Magazine style - all inclusive

[Perki]

GH is still choc a bloc plants / pots / trays etc everywhere.

I SORN ( off the road ) the bike yesterday for the winter , the GC round here don't get much more plants just junk for christmas , haven't got any plans to go anywhere and with it getting cold / wet plus freezing its not ideal to be on a motorbike.

They is not really any plant nurseries round here , some may say they are but much closer to a typical GC . One one I can think of is Dove cottage in Halifax 20mile away but now shut for the winter .

 

[alp]

Oh, dear! No motorbike for the winter? That's so depressing. It can be very cold riding a motorbike. Dangerous as well. Just as well to be off road!

Here, I have diy x 2 with decent garden centres, one Upminster ex Wyevale, 2 in Brentwood, one in Billericay, one in Thurrock. The latter 2 are a bit far and eat up our petrol, but life has no meaning if we don't enjoy ourselves. That's what my elderly neighbour said about the other elderly neighbour's passing. The latter even talked of getting rid of his carers! Very sad.

I got my lovely Aster and some others from the one in Thurrock in winter two years ago. Another reason we can't escape to the country - the end of a stick means nowhere to shop or feast our eyes. I wish Long Acres had taken up Upminster Wyevale. The stock is much more reasonable and is of good quality. Now my favorite gc is full of Christmas stuff - a fire hazard and the air is stuffy.. All the cheap glitz is doing my head in. On top of it, people just don't move along, with their kids.. Well, a nice way to introduce gcs to kids and this is certainly memory making for them.. Well done to the gc and long live family bond! The other one is having a circus - nice that they try something new and family bond building. They could even charge a bit for face painting. A win win situation for all.

Our great plan for day out is rained off! One of the 3 Saturday days my son has off for the whole year!

Might go tomorrow, but it's just too short a day!

We will have our bigger watermelon today or tomorrow!

 

[alp]

Was toying with the idea of going to Nymans, but the costs of Dartford Crossing and the tank of petrol just put me off! A shame really as Wisley is open 9am instead of 10am because it was closed yesterday because of high winds.

Any way, I think I have had enough to play with, after the late blitz on cuttings and I still haven't finished. Son needs to finish the top for the cold frame.

Bought an espalier Apple Fiesta on stock M26 yesterday for a fiver and a tiny abelia for £3! I wish the Hemmelis Yellow were £5. £10 is just too much. I so want one!

It's very mild and I think it's going to be a lovely day for cuttings ..

 

[Perki]

£10 sounds pretty cheap for a Hamamelis pending on size , slowish growers so that probably why they are expensive , I wouldn't mind one myself but I have a dislike of the leaves , I have one if I had a nice big garden where I could stick it in a corner and then admire it in winter.

Its not raining yet but later surprised with the weather down south with the winds just a breeze up here.

 

[Perki]

few pic from today

This is supposed to be cafe au lait i wonder if it fades

battered autumn crocus

them rudbeckia haven't stopped flowering since july

 

[alp]

The weather had been FANTASTIC from 9 to 1.30pm. Sitting in the car was like being caressed by the soft autumnal sunshine. Words can't describe it. Of course, it didn't last long. At 2pm, it started drizzling and when we walked around the park, it was dense and wet.

You should move, Perki! Rain sodden Lancashire is not ideal for gardening. Even Shropshire or Gloucestershire will be more clement. Only joking!

You still have a lot of lovely flowers, Perki! So pretty! My Lobelia collapsed and was caught by the frost. They are really very slow. I myself prefer lobelia upright perennial. I have some Compton Pinks. Fab colour! Now I have a collection of red, purple and violet. I am sure they will love your rain. I literally abused them by standing them permanently in water. Same way I treated my hydrangeas.

Went to that gc again, Chock a bloc and with security guards. Very sad as the place is full of glitzy trash. LOL! I couldn't believe that there were 4 guards keeping an eye on the stuff. And then there was a supervisor scanning for people coming through to go to the till and of course, she helped out with some very slow staff. Well, one Hamamelis is gone. They are tall - about 6 feet tall. Went to Blue Diamond and they are selling Harvington's hellebores - Zenj might have some sweet surprises for us as he had bought some from them. The more I saw the prices, the more I like my favorite gc! However, that is the only place where I have seen Green Twisters for sales! About 8 of them for £8.99. Of course, NO FLOWERS but buds. Going to make dinner and then settle down to enjoy my Ultra HD at 6.15pm.

Tomorrow I will continue my mad race to take cuttings. Tons of them. I wish I had a greenhouse like yours now. My friend who has been avoiding me has JUST asked me about eggs. He's the one who dismantled the greenhouses for us. I dread to think how these greenhouses will give me headache. I don't want to have broken glass everywhere and the thought of wind, rain and broken glass and more items on the garden just doesn't calm me. That's why I left my lawn big and empty although I have been struggling with lack of space for planting. Something has got to give and I hope it's not my sanity!

 

[alp]

Good morning to another grey dark day! Son is going to work from 9 to very late, so cold frame is still cold. Need to layer more clematises and plant the garllya elliptica, Fiesta and some other apple tree. Also the Crinodendron Hookerian of which I have taken cuttings.

Must take a lot of cuttings indoors or all my effort goes to waste. Last time the frost came, even the newly bloomed dahlia leaves took a hit. They came up so late - 2 are still sprouting leaves (Ridiculous!) But the foxes didn't give it a chance. My chickens are magnet for trouble - foxes who burrowed everywhere and dug up a whole tray of my sprouting bamboos and left calling cards in the middle of the lawn. Cats of all colours and ilks - scampering, watching and staring at me, refusing to budge even when I shooed. Not to mention rats which left their calling cards in the chickens' food trays. I had to empty them every time I fed them.

Then there is one squirrel or two which destroyed the top line of my fence and buried peanuts in every single pot. Very annoying.

Convolvulous is throwing up 2 more blooms - cold or hot!? Does it know something that I don't?

I read the list of naughty things households in this country do - taking plants with them when they move? How can it be naughty? If I don't do so, the new owner will have a nervous breakdown!

 

[alp]

It's going to be very cold and I need to cover as many of my salvias as possible. Dahlias, I'm not worried. I just need to label where they are.

Last night, in the dark, I took some Nachtvlinder cuttings and some Salmon Dance as well. Today, I will concentrate on Patens and the rest. I wonder how hardy my lobelia tupas are. Also need to plant euonymus europaeus cascade before it dies in the pot, So many things to do.

My Thalictrum seedlings are coming on nicely. Before I added grit to the pot, I literally saw a white tiny worm slithering along in the pot. Thank heavens for the quick action. No harm done.

My 3rd hellebore

 

[alp]

T&M is doing a 10 packets for £10. And I so wanted to have the icecream tulips, but the postage is £6.99 and the item is 5 for £3.99. Too dear! Haven't paid yet as I can't find the card.

Surprisingly bright and blue this morning and hope this is the case with all of us.

Hope my cuttings are OK!? Had my watermelon last night. Not sweet enough. Amazingly juicy! So full of water.

Can't believe they charge £7 for postage! So steep! Well, I have paid £10.. All the reduction has come to nothing. £2 per bulb! Mind you, i have paid more for Fritillaria Imperialis!

 

[Zenj]

T&M is doing a 10 packets for £10. And I so wanted to have the icecream tulips, but the postage is £6.99 and the item is 5 for £3.99. Too dear! Haven't paid yet as I can't find the card.

Surprisingly bright and blue this morning and hope this is the case with all of us.

View attachment 59515

Hope my cuttings are OK!? Had my watermelon last night. Not sweet enough. Amazingly juicy! So full of water.

View attachment 59516View attachment 59517

Can't believe they charge £7 for postage! So steep! Well, I have paid £10.. All the reduction has come to nothing. £2 per bulb! Mind you, i have paid more for Fritillaria Imperialis!

alp I always check on voucher codes before I go ahead and order anything often there’s one on for free del with t and m and farmer Gracie saved a lot doing this on all sorts of things

 

[alp]

There is no voucher code this time. Just click this link, when you have 10 packets, go to the checkout, the ghastly total will revert to £10. Postage £1.95. Then I used the same link and used my son's email to get some more.

Every time I go to Farmer Gracey, I find the price pricey. I wish I could afford their prices and if they are cheap, they are gone. Have you got any useful code, Zenj?

Such a lovely day and what have I been doing? I kept getting mobile text messages giving code to my banking account. I phoned them to report fraud. The guy said it was automated. After that 11.30, I had another vibration and I don't even switch the blessed mobile normally. Any way, tried to change the pin and password and got locked out and told to call card issuer. Called them and was told to take the card to Natwest branch or Tesco cash machine to unblock the pin. This saga cost me an hour!

Mamamia! Thank heavens I haven't moved to the end of a stick. Tesco is 2 minutes up the road. To have such facilities is a LUXURY! Need to plant out my stuff or they die in the pot and quick covering is needed for all and various. Tonite the fright! Here comes the frost.

 

[Perki]

Well your weather outlook looking a lot better than mine alp , raining now for the rest of the day, rain all day tomorrow and cloudy sunny Friday but -2C overnight thats the rest of the dahlias stuffed and everything else.

Got keep your eye on T&M offers . I been looking on farmer Gracey website over the past week but they still a bit pricey on tulips and other things with 25% off, nice selection of bulbs though fancyed some muscari comosum and another allium ambassador I already bought 6 from PNyysen but I getting twitchy not having a odd number to plant with .

Instead I ordered from anglia bulbs they had some alliums on offer , I am a sucker for a bargain especially alliums wanted 3 Beau Regard ended up with 9 somehow 3 pinball wizard - 10 nigrum - muscari golden fragrance and armarcrinum howardii, you can also get free bulbs with any order but i didn't fancy any so didn't bother. Parcel arrived today think I order monday opened it up and got some free allium silver spring worth about £9-10 happy chappy

 

[alp]

Did somebody just said FREE? What does that mean? LOL!

I bought Ambassador, Gladiator, Giganteum from Crocus. One of them came with 3 or 5 bulbs. Can't believe you get twitchy because of an odd number! I wish I could afford such twitchiness.

Weather has been great. I came in 10 to 5pm. More or less groping in the dark. You two need to move. LOL! Then you will appreciate how my hands used to be glued to the hose pipe. HUMBERTO, PLEASE COME AGAIN NEXT YEAR! I loved the rain. A proper soak for over 10 years. Yesterday the weather was even more gorgeous and what did I end up doing? Curling on the settee with 2 paracetamols in the stomach. Every time I had reduced avocado, I had the same tummy upset. That me and reduced avocadoes finished. They were big and creamy, but after half an hour, I wished I had not bothered. So I ended up spending the glorious afternoon with hand over my eyes, such was the brightness of the sun!

I'm after another bonfire. I was so stinky last night because of the dead fire.

TM finishes tonight, so better hurry up. Only those for £10. I had to buy some sweetcorns. Couldn't find one reduced in Wyevales. And then there is Tithonia. My neighbour in the allotment said the light blue fluffy muscari. They did look lovely. Other muscari I am scared of. It took me a lot of time to remove the blessed thing. They literally took over.

I think we are too mean for Farmer Gracy. Zenj, on the other hand, is quite well off! Have to say the packaging is very classy in Farmer Gracy, but the prices are a bit high and all the goodies are gone. I kept saying to myself that I wouldn't buy anything seeds, and lo and behold, just spent £25 with TM!

Planted out A shrophire Lad - a climbing rose, fuchsia Mag aurea at the back, as well as Garrya Elliptica. Freegled some chicken wire - a whole ream of it. Very pleased. Will wire all round the garden, cats, squirrels, foxes are wreaking havoc and most of my salvia stems are broken. I'm dreading tomorrow, but Chris Fawkes said we would be 7c. A sigh of relief! Hope you guys cover everything.

 

[Perki]

When I am planting plants / bulbs I always plant in odd numbers 3-5-7-9 then its doesn't matter odd or even, single plants are fine but it depends on size or what impact you are looking for.

 

[alp]

A much darker day

2c tomorrow morning . I predict deaths to dahlias. Must work hard to cover all eventualities! LOL!

Yes, next spring, I will plant my cuttings in group of 5 or even 7 as I should have loads. Some dahlia cuttings have already taken. I must go to the allotment to grab more cuttiing materials or dig up the plants.