[telecom69]

Hi everyone hope you are all keeping fit and well first off super pictures of the Pines Yvonne they are indeed very striking,what amazes me the most is how they survive in such a small rooting area .....the weather round here has gone haywire in the last week or so,its so mild after that initial cold spell we had that had seemed to kill everything off,and now all of a sudden everything has started to grow again,and there is no shortage of rain here either it buckets down some nights ,in last nights local paper a local woman has a crop of strawberries emerging,dont expect they will come to much however, a Mallard has hatched 15 eggs but due to the night storms most died,however a swan rescue centre has taken 4 of them in and they are thriving.... and finally a Cameroon Lamb has been born 6 months out of season at Dudley Zoo, and there are a few reporting Daffodils sprouting 4 months early too .....I dont know if all of this is good news or not,because its just throwing everything out of sync so to speak,but at least its given me something to write about in our quest to keep the thread going this Winter nice as it is to see this mild weather the garden does of course need its Winter rest to recuperate from last season ........dont know if anyone is doing any serious gardening here in the UK as it just would not be possible with so much rain around at night,but yesterday I did hear one brave soul quite close to me mowing his lawn,heaven knows what it looked like or what good it could have done to his mower with everything being soaking wet its just about getting light now 7.50 am and its been a rough night with heavy rain and winds,but all is calm again at the moment,will be going out shortly to see what if any damage to fences whatever has been done,more soon ...take care all ...Bob

[Blackmirror]

I used to have the most beautiful garden..everything hand grown and nurtured from cuttings..or seeds took me 15 years to get it just right.. and then disaster struck in the form of my teenage son..
Kids and their bright ideas.... He decided while i was at work one day that we needed a Koi Carp pond.... Hello no i didnt.. lol

i returned to find a 8ft wide 4 foot deep HOLE .. gone was my favourite Jasmine bush.. my camelia bush my small wildlife pond.. in fact half the garden.......
Honestly i could have quite easily hit him with the shovel and buried him in it... 6 months later there is still a hole thats it nothing done.. Its too cold now MUM.. will do it in the spring....

since that day i have gone off gardening and refuse to go out until he has put it right ....and with a new puppy now who likes to dig holes im doomed



anyone know a good gardener?????

[telecom69]

Hi Blackmirror, and welcome to the gardening thread you could always use it as a large wildlife pond,or a sunken garden or as you yourself suggested a grave he certainly must have some energy as digging a hole that deep would take some mighty effort,or if you leave it like that I would imagine come next Spring you will will have a ready made pond after the Winter rains

[Blackmirror]

Originally Posted by telecom69

Hi Blackmirror, and welcome to the gardening thread you could always use it as a large wildlife pond,or a sunken garden or as you yourself suggested a grave he certainly must have some energy as digging a hole that deep would take some mighty effort,or if you leave it like that I would imagine come next Spring you will will have a ready made pond after the Winter rains

I have been promised a garden revamp..... im still waiting lol...

[eggplant43]

Nice to see this thread still thriving this late in the season for most of us.

Blackmirror, perhaps your son will gain a different perspective if he comes home to find his bedroom/sanctuary being used for something else

[Blackmirror]

Originally Posted by eggplant43

Nice to see this thread still thriving this late in the season for most of us.

Blackmirror, perhaps your son will gain a different perspective if he comes home to find his bedroom/sanctuary being used for something else

lol i hadnt thought of that,, On a more serious note i feel like part of me has been lost ripped from me
He didnt mean to be so insensitive,, i was so garden proud that i wouldnt even let my hubby sweep it.. i knew if a pot had been moved out of place. i knew every twig and bush

Now its just all gone and i dont think i will ever feel the same...about gardening

[telecom69]

Originally Posted by eggplant43

Nice to see this thread still thriving this late in the season for most of us.

Its because we sort of made an unofficial pact a few weeks back to try and keep it going right through,even though gardening is on the back burner for a while for most of us

[ymfoster]

Originally Posted by Tuppence2

Thanks for the very interesting photos and links, Yvonne. I'd quite happily take those pines home. I saw the programme on TV about the newly discovered pine - it stated that it was being raised in different locations. I expect it's expensive to buy, still - is it on sale to the general public, yet? You are lucky not to have much black-spot - it's so damp here that it's been rife this season, and rust, which I've not seen in my garden before. Hoping the roses get over it and grow well next year.

Christmas is a-coming.....wheeee!

Glad you enjoyed the links Penny,
I've found a site that gives prices for a few different sizes, they seem very popular,

www.gardenexpress.com.au/wollemi.html

[Tuppence2]

Hello everyone. Thanks very much, Yvonne.

I don't feel as if gardening has come to an end this year as I'm helping out at the local garden centre and people are still buying plants, trees, pots, flowers, etc., etc., though my gardening at home is at a standstill.

It's been extremely wet here, too. The grass has grown another two inches in the past week! I've daffodil shoots four inches tall and a little rose is just opening on my climber, "Perpetually Yours".

The garden is a real mess - mud churned up by lots of dogs feet, leaves everywhere, fallen apples, etc. I need to get at the roses to clear up dead and fallen leaves but haven't been able to yet.

I did managed to dig over the potato patch before it became so wet but haven't been able to spread manure on it yet, that's waiting in bags. Not to worry - we will have turned the corner of the year soon, and spring will be on its way!

I also feel that gardening is still up and going because of visit the rose site I've joined - there are still roses growing in other parts of the world.

Hope the run up to Christmas is going well for you all.

Bye,
Penny.

[trekguy]

Originally Posted by Blackmirror

lol i hadnt thought of that,, On a more serious note i feel like part of me has been lost ripped from me
He didnt mean to be so insensitive,, i was so garden proud that i wouldnt even let my hubby sweep it.. i knew if a pot had been moved out of place. i knew every twig and bush

Now its just all gone and i dont think i will ever feel the same...about gardening

IMO, gardening is ALL about new beginnings. If you can, look at this as a new start to the BEST garden ever... new and improved... with a Koi pond!!

And, a hole that size would result in a lot of soil. Where did it go? If it's still on site... you have the makings of a new waterfall feature.

Good luck

[Tuppence2]

Hello, everyone.

Another weekend! I've a climbing rose to plant today - "Guinee", dark red with ruffled edged to its petals. Putting it close to "Golden Showers" on the flower arch so if they mix they'll make a pretty display. "Perpetually Yours" (climbing rose) has a flower - it's an attractive rose, with small, neat foliage. I've attached it's photo.

My back garden grass is reverting to field, not having been cut due to the very wet weather! It will be "fun" cutting it in the spring.

It's damp out but not raining and the sun has just appeared. Listening to Test Match Special on the radio as I can't afford Sky to watch the matches.

A friend in America sent my some "West Country" rose gardening gloves. They're excellent - soft treated suede with a gauntlet to the elbows. They're washable and don't stiffen or crack. I used them yesterday to tidy dead plants from the front garden and to remove dead and diseased leaves from the climbing roses.

I'm out to my first Christmas meal of the season tonight, at a friend's house, and have another booked with neighbours on Monday night - it's all go.

Time for breakfast. Have a good weekend, everyone.

[eggplant43]

In the spirit of this thread, I'd like to report the purchase of 3 Amaryllis in a lovely glass container. I purchased it mostly because I wanted the 9 year old to experience a plant that grows inches a day, culminating in large, beautiful, trumpet shaped flowers. One of my favorite plants.

[Tuppence2]

Hello Everyone.

They are such interesting plants, Eggie. People were buying them at the garden centre where I volunteer. The children will really enjoy seeing them emerge and grow.

I brought home climbing "Guinee", a lovely dark red rose with ruffled edges to it's petals, and will plant it over the holiday to mingle with "Golden Showers" on the flower arch in front of the front door. The garden centre have a buffet lunch for staff, me included, tomorrow...lots of nice things to eat provided by the on-site Cafe.

I fell in the mud on a walk yesterday and have just got in from casualty, my thumb having decided to bruise and swell at the base. I'm seeing them again in the morning and might have an X-Ray, according to what it's like after the night. It's my right-hand thumb and I'm right-handed....ouch, when I try to type!

Have a wonderful Christmas and a New Year full of the good things of life, everyone.

Penny.

[eggplant43]

That doesn't sound like any fun at all. Hope you heal fast.

[Tuppence2]

Thanks for your concern. It's not a break - so that's good. Just bruised and sore.

I rescued three pots of miniature roses yesterday, four in each. They'd arrived at the garden centre very wet and their wrapping stopped them from draining and they'd begun to suffer. They were out to go in the skip! One has large yellow flowers, the others micro-miniature red ones. Miniature roses, themselves, can grow quite large, it's the flowers that are small in scale. I changed their soil, stripped wilting leaves and put some rooting hormone powder on their roots to help stop rotting. They're outside on the bench, covered so they're not rained on for a while.

My climber, "Guinee", is still waiting to be planted. I'll do that some time over the holiday. Here's a link to the rose:

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/pl.php?n=3134&tab=10

Palmer Gardens (Garden Centre) had it's staff Christmas buffet yesterday, lots of delicious food - the big strawberries dipped in chocolate were yummy!
I've two cleaning jobs to do today and a visit to a friend for a Christmas drink - I'll make sure I'm not tiddly in charge of my bicycle!

Hope everyone's ready for the celebrations. My dogs destroyed and ate my Christmas presents yesterday!! Wrapping paper and packaging everywhere - only socks and a journal left, the rest must have been eatables, chocolates, etc. The horrors!

Penny