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Post by roofgardener on Mar 26, 2015 6:52:00 GMT
Good heavens ladybird, thats worrying. Well, I got mine from the Shopkeeper Below, so he was happy with the arrangement.
Perhaps it could be considered "temporary storage" ?
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Post by ladybird on Mar 26, 2015 11:22:39 GMT
Good heavens ladybird, thats worrying. Well, I got mine from the Shopkeeper Below, so he was happy with the arrangement. Perhaps it could be considered "temporary storage" ? You`ll be ok with yours as long as they have no owners name printed on the side . |
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Post by roofgardener on Mar 31, 2015 10:17:03 GMT
Sorry for the hiatus in posting; I've had a really bad cold since last Wednesday, and have spent most of the interveninging time in bed !.
There was a red letter day at my Sisters this Saturday, as the first decorative flowers where planted. It wasn't much ... a dozen primroses intermingled with a brace of silver Cinererria, plus a large lavender plant.
The lavender acted - with the two pre-existing bushes of unknown genus - to give a degree of symmetry to the lower flower bed, with the primroses/Cinerraria positioned centre and forwards to give a vividly contrasting deliniation to the beds anterior perimeter.
Well, that's what I'd written on my piece of paper, anyway.
In reality, the Lavender is a bit lopsided, and the primroses aren't properly lined up, and are too far back from the edge. Still, set against the otherwise bare soil of the bed, it was colourful, and my Sister was pleased. It is a symbolic gesture heralding the arrival of spring. Hopefully in a couple of months my Cress will have grown into something that can be planted, and the rest of the bed(s) will become a riot of colour.
Well, if not an actual RIOT, then at least a serious civil disturbance. I'm expecting the Constabulary to be called out, and perhaps a helicopter or two.
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Post by SueA on Mar 31, 2015 18:28:28 GMT
roofgardener 'it was colourful, and my Sister was pleased' - that's all that matters then! 
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Post by Moonlight on Mar 31, 2015 20:43:07 GMT
Totally agree Sue.
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Post by grindle on Apr 1, 2015 4:34:06 GMT
 that's what it's all about isn't it, as long as what you are looking at pleases you that's all that matters
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Post by daitheplant on Apr 1, 2015 20:48:35 GMT
Gardening is all about making someone happy, whether it is you or somebody else. If it makes people smile then the gardener has REALLY done the job.
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Post by roofgardener on Apr 7, 2015 10:52:41 GMT
Thanks for all your comments Well, this weekend was even BETTER, in the happiness terms. ***Triple-Pneumonial Bronchital Pleuretic Black Plague News***** I've still got a cough ! I think it was a mild chest infection, but it HAS got better. Just the occasional splutter, and even that is dying down. Still, I spent most of Friday in bed. ****Sisters Garden News ***** We made our first sally into the The Forgotten Zone on Saturday, and cleared one of the paths up to the top of the garden, opening up the left-flank of The Orchard. (one apple tree, one pear tree). We rediscovered The Wooden Chair, which I subsequently sat on for a ciggie ! Next week we will be slowly working along the top perimeter of the garden, clearing all the weeds, vines, and small trees away in an attempt to find the upper terminus of the long-lost Central Path. It is creepy working in The Forgotten Zones. I swear I hear rustling in the undergrowth, and I feel like I am being watched all of the time. At one point I thought I saw smoke rising from the direction of the Top Pasture, and the sound of drums, but it will be several weekends before we are scheduled to attempt a breakthrough into that distant land. I also discovered the Worlds Tallest Rose. I thought it was a bramble at first, but no... it is a rose bush with a stem going about 12' up into the Apple Tree. |
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Post by roofgardener on Apr 7, 2015 10:59:43 GMT
****** Super-Happyness Update *****
************** WE HAVE SPUDLINKS !!!!! *****************
I feared they had all rotted after the rains of the last 3 weeks. Yesterday, however, I peeked into the Bins (literally old kitchen swing-lid bins), and there, peeking back up at me, where a whole bunch of potato plant heads. (they look like little buds).
It looks like 3-4 plants per bin. This makes me VERY happy, as these represent 2nd-generation vegetables.
I have four or five spudlinks left over from last year, and another bin ready to go, so I think I'll plant THAT one up this week, now that I know that the spuds WILL grow !
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Post by roofgardener on Apr 7, 2015 12:01:31 GMT
*** Plantopticon News ****
Well, I've retired the Heliothermic Plantopticon for the rest of the season. I was trying to germinate two trays of seeds inside it; begonias and Silver Dust Cinneraria. I think the begonia's have failed... there are vague signs of SOMETHING in there.... miniscule little sprouts ... but I've got the feeling they are NOT begonias, but something else that was in the soil.
The Cinneraria has come out strongly, however. Indeed, it's looking a bit 'leggy', and I fear it may be over-heated.
Sooo.... they are both now out and on the general growing table, along with all the other "Cress". I may remove the Plantopicon heating cable, and re-invent the remaining box as a general growing 'patch', along the lines of the carrots and leeks. Perhaps it could become my Pak Choi box ? or failing that... a giant Mixed Salad box ?
I really should post some photographs. I DID take some a couple of weeks ago, but they are all blurred and rubbish. Now that we have some decent light levels when I get home in the evening, I'll have another stab at it.
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Post by roofgardener on Apr 7, 2015 12:17:38 GMT
The State of the Onion Address.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Plantpots of Congress, my fellow Horticultarians.
As I stand before you on this bright Spring afternoon, I am pleased to report that all 18 "Japanese Yellow" onions are growing well. Although there is little sign of the bulbs themselves expanding, the green leave-shoot-thingy that they have produced are growing tall, and looking very healthy and vigorous.
But we must also address ourselves to the future, and to the next generation. Accordingly, I can report that we have just planted a further 8 "summer" onion bulbs into the second Green Trough, to accompany the four already so planted. These will complement the battalions of Spring Onions planted in the Spring Onion Patch.
Growth in other sectors is promising, with green shoots being reported in the Pea, Brussel Sprout, Spinnache and Pak Choi pots.
Of course, we must never neglect our military strength, and so I am delighted to report that we have acquired two new aircraft carriers, and also planted Basil, Oregano, Corriander, Sage, and Thyme. The latter two - in combination with our existing divisions of Rosemary and Parsley - will help to close the worrying "Scarborough Fair" gap that we have with the Soviet Onion.
Gawd Bless you all, and Gawd Bless the United States of Agricultia !
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Post by daitheplant on Apr 7, 2015 18:28:32 GMT
Well, that`s one way of looking at it.   |
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Post by SueA on Apr 7, 2015 19:09:53 GMT
Sounds as though things are going well roofgardener ! What made me laugh though is you saying you've still got a bit of a cough & then mentioned the wooden chair which you 'sat on for a ciggie'- you'll have to get yourself one of those e-ciggie things - the ones which look like a posh cigarette holder so you can perfect your Bond villain impression!  I wouldn't give up on the begonias yet, they could still come up, they tend to look like lichen or just tiny green blobs at first. |
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Post by roofgardener on Apr 8, 2015 10:05:54 GMT
Tiny green blobs, you say ? Hmmm.... weeeeell..... perhaps they ARE begonias, after all ? I'll allow them to keep growing, just to see what happens. Thanks for the heads-up on that.
I planted Broccli seeds and Runner Beans yesterday evening. All that I have left is my Salad ! I've got some mixed lettuce seeds, and some rhockett, and I'm already growing spring onions and spinache elsewhere. Perhaps I should buy some radish seeds as well ?
Once everything is going, I was thinking of transplanting them into a single "Salad Box" trough. (I got these handy troughs from Wilko's .. around 24" long and 6" wide). Each trough would have all of the components of a salad (lettuce, rhockett, spring onions, radish etc). That way, I can just lean out of my door, and pluck a salad whenever I feel like one.
Actually, I need four. One for me, one for my parents, and the other two "coming along" in the background. Sort of like field rotation ?
Oh... and I need to buy some Chive seeds for my Sisters garden. My own chives - and my parents clump - are waking up from the winter, but sadly my Sisters all died. In fact, they have dissapeared. I suspect slugs may have been involved.
Whill'st doing some tidying up, I came across some "broken" solar lights. Perhaps you know the sort of thing ? An aluminium 'spike', with a transparent plastic "lantern" bit above it, finally topped with a metal plug that has the little light on the underside (which points down into the 'lantern'), and solar cells on the upper side.
Well, during the storms, the plastic lantern bits had shattered and the aluminium spikes dissapeared, leaving just the metal "plug" with the bulb and the solar cells, BOTH OF WHICH STILL WORK.
So I used some old jam-jars, half filled them with water, and put duct tape across the top (with a little hole cut in it). The metal plug now sits on top of the duck tape, with the little bulb (a LED) poking downwards through the tape and into the jar.
When it gets dark, the bulb lights up, but you can't see it directly because it is 'underneath' the duck tape. Instead, it illuminates the water, which gives the illusion of the water itself "glowing". It's a lovely effect, so I scattered three of them around the Roofgarden on various tables etc, and sat in the darkness admiring all the little pools of light.
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Post by daitheplant on Apr 8, 2015 20:12:28 GMT
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that's what it's all about isn't it, as long as what you are looking at pleases you that's all that matters
