diggingdoris

July in the garden!!

Remind me not to ever buy a house built on clay soil! The borders are flooded again today, despite hubby and I baling out 50 full buckets from the gullys around the lawn yesterday! We just got it down to a trickle at the bottom by tea time then it started to rain and it's rained all night and still going strong. Can't walk down to the GH unless we put wellies on as the grass and patio are under 2 inches of water. Where does it all come from. I'm rather depressed as we've both got backache from all that lifting yesterday and now it looks as if we didn;t do it. All your photos are fabulous and I'm fed up that our garden is unworkable, and will be for days yet.

July in the garden ! Huh! it's July in the water meadows here!

Slugs and snails

The flour and water is working. I emptied the pot this morning to find ovewr 20 slugs and 2 more snails. A bumper catch for last night! Some of the slugs were just small about 1cm long but other sizes up to a 3inch one! I'm well chuffed and the delphiniums are still standing. Hurrah!

Slugs and snails

Yes the pot of water and flour works. 3 slugs the first night, then 4 slugs and 2 small snails the next night. I positioned it near my delphiniums so I guessed I'd catch some. Maybe I should surround the delphs with a moat full of flour & water! Im so desperate to get them growing that I'll try anything!

July in the garden!!

Wow! Lovely pictures all of you.

 Tina5 I'm a few miles from you as the crow flies across the water. I'm near West Mersea! So you must be suffering from all this rain as well. I baled out 10 buckets of water from the edge of one border today. We are clay here and it takes ages to soak away so I thought I'd help the flowers as they were sitting up to their necks in water! WHERE IS THE SUMMER?

Slugs and snails

A piece in my local paper suggests sinking any plastic dish ie. marge pot for example into the soil, then adding 2 tablespoonsful of flour and filling it up with water. A great slug trap she says. I've done one today near my delphiniums. I'll let you know if it works.

What is your kind of garden?

I'm like you Tina5, I cannot resist filling the smallest place with something new. Also the leave it where it seeds is something I've often said and I noticed that some famous gardeners say the same. I have to move things backwards sometimes as the rain seems to wash seeds down into the gully of the border and then large plants root and hang over the edge of lawn too far. I hate chopping their heads off when I mow! I may have to be a bit ruthless at the end of the flowering season as I've got large clumps of feverfew coming up everywhere. I love them and they are so bright and cheerfull, but the selfseeders are taking over some of the beds. Over a few years one plant can get huge. Then I'll have a few spaces to put in something new! Hurrah. GC here I come!

What is your kind of garden?

Each to their own I say. I like the cottage style with lots of plants close to each other. The advantage being there's no room for weeds! But some like plants with their own little circle of earth around them, but they have to keep weeding. I like a mixture of shrubs,annuals and perennials and climbers for all seasons, with a small patch for a few veg.. There's never a time with no colour in my garden, even in the winter the various colours of the evergreens keeps me cheerful.

can you identify this very mysterious plant?

Difficult to describe. Best to search for images under Aloe vera plant. Lots of clear pictures.http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=aloe+vera&hl=en&rlz=1W1GGLL_en&prmd=imvnsl&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=K2P4T86UOciHhQeyjNm3Bg&ved=0CEYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=563

Poppy seed

Many thanks I'll try that. Someone told me that poppy seeds are known to lie dormant in the ground for years and then suddenly pop up. Fingers crossed.

can you identify this very mysterious plant?

It's a mystery to me as well. The only plant that I know you can cut off the thick watery leaves to rub on skin conditions is 'Aloe vera' but that's a succulent plant not a bulb.

flowering rhubarb

Hypericum Magical Red Star Pruning?

Scrapbook problems

When to prune

Buddleia pruning?

Photos hiding text

Wintering Fuchsias

cucumber numbers

Deutzia dilemma

buried snails

Non climbing beans

Trachelospermum jasminoides

Poorly Aucuba

can't get a photo on

Is this a euphorbia