Hobbies and Crafts

A good day for bargains then Ann.

We have a Range nearby, it doesn't have a coffee shop though. It is very good for, Christmas decorations, curtains, cushions, kitchen stuff and garden bits. Keep your eyes peeled they often have some good reductions on plants. Mainly because they don't seem to look after them very well. I got most of my pot and tub bits in there last year. I think 24 lobelias were around £ 1.25 because a couple if them had dried up.

The fence is back up, I never thought it would be done in a day. It looks so much better, I had forgotten what the garden looked like before the gales.

Watching himself and Mally holding the panels right up over their heads to get them in the slots gave me a few heart stopping moments, I would never have managed that without ending up with them on my head.

I looked through some old photos earlier and the plants are at the same sort of stage that they were at around May 24th last year.

This time last year the Phlox for instance were just poking through, they are a good 18 inches high today. There are no spaces at all between plants so I don't have the excuse that I have some holes to fill !!!!

I pulled out loads of Celandines as well, they were getting everywhere. They start off looking pretty and giving the garden some colour and before you know it you just have a yellow garden.

Glad you got your mirror, I need to find somewhere to put mine now.

Next door is just horrible, he had got three nasty little boys as well, they are at the school I work at. They bully each other and other children and then cry if they get told off. They are always trying to get one another into trouble. We would gladly have given him the work if he had been more pleasant. Even asked him if he could source some panels maybe, but he isn't worth the breath. Luckily he was out this afternoon.

Have a good evening, we are off to another party later.

M

Maryanna you are such a party animal!!!! Enjoy yourself. :-D

Woke up this morning feeling a bit delicate, it was after 2 am when we got to bed. We had a lovely time there lots of friends and neighbours. We don't get to see so much of everyone these days now we lead a double life.

When we were younger we were all involved with the school and had children around the same age, there was always someone's birthday to celebrate and coffee mornings and toddler groups.

Some families have moved away but there are still quite a few still about, some we went to school with ourselves and see regularly.

Off to a 70 th birthday party later.

I was looking forward to coffee on the top patio overlooking my newly restored garden this morning. No chance of that in the rain, typical.

I keep trying to forget the patio still needs to be sorted out if we are not to have a repeat performance of the rising water if we have heavy rain again.

At least the dog is contained again, he has spent most of the morning trying to find a gap to get through. I won't be pleased if he manages to find one !

M.

Now, let's see if I have this right. Surrey? Maryanna???
You are lucky to be surrounded by friends you have known a long time. We moved around with OH's job finally retiring here so I have no long term friends living in the immediate area and only a couple of friends at all really as when we moved here there were no children via whom to make friends and although I worked, it was for the military and most work colleagues were either military or military wives who have now moved on.

Luckily I don't mind my own company, just sometimes it would be good to have a female friend to chat to.

You may have seen this tip on Ann Cardiff's thread on the general board. With her permission:

ANTS and how to get rid of them

sprinkle some cinnamon - they hate it and they'll clear off somewhere else

it really works - give it a try
And the following site backs it up:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2310653_get-rid-ants-cinnamon.html
:-) :-) :-)

Yes Ann we came back for the weekend, even though we have now been abandoned by the boys who also all came home but have gone off doing other things like kayaking and snow boarding. ( no, the weather isn't that bad, they went to the snow dome, I think )

Just as well as we had two parties to fit in as well. Big family lunch tomorrow though then they will all be here before going off on their various ways.

Then I am back to work and we will head back home to Somerset on Thursday.

Our daughter is thinking of moving out. They have almost got enough for a deposit on their own house. They will stay around here as they both work nearby.

We will then have to have a rethink about what we are going to have to do house wise. Before they moved in about five years ago, this was our main house as we were both working here.

Oh well, I think their moving out will be a way off yet, they don't even have any furniture so have to consider that as well. My daughter being very fussy wont have any of our old rubbish or cast offs !!

M.


Edit. Will give the ant thing a go. We noticed some on the front path just as we were leaving on Thursday, I hope they haven't invaded by the time we get back home.

Phew glad I got that sorted. :-D

More of my garden photos on the photo blog including the mirror. :-D

Off out this morning to buy some more slate or gravel for one of the areas and some 'stepping' stones for the path through the lawn.

Flowering cherry trees are very pretty when planted in a place that doesn't inconvenience others. The bungalow at the end of our garden has one such tree. it is right against the boundary fence. (Also theirs). When there was some variagated ivy growing up the fence from our side, planted by their previous owner, she was cutting it off and throwing it back over to our garden.

The cherry tree drops its leaves all over our garden in autumn and now, in spring, it has dropped loads of its blossom all over our garden as well. The blossom is horrible because it sticks to the leaves of the hostas, has covered and stuck to the garden furniture, is all over the new patio and has covered the water feature and the slate beds. It is practiacally impossible to clear up so we have to wait for it to rot away. And this happens every year. It is so disheartening. So pleased I took the photos before it dropped the blossom. :-(

For those with lilies...I have just seen the first red lily beetles of 2014 grrrrr

Lesley x

Thankfully I don't have any but a timely warning Lesley thanks. Not seen you around for a while are you OK? :-)

Thanks Lesley. I am going out to inspect my lilies now. I have them in two big wooden tubs. At least the lily beetle is easy to see.

I am feeling very pleased with the corner bed in our garden. When we moved in at the end of September it was just bare earth containing a lot of weeds and two small dead shrubs. We stuck in one of the witch hazels that we had brought with us but I wanted to underplant it to make it look better and keep down the weeds. I put in a load of Geranium "Ingwersons Variety" which has a small pale pink flower and two sorts of Heuchera "Binoche" and "Sugar Frosting". These are all now coming into bloom and the triangle of space that was left I covered in purple and white viola.

I thought it might be too shady in that corner but everything has taken off and spread, all the bare earth is covered and, when the sun was shining on it just now, it really looked great.

I was quite depressed about the garden when we first moved here but the difference a few months has made is unbelievable. I am now a happy bunny :-D

Sounds very pretty Vera and I am so pleased that you are getting to 'love your garden' again. I expect your hostas are coming up in their tubs now too. :-)

Yes Ann the hostas are getting quite big now, as are the lilies and 3 pots of agapanthus. We also have a Tom West fuchsia, some grasses, a peach and a couple of blueberries in large pots.

We weren't going to bring so much with us because it was adding to the removal cost. It meant we had to have a third van and another driver, but I am glad now that we did.

My surprise Tulips are out, which is nice as all the others are over.

They are a lovely golden yellow colour and as they come out have a very thin red vein inside them like a stripe. Seven of the ten have flowered the others just have leaves. Not bad for a penny each, I think they were either from Loseley House near Guildford or The Vine near Basingstoke.

The garden has been growing as I watch the last few days and had recovered well from the fence erection.

My Cherry is over, Ann but my Lilac is in full flower as are all the others nearby. The Sweet Chestnuts are all covered in Candles as well, very early.

Will see what is happening here in Somerset in the morning as it was dark when we got back earlier. I put in lots of seeds before we left on Maundy Thursday, I wonder if there is any sign of them yet ?

M.

Trouble is Maryanna it is not just the plants that grow, the weeds love the rain then sun routine. At least being away for the weekend looking after grandchildren we can't be looking to get out in the garden. Just as well if the weather in Gloucester is as bad as it was travelling here. It was atrocious, rain lashing down, roads half flooded and windscreen wipers that developed a squeak. :-D

Our local Homebase is selling all it's Summer Bedding plants at half price.

Trays of 6 Geranium, Petunia, Lobelia, Begonia,Salvia,Marigolds, etc, etc, etc. all for £1.75 and £2.50.

Don't know if that is all branches but it might be worth a look if you get a chance.

M. :-D :-D

Thanks maryanna :-)

There must have been an awful lot of rain here over the weekend.

Got back this morning to find a flooded patio again. It was nowhere as bad as in the Winter but is shows how sodden the ground is still, it was pouring off the fields.

The shed roof had also been leaking.

We will have to stay back here for a weekend in a few weeks to sort the patio out once and for all.

Would be really nice to think that as Son in Law is here when we are not, that he would make himself useful, but no.........

He has been left a bit of money so it has boosted their deposit fund. They might be moving out sooner than we thought.

Everything seems to have doubled in size since Thursday !!! Put in a few perennials, Geum, Ladies mantle, Campanula, Heuchera and some of my home grown Verbena Bonsariensis taken from cuttings a couple of months ago. Had to keep dashing in and out between the downpours this evening.

Chucked some seeds about as well whilst I was at it. Nigella, Cosmos, Lavatera and Cornflowers.

M.