Making the Best of It... (Was 'Blog from an Untidy Garden')

[tonyg]

A perfect spring day here.  Some work done in the garden but the highlight was a picnic in the park with Amy (7)  We also planted peas and carrot seeds in the veg plot plus some flower seeds in Amy's garden.  Yes, we also have some sunflowers germinating on her bedroom windowsill.  Amy has a passion for butterflies so we were both delighted to see a Tortoiseshell in the greenhouse today.  After visiting the Primula marginata it also paid its respects to a tecophilea .... but I was too slow to press the shutter there

The Corydalis malkenisis pictured recently has moved to the seed stage already (two weeks since the previous pic was taken) in a few days the seed will be ripe ... will I be here to catch it?  Perhaps I should gather a few green pods before we go away.

[Maggi Young]

I reckon you can collect that Corydalis malkensis seed tomorrow, Tony 

[angie]

Enjoying your flowers, loved the ladybirds .
Your greenhouse was so tidy which made me feel a bit ashamed and  of the mess mine is  in, so yesterday I spent all day tiding the greenhouse a polytunnel up.I was so tired I was only able to read a few posts.
Tony I think you need to change your header to TIDY AND WONDERFUL GARDEN full of healthy and exciting plants.
Enjoying this thread.

Maggi -  make sure when Ian goes down there he takes a big container, so you can fit a big cake in and maybe there will be a slice for me

Angie

[ashley]

... in a few days the seed will be ripe ... will I be here to catch it?  

Tony, a bit of garden fleece around the seed pods and tied loosely at the stem should prevent loss.  It looks ugly but if you're away that hardly matters!

[tonyg]

... in a few days the seed will be ripe ... will I be here to catch it?  

Tony, a bit of garden fleece around the seed pods and tied loosely at the stem should prevent loss.  It looks ugly but if you're away that hardly matters!

Thanks Ashley.  Not sure I have any fleece (its on the shopping list!) but I will try a  different catch 'container' and also harvest some before we go, as Maggi reccommends.  I'll report on the outcomes when we return.

[tonyg]

Enjoying your flowers, loved the ladybirds .
Your greenhouse was so tidy which made me feel a bit ashamed and  of the mess mine is  in, so yesterday I spent all day tiding the greenhouse a polytunnel up.I was so tired I was only able to read a few posts.
Tony I think you need to change your header to TIDY AND WONDERFUL GARDEN full of healthy and exciting plants.
Angie

If I were to accurately describe the garden for this thread it would be 'Weedy and untidy Garden with a couple of cute corners where all the nice things are'  But that would be tooooo long   When I get it all tidy I'll start a new thread .... but don't hold your breath!
The camera can lie about Greenhouses too although it's the floor that usually gives it away.  (I have swept out recently!)  When I started it was partly to share my problems and triumphs in a way that did not need lots of dead-end threads, and partly in the hope that I might show things in a way that 'anyone could do it'.
Thanks for the positive feedback!

[David Nicholson]

... in a few days the seed will be ripe ... will I be here to catch it?  

Tony, a bit of garden fleece around the seed pods and tied loosely at the stem should prevent loss.  It looks ugly but if you're away that hardly matters!

Thanks Ashley.  Not sure I have any fleece (its on the shopping list!) but I will try a  different catch 'container' and also harvest some before we go, as Maggi reccommends.  I'll report on the outcomes when we return.

Remember Tony, put it on very carefully. Don't push it, that would be the favourite

[tonyg]

... in a few days the seed will be ripe ... will I be here to catch it?  

Tony, a bit of garden fleece around the seed pods and tied loosely at the stem should prevent loss.  It looks ugly but if you're away that hardly matters!

Thanks Ashley.  Not sure I have any fleece (its on the shopping list!) but I will try a  different catch 'container' and also harvest some before we go, as Maggi reccommends.  I'll report on the outcomes when we return.

Remember Tony, put it on very carefully. Don't push it, that would be the favourite

At least Tony was on the winner ... but not this one

[David Nicholson]

... in a few days the seed will be ripe ... will I be here to catch it?  

Tony, a bit of garden fleece around the seed pods and tied loosely at the stem should prevent loss.  It looks ugly but if you're away that hardly matters!

Thanks Ashley.  Not sure I have any fleece (its on the shopping list!) but I will try a  different catch 'container' and also harvest some before we go, as Maggi reccommends.  I'll report on the outcomes when we return.

Remember Tony, put it on very carefully. Don't push it, that would be the favourite

At least Tony was on the winner ... but not this one

 

[Lesley Cox]

If I were to accurately describe the garden for this thread it would be 'Weedy and untidy Garden with a couple of cute corners where all the nice things are'  But that would be tooooo long   When I get it all tidy I'll start a new thread .... but don't hold your breath!

Yeah...me too... like in 2028!

[tonyg]

The garden is still untidy .... going away for a week does not help!  Wales was great, weather glorious.  If time allows I'll post a few pictures later.

Noting the likely sunshine while we were away I added some shading just before we went.  It really does make a difference.  The plants behind the netting made it through the week without stress.  Those in the open struggled.  My holiday watering assistant did not water the outdoor pots - a mistake, I should have encouraged a quick hosing down mid-week.

The shading around the access frame is partly to keep Narcissus fly out, I must find the missing piece to finish the job.  I attach the shading outside the glass as this is much better at keeping the temperatures down than shading inside.

The crocus seedlings are mostly OK (and now well watered) but the mature plants beyond have some yellow leaves.  The spring crocus frame would also have benefitted from shading.  The pots at the far end get some shade from the adjacent fence.  Note how the near ones have more yellow leaves, they are in full sun.  I will add shade to all these tomorrow as more warm spring sunshine is forecast.

[tonyg]

A few before and after pics.  The Pulsatillas continue to shine while Iris bucharica is transformed!  Once a rare bulb this clump cost me £1.50 as dry bulbs last autumn.

A warm place to hide

A taste of Wales .... the caravan is just beyond the bridge.

[Lesley Cox]

I really like the Welsh stone wall with its doorway and the daffs are lovely of course.

One just about needs to have a checklist of things to be done in certain circumstances, such as going away for a week's holiday. There are always even tiny things that can make a big difference to the results when one returns. I'm planning about a week in Australia mid spring and Roger won't water and there's no-one else so I need to be thinking now, about how to combat a drier-than-it-should-be spell. But will I?

[Luc Gilgemyn]

I love your "Tales of the Unexpected" Tony... 
maybe they are more "expected" though... 
Thanks for this very enjoyable series !

[Ragged Robin]

Tony, glad you had a sunshine holiday in Wales and your photo through the arch with daffodils certainly portrays just that.

Very interesting ideas about shading and am coming to the same conclusion here with my seedling emerging - I keep having to move them t maximise light but reduce intense heat when the sun shines; a chilly wind can be deceptive.

I have an automatic watering system for pots which has a central reservoir that can be timed on the tap and regulated which I really must set up at some stage - I just don't like all the tubes snaking round the garden!!!!!!