Lorea

The free tomato seeds on the mag cover

Hi Sandra,

I thought exactly the same thing, so I looked back at the mag and it says they're trailing 'ideal for pots'. I planted mine into a window box in the hope that they'll elegantly trail over the sides, but they're looking decidedly upright!  I also planted three into the veg patch just in case - unfortunately, two of those have disappeared.

Any IDeas (sorry!) what these are?

You sneaked in with that post while I was writing, Geoff. I did sow some phlox seeds last year, but labeled them, and none of them have come up where the labels are...strange... . The flowers will reveal all in due course...

Any IDeas (sorry!) what these are?

Geoff, you're determined to get asters or penstemons into my garden aren't you?  Aster would be more likely than penstemon, as I seem to remember planting one which never came up, but I thought it was in a different place. (By the way, the others turned out to be sweet william). 

Smudge, you are right about the first one, I think it is the rather cutely named mouse-eared hawkweed, which is described as "a serious weed" (probably because it reads a lot), although it does have medicinal properties apparently.

Any IDeas (sorry!) what these are?

What's the weather like in your area?

Another beautiful day in the Basque Country (that's 6 in a row!) Not too hot, about 26ºC with a light breeze.

Magnolia Grandiflora

I think magnolias in general take quite a few years to start flowering, but how many exactly I don't know. Mine was a cutting taken from my brother-in-law's tree. It's now 4 years old, so no flowers yet. I also have to give it lots of acidic feed as our soil is very alkaline - so on that basis I'm not too hopeful that it will ever flower!

Weather Lore - and more

There's a general Spanish saying which I love:

"Al mal tiempo, buena cara".   To the bad weather, good face.

This is the 'grin and bear it' school of stoicism in the face of things we can't control. My good face, however, is starting to wear a little thin...

What's the weather like in your area?

Well, spoke to soon. Pouring down again, but at least a bit warmer.

...and is this honestly a honeysuckle?

Hi Lavande, it is a honeysuckle - it looks like lonicera nitida, although the leaves look a bit bigger. I have loads of it - it's full of bees at the moment. Like you, I had trouble believing it was from the same family as other honeysuckles which look so different.

Weather Lore - and more

Two in Spanish (with translation, don't panic!):

"En abril, aguas mil". In April, water by the thousand. (bit dodgy in translation, but you get the idea).

"Hasta el 40 de mayo, no te quites el sayo". Until the 40th May, don't take off your  tunic. 

Bearded Iris bent stems

Any IDeas (sorry!) what these are?

what are these?

leggy beetroot seedlings