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IN OUR GARDENS 2025

I Am Nico said:
Very pretty. So is the borage that appeared this year and the broad beans. The no seed bird food keeps seeding with corn. We have some new flowers but I will have to see when they open as to what they might be. Might be musk mallow very feathery leaves. I had to get the magnifying glass out for so but when I do do they are really beautiful I take a photo then enlarge it. Herb Robert, Cleavers, Sticky Willie, Pilewort , Wood Avens. Star of Bethlehem we thought was garlic or wood anemone. We have old fashioned crazy paving with earth in between and whatever comes up. self heal I think and dog violets and clover and shamrock, al very tiny this year. People visit and say why don't you pull all that out!
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Almost a Geoffrey Hamilton description:heart:
 
boilerman said:
Almost a Geoffrey Hamilton description:heart:
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I had to look him up, I am maybe more Monty Don or Percy Chucker as my uncle called him. Partner can't bear Mr Titchmarsh. She likes a mature lady.Lyn? I shelled the broad beans but we don't know if they are safe to eat as they just appeared. So we have left them for the birdies and beasties.
 
We had some work done and there is tuns of silicone render in lumps chipping size and like sand in the earth. The flowers are coming back through . There are patches of it on the earth and grass. I tried watering it, I have raked it. Have you any ideas please? It says it's not harmful to animals.
 
I Am Nico said:
We had some work done and there is tuns of silicone render in lumps chipping size and like sand in the earth. The flowers are coming back through . There are patches of it on the earth and grass. I tried watering it, I have raked it. Have you any ideas please? It says it's not harmful to animals.
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Difficult to tell from a distance Nico, all I can say, is, we have a dumping ground, of allsorts of building materials in the garden,(fenced off), that almost everything grows in, especially foxgloves
 
boilerman said:
Difficult to tell from a distance Nico, all I can say, is, we have a dumping ground, of allsorts of building materials in the garden,(fenced off), that almost everything grows in, especially foxgloves
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Maybe rosebay willow herb will grow there. It's under a laurel and the apple tree. And I got it off the ,internet and chives, just wary eating that now. And visiting cat has sprayed on it. Where it looks like powdered cement is under the window. Cats are having a field day in there.
 
I Am Nico said:
Maybe rosebay willow herb will grow there. It's under a laurel and the apple tree. And I got it off the ,internet and chives, just wary eating that now. And visiting cat has sprayed on it. Where it looks like powdered cement is under the window. Cats are having a field day in there.
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We are surrounded by cats, so everything gets washed that comes out of the garden. I'll bet Rosebay will grow almost anywhere, certainly in our garden, especially where you dont want :) but its nice when it flowers
 
I took the ride on mower out into the field yesterday. Normally all sorts of things jump, crawl or fly out of the way in front of me, they can hear or feel the mower coming. I saw a woodland grayling perched on the top of a field scabious in front of me. It was busy and hadn't noticed me. I stopped, then eased the mower forward slowly. No reaction. I had to very gently nudge the stalk before the butterfly looked up, then flew off as fast as it could. Then I could continue mowing.
A bit further round, and a woodland grayling landed on the bonnet of the ride on. (They are common round here, so possibly not the same one). It sat there enjoying the ride for a minute or so, then flew up and perched on the steering wheel. Looked around for a bit, then flew up and perched on my thumb. Makes it hard to steer with the added weight of a butterfly on one hand. It perched there for a while, presumably drinking the sweat off my thumb :yum then flew away.
Getting to the end of the mowing session, and suddenly a winged shadow passed over me, went dark for a second. Julie was out in the field at the time, and after a bit of thinking and checking, she reckons it was a Northern European Goshawk went over me at about 3 metres high. Perhaps it was thinking of grabbing me out of my seat and taking me to its lair, but gave up at the last second.
We have a few molehills in the far corner of the field. I normally mow over them, which spreads the earth, and the mower wheels flatten the ground. Did the same this time, but by the time I was putting the mower away, two molehills were back again. That was a surprise, I thought it was too hot for them to come near the surface, the worms are well down.
Just another day.

Andrew.
 
My given name was Brenda,but all his life l was bab to my father,also lhad a nick name Bru, which l was given when l came home from being born..at Loveday St, the boy next door named me Brenda Bru, and it stook, l am 89 now and my husband still calls me Bru
 
boilerman said:
A bit too warm to be outside around here, especially for the dogs, they just dont understand:worried:
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We have been practicing for next week here today. 35 deg and 34 % humidity, and that is at 18:00 your time. We are expecting to see 40 deg for the next few days. Thats from a weather station exposed in the garden, but we have very little shade on this plot.
When we were in Somerset, we kept our caravan parked in the garden. Our dogs would crawl underneath in hot weather. Hot then was reasonable, and never started with a 3. An advantage was that our gate was visible from under the caravan, which led to a few surprises for spurious visitors trying to sell things, (or beliefs).
Julie wants to get up early (whatever that means) tomorrow to water the plants that need it. We have a lot of stored water from gutters, so not a problem at the moment. A submersible pump in the water butt and an attached hose makes the job fairly easy.

Andrew.
 
Brummie a long time ago said:
I took the ride on mower out into the field yesterday. Normally all sorts of things jump, crawl or fly out of the way in front of me, they can hear or feel the mower coming. I saw a woodland grayling perched on the top of a field scabious in front of me. It was busy and hadn't noticed me. I stopped, then eased the mower forward slowly. No reaction. I had to very gently nudge the stalk before the butterfly looked up, then flew off as fast as it could. Then I could continue mowing.
A bit further round, and a woodland grayling landed on the bonnet of the ride on. (They are common round here, so possibly not the same one). It sat there enjoying the ride for a minute or so, then flew up and perched on the steering wheel. Looked around for a bit, then flew up and perched on my thumb. Makes it hard to steer with the added weight of a butterfly on one hand. It perched there for a while, presumably drinking the sweat off my thumb :yum then flew away.
Getting to the end of the mowing session, and suddenly a winged shadow passed over me, went dark for a second. Julie was out in the field at the time, and after a bit of thinking and checking, she reckons it was a Northern European Goshawk went over me at about 3 metres high. Perhaps it was thinking of grabbing me out of my seat and taking me to its lair, but gave up at the last second.
We have a few molehills in the far corner of the field. I normally mow over them, which spreads the earth, and the mower wheels flatten the ground. Did the same this time, but by the time I was putting the mower away, two molehills were back again. That was a surprise, I thought it was too hot for them to come near the surface, the worms are well down.
Just another day.

Andrew.
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A speckled wood always lands on the white plastic ancient garden chair by our kitchen door. My mum always sat there. I like to think it's her. I was told butterflies are very spiritual I know it sound far fetched but......I had a colleague John -Paul who passed away in his twenties. Our boss kept dreaming of blue butterflies every night for 2 weeks. She had been to visit his family several times. She said at the funeral , (it was a scorcher of a day,) the church doors were left open and a blue butterfly came and settled on the coffin.
We had a red admiral today we never get them as a rule. I used to, as a child as dad wasn't a gardener and the garden was overgrown ( a disgrace to the street said next door) was full of mint and nettles butterflies birds and cats. We have small patches of both nettle and mint here.
I have put the squirrel broken bird table back, minus half a roof on top of an up turned big flower pot. It seems to suit the blackbirds.
My partners French cousins love wildlife too. Her cousin pronounces owl as ooool. I don't like to correct him. I quite like oool.
 
1751138493876.jpeg
This is a view from our screened porch, the flowers and herbs are my wife's handywork. We have two smokers, a grill and fireplace out there so we keep it very busy just about year-round.
I took this picture about an hour ago when it was sunny. Right now, we are having a bad thunderstorm, the third of the day that why the umbrella is down. Temperature is a little lower than it had been in the low 90's f.
 
Richard Dye said:
View attachment 204711
This is a view from our screened porch, the flowers and herbs are my wife's handywork. We have two smokers, a grill and fireplace out there so we keep it very busy just about year-round.
I took this picture about an hour ago when it was sunny. Right now, we are having a bad thunderstorm, the third of the day that why the umbrella is down. Temperature is a little lower than it had been in the low 90's f.
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Fantastic Richard
 
I Am Nico said:
A speckled wood always lands on the white plastic ancient garden chair by our kitchen door. My mum always sat there. I like to think it's her. I was told butterflies are very spiritual I know it sound far fetched but......I had a colleague John -Paul who passed away in his twenties. Our boss kept dreaming of blue butterflies every night for 2 weeks. She had been to visit his family several times. She said at the funeral , (it was a scorcher of a day,) the church doors were left open and a blue butterfly came and settled on the coffin.
We had a red admiral today we never get them as a rule. I used to, as a child as dad wasn't a gardener and the garden was overgrown ( a disgrace to the street said next door) was full of mint and nettles butterflies birds and cats. We have small patches of both nettle and mint here.
I have put the squirrel broken bird table back, minus half a roof on top of an up turned big flower pot. It seems to suit the blackbirds.
My partners French cousins love wildlife too. Her cousin pronounces owl as ooool. I don't like to correct him. I quite like oool.
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I agree with you about butterflies Nico, it's happened to me.
 
We always have a pair of cabbage whites in our front garden but nothing else
yet when i walk the hounds in a overgrown cemetery 5 mins away its butterfly heaven in the wild parts
intresting reading Victorian graves
FOOTNOTE
Violet Carson/Ena Sharples
 
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