Hobbies and Crafts

I hope so Ann, I bought quite a lot, almost 500 in the end, which are in the front and back and also the planters, it would be a shame if they didn't flower.

We were suppose to be going to a Craft Fair today at a garden centre we go to but the car broke down so we're stuck indoors. Never mind the weather isn't up to much today and I believe the Craft Fair is going to be on again at some point so we can always go then.

OH managed to cut our lawns before the weather changed, it rained quite a lot yesterday. We were suppose to be getting a storm but when I checked the weather forecast it has moved further up than us so it's not as bad as we thought it would be. Having said that it's quite windy and another one of my big plants in pots fell over, so that's had to be sorted. So far no more damage but a horrible damp day, so we're staying in to watch some programmes as the car had to be towed to the garage and we're not sure when we'll have it back. Apparently it was something to do with the battery, so nothing to serious. OH will ring the garage later to find out when it's likely to be fixed and of course to find out exactly what was wrong with it.

Gill they may flower early but probably will stop with just the leaves showing until the new year.

glad to hear that you got all the front done. all we did yesterday was go out for the day and buy more plants to put in today. although OH did mow the lawn when we got back at 3.30.

Our front garden is all nice and tidy now after all the weeding. I finished the concreting today and just in time as the weather forecast said we're in for a storm starting tomorrow. I noticed my bulbs have started growing in the planters, I wasn't expecting anything until next spring, don't know if they'll flower though. I wonder if they'll grow next year at the correct time of year. Time will tell I suppose.

Brilliant Vera a woman after my own heart :-D :-D :-D

I must admit I do that to, if OH is getting under my feet I ask him to go and do a job that doesn't necessarily need doing straight away as like you said it keeps him out of mischief and from under my feet.

He's just had a laugh at my expense. He was putting the car back on the drive and didn't notice me going around to the front door to finish off he weeding. Our bungalow sticks out where the drive is so you can't see the front door when you get out of the car, we also use the back door not the front, so he got out of the car and went around the back closing the side gate (which is on a lock) behind him. I didn't have a key to get in so I had to ring on the doorbell thinking he'd gone inside so he could let me in. Luckily Sandra heard the bell as OH was still outside and told him there was someone at the door. When he realised what he'd done he couldn't stop laughing. I must admit it was funny. I must remember to keep a key on me from now on though.

Pleased to see you have now found a place for your owl, let's hope you're OH doesn't move it again.

We decided not to bother starting the concreting today as it's getting late and we're all hungry, so I'm just going to sort out dinner and settle down for the evening. If it's not windy tomorrow I'll do it while OH is at his mates.

Hello everyone.
Lovely day today but I still only managed an hour in the garden. I managed to do a bit of general tidying of some of the plants, clipped a box plant that is supposed to be round but was fast losing it’s shape, and planted some mini tulip bulbs in pots.

Gill, I have put my owl in a decent position and it looks OK. Thanks for the suggestion of raised beds for beans but I really don’t have any room for anything; the garden is so overcrowded that we are having to take some things out. In the next few months I also need to find a space for a sloe bush. It was given to me as a present, just a small twig, a while ago and is now about a metre tall and bushing out well. It is in a half barrel at the moment but will need a new home soon. It’s really not ideal for this garden but I don’t want to upset the person who gave it to me by getting rid of it.

As you know, my lovely OH can be a liability in the garden. The trouble is there are no “big” jobs for him. We have no grass or hedges to cut, no big compost heaps to look after, no heavy digging, no big trees or shrubs needing attention and only a fraction of the amount of weeding to be done as in our old place. So he has turned his attention to all the “small” jobs that I have always done :-|

I am getting devious though. I’ve just suggested he might like to redecorate the study. That should keep him out of mischief for a while :-D

I didn't think of the hedgehogs Ann, It was an extra small piece at the bottom which I've left loose at ground level so it'll move up and down if anything want to get under it. The whole thing had come off so I had to re-attach it where the two met. You're right cats go over fences not under them lol.

Cas is such a cutie Liz. I'm just sending a quick post on here as I'm still busy in the garden with OH and he'll be wondering where I am so I'll check my emails later. It sounds like you are as busy as us in your garden. We are putting some dry concrete in between the flags on the drive and along us and next door, that is where all the weeds are coming through but because they are small spaces it's taking quite a while to do and there is a bit of a breeze so whether the concrete will go down today or not is anyone's guess, plus it's getting late so I may have to put the concrete down tomorrow and just carry on getting the weed roots and soil out today.

Sandra is asleep, she had a banging headache, not surprising with all the stress she's been under today, so I said to her to go and lie down on her bed, not to watch TV or anything like that but just to listen to her radio. I've just come in to go to the bathroom and noticed she didn't put her radio on but is flat out asleep.......bless her. Hopefully when she wakes up her headache will have gone.

Anyway must dash OH will think I've fell asleep if I don't go back out soon lol

Thinking of Kandj at this sad time <3 <3

Gill, pleased I was able to cheer Sandra up. These face to face meetings are very traumatic for somebody already vulnerable, glad it is over for her. That size envelope will go with a first or second class stamp. the same as any smaller envelope, it is within the size limit.

It might be hedgehogs pushing under the fence. The advice is to leave a gap so they can run from garden to garden. Unfortunately the lady over the back of us blocks up any runs we make as she wrongly believes we have a cat that gets in her gardem. Firstly we don't have a cat and secondly all the cats round here go over the fences into gardens not under Lol!!!

Magpie, yes you are right, poor Kndj has had so much sadness this past year and now her older sister is terminally ill. Kandj is taking time off the boards for a while as the news has set her back again. <3 <3

Hi Gill, and yes, Cas is still as much ' in love' with her ring as ever!! It is sometimes a toss up between that and Teddy but the ring usually wins!!!
Like you, I've done loads of weeding, mowing, edging and the greenhouse!! OH was doing the house, and then those hospital trips for so long during the summer that the garden had built up a bit, but we are both getting on top of it now and with a fine day tomorrow we should make good progress! I think your plan to lay concrete should do the trick to control the weeds! We have a concrete driveway and two hardstandings for cars and there's no sign of any weeds pushing through even though we have more than our fair share in the rest of the garden!!!
I understand, that kandji's sister is terminally ill. I don't know any details but it is a very sad situation for which everyone is extremely sorry.
I'll send you a pic of the concrete also our sunflower which is just about to collapse!!!

Hi Ann, I've PM'd you but Sandra wanted me to say she's glad you liked her card. I put two stamps on as Sandra was concerned you might not get it otherwise with it being a big card. She can get quite anxious sometimes and I didn't want her to worry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it but she wanted it to be a surprise. She has the biggest smile on her face now. Your message couldn't of come at a better time as she has just come back from her face to face assessment for her disability which always makes her feel uneasy, so your message has calmed her down and she's as happy as Larry now :-) :-)

Hi Liz (Magpie) I watch Monty Don all the time and love him and his dogs, although I have noticed Nigel is starting to look old now, but Nellie is a character isn't she, carrying that little basket around for Monty......bless her. How is Cas is she still playing with her ring?

Oh dear Vera, you're not having much luck with your OH lately are you? Has he moved the owl into a better position for you now? Do you have space for a raised border, your runners might grow better it one of those? I remember you telling us about the size of your old garden and how much you miss the space, but not the work ;-)

Does anyone know how Kandj is, she's not been on here for a while. I heard she was having a few family issues, so hope she's okay?

I've done a bit of work in the garden today. OH and I put up a 7 foot fence with screening on all around the whole of our garden a couple of years ago and I noticed today that a part of the screening at the bottom had come loose so I've repaired that now. I think it might be the squirrels pushing underneath it to get from one garden to another. Hopefully it'll stay put now. I've also watered my plants.

Going to make a start on sorting out the weeds along the drive now, the weather is sunny and it's not to windy so hopefully we'll be able to get the concrete down, which is turn, may stop all the big weeds growing back. I can only hope can't I?

No gardening today, been sorting out camisoles and trousers from summer ones to winter, washing and walking round to the post office to post a letter.

Gill please say a big THANK YOU to Sandra for her lovely thank you card, very neatly made everything so square and I know how difficult that is, and so pretty with all the sparkles.
Oh a tip, one stamp would be enough for that size envelope. :-) :-)

:-D Vera, that is men for you, they don't go for the subleties in life, a rock is a rock is a rock. He probably had never even noticed his face.

We always watch Mony Don, Magpie and love Nigel and Nelly, especially nigel and his love for his tennis balls.

We had no luck at all with runner beans this year, they got attacked by black fly and thn seemed to bolt producing whole beans very large so very tough. We are in two mind wheter or not to grow them next year, we don't have a very big garden and they take up a lot of space.

Not neighbourly here to have a bonfire so we split out garden clippings etc between our own compost bin and the brown wheelie bin collected by the council.

Magpie, I used to watch all the gardening programmes on TV but then I went off them a bit. Perhaps I should start watching again. I do remember Monty Don’s gorgeous dogs.

Until 5 years ago, like you, I lived in a very rural area with a half acre garden surrounded by farmland. The garden was becoming a bit of a chore and we were getting older so we decided to move into town and downsize a bit, so now we only have a very small garden. Your mention of runner beans reminded me of how much I miss my vegetable patch. There’s nothing quite like the taste of home grown, fresh picked veg.

The best I have managed here is to grow tomatoes in pots on the path that runs between our house and garage. I tried a dwarf runner bean in pots and they were tasty but we could never get enough in one picking to make it worthwhile.

Oh well, you can’t have everything. I just have to concentrate on making our little garden attractive, not an easy job with OH “helping” and undoing all my efforts ;-)

EDIT. I have just noticed that a garden ornament, a sort of large stone with an owl’s face carved on one side, is looking very stupid :-|. It was peeping out from the campanula that OH chopped in half so he moved it along the bed a bit and plonked it down on a bit of bare earth, the wrong way round!! He thought it was the right place. The poor owl now has his face to the house wall and all you can see from the garden is a chunk of stone apparently just dumped. I love him dearly but give me strength..... :-|

Hi Gill and all! Do you ever watch Monty Don? We watch him on Sunday mornings while having our COT in bed! We both love his programmes (also him and particularly the dog/s!) and get so many ideas for our own garden. At the moment we have pulled the runner beans and sweet peas, made a bonfire which OH set fire to yesterday afternoon!! As we live right in the country with no near neighbours we were not in danger of annoying anyone, it's still smouldering this morning!!
Today OH is rotovating the bare patch ready to plant spinach and more carrots! I shall be at my usual task of weeding!! Never a dull moment!! ;-)

Oh dear Vera I hope you sort out the garden the way you like it. I think the spring/summer colour is a good idea, much better than an open space. It sounds like the Euphorbias came out without any accidents, so that was good. Did he wrap up well this time and keep his glasses on?

OH helped me move a couple of pots around today. I had some Primula's that couldn't be seen behind other flowers so have now been moved nearer to the bungalow where they can be seen and it looks much better. There isn't much to do at the moment except dead heading and cutting the lawns when it's dry enough.

Mind you we are still having a few nice days here and there so I expect the weeds will keep on growing and then need seeing to. I could do with a couple of nice days on the run so I can put the cement along the drive to stop the bigger weeds growing there, they really spoil the look of the new front garden and no matter how many times I pull them out they just keep coming back. :-(

After a day of heavy rain yesterday, today has been lovely but I haven’t had time to get in the garden.

However OH said this afternoon that he was going to take out the last two euphorbias which were quite large. What he didn’t say was that he was going to reorganise the garden for me :-S

A pretty blue campanula that grows over a very low retaining wall, just 2 bricks high, has been chopped in half and half moved to the space left by one of the euphorbia. A large hellebore has been moved from the back fence to the space that held half the campanula which is at the front of the garden. I was cross but I think that bit will work OK but himself seemed amazed when I asked what he was planning to do with the space he had now created by the back fence. Apparently we are going to let a green shrub expand into the space. No, we are not!!!

I have told him that, even if I have to plant up a couple of pots and place them there, we are having some spring/summer colour ;-)

Yes, Sandra loved everything including the stick on butterfly's she loves things she can stick on as it's easier for her to do, she loved all the coloured diamonds and said she could use them as borders around her cards which she has done on a couple of the cards she made yesterday.
She's still talking about yesterday and the two surprises she got ...I think she'll remember yesterday for a long time to come. OH's friend printed off a brilliant picture of the Giant she saw off the Internet and gave us the newspaper with a 4 page spread on the event, which will be a lovely keepsake for her.

Glad the information was useful Gill.

I wasn't sure if Sandra would like the snowman stuff. Actually it is a couple of years old now so I tend not to use it. I think there are a few more bits of it so when I get a moment i will pop them in the post to her, I would rather they were used than sit in my boxes getting forgotten.

I enjoyed reading about the plants I bought yesterday Ann, I had to ask the lady at the garden centre what the plant was called by describing it to her. I copied the name off the label.

I wondered why they closed and opened, now I know and yes they are like little ballerina's :-) I didn't know they like a lot of water though so thank you for putting that on here. I was given some from my old neighbour then noticed a few of them in the ground here so it's the first time I've ever bought them as like I said I didn't know what they were called. She had some red ones to but I preferred the pink ones, although I do have a few red ones already which I didn't even know I had with having so many pot plants. I find they give me some colour in the garden from about now until sometimes as late as Christmas.

Yes, Sandra has started making some Christmas cards and loved all the snowman stuff you gave her to Ann. I don't know if you've read on Mel's thread how much Sandra loves snow and making snowmen, she made lots in our garden last time we had the snow. She also loves the colour pink so was really pleased with the pink glitter card you gave her too.

We've had lovely sun today after a bit of a damp start. It's quite warm out there to. Makes a nice change from all the rain we've had lately.

Good to have a day out Gill and great that Sandra had an exciting day. So pleased the craft bits helped to cheer her up too. She will be off making her Christmas cards now. Next time I get overwhelmed with stuff I will certainly think of Sandra.

Very damp here so no gardening today. :-(

As I didn't recognize the latin name Gill I looked it up, so for anyone else who doesn't know.

This is the Kaffir lily

By evening the flowers close and nod again like a ballerina taking an encore. This sequence is repeated over several weeks. These South African flowers, members of the Iris family, are commonly known as Kaffir lilies. They grow naturally in wetter parts on the eastern side of the Cape, in stream beds and cliff edges, where summers are warm and wet and winters cold and dry. The South African terrain is mountainous and rugged. But the soil in the valleys, although poor, is ideal for bulbous and rhizomatous plants. Rainfall is heaviest closest to the coast, but much sparser inland. The flora is especially rich because the area escaped glaciation and the Cape region can boast 9,000 species in contrast to Britain's 1,500.

In South Africa, schizostylis keeps its linear grass-green leaves throughout the year. But in most British gardens schizostylis dies back and then reappears in late spring, so marking its position is a good idea. I have grown it in the heart of England successfully, but hardiness could be a problem in cold, wet gardens. This adaptable plant can be treated like an agapanthus, however, and potted up and then bedded out in summer. But do water regularly.