Calamity1971
If Mr Peanut says It's okay, then it is.
Interesting article on how they've evolved to attract horny male bees!
Some tips on there to spread them when it goes to seed.
The bee orchid: nature's mimic
The gardening thread
- Thread starter ringo
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Some tips on there to spread them when it goes to seed.
The bee orchid: nature's mimic
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
Definitely feel like no damsons of cherry's worth a damn this year, fruit seems to have either not set or been blown off while green in May... Unfortunate because I'm hoping this is the last year living here and using the plot.
Everything else is doing great (unless it's got leaves in which case the slugs and bugs say ta). I'm staring lovingly at my peas most evenings which is not something I ever expected to say growing up.
Everything else is doing great (unless it's got leaves in which case the slugs and bugs say ta). I'm staring lovingly at my peas most evenings which is not something I ever expected to say growing up.
rubbershoes
not the only raver in the village
We're terrible gardeners and everything is really overgrown. The rose bush is far too leggy but still produces lovely blooms
StoneRoad
heckling from the back!
Gave up mid-afternoon as although the forecast was good, the actual weather is way too cloudy & humid resulting in an excessive number of carnivorous midgies.
A few days ago, I had sown a few seeds in the greenhouse (to give them a bit of a quick start) and there's already signs of germination ...
and, for the moment anyway, my cucamelons seem to be doing better than last year.
Next job is to determine if / when to do the evening watering as it looks as though it might rain a bit later.
A few days ago, I had sown a few seeds in the greenhouse (to give them a bit of a quick start) and there's already signs of germination ...
and, for the moment anyway, my cucamelons seem to be doing better than last year.
Next job is to determine if / when to do the evening watering as it looks as though it might rain a bit later.
Don't be harsh on yourself, rubbershoes - Rhapsody in Blue (your rose) is always a bit on the leggy side. Next year, it can take a REALLY hard pruning...or, you can give it a trim after it's first flush 0 it will throw new growth and have a secong flush in late summer.
bimble
floofy
first sweetpea is here. It's a delicious delicate purple colour and smells so bloody wonderful that in one sniff its fully justified the whole faff of sweet peas all over again.
I found yet another eccentric little plant-selling business yesterday, ten minutes from here, bought a big healthy black eyed susan for £3 and the man had a grey parrot in the nursery who doesn't talk much but whistles like an old fashioned sailor so that was good. Still havent met a plant-obsessed person that i don't like.
I found yet another eccentric little plant-selling business yesterday, ten minutes from here, bought a big healthy black eyed susan for £3 and the man had a grey parrot in the nursery who doesn't talk much but whistles like an old fashioned sailor so that was good. Still havent met a plant-obsessed person that i don't like.
heinous seamus
Perfect in an empty room
What's a good number of apples to leave on my mini-tree? There's hundreds on there just now!
Idaho
blah blah blah
Reduce each fruiting spur to just one or two large healthy looking ones
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
june drop (where all the excess babies get ditched) hasn't happened for us yet. i always understood you don't thin till after that but tbf i've never thinned anything 
Idaho
blah blah blah
I have done before, after and not at all, and not noticed much difference!june drop (where all the excess babies get ditched) hasn't happened for us yet. i always understood you don't thin till after that but tbf i've never thinned anything
Idaho
blah blah blah
Only watering once... But it certainly needs it. Trying to get the curcubits to a decent size before the rain starts and the hungry slug army go on the march.
Leafster
.
Everything is drying out so quickly here too. I've been watering the recently planted stuff and the strawberries in pots with a watering can but need to get the seep hoses going.
I was going to do it last night but I washed the car recently so the connecting hose is in the garage and I couldn't be arsed to walk down there to get it.
Calamity1971
If Mr Peanut says It's okay, then it is.
Cheap plant bonanza late last night in Tesco's.
Got 2 scabious , 2 centaureau (dealbata & Montana) or to me one pink one blue. A heuchera , cat mint and a Dianthus . Selling them off for £1.25 down from 5 quid.
Something to go in my gifted pots.
Got 2 scabious , 2 centaureau (dealbata & Montana) or to me one pink one blue. A heuchera , cat mint and a Dianthus . Selling them off for £1.25 down from 5 quid.
Something to go in my gifted pots.
Calamity1971
If Mr Peanut says It's okay, then it is.
First year my rhoddedendron has flowered and my patch looking the best it has since I dug up what felt like a wheelbarrow full of Spanish bluebells.
Leafster
.
Finally got the hose connected so here's a couple of photos while it's doing its thing.
Rosa Iceberg and Dianthus Memories
More of the taller * self-seeded foxgloves and the elder is finally beginning to flower.
* the one on the left it close to six feet tall
And a few from the last couple of weeks which I didn't add to the thread before (?) ...
Rosa Iceberg and Dianthus Memories
More of the taller * self-seeded foxgloves and the elder is finally beginning to flower.
* the one on the left it close to six feet tall
And a few from the last couple of weeks which I didn't add to the thread before (?) ...
Callie
Pivoting
Wassat??Finally got the hose connected so here's a couple of photos while it's doing its thing.
[[/URL]
Leafster
.
It was given to me by a neighbour. He said it was a Prunella (self heal) but I don’t know which one. It’s a largish ground cover type plant.
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
Me beets are bolting shakes fist
wayward bob
i ate all your bees
sunny mornings like this with the honeysuckle in full swing make me happy/smug with my gardening choices 
(i.e. only ever pruning it halfheartedly)
(i.e. only ever pruning it halfheartedly) Anyone else growing biennials? I have banged on about these before but they are such good value, to fill the gap after spring bulbs and before the June flowers peak. I had rather gaudy wallflowers this year so I have gone the other way, and am now sowing Ivory White and Primrose bedder (although still sowing the fabulous orange Siberian wallflowers, along with a seed variety of the lilac Bowles Mauve ('Little Kiss).
Also in the greenhouse - the extraordinary bee magnet, Blue Bedder - a dwarf version of Viper's Bugloss (or Viper's bloodlust as I call it). And Dyer's alkanet (a.tinctoria) for the roots. Lilac Sweet Rocket (because I only seem to have the white ones), Chinese forget-me-not (cynoglossum amabile) and, of couyrse, a range of foxgloves (especially the sterile, fabulously coloured 'Polka Dot' range). This will be my last seed sowing until late August (when it really ramps up to insane amounts of hardy annuals and perennials).
I have counted up my 2pound coins in the garden budget and made the tricky decision to forgo spring bulbs in favour of a proper solenoid and leaf misting system...which should revolutionise my backyard nursery).
Also in the greenhouse - the extraordinary bee magnet, Blue Bedder - a dwarf version of Viper's Bugloss (or Viper's bloodlust as I call it). And Dyer's alkanet (a.tinctoria) for the roots. Lilac Sweet Rocket (because I only seem to have the white ones), Chinese forget-me-not (cynoglossum amabile) and, of couyrse, a range of foxgloves (especially the sterile, fabulously coloured 'Polka Dot' range). This will be my last seed sowing until late August (when it really ramps up to insane amounts of hardy annuals and perennials).
I have counted up my 2pound coins in the garden budget and made the tricky decision to forgo spring bulbs in favour of a proper solenoid and leaf misting system...which should revolutionise my backyard nursery).
andysays
Love and solidarity
Looking good, especially for a first year.
I harvested my first crops of broad beans (not great, bit affected by blackfly) and peas (really good, with no pest damage at all), last weekend.
Expect there will be plenty more to come this weekend...
andysays
Love and solidarity
Great article I thought I'd post a link to in case people haven't noticed it.
Covid: How have allotments helped people during the pandemic?
I originally got an allotment many years ago as a way of helping with on-going mental health problems, and it's interesting (though not surprising) that so many people mention the mental health benefits.
Covid: How have allotments helped people during the pandemic?
I originally got an allotment many years ago as a way of helping with on-going mental health problems, and it's interesting (though not surprising) that so many people mention the mental health benefits.
andysays
Love and solidarity
I'm lucky that mine's only 5 minutes walk away.
There have been times, especially when my MH issues were still hard to deal with, when I struggle to motivate myself, but gardening has been and continues to be a life saver and a life rebuilder for me.
Um, I dither about, prevaricating and finding excuses to avoid getting on my bike, plus, an allotment visit usually requires going through the house and greenhouse, collecting stuff I need (seeds, gloves, tools, milk and tea, lighter etc etc. Especially in less than clement weather, I have to give myself a bit of a talking to. But, the second I unlock my bike, I can feel my spirits lifting in anticipation. Even when I know there are numerous tasks in a chaotic mess. It works for me EVERY SINGLE TIME. Cycling along a route I have done hundreds (thousands) of times, I know there is a smile on my face. Just unlocking the shed and I swear, I have simply shrugged off all the niggles, irritations, fears and worries, of everyday, and am now fully and deeply immersed in a world of pure sensation and an almost numinous sense of lifeness and the eternal. It fulfills every single need. Creative, aesthetic, nurturing, competence, reliability, desire, beauty, joy...and yep, even the negative stuff is somehow all contained in a few square metres of space. This is my 21st year at this allotment (have had others)...I find great strength in the continuity and tenacity of life...especially now my children (my other huge creative life project) are out in the world (much like my plants, once set free from the greenhouse).
And having packed my bag, knowing there is a comfy chair and tea-making stuff in my shed, I can linger for hours.
And having packed my bag, knowing there is a comfy chair and tea-making stuff in my shed, I can linger for hours.
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