Gardening

[Fester]

Very bad for the blood pressure,  and mine is 'through the roof', apparently.   

I have just been informed of this in the last hour!

[snowcap]

I blame Ian and Dave R. for building your hopes up offering you that refund. You must be in a right state trying to hide it from Mrs. Fester

[Ian]

I blame Ian and Dave R. for building your hopes up offering you that refund

Mea Culpa, and Fester's been having several drinks to calm himself down and reduce the pressure...  WWW

[Nemesis]

Yum ! Stollen---the stollen mini bites are a lovely mouthful too. I also see that Iceland are selling exotic meats.

[Yorkie]

Kangaroo!  Yummy!   

And Ostrich!  Mmmmmmm!   ZXZ

[Hugo]

I saw these "Bear's Breeches" in the Chateau Rhianfa grounds on Sunday and it's the first time I have ever seen the leaves without any mould on them.
Mine last for a month or so but then become infected with a type of mildew and I just cut the leaves off and leave the spikey flower alone.

[Hugo]

I haven't planted all my Daffodil bulbs yet as the Geraniums are still flowering and I haven't got the heart to pull them out of the pots while there is so much colour in the garden.
It's getting colder at night now so I'll let the frost finish the Geraniums off and then I can put the Daffodil bulbs in.

[Jack]

Hugo, do you protect your tree fern against frost?

[Hugo]

Normally I do but last year I didn't and got away with it.    A few years ago I lost one Australian Tree fern because I didn't protect it from the frost and it died.   I scooped the top of the fern out and put an ordinary fern in the crown instead but am not sure if it has taken or not.
This year I'll cut the leaves off and protect the crown with a type of fleece blanket soon.   At the moment the fern is quite green and healthy and I must admit that I hate cutting them off while they are still looking good but it has to be done.

[Jack]

Thanks for the reply Hugo, in the past I have dressed the crown of mine with straw and wrapped it in plastic sheeting but I think this year I will invest in a fleece!

[Hugo]

I have used straw before and even some of my dog's wool but never plastic as I think that would make the fern sweat and could damage it or so I'm told.
With the fleece jacket, it breathes just like the fleeces we wear when we are walking and keeps the frost out too.   The fleece jackets are normally too big but I do use the excess fleece on the crown of the fern just for additional protection.

[Hugo]

I just finished mowing the lawn on Thursday just before the rain and hail came down so I was quite lucky.
Against advice from other gardeners I kept the blades low so this will be my last mowing of the lawn until the coming Spring.   I've dozens of Daffodil bulbs planted in the lawn so fingers crossed that I haven't chopped the heads off like I have done in the past.     

[hollins]

Signs of spring!

[hollins]

I have just read in the National Trust magazine about another new area opening at Bodnant on 28 March. This one is called The Far End and here is a link to some info about it.

https://bodnantgarden.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/far-reaching-dream-coming-to-fruition/

[Hugo]

Beautiful photos Hollins and so nice to see such nice colours at this time of year.   I must visit St Mary's Church in Caerhun soon as there is usually a good display of Snowdrops there about this time of year.
You must be pleased with that camera of yours as those photos you've posted are really good.