What have I done today ....?

I decided to do some gardening before it got hot (27C, now 31C) so went out in the cool of the morning for one and a half hours to tidy up a bit.

First I massacred the Lantana hedge, which gave me itchy arms. The poor thing looks very sad now but still provides privacy to the Baffio (dining area) from the lane. Not that there is much traffic on the lane, a few cars, a tractor, perhaps a person on foot during the course of the day!

Then I tackled the Solanum rantonnetii which I have trained into a tree and which was encroaching on the lime tree and the small pergola.

Whilst outside, thought I'd better do something with my very sad Passiflora pinnisistupla (my beautiful Pink Passion, now deceased). After discussions with knowledgeable Pete it was determined that I should not have such where I had it ... frying in the sun ... hence it's demise! :( Fortunately the root and lower stems were still green so I moved it to the quiet shade of the little pergola to recouperate and rejuvenate itelf ... where, to my surprise I discovered an avocado had rooted and shot up a stem! This is to be company for my two-year old one as they like "mates" to produce avocados! :D So, this little newbie got potted up by itelf.

I checked on my four Albizias, now 10-12 days old three lemon grasses and the three gingers, all doing well.

Other than watering this evening, I believe that's my gardening done for today.

So now I'm going to go through my Chiltern Seed catalogue which came yesterday and become undecisive again as to what to replace the Pink Passion with. :confused:

How was your day?

 

The sun's out now, but this morning was a bit grey.

Spent the morning planning an operating system upgrade to 18 computers distributed all around Britain and keeping an eye on Surrey's progress on Cricinfo.com.

What different lives we lead.

 

I've done quite a bit of research into ebay business but the costs of importing the goods from the US makes a very good looking business suddenly turn into nothing. Frustrating day up till now. I need to go out and try and get a catalogue or 2 of hard landscaping products for a potentially fairly large upcoming job. Motivation is lacking though, even though, as I speak, the sun is shining for the first time in the past month

Many thanks again for the Albrizia seeds, L of L!!

Kind regards
Roy

 

Went to Port Isaac this morning, very pleasant and very warm, saw them filming Doc Martin. Not going out in the garden today as over did it yesterday widening the island bed so that beloved could ride round it easily on his mower without getting hit in the face by the tree. Now think of what I can plant in the large space created. Bliss.

 

Lovely day here today.

I have potted on my ox eye daises and corncockles.

sown my jerusalem seeds and started to cut back things that gave died and gone straggly.

So had a lovely few hours in the garden, now on GC with a nice cup of tea!! :D

 

I've just got home from a very sweaty day at work. Despatched the kids to Daddies(yay!), having a coffee and a catch up on GC then going to some digging and hopefully lay some turf where my path used to be. Oh, and move some plants that are now in the way, and do the ironing, and tidy the kitchen.....

 

Very different lives indeed Rich!

This morning I was stripped to the waist,sweating well, high up on a Georgian Manor house refitting a beautiful antique glass dome lantern light.
Then after lunch I was standing wondering whether or not to enter the Hidcote Garden Maize Maze. Knowing my daughter had got lost in there and had to signal for a ranger to show her the way out, I decided against it :rolleyes:
Now I am reading the Amateur Gardener wondering if I'll ever get a greenhouse to raise all of the free seeds the mag'has given me??

 

well what can i say guys, my day quite boring really, cleaned up, after the hubby got the old washing machine out ready for my new one monday, he ended up water all over the kitchen and seeing that the stop tap is in the bathroom water all over in there to clean up, what we didnt bargain for when mfi fitted my kitchen 7 years ago they didnt fit a proper connector to the back of the washing machine. so he had to go out and buy one.
so it took all morning.cleaning and more cleaning. going out tonight to a rugby club evening so that should be fun. :D :D

 

We had the usual work of grass-cutting, weeding, pruning at a couple of new gardens, and P-w-a-P did sterling work with a mattock! :D thus showing that flame-throwers aren't the only things he can wield! And thus a large and very unhappy pieris bit the dust - or rather the mud, as it started to chuck it down as we finished...... Still - the gardens need it.... :rolleyes:

 

Bit shattered this morning,Last evening went on a round the islands boat trip from Poole Quay two of the party turned up half hour late no apologies to every one waiting....We finally left in a lovely sunset saw a seals sitting about
then on to Sandbanks for a fish/chip supper and firework display off an anchored barge, I wasn't to sure about being in a smallish boat in a bit of a swell in the pitch dark amongst the marines doing a night manoeuvres...Was really quite glad to get home Fireworks were great tho,and fish/chips late at night not a good idea.Then shook myself about a bit down to the Garden centre purchased two large pots oh goody buy one get one free..plus a couple of bags of compost to await the arrival of the cats whiskered Pansies I ordered.

 

Rosietu, I'm growing 1300 Catswhiskers from seed for the first time, it will be interesting to see how they perform. Hope yours do well.

 

Chopped the broad beans off, but left each with a couple of inches of stem as we could yet get another crop from them.Left the cut stems in a pile to be joined by prunings from the fan plum and cherry ready for shredding Picked a heap of dwarf french beans and salted three jars of them. Shelled some of the bigger ones and added the seeds to this evening's bolognaise. (We'll leave the next flush of over-grown beans to dry on the vines and then just shell and bottle them).
Pickled another jar of baby tomatos using lime basil.
Smiled at the lettuce and radish I sowed last week in the garden under cloches. Spoke gently to the spinach and chard that's started to show in the polytunnel and threatened the triffid that poses as a squash plant with the chop if it spreads any further.
Thought about cutting the lawns. No. Maybe tomorrow.
Picked up three peaches that had fallen off. They'll go into fruit smoothies for breakfast tomorrow.

 

:D :D :D :D

 

Dave,never pickled dwarf beans myself..always put them in the freezer and enjoyed the explosion of juice when eating them on xmas day.Excuse me ...but how do you eat yours after salting..cooked??

 

This is the first year we've tried salting them Nick. Mrs W spotted something in a WWII recipe book so we thought we try it. I would guess you have to rinse and cook.
We'll freeze some too, but if things go as per normal it will be four years hence before we discover them at the back of the freezer