Magazine style - all inclusive

[Zenj]

Strange day 24c but now very grey

 

[alp]

Well, it's over and it's heartbreaking. Knowing Southgate's history, one would expect his team to have practised tons of penalty shootouts.

My first proper Pak Choi from the allotment, grown under netting.

Inula Helenium / Elecampane

Black Knight

Asclepias incarnata Cinderella

Dicentra

Very disappointing colour

Zenj:
Dahlia Jomanda - Halls of Heddon Terracotta orange pompon it says - very pleased.

Nothing to beat a Franz Kafka - the form, the colour .. so exquisite and so serene!

Yesterday, I saw a figure loitering near my strawberries in the allotment. Turned out to be Agnes who kindly watered my strawberries, thinking I would not be coming. We chatted a bit but due to the lack of time, I had to cut short the chat as son needed to go biking. It was so kind of her... And I had only talked to her about 6 times since I started. Very sweet friend.

 

[alp]

By the look of it, there will be no more rain for me! The floods had gone to Dorset and London Shepherd's Bush and very little for me.

Was busy yesterday and didn't take any photos. Flowers are very slow as there hasn't been enough heat.

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Heat Dome killed 1 BILLION sea creatures in the Pacific Northwest with temperatures at 104F on the coast - as experts warn weather phenomenon could now happen every five to 10 years

• The Pacific Northwest was hit with a historic heat wave two weeks ago
• Some areas hit 121F, with coastal regions soaring to 104F
• Experts say the extreme temperatures may have killed on billion sea creatures
• This includes mollusks, clams, barnacles and star fish
  
  
  
  
  
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  This assumes that the sea creatures are static; hopefully, they might have moved to cooler areas. But the unexpected heat waves in British Columbia and even Siberia did kill a number of people.

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A lovely transparent octopus

And today, in its place, there is a snake- sleek and sinister

I dug up a huge clump of echinacea purpurea Pow Wow. And now I have more to dig up. I bought a lot of 5 or 6 echinacea Green Twister and now they stare at me, in pride of place that I specifically had chosen for them - all lilac pink. Total despair! And one is even green in colour! Sooooo annoyed!

 

[alp]

What technology can do
Plane dumps thousands of fish into Utah lake

Another heat wave in West fuels wildfires as Death Valley hits 133F

Londoners desperately try to salvage belongings and restore power as they count cost of 'biblical' flash floods

Time to dig out the echinaceas.

 

[Perki]

Well things seem to of done quite a bit of growing since last week the rains have really got things going now after the dry spell, the rain ruined my roses though .

Had a good weekend until England lost . Train hit a deer on the way home and damaged the brakes so we were stuck in the middle of nowhere for a couple of hours , they manged to limp the train back to York and had to get another train .

 

[LouisFerdinand]

@alp, I like how large the Alauna Clair-Obscur are.

 

[alp]

Glad that you had a good time and as for the footsie, well, it's a shame, Perki! Nice to have a change, wasn't it!

Seeing the footage of the biblical floods in London, my heart sank. There were fountains gushing out from underground and people's houses were flooded. Nearly 2' of water outside patio door. I don't think the insurers are going to pay up. They blame it on mega basements which could be one reason. People are so selfish and are constantly digging. Imagine how your property foundations are going to be affected.

Louis: I love Alauna because of its unusual colour - rich and deep and very sexy!

Lily

Echinacea White - first white this year!

This dahlia is a bit of a mess but so different!

Rejman's Firecracker

Very dainty and pretty Salvia Coccinea Pink Jewel

Salvia Coccinea Pink Jewel - I bought the seeds reduced £1 for nearly 5 year and they came to nothing until last year when every single seed germinated. After harvesting, I didn't know what the seeds were and sowed them anyway, and now I have a lovely cluster.

This year Cosmos Apricot Lemonade has very intense colours

When I first saw this flower, I thought: Oh, I have 2 Alauna Clair Obscur! On closer look yesterday, I realised that it actually is a Table Dancer Dahlia. I have been buying these tubers for years and years - same experience as my Salvia Coccinea Pink Jewel. I never had any success. Then suddenly, there they are. I love the unusual colour -

Table Dancer which I love because of its unusual colour. And fimbriated as well.

In the sunshine, Alauna takes on a different allure!

Firebird or Garnet?

Penstemon Pensham Laura

Table Dancer

Abutilon in garden soil

Helleborus Stained Glass

Usually, I feel rather cold in the morning; by the feel of it, summer is sneaking in and I will be dodging the hot air. Monday morning, son trimmed the neighbour's ivy which broke their fences and has left gaping holes in the fence. Yesterday morning and afternoon, I had to fight bind weed coming from the other neighbour's wide wild back. So unfair. I never see these problems in Garden Rescue.

 

[alp]

Now, apart from mozzies, I have a new nemesis - ants! Yesterday, I couldn't even plant out my plants as there were ants trooping out of their nests in the soil and white oval eggs everywhere embedded in the soil and they mounted attacks on me straightaway. Well, at least, they don't leave me with a year or longer itch! I saw two mozzies in action yesterday. One I scared away, the other left me with a bite.

Weather yesterday was lovely. Cool, breezy until the middle of the day and yet I couldn't find my hand fork and that was a big excuse to be lazy. I need a worker's belt. I am sooooooo hopeless. In the end, I used a spade and then the ants attacked. Very happy that I have at least planted something. Oh, I forgot my other arch enemy - the foxes. They dug a big 5L pot size hole in my cabbage and cauliflower bed! The netting was off! I was soooooooooo mad! The garden has been taken over by ants, cats, foxes, pigeons, birds and mozzies. Wildlife for you. I don't mind the birds, but they do fly out of nowhere and scare me stiff!
I also T-budded my miracot and sunburst cherry trees.

Salvia Discolor cuttings - I should have taken longer cuttings, but when the plant arrived, there was no way I could take any cuttings as this had been done before the plant left the nursery. So I have been more or less conditioned to take cuttings of this size! Keep my finger crossed.

Clematis Princess Kate

Colour Spectacle Dahlia, with a thalictrum Double Hewitt and some weed in between and the giant lily which should grow to 8' tall.

 

[alp]

A lovely day yesterday and wish I had done more as today, the sun is out in full force.

The floods in the continent were serious and the carnage was all to see. People died and missing as well. And then there was car crashes on A1 and a lorry burst into flame and people died as well. Quite rare to see fire in traffic accident. Sad news.

People are now complaining the ping and trace app which is crippling the country.

Petunia is still going strong. Time to collect seeds

Black Honka

Pallida?

Helenium Rubinwerz

Teesbrooke Audrey

Rejman's Firecracker

Aptly named Orange Pompon

I'm a sucker for orange flowers - Adobe Orange

First year my Annabelle has a meaningful display!

Let's hope we have a calmer day for all!

Great improvement on the site design!

Thank you to those clever web-designers! ​

 

[alp]

Tidying up the lean to and then the patio and has asked a contact to give a quote as son doesn't have a lot of time.

Helenium Wyndley

Table Dancer dahlia

Thalictrum Delavayi Splendide flower was just too small and my camera pathetic!

Hydrangea Miss Saori

First and only Green Twister in the garden

Could be Totally Tangerine?

Echinacea Kismet Red

Begonia

Alstroemeria Summer series

Inula helenium

Cafe au Lait

Adobe red echinacea

Dahlia Verrone's Obsidian full of lovely details

Have a nice weekend, every one!

 

[alp]

Very, very hot and the breezes were far and few between, unlike the day before. Went to the allotment 7.20 and came home 8.30. Harvested a bit more Pak Chois and the ants were quick on attack. Never happened like that before in the allotment.

Carrot flowers

Glorious Gaillardia from last year.

Rudbeckia Laciniata Herbstsonne

This is getting bigger and has now a bit of colour!

Clematis Jackmanii

Off to do some serious watering!

 

[Zenj]

a bit cloudy today but very pleasant the young blackbird comes everyday for her feed very tame and comes within inches.

 

[alp]

Funny you took a photo of a young bird. This morning, I woke up 5 to 5 and went out watering the plants. Saw this young bird hopping around and it's actually quite big, but didn't seem to be able to fly. I wanted to hold it and had a conversation with the bird rather than myself. It jumped up and sort of merged into the background. Wish I had had a better look. Very rare occasion. Yes, Hians are in full flower and your hanging basket is so pretty and healthy. Very nice!

 

[alp]

It was very hot yesterday. 8 to 9pm, the air was still very hot. Only at 10 did the air cool down.

Very buggy!

Echinacea Pallida

Glutinosa Salvia which is very BUSHY and a thinker!

Flower of love agapanthus

Verrone's Obsidian and I'm more iinterested in the stripes at the back of the petals. Very interesting!

I direct sowed this Zinnia and they all came out. The seeds were so old!

 

[Zenj]

Lovely photos alp overcast at the moment but forecasting a nice day have a good one all…