General Chat

Seems like we are all in the same boat. Annoying for me is that most of the pots were watered and they are fine but the ones not watered are the ones that suffered. However, I do realise that if I had not gone away I may have managed to save more plants. Cynth may not have even realised the bamboos are in pots. The hostas will come back next year and I must admit I didn't water them before I went away as I had not had a problem with them in previous years so this must be the shape of things to come. I keep trying to look up and find things that need very little water. The big salvia has survived, that is in a tub so may be one to go for when I have the gravel garden finished. Strangely I have lost two or three lavenders in pots and they don't need much water. I am pleased that the tomatoes survived anyway.
I think I will cut the worst hit bamboo down and hope it does shoot from the base. If it doesn't I will have tried.

Your toms look really good Mandy, much better than mine.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with scorched plants. Most of our plants are OK and will recover but the smaller leaved hostas in the ground are brown and dry and look almost dead, though the11 hostas in pots are fine. OH has been watering everything regularly but the potted hostas are in more shade so haven't had the sun full on them.

I have a lot of penstemon that are always in flower throughout the summer. This year they look green and healthy but aren't flowering well at all, just the odd spike coming up here and there. which is very disappointing. Any idea why they appear to be healthy but aren't flowering?

I haven't done much at all today apart from a bit of washing. Our plumber man was here for three and a half hours as when he disconnected the WC pan and moved it he could see other things that weren't right. Anyway it's all done now. He just needs to put a final sealant around but wants to leave that a few days just to be sure that no leaks develop. It's all good so far.

We've had a couple more showers of rain but if you blinked you missed them. I'm hoping it will be a bit cooler tonight though at the moment it still feels very warm and muggy. Fingers crossed for a good night's sleep for all of us.

Well I did'nt get on with my list. Oh decided he wanted a new air rifle and found one he wanted and it was on Mole Valley site. Holsworthy did'nt have one as I asked when I wnet for chickens food which I had run out of. Off I set after lunch and got to the cross roads where I usually turn left to Dipper Mill but the road was closed. I went to shebbear shop and asked Keith what was the bestr way to go and he sent me to a village which he said was on the way. It was all narrow roads which seemed to go on forever but I did get to somewhere I recognised. Turned onto the main road and stopped at agarage toget some deisel and on to Holsworthy. Went into the town as I had'nt been in there for three years. we have a Factory Shop back there now and I bought a bra and two tops (cotton ) vest and strappy top and a solar light which I have just bought on Amazon for £12.49 and they had them for £5 so I bought that too.

Then on to MV and got bird food fat blocks and fat balls a couple of bits for oh for Christmas and an oyster joint of ham asnd the chicken pellets and corn and grit. Came out of there 88 pounds lighter Had spent £30 in the factory shop and set off for the way home.

Half way to Stibb Cross I realised I had'nt gone to the store to pick up the chickens food so had to go back to Holsworthy and pick it up. Then I came home the long way round and I was as dry as a dessert.

Did a bit of painting of my minitures while I cooked the ham and got dinner and here I am.

Lovely little toms Mandy. I have a few Sungold to pick now but they are so small this year but the GD plant has about four or five that are nearly ripe and three more little cues. I have already eaten three.

Vera I do hope your leak is now sorted to put your minds at rest.

As Mandy says AnnG, I think it was just too hot for the plants, even with lots of water and feed. Some have died in my front wall pots, others look OK. I've given up on my as yet to plant out French marigolds and the African ones I hadn't yet planted, as they were beyond saving. My Nasturtiums seem to be on their last legs and will be next to go I think. The tops are all burnt and shrivelled on the toms, but I will just let the next sideshoots grow with those. With the heat here it was impossible to go out at midday to do anything. I think your bamboos will shoot from the bottom as the ones I had were tough as old boots. Just keep watering the Hostas and they may well send up new growth. It is disheartening, but at least we are all in the same boat. I was surprised to see how many green leaves had fallen from the trees when I did the walk.

Thank you Mandy! I've not tried or heard of Cherry Falls before, but they sound like one I would like, so I'm making a note! You did well to find a few edible runners!

Afternoon all.

Not so hot today yesterday was another scorcher and the bedrooms were so hot again last night .
Ann those toms are Cherry Falls I have some Chadwick Cherry too but they are not ready yet ,I've got the Sun Gold too and I've picked a few of those ,I though the Sun Gold were sweet but these Cherry falls are sweet too I keep taking one as I go past.

Anng we have a few scorched plants that heat was just to much even though I watered morning and night they still got it .
The poor runners there's not one flower left on it lovely green leaves and plenty of new shoots so we're hoping for more beans later we'll see.

Vera I hope its an easy fix and doesn't take to long, fingers crossed all goes to plan .

I had four loads of washing today some of it was bedding but I'm sure I'm doing someone's else's in with mine lol were does it all come fro .
I'm still looking at the ironing but I did hoover right through and did a bit of dusting so not a bad day .
Tonight we've got a nice toad in the hole as its a bit cooler with carrots, potatoes and about 4 runners that I managed to find .

It is quite disheartening, the more I look at the garden the more things I see dead or dying because of the heat and probably lack of water. My Bamboos have all dried out. I am hoping that it is only the leaves and that there might be some regrowth at least for next year I think the heat was just too much. ferns too look pretty dead or nearly so and the hostas look awful. I got so dospirited I had to come indoors and leave it. I have spent a couple of hours out there today and the brown bin (emptied tomorrow) is full.

Afternoon All,

Slept well and it's 21 here and quite breezy. We watered again this morning and I saw that one of the cues has 'proper' cues on it so I picked those and more toms and 3 more courgettes. We went to the farm shop and stocked up on a few things including eggs we had run out of and some barnesley lamb chops we had for lunch.

I then changed and forced myself to do the walk! I took some of the loaf that Asda squashed on their last delivery to feed to the ducks. My word they are all growing up fast, but those greedy mother ducks have sure lost their maternal instincts. One poor youngster who had the audacity to grab some bread got pinned down on the bank by a mother duck who had her beak tightly round his neck. The poor thing was squeaking like mad and thrashed his legs around but she was merciless and didn't let him go for ages. As I left, 2 little Poodle crosses rushed up to me, one licking his lips at the sight of the bread bag. The grass there is mown very short now and is very brown.

While we had lunch we had about 4 minutes of fine rain, but as soon as OH went and shut the conservatory door it stopped! The sky is still grey so maybe we might get some more.

Mandy what variety are your lovely cherry toms? A few more of ours are ready to pick but not the abundance you have!

I hope the leak is now cured Vera and things are back to normal again. Your Blueberry plants look great and not as big as I thought they might be. Thanks for sending a pic of them.

Mel I need to do the bathroom as the workmen coming on Thursday will probably need the toilet. Can't face it at the moment though.

Its good you have had at least a little rain Vera. It washes the leaves so they look better.

Done the hoovering and booked the car in for its MOT am just having a sit before tackleing the bathrooms.

Our plumber neighbour has arrived to sort out the problems in the downstairs cloakroom. The water is now off but OH was warned to fill the kettle first. There has been quite a lot of banging. Now he and OH are having a cup of tea and a chat. I'm keeping well out of the way.

We've had another short shower and the sky looks very grey still so maybe we are going to get some dribs and drabs of rain today.

Morning all,

It does smell nice after a drop of rain when its been so hot and dry for a while. When we had our first lot of fine rain oh said he loves the smell of the wet garden and I was just thinking the same thing.

My jobs for the day are:-

Such up the spiders in the two bathrooms.

Clear the fridge out.

Hoover.

I think that should do now I wonder how many of the three I shall get done???

Its cloudy here and 18 degrees and the trees ar'nt moving much so not much in the way of a breeze yet.

Good morning AnnG and all

It sounds as though your poor neighbour has had a horrid weekend AnnG. It’s good that the insurance company got them a taxi back..

I didn’t sleep well last night, mainly because of the heat. Our last house had sloping ceilings upstairs as well but we had a bit of loft space above the upstairs rooms and the heat went up to the loft. All there is above us here is insulation which holds the heat in. At least it helps to keep it warmer in winter..

We had RAIN last night just before we went to bed. It only lasted a few minutes and barely made the ground wet but everything smelt fresher for just a short while. There’s no more forecast and it’s already 19 degrees. It shouldn’t get quite as hot as yesterday.

Better get the washing machine going I suppose as the laundry is piling up again. Apart from that I don’t have any plans for the day.

Good morning all. slept well last night I was in bed by 1015, early for me but I was so tired. Think I slept at least 7 hours so must have needed it. It was a lot cooler here over night but is 16 degrees now.
Tesco shop this morning. This will throw me out having Tesco on a Monday.

Cynths weekend was a bit messed up. She travelled up to Manchester with her friends and after parking overnight in a car park near their hotel , in the morning they found the car window smashed, glass everywhere (It is a Porsche so a big expensive car). There was nothing left in it but the car could not be driven until glass removed and window fixed so they had to do everything by public transport. Insurance sent them home by taxi as no hire cars were available to the ins. co. until today. They came to hers then she has driven then down to Wales and will be back today.

I love the extra special lemon curd that Asda do Mel, especially on toast. You did get a bargain with your gladdys didn't you. I wonder what colour they are. So you are doing toadstools now then.

AnnG I expect heat coming off your sun warmed walls will have helped your outdoor toms too. I used to put coffee grounds on my Camellias. I got them from our Sainsbury's cafe and then they stopped giving them away.

OH nodded off this afternoon and all I have done is email Fitz so a lazy day for us. It looked llike rain here at one point, but no, the grey clouds just keep blowing over so I think we will need to water again tomorrow.

We watched the grand prix while we had lunch which was very nice today as we both had a nice big omlet with bacon and then toast and marmalade for oh and I had lemon curd.

After that I did some glueing and painting of my tiny shaggy ink caps toadstools and then I have washed my hair.

Its still raining here that fine rain but its soaaking everything so I suppose thats good but it has been quite windy too and it broke off the flower stem of my lovely glady so now its in a vase on the kitchen windowsill. Don't know if you remember that I bought two pots with an unflowered gladdy in last year from the lady who does plants up the road on the way to the shop. They were 50p each and I had'nt the slightest idea what colour they would turn out. Well I putt them in one and a half litre pots and the stayed by the shed all year until when watering I notice a bud on one. On closer inspection there were two buds coming up in the one pot. The other pot is behind that one but does had a stalk of buds coming up. A good deal I call that a pound well spent. She has'nt done them this year as I have been looking cos I would have bought more this year. Think I may put them up the border as theres lots of tiny ones growing too.

Vera the toms are all outdoor ones. The ones in the greenhouse were rubbish so I have put them outside. these are against the house wall. in a bit od a sun trap. I don't know if it makes a difference but I have been putting the coffee grounds left in the cafetiare with the jug filled with water on them.

It's quite overcast here Vera and the PC says 23 so you are much hotter where you are. Your blueberries have done really well haven't they. How big are the bushes? I was trying to think how big their pots would need to be. I bet the birds will appreciate the leftovers.

We are plagued with young Magpies and Crows on the roof at about 6.30am each morning at the moment. I can hear them trying to pull the bird netting out of the gutters. In the afternoon they stomp about on the conservatory roof trying to pull the lead flashing away looking for grubs. Years ago we had to get someone to nail the flashing in place, but they are still lifting the edges. Still I suppose we should be grateful they aren't trying to tug the car wiper blades off like they have in the past.

AnnG, I agree with Ann. Your toms do look good. Are they in the greenhouse or outside? Mine are outside and there are quite a few on the plants but they don’t seem to be ripening.

It will be interesting to see how well your July planted beans do Island. I suppose they would be ready early to mid October so you could get a decent crop before the first frosts.

Oh went out early this morning and picked another large bowl of blueberries. It was about 800g this time. Each time we pick them I’m freezing a load and leaving a bowlful in the fridge to eat as they are or put on cereals. There are still some ripening on the two bushes but we’ve taken the cage off the fruit to let the birds have them.

Boy, it’s hot outside now. 29 degrees. I went out to do a bit of deadheading but there wasn’t much of a breeze and the sun was so strong that a few minutes was more than enough so I took my plants for repotting into the garage and did them there.

AnnG your toms look fantastic, much better than my few! lol. The beans look good as well.

Afternoon All,

Yes, please send some rain up here Mel. It's got very windy here now, enough to make the letterbox flap, so maybe it's on it's way! :-D PC says 21 but earlier it seemed a bit muggy. OH got the steps out this morning and cut back some of the overhanging stuff from the field. We'll see if the farmer can do some from the other side when he comes to mow the hay.

That's good Phil is back and didn't meet a sticky end after all. You must have been surprised to see him turn up. Those Sungold toms you and Mandy have had sound nice so I must try a plant next year to go with my gardeners delight.

The week seems to have gone by quickly AnnG. It would be funny, well maybe not, if Dottie had sneaked into your case and popped out like a jack-in-the-box when you got home! It sounds like you have some catch up jobs to do but you usually soon get them done.

Don't know if I said, but my paints came yesterday and don't even look used at all, so are even more of a bargain.

I was looking up the menus on 1 or 2 places we used to eat last night. (I'd noticed so many have switched to doing just chippy things or burgers at lunchtime now) and was surprised to see there are 10 pub/restaurants for sale in the county including a favourite of ours. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised and the owners must be around retirement age anyway. I expect there will be many more in times ahead as people cut back on their spending and eating out gets more expensive too.