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IN OUR GARDEN 2023

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This week decided the dickies needed some more food and some new feeders as the old ones were getting a bit rusty and needed replacing.Went to local store that has good stuff(no rubbish for our dickies),got topped up with mixed seed,peanuts,suet fat balls,nyger seed,new feeders,the works.Took it all to the checkout and BLIMEY 100 PLUS QUID !!!
As someone once said "I don't belieeeve it! But it was true! Collapso,call the medics,but to no avail--I had to pay up.Anyway,the little swines will have to make it last,they live like lords while we are on the bread and jam! Mind you,we've plenty of customers,rooks and jackdaws arrive early morning,scoop up much more than they can carry,then drop most of it as they fly madly away.The little ones are more interesting,especially Reg the robin,we've all got a Reg haven't we?
I think I need to rest in a darkened room!
Tojo.
 
Just spent 3/4 hr cutting back the shrubs at the very bottom of the garden where I don't do much. Garden narrows to point as we are almost on a bend in the road. So we have an odd triangle of land.
I want to dig the soil over and pop some wildflower seeds in but need to prune first otherwise I will be standing on the seeds. :rolleyes: . 3 out of 5 shrubs tamed to let some light in. Will do rest over next few dry days. Then dig over and throw seeds down.
 
I had a lovely surprise yesterday, a vixen came down the garden with five cubs! They were playing in the wild part of the garden for quite a long time, I hope they come again. I haven't got any cats or dogs to worry about so there's no worry about infections.
(I fell over last year on my arthritic knees so the gardening has had to wait, that's why it's wild!)
rosie.
 
Here is a large clump of Pleione Formosana Orchids growing on my rockery, they are fully hardy and grow from Pseudobulbs which grow on the surface, later on it will sprout leaves and tiny bulbils which grow to flowering size in a couple of years, the other photo has some 2 year old bulbils in a pot and already some are already flowering


garden orchid.jpgPleione orchid.jpg
 
I only shop at a supermarket and a local independent garden centre, prices are very reasonable and I get some lovely plants.

I've tried other larger garden centres and the prices are just nowhere near the supermarket prices. OK, so you may get a larger plant for your money, but in a lot of cases the plants are the same size.

This year I'm only filling 10 small-ish pots with bedding plants, all the rest are perennials. I should be able to do that quite reasonably from the supermarket.

I'm determined to take cuttings from existing perennials and not buy anything else while the prices are high.

Also I see a lot of plants growing through the fences of my neighbours, I'm sure if I knocked the door and asked if I could break a piece off for a cutting they would be OK with that.
 
The lilac is starting to show. We have two bushes, slightly different varieties. This one is always first, and a bit lighter in colour than the other.
lilac.jpeg
Elsewhere in the garden, recent winds mean that the forsythia flowers are spread around the ground by my shed like confetti.

We have a pair of woodpeckers, who like to hang off the fatball feeder, but only one at a time. If Mrs woodpecker is filling her beak, and Mr woodpecker arrives, he will unceremoniously kick her off. He has even had a try at the seed feeder stuck onto the window, but not sure if that is to his taste, he certainly looks odd trying to hang off it.
woody.jpeg

There are two little tree frogs around here now. One lives behind a water butt close to the house, the other lives in the box we have the pool pump in. They might be male and female, I lack the skill to differentiate. They make a huge noise shouting at each other, far too loud for their size.
weeny frog.jpeg

Andrew.
 
Strawberry Hunter said:
wash my car
Click to expand...
Three words I rarely use consecutively. (Despite spousal pressure).

wild hyacinth.jpeg
These wild hyacinths have come up around the base of one of the lilacs. They are common in the area.

raised bed.jpeg
We have a raised bed for flower planting, because our ground is mostly rock below 50mm of soil. (The mesh over it is to discourage the deer who like to come and nibble overnight).

anenome.jpeg
This little fellow popped up on its own just outside the bed. Nothing like it inside the bed, maybe one of our feathered friends planted it for us. Very bright in the sunshine.

dark sky.jpeg
Sometimes a threatening sky can be worth a photo.

Andrew.
 
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