it died and I dug up something, thinking it was Black and blue. It turned out to be a fuchsia!). But I must say the Frosted tip might have been killed as there is nothing similar popping up to say hello so far! Also, I haven't seen cafe au lait either. But I do have tons of leaves.

Gardenia is a hardy one and still one a half dead flower.

GW was very enjoyable. Could never imagine such a beautiful building in Neasden!

 

[Upsy Daisy]

I've always dug them up and potted them up to over winter in the greenhouse. I clean the tubers, leave them to dry off and then place them in a pot with dry compost.....I have had one make it through, but that's all. Last year I accidentally left one in the ground so I decided to leave it there and see how things went........well it went , never saw it again!!!


Yes GW was interesting, that place was utterly A...ma...zing!!!

 

[alp]

You need to pour about 1 foot of mulch over the tubers and they should be OK. Yes, such a lot of stone work and carving.

 

[Upsy Daisy]

A foot of mulch!!! That's a lot!
I will try that
Thanks

 

[alp]

Haha! United beaten. Mourinho will talk a lot tomorrow!

 

[alp]

Here is a video by Sarah Raven. And if you like to read RHS
Protecting plants with mulch
Where lifting and storing are not necessary, a thick, dry mulch can be used for protection. In mild areas, cannas and dahlias can be overwintered like this, as can deciduous Agapanthus (those that lose their leaves in winter) and globe artichokes. The young shoots of lilies can be mulched to protect them from late spring frosts. The tender shrub Melianthus major can be cut back to ground level and then mulched for winter protection.

Suitable mulching materials include straw, garden compost, chipped bark or well-rotted manure. See our advice on mulches and mulching for further ideas.

@johnny canoe said he always leaves a bit of the soil on the tubers. Hope he sees and can tell you more!

Another thing you can do is to fashion a dome. That's how I some of my plants. I will do the dame with the Amistad.

Some pics from yesterday

Kelvin Floodlight x 2

£2 well spent - alstro still going very strong

Very happy with this Moodz from BQ

The other one 50p is dead as dodo.

A new rose

Salvia collection

Salmon Dance - peachy

Joy - pinky

Amistad

Love and Wishes

Hotlips
and Nachtvlinder (Night moth)

This one is called Ultra violet - sorry for the poor quality of the pic!

 

[alp]

Wonky food waste scandal: A third of all fresh fruit and veg is binned every year in the UK as stores deem it misshapen

• More than 50 million tonnes of fresh produce grown across Europe is discarded
• University of Edinburgh study described food loss as 'great scourge of our times'
• In the UK 4.5million tonnes of fruit and vegetables are thrown away every year
  
  Source

I don't mind strawberries being wonky. In fact, I ate loads of them.

But these pumpkins or squashes are taking the biscuits

 

[Logan]

Morning all lovely pics @alp
Yes it's the wet ground that kills dahlias. I used to dig them up and keep the soil on. Wrap them up in paper and store them upside down so they can drain from the stem.