Hobbies and Crafts

noticed driving down the lane to the garden centre this morning that some of the Hawthorne is in flower. :-) :-)

Now then Ann, keep your eyes on the lad and that should stop you worrying about what is happening to your garden !!!!

Chivvied the fencing place today, they are still saying the end of the week. Looks like another weekend in a Surrey for us.

Went to visit my sister on Sunday and went to Richmond. Couldn't believe the Spring tide that came up and covered the promenade along the riverside in minutes.

There were pictures of it in themailonline. by the time we got home.

We were stuck so we had to stay in the pub until it went down, which was quite quickly. Shame as we only had time for one drink. Life is tough sometimes !!!

M. :-)

:-D :-D Maryanna.

Well the patio is finished and a good job they have done too. Of course now it is down to us to put the finishing touches. two sides are bordered by slate beds so now we need more slate, hopefully we can get that tomorrow. Then we need to sort out the pots that came off the old patio, hostas in most of them, just cosmetic bits really. the patio is made of what they call cobbles. to me it looks like the old victorian paths, different sized 'bricks' put together like a jigsaw. I didn't really know what to expect but I like it, it is very attractive.

Your patio sounds lovely Ann. That's the next job once the fence is back up. If it ever is.

We decided to put slate chips around ours and in the wall surrounding three sides of the patio a couple of years ago. We went off to the aggregate place and bought four bags. We went back later and bought five more. In the end, including the three bags full that take up the space between the summer house and the top patio, we ended up buying nearly forty of them !!!!!! All those little spaces needed far more than we ever imagined .


M :-)

Well I shall probably not be able to move tomorrow. Just spent two hours in the garden sorting out the hosta pots and re-placing them at the back of the hosta bed in front of the new fence behind the new patio. then I had to put down four bags of slate. (Actually I needed help with the fourth as I was tired by then so OH helped.) I can see one hosta coming through in the actual bed. I am really keeping my fingers crossed that none of the other hostas came through and were tramped on, I suppose we shall just have to wait and see but there have got to be at least 12 hostas in the bed. That is a lot of moneys worth! :-S

Your patio sounds lovely Ann. I hope you enjoy many a glass of wine on it.

I hope you are not too stiff tomorrow. I know how you feel. We were in London yesterday and did a lot of walking. This morning I walked in to town, though I did get a bus back, and this afternoon I spent two and a half hours in the garden. I thought I was only pottering about but my muscles certainly ache now. The spirit's willing but the flesh sure is weak these days.

Thank you for your suggestions for fence colours. We looked at some and bought a couple of sample pots of paint. I think we have decided on one called Willow, which is almost identical to one in another make that is called Sage. It's green but a fairly light greyish, blueish green - can't think how else to describe it but I think it will look OK.

Although there is a lot we could do in it, I am feeling so much happier about this garden now.

Sounds the same as sage Vera. I am pleased that the garden is endearing itself to you now, it is when you start to put your stamp on it that happens isn't it? :-)

Because of the mild weather this winter I have just noticed that my outside diascias in pots are coming into flower!!

This is also the first year that the Mexican Fleabane has not been knocked back by the frost and now has buds coming. It is one of my favourite plants in the garden - waves of flowers and seeds around wonderfully

Is that that sweet little Erigeron K ?

We have some if it growing in our front wall in Somerset, looks very pretty mixed with the little ferns that grow there as well.

A horrible wet day here in Surrey today but I think I might take advantage of that fact and stay in the conservatory and do some seed sowing and potting on. Oh, how I wish I had a greenhouse !!!!!

Baby sitting tonight then back home tomorrow, then will come back for Easter as I go back to work on the Tuesday. Fence panels now not due until Easter Saturday at the earliest. I can't see them delivering them that day anyway. We drove round all the usual suppliers yesterday just to check but nowhere had them in stock.

Apple Blossom coming out, Honesty, Wallflowers, Tulips and Kerrias all fully out, garden full of colour looks like it should in a month's time.

M.
:-)

B&Q had fence panels in stock at £20 yesterday but OH didn't notice the height.

Not raining here today although it did over night, sun is out at the moment, quite mild too. Just off to the local garden centre for coffee, when OH has finished making a box to put a very bedraggle small bamboo in. :-)

Noticed yesterday that our apple tree is sprouting. :-)

Erigeron karvinskianus
Mexican fleabane

I'm going to have to stop looking at this thread - I keep seeing plants I want and have no room for. I really like that little Erigeron. It's pretty and carries on blooming for quite a long time but we only have two small flower beds here and I've filled those. I've also got loads of filled pots, so could you all please stop mentioning your lovely plants before I turn into a frustrated, grumpy old woman :-D

Vera :-D :-D :-D

Rain stopped play!!! :-(

Sadly it did stop play and will again today. I didn't recognise you Ann with your new Magnolia!! Beautiful flower

Vera - Put a few Erigeron around the edge of a bed :-D They will spill over and take little space. I could post you a couple of seedlings. Mine have started to seed and grow in the paving which greatly improves and softens it :-)

In the middle of digging up part of the border and on our heavy clay soil it looks like it may be a while before I can finish it. Potatoes and onions planted and some seeds outside so I suppose the rain will do them good

Must get and let the hens out or WW3 will break out. The new girls don't stand up too well to our original Gang of 3.

Yes the Magnolia is beautiful, shame it has such a short life though. That one was taken at Batsford.

Yes tipping it down again this morning so not going to get outside jobs done today. Still it will water in the bamboo that OH moved yesterday. :-) :-)

K - thank you for offering to post some Erigeron seedlings to me. I am sure I can pick some up from local friends but I appreciate your kind offer.

At some point I may be gaining a bit of extra space in the garden. OH has been saying that, as we only run one car now, he could turn half of our large double garage into a shed cum workshop. Then he will get rid of the shed in the garden which will give us a few more feet of space. We are undecided whether to turn it into a bed, perhaps with grasses, or to keep it paved and move some of the garden furniture on to it. Either way I think I will be able to plant some Erigeron around it.

Not sure when all this is going to happen. It will take quite a while to rearrange the garage and hopefully sell a lot of stuff that is stored there that we no longer need. A neighbour has said he would like the shed if we can agree a price so I'm hoping that will prompt OH to make a start. Watch this space!

That would be a good idea Vera wouldn't it? so often an empty garage becomes a dumping ground so it would be good to turn it into something you actually use.

Wonderful Vera :-) Sounds like a project which is always good to look forward to in the spring

A bit more done out there today, very pleasant when the sun is shining, I sat for a while just planning my jobs in my head. Cut off some of the dead grasses and puled out the dead bits in others. Put the new furniture on the new patio. OH fixed a small trellis across from the existing one where moving a clematis and making way for a new one and where the fence has opened up a bit of space. That small piece of willow trellis cost £10. I planted some poppy seeds, some were free with Gardeners World magazine and some I bought. I'd love them to grow but don't hold out much hope as I can't usually get them to grow.

I also planted out five small perenial plants that don't look very healthy, they were on special offer some weeks ago and very small then. We have grown them on but there is not much root system so I have my fingers crossed that they will survive. Cost 99p each so not a fortune.

I have noticed that the allium are up (well the leaves are), that bed is a bit of a jungle with Allium and Aquilegia plus hardy geraniums and a wigelia. I suppose we ought to thin it out but I do like cottagy beds.

Spotted three Hostas pushing through in the slate bed that was trampled over by the men putting up the fence so hope some more will follow. I was hoping to get to the Spring show at Malvern this year, but no luck as we are in Cornwall and Dorset.