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...

How do you do that jackhammering thing, Echt?

We have lots of newish Tarmac in the lower part of our back area near the kitchen , sir rounded by 6ft walls. We have only been here a year. I would love to dig up a strip around the walls for climbers. Isn't the Tarmac all wiggly lined afterwards, so difficult to get a straight edge ?

Thankyou bertha seeds arrived this morning.

Does a little happy dance around thread. My greenhouse is now up. I have put my old plastic paste table in as a work bench and an old chest of drawers i had in the garage for a bit of storage. Going to go to wilkos tomorrow to stock up on compost, vermiculite and seed trays.

Hello everyone

A greenhouse! Congratulations. It is an exciting day when the greenhouse is put up.

for the greenhouse!

Echt your garden sounds wonderful. I'd love to see photos if you ever feel like posting any.

Congrats on your greenhouse, Cantspel!

I sat in the garden today and was very frustrated. DH had put the day aside to do stuff and I went out and tried to get him to do the stuff I wanted him to do but he had other ideas! At least he got a lot of jobs done - putting two box cones in the bed outside the back door, planting the kolkwitzia MIL gave us, moving all the box cuttings to the round veg garden, dealing with a great deal of bindweed.

We had a massive load of well rotted horse manure delivered yesterday and discovered that our compost is looking good. Ate some figs from the tree by the playhouse which is looking really healthy after a very slow start this year.

I can't wait till I stop being so immobile and can get in the garden again.

We hired the jackhammer from a firm that does tool hire; Kango would be the name of one kind of jackhammer for hire/sale in the UK.

Basically DH ruled a line and then drilled with a bit that that was flat, like a huge screwdriver. That part is quick, but then breaking up the underlying material needs a different bit. Our driveway is 6" thick, with scoria and concrete poured over rebar, and then the tarmaccy stuff. Like motorway.:o The house is built on sand, and sloping at that, so the original builder went a bit bonkers making a stable, though ugly driveway. The whole drilling part took about an hour, though carting away the concrete rather longer.

I've been filling the beds beds with a mix of spent compost from bulb containers and topsoil and will have to wait for it to settle before adding soil wetter. Fortunately it has rained like mad all night and most of today, so the beds have sunk a bit more.

Am suffering from serious gardening withdrawel in the on call room. Windowsill salad and herbs don't cut it. I want to be out there doing jobs. However I got a letter saying no pension till lm 68 so have a very long while till I go on permanent gardening leave. I like it best when I can do some everyday. The weekend gets too busy though it will be better now the dc have nearly gone.

Thanks so much Echt. That's really interesting, and helpful.

I'm inspired to give it a go next year.

cantspell exciting news re green house. We're getting one soon, now I've sold the dc's play house I have a space.

68 suppose I'm going to get the same letter :(

I'm about to order some manure too happy days

68?????

Humphrey hope you are back in the garden soon in the mean time make yourself a cuppa and boss your husband about until he does what you want him to. At least he is willing as my poor husband doesn't know or what to know one end of the garden from the other. He thinks gardens are for drinking beer in when the sunshines.

The greenhouse has it's first plants in 6 cape fuchsia seedlings and 4 hydrangea cuttings. Lots more to go in but at least i have made a start.

The greenhouse is only a polycarb from wilkos but for what it cost it is a bargain. Very easy to make as the sheets of poly carb just slot in but quite the frame work took forever as there was hundreds of little nuts and bolts that seem to hold the aluminum frame together. Although it is not advertised as such it is made by Palram.

I think I'm going to get one of those, Cantspel. In the meantime today I'm on the verge of eBaying the children before they drive me bonkers.

What did you do for a base? Concrete or soil?

at ebaying children. I know what you mean.

Do we need to break out the virtual blackberry gin?

I have a small patio area at the back of the garden which was not used so i have used that. It is out of the way and means it is not in direct view from the house.

Wilkos greenhouses are cheap and practical but are never going to be a nice looking addition to the garden.

Maud gin is always welcome.

yes please for the gin

::pours virtual fun for all::

Apple vodka for me please.

Need some apple inspiration. Will be baking apple cake and dicing some for the freezer for future crumbles etc. but does anyone have good apple recipes? Don't want to do apple jelly as I never eat them and can't give enough away

Ooops. That was supposed to be virtual gin. And now vodka too.

I'll take both the gin and vodka thanks. It's been that kind of day.

Cheers!

Something liquid for me too please. I read that polycarb is the best sort of window stuff for greenhouses and am eyeing an upright cold frame with double walled polycarb at a very reasonable price with wooden walls it isn't that one you mentioned maud but very similar and notify more expensive. Oh..
I was scrabbling around and found the non alcoholic pear and elderberry stuff...
Offers to anyone who wants it...
Yup 68. Hah. I shall be dead before I gets my mahoosive final salary NHS pension ,which no doubt is the govt plan

Swigs away
puts on very old records involving fog on the tyne , unbricking and waterloo sunsets and so forth but still can't see 68 coming for a while. Swigs some more..

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