I have just got some Felco secateurs!

[GrendelsMum]

They are amazing - truly the best thing ever. I want to go round cutting everything in sight! They cut through a dead rose stem like butter.

Gardeners - if you haven't already got some, go get them. Or ask for them for your birthday or something. Also WinterTouch gloves.

Felcos are lovely - once you've used them you'll never want to use anything else. But you are clearly one pea short of a pod, GM . How's the garden?

I want to get the Felco holster, so that I can strut round the garden like Annie Oakley.

< adds to birthday list requests >

Yes, I bought some a couple of weeks ago. Quite shocked at the price, though.

They are more expensive but I have had my Felcos for 10 years and they are as good as new and I seriously abuse mine. So I think that they're worth the extra money.

My new Felcos were my announcement at today's weekly staff meeting - so I'm definitely a pea short of a pod! I'm told that the holster is totally indispensable, so I shall ask for it for Christmas.

The garden's a bit so-so, to be honest. One bed is definitely good, one is fine (and may be positively good next year!), one will probably be good but it's all annuals grown from seed and so looks rather bare at the moment. But the biggest bed I didn't do much with last year, and it's very obvious this year. I need to entirely re-plan and re-plant it. Working full-time is not conducive to getting the garden done, though. Plus there are new parts of the garden that because of the building works need to be done sooner than I'd planned. 'Primrose heron' looking moderately good amongst the general disorder!

How's yours getting on?

Am trusting and hoping that GrendelsMum is not a hairdresser. Or theatre nurse!

Or a gynaecologist Small Bunch.

I am roffling at your staff meetings GM. I hope the news was greeted with an appropriate level of "oohs" and "aahs".

Damn work getting in the way. My garden is looking so and so too. Have moved things around so it is expected really - have planted woodland border up and meadow has been sown - annuals in that should flower in next couple of weeks. Will look good I think but you never know - could be a disaster. Am putting my new bees in the meadow tommorrow - they were a birthday present. I am unreasonably excited.

Have been thinking about Primrose Heron since Beth Chatto's and an kicking myself that I didn't buy one!

I reckon there are some moments in surgery when a nice sharp pair of Felcos might be just what you want.

The garden sounds like it's progressing well, Porridge. I'm hugely jealous on the bees, the woodland and the meadow . I'm planning to create a small shade walk (did I tell you about this when we met?) and a very small orchard, though, so I shall try to restrain some of my jealousy. I'm glad someone else knows what it means to say that it's looking 'so-so' - DH always says unhelpful things like 'It's looking lovely, darling', or 'I like that pink one' (of a self-sown poppy).

I'll give you one of my Primrose Herons next time we meet - I bought three good-sized ones with a view to propagation and immediately divided them, so I'm now slightly awash with the things. Two good-sized plants would really have been ample.

So a meet up is called for!

yy you told me about the shade walk - we should have a shade plant combination thread so we can discuss ideas. Ignore DH - he is clearly trying to be helpful.

Thanks for the offer of the Primrose Heron - we can plant swap - definately need a meet up! I hear that "The Place for Plants" at East berholt is good - or East Ruston? Perhaps we can persuade Pannacotta?

I'm definitely up for either East Ruston or The Place for Plants - I've meant to go to both for a while. Would East Ruston be easier for everyone?

Shall we see who's interested? I'll start a new thread.