Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May: Alternative potting shed thread

[funnyperson]

On the grounds that potting sheds should admit those of all cultures here is an alternative potting shed thread. Probably makeshift and not as posh as the other one. Definitely subversive and open to gardeners of all capabilities.

She finishes on Thursday. But if I even mention revision she gets really stressed and feels sick.

Maths today and hopefully not s repeat of Paper 1 when the fire alarm went off.

How many more has he got Bearleigh and are they spread out ? We've been at this since 5 May, seems to go on forever.

Yes since May 5 too - he has 7 more, mostly 1 1/4 hour papers, and finishes on 19 June. So bored and frustrated now, and yes the revision has tailed off. I can understand it is so hard to keep going. He mentioned yesterday how many more summers he will have full of exams. This may be the worst though...

Ooh - chipper..... I have a large area to clear with lots of brambles and that sounds good. Or I may just snip them up and burn them in the brazier (would have to be fairly late though at this time of year to avoid being anti-social). I put a cob nut tree I have been nursing in a pot for years into the to-be-cleared plot at the weekend, so this is the year I really have to do it!

Lovely, lovely weekend in the garden although a bit achey now. I got round to taking some pics at the end of the afternoon yesterday. Peonies and aliums are out, and the white rose on my rose arch (the other side still lagging woefully behind!). One shot quite spoiled by DH's weather station, which I have tried suggesting he sites elsewhere.... The last pic is my new rose and lavender border I started last year. The rose that's out is Winchester Cathedral (one of my favourites) and the others won't be far behind.

Gorgeous pics bram!

We borrowed our NDN's chipper to get rid of brambles from an area we cleared. It was amazing fun

I remember that exam fatigue well. Prior to AS levels there was (for better or worse) something of a break I believe, so if you don't have a gap year and go to university then it can be six years in a row of summer exams at a minimum. Though with fewer subjects after GCSEs it is slightly less of a slog. I studied languages and chose to get a job abroad instead of doing Erasmus (university exchange) during my year abroad to get a year off!

May I abuse your collective wisdom again? I thought this climber was a jasmine when we first moved in, but the flowers don't look right at all and it has no scent. The bees adore it, and it is very pretty. The flowers are about 1cm across. Does anyone have an idea of what it is?

(I am working on hiding the chain link, trust me)

That looks like my jasmine beesianum, although the flowers on mine are a little smaller. Jasmine stephanense also has pink flowers but is supposed to be very fragrant, so I doubt it's that.

It does look exactly like that, thank you!

I have a jasmine with yellow flowers that look very similar to your pink ones, which doesn't really have a scent. However my more "traditional" jasmines, with smaller, white flowers do have scent. I had assumed that the more ornamental/coloured ones don't smell as much? Unfortunately the label is now gone from the yellow one (it's just coming into flower now) so I can't tell you what kind it is.

Good luck to yours too for exams. sugarplum
DS hasnt really got over the exam years. I think a gap year is a good idea for them.
Hacked back the buddleia and weeded.
That dragonfly photo is wonderful quality

What lovely pictures - Winchester Cathedral is one of my favourites and has its first flower here.

Bearleigh I do feel did him. Everyone else I know who finish after this week started on 11 May and not 5th. So hard to keep up motivation. Maths didn't go well for DD today. In my head she had always been resitting next year. If she gets onto Level 3 courses next year then will be pretty much all course work and I think that will suit her better. Definitely can see the sense of a gap year. DD is thd first year of doing A levels with no AS in theory but still doing AS I think. I actually have no proper idea what is happening anymore as everything keeps changing each year.

Bertha Wonderful dragonfly! And Bramshott your garden is lovely!

I still have nightmares about exams too many years after them to count. I regularly write in a university library, and the last three weeks I've been avoiding it, because the tension and anxiety are palpable. I feel so sorry for the students. It's like they are in an endless cycle of testing these days.

I used to teach undergrads, and you could spot those who had enjoyed a gap year doing something amazing and independent before they even opened their mouths. I think it's not just that they are so much more resilient and self-reliant, but they are more certain about the general direction in which their life is heading (and hopefully, as a result, less likely to make expensive mistakes with course choices).

How stupid am I. Couldn't see the Dragonfly and was thinking must be as am on phone. Found it, what a wonderful picture.

I am much older than everyone you, Holly, and went to university when anyone who had taken a gap year was an exotic rarity (and, even then, the standard gap year was a year on a kibbutz because there wasn't the industry that there is now, providing gap year activities). As I remember it, we had a high attrition rate in the first year and I suspect that was at least partly due to the factors you mention. On our course, it was the mature students (those who had been out of formal education for several years and in some cases more) who were, generalising slightly, the more resilient, self-reliant and focused.

My poor brother's birthday is in mid-may - I think every year he had an exam on his birthday and always had to delay celebrating

18 (or 14/16 if you count GCSE and A Level options) is very young to make firm decisions about what you want to do and how to achieve that. I'm doing another bachelor's at age 29 (I am sitting in the car at the venue for my exam this afternoon!) because my first degree, although it was interesting and challenging, can't get me where I want to go

Oh, Hapshawl good luck. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you.

I really deeply admire people who study as mature students. It is so much more difficult when you have other life stuff going on.

And Maud you are NOT old! If I accidentally find myself in my 60 while still in my 30s due to some doctors and some drugs, then I reckon you can be 30 in your 60s by force of personality and vim!

Good luck hapshawl

Good luck for this afternoon Hapshawl! And yes I'd missed Bertha's dragon fly first time too, and it is a lovely photo.

DS is looking forward to A Levels now, to keep going - he's suddenly decided he wants to do German, not Chemistry. He is naturally good at languages so we think it's a good choice. What I find depressing is that he will probably be the only one doing it - this at an academically-selective school. At my 1970s comprehensive there were about 6 people doing German A Level. From his point of view, at the end of 2 years with one-to-one tuition, he should be pretty good though.

'age shall not weary them nor the years condemn'

now I realise this refers to those who do not grow old because they died young, but being of a fundamentally non morbid nature, I often think of those lines to refer to people who are alive and full of spirit like wot you are (and of course me mwahaha) maud

re the german vs chemistry issue
my sister had serious negotiations with her DS's school because she didnt feel her DS should need to make that choice and he wanted to do both, (as well as double maths and physics) and she won (of course.inevitably. a contest with my sis is no contest) and it stood him in good stead because he did one of those science degrees at Imperial with a year abroad in Heidelberg or some such. (no good at languages myself so not sure which town it was)
in short if your DS is the only one doing german then they can fit his lessons around the chemistry and other things as long as he is up for it.

of course.inevitably. a contest with my sis is no contest

Haha! And thanks.

Thanks all, all finished now. Feel for the poor teenagers who still have weeks to go

Hope today's exams went well for everyone.

A few things in the garden are looking mildewy, I think because of the lack of rain, so I watered everything and moments later we had a shower. However, it was so brief that I doubt it will help much.

Is mildew due to lack of rain or

lack of light and space and
too much watering?

Under the rampant rose it is currently very shady and the astrantia there has a touch of mildew on its leaves- I assumed due to not enough light and space and me watering the rose.

milk is said to be a preventative measure has anyone tried it?