The weather has been great - 66F and 5mph W wind but, in the bit of the garden where I was working, there was no wind at all.I completely cleared a patch of sunny border by the garage and have put my Gardener's Delight tomato plants there. Already potted up by Helen so I had very little to do except make decisions. The patch you can see was completely overgrown with Periwinkle except for the very edge where I had too much Chives and some Thyme and a new Curry Leaf plant.
Basically I loosened it all with a strong fork and a spade and then used my kneeler and a trowel and hand-fork to get it all out. The Courgette Helen has also given me I planted in a previously cleared bit of flower border opposite.
Y changed beds, and then weeded out the Ring Around in the front garden where we aim to plant some Geraniums to blend in with some Pansies which are still doing well. We both worked hard and tired ourselves a bit and a lie-down was very welcome. Very satisfying though and a sense of achievement.
David has just rung to say he has tracked down a good deal on a Garmin NUVI 205 at Halfords. Half price and it seems just the thing we want. Perhaps have a look in Mansfield Halfords tomorrow, if they are open.
David and family go away tomorrow to the Caravan Club Ferry Meadows site near Peterborough. And jolly nice it looks too. Adjacent to the Nene Valley Park which also looks delightful. There certainly looks plenty of interesting things. Bird-watching hides, a lake and cycling !
At lunchtime we watched, courtesy of iplayer, a doumentary about Wilfred Owen which Yvonne had found. It was about Wilfred Owen, the outstanding First World War Poet and Jeremy Paxman now seems to do an excellent job with this sort of subject. Very harrowing content, but important, and I'm glad we watched it.
My responses to your previous comments
Pete B .... How interesting about Gertrude Jekyll. I too hope your plant flowers soon and you can tell us all about it. Haven't had chance to check-out your blog yet.
Do the TT Race supporters cause problems ? Or do you all be pleased to see them for tourist reasons? The Official Website looks very lively and attractive.
Bob ..... Perhaps the Log Cabins are on someone's 'wish-list' and they are not yet imminent.
I am kind to bees but I have to be extremely careful. My tolerance to bee-venom diminished over the years rather than increased. I had a particularly nasty reaction to a sting and the Consultant advised me to give up the hobby. I keep some histamine tablets readily available and also a spray.
Jill ..... As you will see from the picture on the right Gertrude Jekyll is a Climber/Rambler - I'm never sure what the difference is. And does it matter ? She certainly gets about a bit and flowers over a reasonable period. After the first flush around now, the plant will continue to produce blooms till the end of the season albeit not as prolifically as May/June.And, as we have mentioned, the scent is worth lingering near the Rose for. It was a good decision to plant her near our front door. Probably Y's !
I went out specifically to take the photo to include here but, as you can see, the sun has gone over to the other side of the Bungalow. Would be better in the morning.
We too are not in favour of plants with a very short flowering period. Peonies are out for us for that very reason.
Glad your Hospital visit worked out OK but 3 buses sounds tedious. You will have to change your mind about things with ear-phones because Y now swears by her MP3 player and won't travel on public transport without it.
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Quotation time ........
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Talking about trains, and with it being Whitsuntide, I can't but think of Philip Larkin and The Whitsun Weddings.
"Sleep tight - Catch you tomorrow"
"Sleep tight - Catch you tomorrow"
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Want to come and weed my garden when you've done yours? That looks a great place for tomatoes. Several years I used to have half-a-dozen plants in a gro-bag, which used to do quite well.
ReplyDeleteNo idea what a Gamin thing is....but if it's half-price and what you want, go for it!
I recommended that Wilfred Owen/Paxman prog. to Y, thought it was tv at its best.
It isn't the noise etc. I don't like on public transport, it is the getting on and off and queueing (?) at bus-stops. I often have interesting conversations - I knit socks on longer journeys....
Thanks for the further Gerturde Jekyll photos, it looks even better. Do you think it would flourish in a pot, we have no earth by our front door, I do have large pots/tubs.
We had a Painted Lady butterfly in garden today, a rare visitor. I think I have photographed it, am having trouble getting photos into computer, have done it once before with son's help, I obviously need another lesson.....
25 in Central London today - we have sat outdoors in the shade for quite a lot of it. We acquired a proper-height collapsible table, two fold-up chairs, from car-boot, we had our sandwich lunch out there, find the table particularly useful! Also have two sun-loungers, but not so good at eating from....
Graham your Gertrude looks fantastic outsied your front door. Be a while yet until ours is that size. In answer to yours and Jills query re TT Races.....Yes we do feel invaded, but it is much needed tourism and some businesses of course rely on this busy period to keep them going. I myself like the atmosphere especially where I live in Ramsey but to be honest with you I find the actual racing quite boring. The main problems I find are the road closures which can cause havoc 'cause they can be closed for most of the day in some instances and if you live on or inside track you are a virtual prisoner. Having no speed limits causes it's own problems and so I rarely venture out in my car and if I do I take extra care 'cause the bikes are everywhere.
ReplyDeleteMy outdoor tomato plants (Red Alert, Roma & Gardeners’ Delight) are thriving nicely on window cill and will go out next week.
ReplyDeleteFirst pound of gooseberries picked today.
What do Garmin make?
Sounds like possibly ice-cream makers, chopped herbs, or small boys’ knee-length tweed shorts?
Ferry Meadows was our favourite site – twice a year at least.
Country Park aside, nice 3-mile train ride, or walk alongside track, into Peterborough (pushing a wheelchair back in torrential rain, having missed last train, less nice, but memorable! Haiku?).
Having always been tolerant, I reacted less well to my last inside-shirt wasp sting –
4” deep blister round ¾ of my waist.
But that was ¼ century ago!
I absolutely agree peonies a waste of time but Sandra likes their brief flowering enough to have two.
I ‘did’ Whitsun Weddings for ‘A Level’.
Sport:
On the Button.
Tough on Toon but self-inflicted. Pleased for Hull (and Stoke).
Jill:
3 buses! You’ve more stamina than me.
But I too want to hear what is going on around me, although the minority of deliberately foul-mouthed teenagers can be an irritation.
I take a crossword (and camera).
Very nice veg/herb patch. I plant chives in amongst the raspberry canes as they're good for deterring aphids. I grew a few tomatoes last year when I found tomato plants unexpectedly sprouting with the flowers in my patio pots - presumably from seeds in my home-made compost.
ReplyDeleteOn the Garmin, I read in the paper last week that the satellite system upon which SatNav depends is now well past its sell by date and systems could start to go wrong - maybe that's why its going cheap!