Hobbies and Crafts

Ann, the A 303 is a picture at the moment, bright yellow fields of oilseed Rape to each side and lots of fluffy white Hawthorn along the roadside.

Am planning to put in the last of my bedding stuff at the weekend, otherwise, like you, it will be reaching the conservatory roof by the time we get back from Scotland.

It is all getting very leggy now. Pots and baskets are all planted and ready to go out, I keep sticking them outside during the day to harden them off.

Tomatoes are full of bud, will see if Himself can kill them off again this year, I am also trying Courgette and Cucumber but I think they will have to stay under glass in the conservatory and he won't like that.

I am giving Bizzie Lizzie's a go again this year after a break of three or four years, fingers crossed they don't just disappear, have had them a couple of weeks and they look healthy enough still.

Grew some Cosmos from seed so they had a bit of a start on the seeds I chucked about, I planted them out last week and some little blighter has eaten them already, in one of the beds not the other.

Sunny in Surrey so far but very windy, good day for washing as long as those distant black clouds don't do anything.

M.

Many years ago we had a peach tree and that was a problem with it. Yes, I think the damp then warm weather will have affected it. You have just reminded me that OH is supposed to spray the apple tree before we go away. :-)

We've got some log roll to go round a bed as well but at the moment it is sitting in the garage waiting for OH to get around to doing something about it.

At the moment I am muttering a few choice words about peach leaf curl. I have a little terrace peach bush in a very large pot and it gives us a few good peaches every year. It always gets a bit of peach leaf curl but I use Bordeaux mixture in the autumn and spring and that seems to keep it under control. I also pick off the damaged leaves as soon as I see them and the new ones seem to come through without the problem. Except this year! It is really bad at the moment. I think it is something to do with all the rain we had earlier in the year. Doesn't look very attractive though.

Looks like I am on my own here!!!

Just spent an hour plus out there planting out bedding begonias so fingers crossed no more frosts, daren't leave them until we get back as they will outgrow their pots etc in the greenhouse. Got back ache now so come in for a rest. OH is hammering in log roll round the front garden gravel bed, unfortunately that bit is clay soil. :-( :-( Fellow next door is out of work at the moment (made redundant) he is obviously bored as every time either of us goes out the front to work in the garden he pops out for a chat :-D :-D We don't mind, it is him and his wife who look after our garden while we are away.

On the subject of being away, when we go to Tenerife there is a heatwave in UK, whenw e holiday in UK, there is never a heatwave. This year we are in the UK so be warned!!!! :-D

I am shattered, just come in after doing 2 hours in the garden, . We went out to Newent this morning, first to three Shires to have a look round and a coffee. Bought a pot half price and a couple of plants plus some local asparagus. then we went a 100 yards down the road to Newent plant centre. Not been there before, not a garden centre, no coffee shop but a real nursery. Bought a pineapple sage and a hyssop,, blue flowers. Also bought (which is why we went there) two Heucheras. They actually grow them and say they have a 100 varieties, they had a lot but I didn't count. I was very tempted by the Hostas but thought I wouldn't this time. One Heuchera was £5.99 the other £6.99 they are usually £7.99 at least in the other garden centres but they are the suppliers so should be cheaper. One interesting thing was that they had a notice over the heucheras saying they were one of the plants not liked by rabbits or deer.

Came back and planted up two more baskets and planted out two trays of bedding begonias. Got to get things out before we go away and hope there won't be any frosts.

OH is still out there pottering in the greenhouse, I had done enough so I am sitting here on the pc not doing much at all. :-D :-D

Oh, that was a horrible cold wasn't it? I had it end Feb, beginning of march. Let's hope the sunshine sends it away for good., you will see, if you have read back that we have been working hard on the garden for a few weeks, looking quite good now.

Thank you Ann yes I am fine...now :-) I picked up the awful cold and cough that is doing the rounds so haven't been online or doing anything that hasn't had to be done, I am on catch up now with all the weeds that have shot up :-(

Lesley x

Obiously all the pound shops got. Hre of the same lot. :-)

They were the blue ones I got Ann, the picture looked like little Agapanthus, the yellow ones were similar but I don't remember what they were called, began with a T as well, I think.

We shall see who''s come out first !!

M. :-)

The other bulbs I got were Triteleia Queen Fabiola. Shall wait with baited breath :-)

Good old pound shop Ann.

My Peruvian daffodils are coming up as are the Freesias and Comenia (?), but no sign of the Tuberose as yet. Although I did give in to temptation the other day and had a poke about in the pot, they do have some little bits of green sprouting so they are just being very slow. Not sure if the little yellow and blue bulbs I planted a few weeks ago are coming up or if it is the Alliums. ( also £ shop ).

The Glads I bought in there last year were lovely.

We have a 99p shop nearby and I find their garden bits are even better than the pound shop.

It's been a lovely day here, my car was almost too hot to sit in when I left work.

M.

I went into town today as OH was away at golf somewhere, then pottered in the garden when I got home. Got some gladioli and some other bulbs (not known to me) in the pound shop. And an Agapanthus in the other pound shop. they may or may not grow the first two were two for a pound and the Agapanthus was a pound. Worth a try I thought

Let's hope they are being ultra cautious. We are semi rural, sometimes get the frosts, sometimes don't so it is a gamble. My baskets just have to go out next week as we are away for 2 weeks and it is easier for our neighbours to look after them if they are out.

Yes - I am on the edge of Herefordshire/Worcestershire. The last forecast I saw was down to 2 and a ground frost - Brrr!! We live in a rural area which is always a few degrees colder at night.

I do hope they are wrong,

K, do I remember that you are in my area? Last I saw it was going to be 3 degrees is it going lower? Yes, we have potatoes up but they are in a sheltered spot so fingers crossed.

Watch out for a sharp frost on Friday night. I am going to fleece some potatoes that as too advanced to earth up and cover everything in the greenhouse.

Putting off sowing the sweetcorn and french beans in the greenhouse in gutters until next week.

Anyone going to Chelsea this year? Only 3 weeks to go. Been to Hampton Court and Malvern Shows before, but never Chelsea. Friends gave me a ticket and fingers crossed the sun will shine :-)

I know what you mean Ann, I have got loads of the wild stuff, Yellow Avens , trouble is I keep pulling up poor old Lady Strathden and Mrs Bradshaw instead. I am never lucky to get the named varieties to spread by themselves.

I think the garden might be too wet for them, especially at the moment !!!

M.

Lol Maryanna I got so fed up with geum that We have been pulling it all up. It was spreading like mad and choking everything

There must have been an awful lot of rain here over the weekend.

Got back this morning to find a flooded patio again. It was nowhere as bad as in the Winter but is shows how sodden the ground is still, it was pouring off the fields.

The shed roof had also been leaking.

We will have to stay back here for a weekend in a few weeks to sort the patio out once and for all.

Would be really nice to think that as Son in Law is here when we are not, that he would make himself useful, but no.........

He has been left a bit of money so it has boosted their deposit fund. They might be moving out sooner than we thought.

Everything seems to have doubled in size since Thursday !!! Put in a few perennials, Geum, Ladies mantle, Campanula, Heuchera and some of my home grown Verbena Bonsariensis taken from cuttings a couple of months ago. Had to keep dashing in and out between the downpours this evening.

Chucked some seeds about as well whilst I was at it. Nigella, Cosmos, Lavatera and Cornflowers.

M.

Thanks maryanna :-)