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...

Hi funny, you are not alone!

I'm very impressed with DH who bought a sledgehammer and pickaxe from Wickes and is now in the process of thumping uo and removing the old buried garden path that is stopping things from growing in our garden.my oak has dropped all its leaves too. A bit like the Monty Python sketch when all the leaves go "aaarrrgh!" At once and hurl to the ground.....

Thanks for the good wishes, I'm much better now thank you. I'm liking the sound of the evergreen wreathes and decs. I think I need to google how to do it.

Piles of soggy leaves here everywhere too. And rain forecast all week. The grass will be ruined.

I've been thinking about the new thread title, and thought of PB Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind": If winter comes, can spring be far behind?

It'll be in the spirit of the turn of the year by the time the thread hits 1000, I reckon.

I like that; go for it! I've been thinking but haven't come up with anything inspirational.

Great title.
I have raked up all leaves. Lawn looks fine. Now to plant rest of tulip bulbs, clear up the patio, light the fire pit and roast some chestnuts for Christmas......

Like the title, makes me think of January seed buying and all that hope and potential that comes with each seed packet.

Still quite mild here and I have a few roses out in the garden.Mum's CH has a lovely garden, I was admiring the winter jasmine and those bushes with the purple berries the other day. There's a tiny bit of winter jasmine in my garden that is just starting to flower and having seen their lovely big plant on one of the walls, I am going to give it some TLC.

I've been busy clearing Mum's conservatory and need to go plant shopping as want it to have some plants in for viewings. Got as far as two cyclamen to go in a hanging plant stand so far as the garden centre didn't have much in so off to another soon.

Love the sound of chestnuts roasting in the fire pit, I want to go to FP's this Christmas.

Yes we have winter jasmine in flower too, though not so rampant a in previous years due to being cut back when the new fence was put up in the summer.
It is pouring so no roasting chestnuts outside wynken ...best laid plans and all that!

Excellent title for the new thread.

I have just come to the conclusion that, although I don't really do houseplants because I kill them, I need a purple streptocarpus.

I love Streptocarpus. My Mum always had them so they remind me of her. I've got a purple one in the bathroom that flowers its socks off. They thrive on neglect in my experience.

Still more leaves to rake here. But the lawn is currently under water after extreme rain for the last couple of days.

I have planted three more climbers. A kind of scattergun approach, not just cos I was windowshopping online and found some on sale, honest

1. An Evergreen Jasmine: I like the idea of year-round screening and apparently they smell lovely.

2. a Hardenberghia Violacea (Happy Wanderer). Purple flowers and again an evergreen. Described as "vigourous" so I'm hoping it will travel well and far...

3. a purple Passiflora. Not so sure about this particular specimen (it looks a bit limp compared to the others) but I'm hoping to re-stake one of my willow panels tp grow it up when it's a bit bigger.)

No idea how well these will take, but they're in and watered along the length of my trellissing. What I'm hoping kow is that over the next year or two the climbers will all grow and coalesce to give me good coverage and reduce overlooking, and in the longer term the semi-dwarf fruit trees will be trained into pretty fan shapes in the gaps.... Well, I can dream!

That sounds delightful, Aethelfleda.

Thrive on neglect? I am liking the streptocarpus more and more!

Yes thriving on neglect sounds delightful.
I finished the wreath finally at about 2 pm ish, having cleaned the door and swept the front patio. It is lovely- a frame of red dogwood bent into a circle and tied with twine, with purple-grey sage, rosemary and sprigs of winter jasmine, lacy hydrangea and fresh green with red cotoneaster berries. It smells very nice as one goes past it coming in and out. It is eco friendly and free. I am happy with it.
The trouble is I am so behind with everything that by the time it went up most of the neighbours had already dropped in their cards!
Oh well, we have been to a brilliant play, seen a brilliant film, had brilliant food and tomorrow we are off to a (I hope) brilliant opera. I am shattered already! The one lucky thing is that by consensus we are not having a tree this year. DD has decreed all money saved is to go to the charity of her choice. So we are saved pine needle angst as well as expensive present angst.

That wreath sounds gorgeous, funnyperson!

Which play and film have you seen? I am planning to have a very cultured holiday so will gladly take recommendations.

The play is sold out for all performances (rightly so) 'Drawing the Line'. Very good on direction, history, acting, and the Whlte Man's Burden.

The film is the Hobbit part 2: Not cultured even remotely. Action packed. DS was a Tolkien aficionado when in his early teens, and I in my childhood (hence wry smile at Blair in American Senate prior to Iraq attack) and DD is a Martin Freeman fan, so we had endless fun comparing book with film etc, and the film has some great chases, and even an instant love-at-first-sight moment, which caused DD to burst out into loud and raucous laughter (to our very great embarrassment: she is a modern girl and lacks social niceties).

At 22, this will be DS's first opera (DD's too but we aren't allowed to admit that) and he is very very excited, which moves me. I still remember 'Peter Grimes (terrible) and 'The Magic Flute' (amazing) which were my first operas.

If I were at your DD's stage, Maud I might want to go and see 'Le Corsair" , or 'Wicked' or 'Fuerzbrueta' or 'Emil and the Detectives' or 'Quidam' or if I was feeling adventurous 'Candide'. Skating at Somerset house is magical, and there are some great pantomimes around. I hope that doesn't sound patronising but they grow out of those sorts of things all too soon. Anyway most theatres haven't got much serious stuff on at this time of year.

Yes, the shortage of serious stuff at the theatre s a perennial problem. We will definitely see Emil and the Detectives and From Morning to Midnight as we know people in them. DH is keen to see a ballet, as a traditional thing to do at Christmas, and Le Corsair is top of the list. This morning I will be hitting the website and making some bookings. We will certainly see The Hobbit as they are both Tolkein fiends (me, less so).

Yes we used to have fun going to the ballet every New Year's Eve but when DS turned 17 he rebelled as he said ballet was too embarrassing for a 17 year old boy to talk about with mates, and we haven't been since- have chosen other unisex things like the Chinese state circus etc though we went to Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev) for one of DD's subsequent birthdays. Let us know how the plays were!

My orchids are reflowering!
However the outdoors clematis 'jingle bells' has not flowered in time for Christmas oddly enough. I don't know why I fell for the hype.

Wreath sounds wonderful Funny.

Everyone else being battered by the weather too?

Yes, it's blowing a gale here and has been raining all day. What a joy.

just dropping into wish you all a few festive days.
have done litte apart from damage control. have put a net over the roses to stop the squirrels from digging. raked leaves.

Love the sound of your wreath, Funny. Can we have a pic on the FB page please?

Wild, wild night here too. I watched Jane Eyre and it was novel that the wind and rain battering the windows in real life was wilder than that on screen. I love a bit of Bronte, but then I am from that part of the world and I did used to go out with a bloke called Heathcliff

Did you notice that there were two Jane Eyres on the telly today?

I watched Jane Eyre in front of the fire with the dog. It was lovely, but the rest of the night wasn't so peaceful. First time I've ever been scared about the weather! Damage report: tree down across front drive and fence, lost the roof from my little shed, drain pipe off back of house and a large terracotta pot with my sage in travelled some distance across the garden. Various other branches down but no other major damage so far spotted.

Miraculously the tree sheered off half way down the trunk and the bit that came down on the fence has pivoted across it. From what I can see there is no damage to the fence at all. Need to get it off the fence though somehow before it crumples under the weight. DM's partner coming over in a bit to help me put the shed roof back on.

At least we have power

Crikey, Bertha. That does sound alarming. I haven't looked out of the window here, but last night either DH's motorbike blew over (seems improbable) or someone reversed over it.

That sounds suspicious to me Maud. She'd roof back on but needs refelting, contents ok but a little soggy. Neighbour came over and helped me post the tree back over the fence which was some undertaking. The trunk had hit an old wall on the way down which stopped it and caused it to snap. Can't believe there was no damage to the fence!

Sorry to hear about the damage. Our front gate blew off its hinges (was dodgy anyway) and another ceanothus was toppled in the drive. The remaining one looks odd now.