Hobbies and Crafts

The Army Nurse fuschia was also a new one on me, but at just 39p I was happy enough to take it home and give it the TLC that it obviously lacked in the supermarket.
Already, it is beginning to perk up and look so much more healthier than last week.

Vera, slugs..... ugh...... and BIG fat ones....... yuk!!

I had one recently in the green box which has a blue plastic bag for newspapers.
The men empty this box and then throw it down the drive and have made a hole in the bottom where the slug has obviously come in through. I have been busy with the gaffer tape and covered the hole, hopefully this will keep the yukky slugs away.

The baby bunny rabbit is back..... we saw it today having a good munch on the
low growing geraniums. I think I could do with Jane's cat, but I wouldn't like to
think of Thomas killing the little wild rabbit. It hopped off into the rhododendron
in the corner of the garden, we shall see if it has gone away of shows up tomorrow?

Ugh......I have just removed the biggest slug I have ever seen from a trough of plants. :-(. It was so long and fat that I called OH to look at it as I thought it might not be a slug at all. And the red lily beetle have put in an appearance. I am not a happy bunny today :-|

You have been busy Ann.

I hadn't heard of the Army Nurse fuchsia either so I googled it. It looks very pretty. I am sure you will be able to revive it Kandj.

I can't believe how much the plants have grown in just over a week. The garden is looking very pretty at the moment with all the purple alliums out, and purple salvia just coming out. All the grasses have grown like mad and wave about in the breeze. I'm delighted with the way our "makeover" turned out.

My troughs down the side alley of the house are doing really well too. They are a mass of colour. There are still a few to plant up but I have 9 mini hostas on order and I asked for delivery this coming week, as I didn't want them arriving while we were away.

Some tomato plants I had potted up for a plant sale were looking near enough dead when we got back last night but a good dose of water has revived them, much as a good glass of wine does me :-D

A lot of these bedraggled plants can be revived with TLC so I am sure that you will be rewarded for your trouble. Not heard of that one though.

Well, we have been to three garden centres since we came back from holiday and spent quite a bit in each one. We knew we were going to have to do this as we were away at the time OH is normally growing plants on in the greenhouse. The trouble with filling our baskets and trollies is that the plants then have to be planted out. I have done half of them, they are mainly for tubs, just have the other half to do plus some that OH has grown from seed. There seem to be quite a few different petunias around this year.

A BARGAIN BUY.

At the supermarket yesterday I spotted a very sad looking fuschia plant that
was reduced to only 39p!! It is a deciduous type and not one that I would normally
choose to buy, but this was too good an offer to miss.

It is a hardy "Army Nurse" variety and after lots of TLC I am hopeful it will survive
and flower happily here......... watch this space!

Yes, it's very changeable here Ann. You are bound to feel the difference at home.

Our lily of the valley is still making a pretty picture. We seem to have a purple
coloured area in our garden (not planned). The purple prince tulips have lost their leaves but we have purple alliums out now and a beautiful rhododendron in flower....... all quite breathtaking.

Yes Kandj got home yesterday evening. Missing the warm temperatures.

The little rabbit seems to have gone away (which is good) but not before eating
most of the two aubretia's that I planted last week (not so good).

Ann are you home now then? I think Jane is back tomorrow, but I could be wrong.

:-) :-( Not sure which to put, a bit ambivilant about having a baby rabbit in the garden. He/she could have a feast in ours as it is like a jungle at the moment. How can so much grow in two weeks, it is more overgrown than it ever has been when we were away for a month. :-S

We have had a baby rabbit in the garden since Wednesday..... although we haven't seen it at all today. I am not a happy bunny myself as he has eaten two aubretia
plants that I planted out last week!!

But how lovely to have that permanent memory of your friend. Such a beautiful perfume.

The lily of the valley patch is a picture Ann. These have self seeded and spread
and are too big for where they are and so I will need to sort them out later on.
I didn't buy the lily of the valley, they were given to me by a good friend who
sadly developed Dementia. So sad, as I spent many happy hours here with her.

I love lily of the valley Kandj but can't get it yo grow in our garden. My mum loved it as well and had loads in the garden.

We have an overcrowded patch of lily of the valley come up last couple of days.
They are so pretty with broad green leaves and perfumed delicate bell shaped flowers.
Need to separate them after they have finished flowering. The pieris forest flame is
looking so much better thank goodness. It was a shock seeing the new growth go
brown/rust coloured as that has never happened before. New red growth showing now

Hide the watering can away from your OH Vera. Great minds think alike!
It is forecast to rain tomorrow anyway, so no need for either of you to water the pots.

Glad you are enjoying your holiday Ann. I've just been deciding what clothes to take away with us and have come to the conclusion that none of my tops seem to go with my trousers/skirts. Oh well, that's life.

As to OH and his watering, the pots always have been my job. I choose the plants, plant them up, do all the deadheading etc but he just seems to go mad when he sees a watering can. Perhaps that's the answer; I should hide the watering can.

Hope our garden is surviving, I am sure it is as our neighbours are vety good.
Yours sounds as though it is a success Vera despite your OH. Maybe suggest you handle the pots and he dies the garden, (division of labour).
Kandj so pleased the Pieris seems ok now.
It is a lovely temperature here, it wa hot yesterday but walking diwn by the Mar Menor there was a breeze and it wa very pleasant.

The garden is beginning to look really good now. Everything has grown and spread and it is already looking like a mature garden which is amazing as the first plants only went in last September. At the moment the choisya and the bugle are in full bloom, the geraniums are just starting to flower and the salvia and alliums are opening up.

My problem is OH who will water things whether they need it or not. It's OK on the garden but some of the plants in pots are getting a bit waterlogged. He sees plants looking as though they are wilting a bit and throws on another bucket of water. I can't get over to him that the poor things are probably looking droopy because they're drowning! I find plants tend to thrive on a bit of neglect - my usual method :-D

It is a beautiful start to the day here in Yorkshire. I plan to work in the garden again.
It's good to look out of the window and see a virtual weed free border for all my hard work and aches and pains.

We are happy (and relieved) to see new growth of red leaves appearing on the
Pieris Forest Flame that we have had in the front garden for over 30+ years. Great!

Vera, you both are doing well filling so many troughs.... keep up the good work.

Hope Ann and hubby are having a good holiday.

I underestimated how long it would take us, (and how much it would cost us), to fill our troughs up the side of the house. Twelve down, six to go. I have some mini hostas on order that will fill 2, or possibly 3, more though they aren't being delivered till the first week in June. It's already looking so much better along that path.

Up until today my tulips were still blooming beautifully, although just beginning to open out, and the crab apple has been smothered in blossom for the last couple of weeks. Today's heavy rain has put paid to that - all the tree blossom and all the tulip petals are now on the ground. At least I won't have to water the pots and troughs tonight. There's a silver lining in every cloud :-D