May In Your Garden

After yesterday's fine day it is a wet morning in Southampton -but not cold-not going out .

April showers bring May flowers, all I got was thunder and lightning. Such a contrast from yesterday.

Morning Everyone,

A night of really heavy rain and more ditches flooding.  Very dark, grey and rainy here all monring so far. It's supposed to brighten up later, apparently. 

Yvie

Flood warnings in East Dorset again. Dogs have to paddle through puddles on the field where we walk.

At least I didn't have to water in yesterday's plantings-on the downside my tarpaulin has not appeared today so can't complete the chicken pen project

This isn't good enough - don't they know your chickens are in danger of developing trench foot!

It was dispatched yesterday from Wales by first class post so there I was watching for Postman Pat-daren't go out in case it would not go in the letter box-and he walked straight past-nuffink

Wet chickens are very difficult to roast.

A Rant

On the ITV news last night the lead story was all about floods and reporters standing in water-AGAIN!!

Just so they could drone about the irony of a hose-pipe ban in a flood area and how a wet April will not make up for 2 dry winters etc. etc.

I think by now we all know this stuff-

End of rant-thankyou.

Poor Geoff and his chickens! Am crossing fingers for their comfort and safety asap.

Poured all night but bright and dare I say sunny today. Been digging over the Full Sun border this morning, its a quagmire and will need several digs to get all the raspberry roots out the ground, but keeps me out of trouble

Figrat and Winter, send your stuff my way! It's what I call 'Chicken Licken' weather here.  Very low grey sky, feeling like the skly's falling in.

Kate, naughty but funny

Yvie

Wintersong send some of that sunshine north and you may need to send some to Geoff along with some kalms. 

Geoff stop watching the news.

My turn to rant Geoff.....

It seems it's true that the Hotels and B&B's have hiked their prices for Jubilee and Olympics year, and certainly not just in London.  We've been invited to a party in the East of the Country and Hotel or B&B costs are way above what you'd normally pay.  The Hotel/B&B cost, plus the petrol, parking (Prem Inn we found didn't have on-site parking!, and trust me, they ain't no £29 per night as Mr Henry says whilst bouncing around on a bed), drinks (can't expect a free bar), and present, would set us back best part of £250.00.  Thats a lot of money to spend to go to a party! We just can't justify that for a night out at the moment.

Yvie

Yvie

-Lottie will lend you a tent ,with a list of sites and 2 small boys to do the cooking.

I have SUN

Calmed down.

Yvie it is now petrol that is making me a party pooper, once upon a time you would go to a party and not consider the costs, now you are thinking about it as part of the night out. Going to cornwall for a wedding will set us back over a £100 in petrol before accomodation etc. I remember last year they hiked prices for the royal wedding, brides who had already booked suddenly had their prices hiked.

I have just been out for a paddle, the lysimachia that my mum gave me has reappeared

I think we have a dry 36 hours -though the forecasts keep changing -now a cloudless sky.

Petrol prices are supposed to be coming down-has anybody noticed?

My tomato plant shop is closed -have sold out of the surplus-Lord Sugar will be so proud..

Geoff well done, you are hired.

These are a little weather battereed but........

Oh gorgeous Kate!

Sorry about hogging the sun all day, it's been perfect gardening weather and I've just come in from a whole day's digging. All the raspberry roots appear to be gone from my sun border but I discovered a new problem.

My very mature Pampas grass is rotten to the core! I have to admit to being a little lazy about the management of this beast over the years, it just kept growing and I left it to take up a good few feet because although its base is ugly, I always adore its gorgeous plumes that I watch from my kitchen window all winter long. I know its spring because the birds strip the plumes clean for their nests

Now, what to do about it...I started digging around in the centre and the whole thing is falling apart with rot (amazing compost!) so its coming out...by hand...by me...all alone...oh dear. I may be some time.

So, my 19ft full sun border that incorporated a huge pampas grass at one end will end up an even bigger border to plant up. But what a brilliant spot to build an arbor with climbers.

Oh my, it might take about three or four years to establish but a long term project that will end very well.

I will sorely miss those giant feathery plumes though.

Winter, what a shame to lose such a fab plant.  I've always like Pampass Grass, and never had one, until we moved here 2.5 years ago.  But funny enough, I didn't know what this huge messy grass thing was at the end of a bed, because it never flowered.  I put a photo of it on the old board last year, and everyone said it was Pampass.  I was delighted, and a few weeks later, for the first time, it started throwing up these long stalks, which eventually turned into the big feathery pink plumes.  The house had been empty for about 2 years before we came here and there had been little or no garden maintenance, so I guess it just needed the tidying and clearing out that I'd been doing since we arrived.  It just took so time to recover I suppose.  Will you buy a small one to put somewhere else?

Yvie