Potting shed summer party

[Blackpuddingbertha]

Following on from the Blooming into Flaming June thread and all others before it.

The potting shed is open for summer. Elderflower wine aplenty and room for all. Monty will be along later...

Thank you for your sympathy - only three weeks left till my planned section, at least no fear of going overdue!

Go for it Rhubarb, I think talks would be great. My local gardening mates all have small children so we would be starting from the other end as it were.

I always like the moment at our shows when you get to collect your prize money. I invested my winnings £3 wisely. Our judges are quite strict. If you don't meet the standard you don't get a prize, even if yours is the only exhibit in the class.

I love the idea that across the country new gardening societies will be created and moribund ones will be revived, thanks to the intervention of MN Potting Shedders!

Well done Mousy & Rhubarb!

Humph, having been in the position of only being able to crawl in the last few weeks of pregnancy I have absolute sympathy with you and hope the three weeks go quickly.

I think there are lots of gardening societies around here. Though I suspect the average age is similar to Rhubarbs. Must investigate.

I gave in to the lure of Lidl and picked up two packets of Queen of the Night tulips for £1.79 each today. However, I did manage to resist the 5kg bag of daffs reduced to £4... Mainly because I couldn't be arsed to carry or plant it.

How is everybody planning to grow their tulips? In pots or in the ground? I am thinking pots... Will they be okay in amongst the winter pansies?

Well done to Mousy, Rhubarb and Rhubarb's DD! The sunflower photo sounds lovely, is it on your profile? Can we have a look on FB?

Sorry to hear you're suffering Humph.

can't believe you all have gardening friends in RL, I feel quite cheated on. I thought we were all in the potting closet together? Every time I try to engage anybody round here in gardening chat their eyes glaze over. I need some kind of gaydar gardening app to seek out potting shedders near me...

So Lidl still have tulips? DD wants me to go back to buy some wooden dolls' house furniture she saw in there last week. Tempted.

No, NANN, I left the potting closet years ago. I am thoroughly middle-aged out and proud to all my friends and family.

Just read my last post, obviously I was referring to Rhubarb's local gardening society member's average age rather than Rhubarb's actual age! NANN, I don't talk much in RL about gardening other than to proffer the odd glut vegetable at friends.

Lots of bulbs left in my local Lidl must go back to look for doll's house furniture

I fear the doll's house furniture will be gone, in the way that Lidl 'specials' only tend to hang around for a week. It was quite nice stuff.

Maud, Morrison's had Queen of the Night at a good price the other week if Lidl don't have any.

I went out for a practice development lunch last week with a lawyer and we ended up talking about gardening for almost all of it. He only got into it recently and is really enthusiastic: it was such fun to chat to him.

Has anyone noticed that the last two weeks' rain has made everything explode? My first two quinces on my tree planted two years ago are filling out especially nicely. And so many apples...

Hahaha - I am not 95. Though I feel it, some days.

My apple crumble was rubbish.

A belated congratulations to rake. How splendid are babies, eh?

In typical Aussie fashion, the warm spring introductory offer has been withdrawn in favour of coldness, but no rain. V. annoying as it takes about, oh... two days without rain for the newly-planted stuff to sulk. That would be the new stuff planted with soil wetter, water crystals and peerless native mulch. Ingrates.

However today was gorgeous, at 21, though little gardening was done as I woke in the night with excruciating carpal tunnel pains. I know this because I googled it with my good hand. Straight out of nowhere. What's all that about? A tad annoying too as though I can, with good conscience not mark homework, neither can I garden.

However I did console myself by pootling to local markets and picked up a flowering orchid cactus; a hoya I'll try in a sunnier position on the fence, and a dendrobium speciosum about to flower. I'm trying to keep the pots down to those which require little or no water and can be parked down the side of the house when not being interesting.

The spring holiday approaches and this means DH attacking the driveway with a jackhammer to cut out a long bed so we can plant to cover a long and rather forbidding fence. Hello, neighbours.:o

Good to hear fr

Agh.

Good to hear from you, echt. Hope the carpal tunnel pains clear up soon. They don't sound like fun.

Am now in the moonlight-drenched evening in the front garden. With a well toasty fire going.

DH is chiminea-fixated and I've been battling on the if-I-can't-move-it-we-don't-buy-it front. This weekend we bought a cut-down propane tank made into a fire pit for $35 as opposed to the $200+ for a chiminea we'd need another wheely thing to machine to move. Sorted.

All relaxed now, with the haunting sound of the trains hooting in the distance, and the galloping claws of the possums on the roof. Furry gits.

We have a chiminea which we have not used for years. A fire pit would be lovely, I think. Dunno about the possums.

I'd love some possums.

Spent a happy few hours mowing the orchard, clipping the lavender and dead-heading the roses, till the wind and rain crossed my tolerance threshold.

Am I right in thinking someone on here lives on the Isle of Wight? Fancying a holiday there next year. Any recommendations of nice places to stay?

More belated congratulations to rake

I've haven't done much gardening really this summer as the delay to Mum's case conference has cast a shadow over the summer. Not much longer now, it's on Tuesday.

Yesterday I went in our local Garden Center group garden center where all their seeds were reduced to 50p, so have everything for next year. Also picked up a Geranium Rozanne for £1 as I had a voucher plus a Clematis Armandii for a fiver.

Had an email about rats the allotment. The plot next to me has a large nest under her weed control fabric, yuck!

Not having contact with my Mum or Brother has resulted in my nails growing for the first time ever. They aren't exactly long but not as short. Please tell me about you gardening nail care regimes if you have them.

Oh, Wynken, that sounds very distressing. Hope there's a successful resolution on Tuesday.

My gardening nail care regime is regular scrubbing with a nail brush and one coat of French polish when I want to push the boat out. I do use hand cream most days - without it my hands get very dry, but my nails still are very prone to breaking.

Thank you Maud. I am pleased to hear it is possible to have nails and garden, I was wondering!

I'm thinking about giving up the allotment next year. It's a bit of a trek and I'm the only one from this family who goes. Monty's mix of flowers and veg has made me think plus I don't think I use the greenhouse to its full potential.

My nails are currently stained with printer ink after a printer malfunction last night, so my hands are still far from glamorous!

It's only really dh who goes to our allotment. DD and I have been talking for two years about creating a cutting garden up there, but we haven't done anything about it. We have the same problem of it not really being close enough to home, even though it's our nearest site.

A timely warning as I need to change the printer cartridge . My plot neighbour's Mum does a cutting garden on hers to supply the Church. It is lovely, but she has loads of time.

Well, dyed black nails are not a good look. Had I known the mess I'd get in, I'd have worn gloves (and wearing decent gloves is the key to maintaining one's hands when gardening, I think).

My cutting garden would be to supply my home, but you're right to point to the time commitment it would need. But, it might get DD doing something not screen-based, so that could be good.

echt that sounds idealic, we should have sat out more this summer which I have to say has been the best summer in ages -I'm not quite ready for it to end :(

rhubarb yay come to the Isle Of Wight it's fab :)

I had a quick look and this looks nice www.child-friendly-hotel.com/index.htm

I love Ventnor and would live there if Dh and I didn't have to commute.

On the subject of furry gits I discovered the potted twisted Hazel has about 12 nuts, would love to have squirrels in the garden red of course!

I've just caught up with Monty 200 species of bramble < faints> I have 1 type and its proving tricky to get rid of!

Wynken - best wishes for Tuesday. Hope it works out ok.

Good luck and success on Tuesday wynken I dont know what to think about working with health and social services professionals as a user of services. When on the receiving end I think they are pompous controlling twats, sometimes and at other times of course they are very helpful. I just wish they could be helpful without being pompous and controlling. For example the carers are on at my mother to give my father 'Robinsons' orange squash every day. As an organic etc household we have never bought Robinson's and only have fresh juice in the house. You wouldn't believe the battles the carers have with poor old mum. I don't give a monkeys for their silly Robinson's (which dad hates) and happily tip it down the sink, but mum gets upset, understandably, as she is in the daily firing line of the control freaks.
I deadheaded and cut back the very rampant buddleia a bit, same to the coreopsis and dahlias and sweet peas which are flowering away very happily. I wonder if it is because I sowed the sweet peas in the spring that they are flowering so late still.
I have done cuttings of a nice fuschia - I think it might be a 'Tom West' it has lovely grey green leaves, a droopy aspect to its branches and purple flowers, and a callistemon ( I think) with amazing red foliage and bright red flowers.
I have cut back the green nicotiniana and scattered the seeds around. I have planted 2 clematis which have been waiting in pots. They took ages because the pots were quite deep and digging a large enough hole took ages. Only another 5 clematis to go. Underneath, I put in some anemone blanda blue shades bulbs.
I gathered seeds from a brilliant deep purple salvia splendens and will sow them in a seed tray. There are so many different types of salvia this time of year and they do look nice in the mixed border. The cuttings and seeds came from the gardens at Trinity Hall, Cambridge which are fantastic - mixed rather than block planting and a huge old magnolia grandiflora Exmouth still in bloom would you believe.

The cyclamen is looking very pretty and autumnal underneath the oak at the moment. It is in various colours, pale pinks through to bright red and looks cheery in what has been a dull spot since the oak went into full leaf in May. It is quite an extraordinary plant because in spring there are no flowers, but the ground is covered in the broad variegated leaves and in the Autumn there are no leaves but the little flowers pop up in the prettiest of colours, increasing with every passing year.