Magazine style - all inclusive

[Perki]

The GC here sells Prins bulbs I always look at the quality first before buying, I bought allium bulbs from lidl qutie a few weeks ago now I don't think they get anymore in this year .

It has been dry ( ground still wet ) in not raining till tea time its still raining now, supposed to be ok again tomorrow then go down hill again.

 

[alp]

I haven't seen any alliums giant collection for sales in Lidls here at all. All I have seen is Purple Sensation and the spherical cone shape ones. Funny that I actually had one such grown on the front border. Now that I have planted Callicarpa Profusion and a Viburnum Mariesii there, I might have killed it. I asked a lady in the allotment for seeds, she wasn't very keen. We had drizzle the whole day until 5 to 7.30. Then son rang to tell me his plan. He's with his dad as he was naughty. He's coming home today after work. That road to his dad's was treacherous. Too many twists and turns. Pricey seaside town. If I lived there, I would go for seaweeds washed up to the tidelines. Imagine that!

There was considerably less rain yesterday until 6pm. I actually cleared most of the toms in the middle bit of the garden. 2 days of drier weather, but tonight it will rain. Amazing how the rain map was all sea here in East London, but then there was nothing but drizzle and an hour of rain. So inaccurate!

Apparently, this is a Summer Paradise Collection and I think I have the orange one. It flowers from May to November. I will definitely go to the market to get another one or two. The credentials are impressive and for £2.50, it's a no brainer!

A wonderful rose with two colours for under £3. Don't think it's a branded one, so could be £1!

So beautiful!

A velvety maroon dahlia. First flower of this clump!

This is what I have been busy about, apart from washing pots! Married 2 shelves into one to maximise light

Also keep the ground warmer by laying a heavy duty underlay and some cardboard.

Another half of the lean to to tidy up. Want to put a toilet in there! I know it sounds wacky, but it adds value to the house!

 

[alp]

Perki: Try Long Acres first before other companies. Much cheaper or phone them to see if they can get what you want. I bought a Salvia Neon from them and it's growing so well. Shame it's such a long way away from me!

 

[alp]

Went to the allotment and came back with the following snaps

Bright and cheerful hypericum. Sharp yellow flowers and bright red berries - delightful

One Salvia above

Argyranthemum

Lovely Climbing rose at home. Just lovely!

Penstemon still has a long time to flower .. Just so cheerful!

Rajman Firecracker! It certainly packs a punch!

These are the cacti deer antler split end dinner plate I was talking about! This could be Myrtle's Folly! Very spectacular!

 

[alp]

Went to diy store to buy horticultural grit. Only Homebase got 2 left. Potted the erythronium seeds up, only to find half of the seeds of one packet was still floating on top of the water. Another packet of 4 seeds cost me £3.30. What a dummy I was! I looked up Chiltern which gives 27 seeds for some erythronium. Any way, won't buy seeds which will stew for 5 years to flower! I am too OLD!

Don't think I will get any more chicken. Their mess is just smelling and messy and they are fussy about their food. I have 3 different types of feeds and they turn up their nose! Glad that Blackie the rooster is now so much more relaxed with me. I have found out that I had been very wrong trying to stop them croaking. Hard to imagine that I thought I had hens and they turned out nearly all to be males who made so much din and caused complaint.

Now the hen doesn't lay eggs any more. Edrom delivered yesterday. All the pots were clean and some seemed to have been potted up prior to posting. Well packed and I had one trillium, some erythronium and some hepaticas, the latter is just for a laugh. Too hot here to grow these sort of things, but hey, at least, I have tried!

Next time I go to the allotment, I will take cuttings of the dahlias that I like and start propagating them in earnest.

 

[alp]

Didn't know it's only 4am. Turned on the dishwasher and sit in the dark and cool room. 19c in the living room.

Unknown dahlia chancing the first frost

These pots are supposed to sit out there for vernalisation. At the moment, the cold frame is still in conception stage!

Freegled aquarium sand - not bad!

Another tall shelf

Have the feeling that this is the Summer paradise series - not Indian Summer, but prettier and it has been flowering non-stop! Good looking, has a presence! What's not to love?

Even the African Daisy loves the weather!

A cheap regular aster

A very fragrant Chinatown!

Need to buy a new camera as the lovely yellow and orange do not show here!

This lobelia tupa is terribly slow and looks like waxwork!

One of the earliest hellebores

Anemone Hellebore!

Potted up some seeds. Need to sort out things quickly or next spring I will come to regret that I didn't get my act together. Life is too short to miss sowing moments. I remember this professional gardener said that they had a whole year planner for what to do. I read Which? garden magazines which give hint as to what to buy. I will take that with a pinch of salt. Commercial pressure is just too much for a consumer-driven society. Some tools cost £400 with £20 change! Ouch!

For anyone interested, Crocus is having a sale! Some bulbs are half price!

 

[alp]

RHS shop is also having bulb sales - the content looks strangely similar! LOL!

 

[Zenj]

Well back to the NE miserable weather wet and cold, was 28c to 35 c in Turkey will have to reclimatise no gardening as far too wet ground waterlogged ,so must have been a lot of rain and pond overflowing,

here’s a few photoes from Turkey the beach hen is for alp ha ha ..

 

[alp]

Zenj: Thank you for the beach hen! (please watch the last episode of GW in which a young man showed off his nan's chickens. Boy, they are cute as mine, but not a patch on late Goldie!) Isn't it lucky? Glorious weather and nice temperature. It looks UNREAL here in the UK!

Missed the damp proof material from recycling site. Some lucky man must have gone there before me. Should have left a phone number. We are glorious here. Rained early at 4am, but now, can't complain. Cold but sunny - the visibility just moves everything a notch happier, apart from the fact that I bought plants, again! My indulgence knows no bounds.

Incidentally, both RHS shops and Crocus are having sales! For those who could afford 15 day Turkey and still come back and moan or addiction which can't be curbed ... I, unfortunately, belong to the latter!

 

[alp]

My throat has been a battle-field since yesterday. Had the 2nd or first Lemsip of my life and it eased the grip on my throat a bit. Serious stuff. Need to buy more paracetamols, just in case. Not very nice standing there, with nose runny ...

Went to the market again, but all the lovely alstros and Sarracenias were nearly all gone. He's selling them for £1! I got the last alstro.

I was thinking of getting a different colour one - sort of light mauve. Last time, I turned up my nose, but when I went home and saw the words flowering from May to November, I knew it's worth going back to get another one. But it was not to be. Got the last same white one left and it looked pathetic.

Sarracenias were all sold out and he had those with open flaps which would close if you touch them.

Not half as pretty as the one I bought last week, as seen above. Gutted. Need to go the market more. Went to M&S to get some tiny gala apples for 65p. Shame they weren't from Kent this time, but from France, and went to drool over the scones and cakes. Alas, no reduction and hence no treat. All the other fruits like pears were gone. But their pears are not worth having - too small!

Clear the back and I am dithering about whether to keep the fence breaking Montana Rubens clematis. I had tried to remove it, but the big root ball keeps sending out runners. A bamboo runner was 8 inches out from the root! I lifted it up and hopefully crowded that mother root area with more stems. Need them to grow fast to shield the back from extreme heat.

What a lovely place Turkey seems to be - love those Corinthian columns. When I looked at the Roman ruins in Libya, I realised how wide Roman influence had been .. Lovely architectural features. Love hi-stories. Yesterday, I saw Dan Jones narrating Richard III and the murder of the 2 princes. I was intrigued, but I opted for real crime story instead. Hopefully, it will be repeated.

Saw Callicarpa Profusion on GW last night. I had one for very little money and I planted it out in the front garden, together with 1 deep lilac aster 50p, 1 pink topas Aster £2, one Viburnum p Mariesii, one magnolia £5.99 but 3 foot all, and I hope they will all smile at me at some point next spring!

 

[Perki]

Looks like a nice warm get away Zenji , must be a bit of a shock to the system back home

I always thought the RHS shop and crocus looked very similar , expensive to buy from crocus but lots to pick from. Got a cold already alp

Another wet start to the day if fog or mist is forecast its meaning its raining but its brightened up now and forecast to be dry but chilly for the coming week or so. I think I will eventually get round to visiting Harlow hall tomorrow hopefully they will have that Hellebore Double White Picotee I've been pining for, if not I sure they will have something I want , I'll have a peak over the fence to see if its worth looking round the garden.

 

[alp]

At least, it was a lovely sunny cheerful holiday whilst we have to endure the dismal weather. Having said that, today is glorious. Sky is blue, Now, the sun is hiding .. said it too soon.

Yes, nursing a cold and a bit of runny nose, was trying to sleep it off, but had to go to the post office. The minute I walked up the road, I saw a postman and I was wondering if there was anything for me. Seeing his flat bag, I moved along and that was around 11.30. Came home and lo and behold, a SOMETHING FOR YOU card! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! And the time says 11.30! A van must have driven up whilst I turned my back. Very annoying. Just arranged a re-delivery and the earliest is Tuesday. Must be Crocus.

Perki They are having sales and some bulbs are asking for £1.99. Yes, I have the feeling it is the same. Even the prices were similar! Saw this pretty ugly double tulip called ice cream - it was reduced, but it was so off putting. The white and yellow ones are nice but of course, they are sold out. Credit card bill has arrived. Fasting required. Petrol accounts for £130 and Home insurance £237!

Yes, it's going to be dry. But tomorrow we have something else to do. So we may get there earlier and see if we can go to Hyde Hall later. Son said he was not keen on Hyde Hall. But really after paying all that money, we have only been to Wisley once this year.

 

[alp]

Going to Hyde Hall today, hopefully! Normally, we go there 3 or 4 times a year. But my son's schedule means we can't go on Saturday and Sunday is usually for bargain hunting.

Toying with the idea of making a cold frame, but neither son nor I know how to start. Cold eases off a bit, but nose starts getting runny! Yesterday, trying to remove pots from trays of water and discovered some roots with the label Thalictrum on it!
Trouble with using icecream stick as label is that it invariably gets darker and darker and masks the handwriting. But boy, so pleased. Need to sow more.

Chelmsford where Hyde Hall is

Seems to be a good day to go.

Amistad which came up very late!

Garden New fuchsia - very water with the rain water gifted this year!

Alstroemereria Inca Replay -even gave me seeds!

This is the Salvia Sparking Heat from the nursery where I ordered the rest. A replacement, but only one that has flowered so far. The rest are staring at me, sulking!

Have the feeling that this is the sister of Blue Bayou!

According to Gardening Which? older issue, we should be collecting dahlia seeds now, not to wait for the first flower to unfurl! Climate change certainly is gathering pace!

Have a nice and restful day - keep warm - we have had our heating on from 15th this month!

 

[Zenj]

As some of you know I am a huge Andy Murray fan and have been watching all is matches this week in Antwerp all great matches and a great final today him beating Stan to win the final so good after is hip surgery to get to a final and win well done Andy.

 

[alp]

Great! Such a lot of hard work for one person to carry the whole match, not as if you had 10 men to help. Great respect! Must be a very happy time for him as he has welcome a baby!

Great that we actually have world champion, apart from Hamilton! And Katerina Johnson-Thomson! Our rugby team has done well. Liverpool, still unbeaten, only just!