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Ooh lovely, very attractive herb.

So exciting to see the progress.

Hooray! It has been a glorious sunny day here, so I have been gardening for a long time, at last. I had a cuppa in the summerhouse, listening to the birds singing and watched a Great Tit flying in and out of the Vine. It may have been looking for aphids or ants. Absolutely the best day of the year so far ... :o))

Well, after that amount of time I just hope they are now gone!

Fifty years ... incredible!

Rose, it has been a gorgeous sunny day so I have been gardening for quite a while today. There were many slugs and snails lurking in the Sedums and the Iris stems ... all happy together in the brown bin now!

Oh dear, that's annoying for you.

Shirley, I’ve go my patio doors open!!!

what you chose will need to match the conditions the olive needs.
Pinks will work, any of the low growing herbs like thyme and the smaller succulents/sedums etc.

Thanks guys, will set to work!

Thanks so much. That's lovely.

I don't think I will be getting it back now Shirley!

Three good days then one with torrential rain Balcony and Shirley.
So we have to make the most of a good day!

Balcony,

Thank you

Kate123,

There’s so many varieties of Bougainvillea which grow everywhere here. I’ve had Orange King Bougainvillea in a pot for 36 years. I’ve purposely kept my plant in a pot to keep it small, as most bougainvillea can grow extremely fast and take over.

Shirley tulip,

Yes, tons of Bird-of-paradise here in Southern California. I have a 50 year old big one in my front yard. It just stopped blooming a few weeks ago.

Ange2,

Thank you.
It’s a common Spanish-style house here in San Diego, CA.

That looks very pretty Kate.

Hope they do well for you Kate. Yes the sunshine was lovely to be out in. I've planted some new plants in the front and back garden. Just put some geraniums under the apple tree. They did well there last year.
It's another grey dull day today but at least the wind has abated.

Hope they do well for you Kate. Yes the sunshine was lovely to be out in. I've planted some new plants in the front and back garden. Just put some geraniums under the apple tree. They did well there last year.
It's another grey dull day today but at least the wind has abated.

Thanks so much, its come from nowhere, blumming stuff is all over, will dig it out hopefully or week kill the rest

Thanks again

It's been a gloomy day here with rain from about 12.30pm till around 7pm.

I've had to spend the last 8 or 9 moths trying to eliminate the Carnation Tortrix moth caterpillars for the balcony & from the kitchen!

yes dig in some compost/mulch etc. The removal of the compaction as you dig in the manure will help aerate it too.

Know what you mean!

Yep!. Been there doing that. At least you are not finding a very old lime pit under your soil which is what I have done today. Filled 4 compost bags with the old lime. No wonder nothing grows on this patch.
Have fun.

There was a pinus in B&Q recently (can't remember the variety) but with the lovely candles. I was quite tempted. I'd like a Mugo when I've saved up!!

Rather than Magnolia, what about Cornus kousa 'Miss Satomi' or another non-white flowering Cornus variety.

Karen, we now have three. Two are the 210 litre size, side by side with a feeder tube and then a slimline one, all catching rainfall from guttering.

That’s interesting … I’m learning something new … again!

Thanks for your suggestions. I had considered sorbus - we have a sapling already that was given to us by a friend so that could be a good option. Although the medlar sounds fun too! I have had a chanticleer pear suggested and a Malus Red Sentinel which I think both grow quite large.The other thing I had in mind was some kind of magnolia. Any thoughts on any of those?
One thing I'm aware of is that we already have quite a lot of white spring blossom eg from 2 mature choisyas, an amelanchier and drifts of snowflakes (which were all in flower together this year), so was a bit concerned about having too much white all at once.

You’ve reminded me…need to get a water butt!

Indeed ... almost 2 hours of non-stop rain !

So digging in garden manure? Also digging it up to aerate the soil & get rid of compaction. Guess I’ve got a bit of work to do before planting….

Mespilus germanica, the common Medlar has so much to offer. Wonderful blossom in the spring and the fruits (the French call them ''dog's bottoms'') can be made into Medlar jelly. The Mulberry, Morus nigra with gorgeous, succulent fruits. Lastly, Amelanchier lamarckii, the snowy mespilus. Fantastic blossom, black berries (much beloved by birds) and green to copper foliage in the Autumn.

Thank you Meadowland, and what lovely memories that goes with your beautiful tree.

If looking at a Sorbus check out S. aria lutescens. Native, small and very nice.

Yes is the short answer. There will have been little nutrition added while the soil was covered in grass, so putting 'muck' in it would help any new planting.

Goodness!

I think I’d choose a Sorbus. My favourite is Joseph Rock, but Pink Pagoda is lovely or cashmiriana. Or you could go for the native one with red berries. One of the smaller growing Birches would be lovely too. Or a Holly…I love Ilex JC Van Tol because it grows very tall and narrow and isn’t prickly. The red berries are such a great contrast with the glossy green leaves in winter. If you go to Bluebell Arboretum on line they have a tremendous selection to choose from and you can search by the size. I’d go for something about 6-8 m ultimate height and not too dense.

A favourite here Karen...often don't recognise it when it
initially peeps through the soil.

Thank you so much Ange... it certainly keeps me busy but I still love it.

Thank you so much Callie for your kind comment...I had to think awhile when you asked how old the Cercis tree is.We have been living here 23 years and roughly I think we bought the tree 15 years ago.We were in Cornwall and visited Burncoose nurseries.It has great memories as I was born in Cornwall.
Each Autumn I have to trim it to control its spread.

I wish the weather would just stay calm and dry for longer than a couple of days! Pretty good down here today, long may it last.

Rose, you never know, there are some honest folk around ... :o)

lovely blog Kate, the photos are super quality and so are the flowers.

It is one of the willow herbs [Epilobium roseum at a guess]. The good thing is that they don't have a taproot/runner. You can just hoe the tops off or dig out with a trowel. This size I tend to dig out. the smaller ones just hoe over on a dry day.

what does the carrot seed packet say re sowing? I don't tend to do mine until mid May and if frost forecast I put fleece over. Not sure about courgette as I start mine in pots in the greenhouse and put them out late May.

You have some lovely flowers Kate and the sun was great here too, but not for long! It is now heavy rain, but like you I really enjoyed my time in the garden and catching up with jobs.
I think with our unpredictable weather at the moment, we just have to make the most of every day.

I am not sure about the face book page Shirley, but there is a "next door" app which covers all the areas around me and have put it on there, but it has not been found.
Thanks Ange, Balcony and Kate. I now have a bum bag, so it won't happen again!