Hobbies and Crafts

I like cellandines, there are bright and cheerful and pretty. I just don't like them in my garden, they are sooo invasive. I have spent two hours today getting rid of them out of a gravel bed where they were growing all round the edge. Have to say the bed looks much better now for its clean up. Cleaned up all the pots on it too, thinned out the dead grass from the grasses. So had a very satisfactory day. :-D :-D

Photos of the garden on my photo blog for those interested. :-)

Ann - The garden looks lovely and very colourful, A lot of hard, but enjoyable work

I am waiting for the bowls of tulips to colour at the moment -the wacky Parrot Ricoco, red Jan Rues and pink Doll's Minuet. I always plant too many and love it when they come through the forgetmenots. If the weather is not too hot they seem to last for weeks. A wonderful time of the year.

Had to rescue the tomato plants from the greenhouse last night when the forecast talked of low temperatures. At the moment trying to dig out an area of Michaelmas Daisies with couch grass that has taken over part of the borders, but at least there will be space for more plants :-D

Love the tulips when they flower. We always forget we have planted them as we usually buy them when reduced and pop them in. They have all come up and seem to be quite early. I think they keep giving out these warnings of low temperatures to be on the safe side. We left ours in the greenhouse and they are fine.

Ann, excuse my ignorance but how do I get to look at your garden photo blog ?

M.
:-0 :-)

I have PMd you Maryanna.

Sorting out the shed before we moved I came across some little bulbs that OH had put in a container. He couldn't remember what they were so I picked out the best of them, wrapped them in paper and marked them "Unknown bulbs". I've just found them again and they look healthy so I've planted them in a low, wide pot. I wonder what will come up?

We shall all now hold our collective breaths Vera until you know. Hope they are not spring onions Lol!!!

Phew! it is warm out there. I have just planted up my baskets and they are now in the greenhouse for a week or so. Most of the little plants look healthy, just a couple need watching. I always manage to lose at least one.

We went to a garden centre just outside Taunton which had their plug plants half price so it would have been rude not to have bought some.

That will be my baskets sorted once I get to plant them up.

Today we went to visit a local Manor house which was having an open garden. We went with our son and daughter in law and arranged to meet the neighbour who's party it was last night there at 2ish.

When we arrived just after 2pm, the neighbours were just about ready to leave. Talk about a work in progress, give it five years and it might be very pretty. They had three or four round flower beds which look like they have been planted in the last day or two without a lot of thought. Mostly with spring flowering perennials which will soon be over so unless they put in Summer bedding there will be no colour.

The " walled garden " was a walled field which had obviously up until recently, had sheep in it, full of rubble and weeds and sheep poo. That was it. The tour took ten minutes, which was why the neighbours were leaving so soon.

All in all, a bit of a disappointment. We will give them the benefit of the doubt and visit again in a few years when the walled garden is a garden and the beds have established themselves.

There was nothing for it but to take to the pub, and very nice it was too sitting in the sun with an Exmoor ale.

Vera, don't forget to let us know what your bulbs turn of to be.

M. :-)

Half price plugs this early has to be a bargain Maryanna. Are the baskets for Somerset or Surrey?

I wonder why the people held an open garden if it really wasn't worth seeing? I suppose it will be interesting to revisit in a couple of years.

I have a feeling they have plans to convert the house into a wedding venue.

The owner was conducting tours of the grounds, mind you the average age of the visitors was around 75 !!!!!

Not many prospective brides and grooms or even their parents there.

There is also a very. pretty church right at the bottom of the drive.

A bit of a PR exercise I suspect but one I feel backfired as the place was such a mess and there was so little to see.

I guess as the place recently cost them two million pounds to buy, they have to get that back from somewhere.

The plants will be for here Ann. Selling them off so cheap this early is quite a surprise I must say.

M.

they'd have been more likely to drum up trade if they'd paid more attention to the garden. Nobody wants photos in the mud!!! :-D

I noticed while sitting in the conservatory looking down the garden that the Heucheras are starting to look good with the lives all brightening into their different colours and looking shiny and fresh. We do have quite a few, some in pots and some in the garden.

We have a garden mirror at the end of the garden but it is a bit old now so wanted to replace it. These are normally acrylic mirrors. Anyway We found one with Dunelm on line, ordered it, paid extra postage and it was delivered today. It was glass and smashed (thanks Yodel). We were able to return it in store and they refunded the cost plus postage so that is ok. But still no mirror, disappointing.

What a shame Ann, lucky you could get your money back, but you are still mirror less, so still a pain, my sister has a mirror at the end of her garden and it reflects the plants back beautifully.

I bought one in the Garden Centre Winter Sale a couple of months ago, I had it stashed away ready to find a home for it once the garden it back to normal. ( haha!)

Himself found it the other day and couldn't see the point of it, thinking it was an old mirror, where from I don't know as it is nothing like any we have ever had in the house, he very nearly threw it away. Anyway, it is sitting in the conservatory waiting for me to find it a home, if I can ever get to the back of the borders again this spring.

I also have to find a hole for the garden clock and ornamental thermometer I was given for Christmas. It won't be easy as He hates " things " in the garden. He doesn't much like plants either, would rather just have grass, or actually paving.

Plug plants are still alive, we popped in again yesterday and got some more although they had sold all the Lobelia and Begonias.

M. :-)

Shame about your mirror Ann. Sounds a good idea though. I might look at that when the garden is a bit more sorted. Reflections might help make the garden look a tad larger.

OH is still painting the fence. As he is using a brush rather than spraying, and it needs a couple of coats it is taking a long time. The part that is finished has dried to a lovely silvery green. Not quite the shade I was expecting but I think it is better and it has really lightened up the garden.

Going to daughter's for the day tomorrow so I am off out now to find a nice plant to take her for her garden.

Yes it was annoying about the mirror. there are quite a few of varying prices on the net so might find another one and get an acrylic one next time. Glass is a bit too reflective anyway (I had not realised the other one was glass) as birds tend to fly into it. Luckily my OH is all for ornaments, sundials staues etc in the garden. I don't know if it can be seen in my photos but in the centre gravel bed I have a large red dragon.
:-D

The panels arrived yesterday. Good old B and Q. We went to them in the end, the fencing bloke up the road still hasn't got them in so we would still be waiting.

This was going to be today's job, but all the kids did a disappearing act so it was up to me and himself.

We were in the garden earlier when the old chap up the road walked past, saw me struggling under the weight of a panel, sent me in to make a cup of tea and is now helping Himself put the fence up. Bless him.

He is also a keen gardener so I keep hearing him tell Himself to watch his feet !!!

They just found a slow worm nest.

I can't quite bring myself to go out and watch but will take them a cuppa soon, I am sure it will be ok though. Good old Mally, he must be well over 80 but is as strong and supple as a man half his age.



M. :-)

Update, they have put eight panels up already !!!! Luckily we have concrete posts, which are sometimes a blessing although they were put in thirty years ago and apparently the fence panel size has changed since then and sometimes they are a bit tight.

Not too much plant damage apart from some self seeded Aqualegias which I have picked and put in a vase with some Tulips.

The other side won't be quite so easy as a lot of it is at the end of The Thugs garden and he will create merry hell if we dare to put a foot on his land,, even if that bit of his garden is just Dog poo bin, compost heaps , old toys, blackthorns and general rubbish tip.

There is also a broken post which will take some getting out. It would all be far too much to hope he might actually help, even though, for the second time in two years he is getting a new fence for free. He is a fencing contractor as well !!!!!!!!!

Men are having a very we'll earned cup of tea and psyching themselves up to do the next nine panels.

M.

What a horrible neighbour you have. If he is a fencing contractor and had been more pleasant he might have earnt a bit of money from you I assume. But to complain when you go on his land to put up a fence which benefits him is nasty. Mind you our next door neighbours have a problem with their other neighbour like that as well.

We went to a garden centre yesterday and there, hanging on a wall under cover was a garden mirror. It was £29.99 and just what we wanted. Shall take a photo later. It is now in position and looks good. they only had one, we think it was old stock because it was cheaper than any we have seen on line that we liked. We only went to that garden centre because son in law was feeling groggy having his two days 'off colour' from his last dose of chemo. Must have been meant for us.

We have a large new Range store opened near us, it was the second time we have been this morning, they have a coffee shop but their coffee wasn't nice which was a disappointment but can't win them all. It was just as crowded as it was on openeing day and the huge car park was heaving as well as there is a B&M store there too. Anyway we got some small log roll as ours round the gravel is a bit past it and that came up as only £2.99, l;abel outside said £3.99 so with four rolls that was four pounds cheaper. Also bought a £2.99 loganberry to experiment with and a French lavender for where we have extended one flower bed. £4.99. So it was a good morning. then stopped at our local Tesco Metro and made for the reduced shelf, lots on there because they are closed tomorrow of course so got some little pork pies, coleslaw, cheese, humous, all with tomorrows date on so well pleased.

This afternoon I shall be planting seeds in troughs, spinach, lettuce and baby carrots.