Gardening

[Hugo]

I cut the grass on my back  garden for the first time today and found that there were a lot of Cowslips growing in the grass.   I didn't have the heart to mow them as they looked so nice and although the mowing took me longer it was worth it to see them there
The Obelisk and Bryn Euryn are normally covered in thousands of Cowslips at this time of year so I'll have to make the effort and go there asap

[Hammy]

Hugo,
The cowslips resemble a carpet adjacent to the obelisk at the moment!

[Hugo]

Thanks very much Hammy,   I'll pop up to Pydew and see them as soon as I can.     I took Mrs H up to see them last year but we were too late but we still managed a lovely circular walk around the village

[Hammy]

Hugo,
You are welcome to drop in for a coffee if I am around.

[SteveH]

From trimming your trees to putting down decking, you may not realise all the ways you could be fined from the comfort of your own garden.

Since the warmer weather is (apparently) on its way, many of us will be thinking about spending more time in our gardens and might even be considering some renovations.

To help us stay out of trouble whilst still making the most of our outdoor space, the garden-building experts at Tiger, have revealed nine ways that we Brits could potentially be fined in our own yards.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/24267850.can-fined-garden-trimming-trees/

[Hugo]

Hugo,
You are welcome to drop in for a coffee if I am around.

Thanks for the offer Hammy but I was unable to call around as I was just paying a flying visit to Bryn Pydew this morning.  The area by the Obelisk was well worth a visit as it was swathed in beautiful Cowslips and I did notice some Purple Orchids starting to appear.
What a lovely area to live in

[SteveH]

THIS beautiful Rhododendron ?Penjerrick? is coming into flower along the recently restored Penjerrick Walk at Bodnant Garden.

The floral showstopper, at the National Trust historic garden and arboretum in the Conwy Valley, has large scented white, cream or pink flowers and a characteristic red-pink bark.

A spokesperson from Bodnant Garden told the Pioneer: "Rhododendron ?Penjerrick? was bred at Penjerrick Garden in Cornwall in 1923, a hybrid of R. campylocarpum Elatum Group and R. griffithianum. Henry McLaren described R. ?Penjerrick? as ?the most lovely of all rhododendrons? and planted a grove of them along a path on Furnace Hill. 

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/24273467.bodnant-garden-rhododendron-penjerrick-coming-flower/

[Hugo]

A Rhododendron is one of my favourite flowers and the display at Bodnant is always spectacular, you can even get a good view of them from the car park
I was looking at my Rhododendrons in the garden this morning and they are starting to come out in this spell of warm weather  that we have been having recently

On another matter I also noticed that the Badger had climbed the tree last night in another attempt to get at the peanut feeder but although he made a mess of the feeder he couldn't get at the peanuts.   For a while I have noticed broken branches and bits of Clematis at the base of the tree but never guessed that it was the Badger again until I saw the state of the peanut feeder.
The wire fence I erected all around the back garden may be "Teddy" proof but it's certainly not Badger proof

[Hugo]

My suet cake feeder which I put in the hedge at a height of about 5 feet had vanished this morning but then I found out that the Badger had been and taken it.    My next door neighbour's security light had come on and he came outside to investigate it and saw the Badger who ran off leaving the Suet cake feeder on the ground.   So at least I don't have to buy another one   

On another note, the weather recently has been suitable for mowing the lawn, which was good because I've loads of Dandelions in the lawn.      I set the blades on a very low cut but when I finished mowing the lawn the yellow flowers of the Dandelions were still there.
There are over 240 varieties of Dandelions and I reckon that I must have the variety with the shortest stem,       

[Hammy]

Hugo, Are you sure that they hadn't regrown before you looked back!

[Hugo]

I think that the little weeds are getting wise to me and ducking their heads when the mower comes near them, but I'm reverting to plan B and I've sent off for some spot weedkiller so that should sort them out.
The neighbour across the road has loads of Dandelions but they have stems of about 8 inches so they are easy to mow up.    He also has what must be the world's tallest Dandelion at about 5 feet tall and still growing

[Hugo]

The Rhododendrons are coming in to flower in the garden now and my favourite one is the variety called Cynthia which is a magenta colour when it first opens.
For many years I deheaded the flowers after they finished flowering but Hollins gave me a tip that has saved me hours and hours work over the years.    It was simply don't dehead them as it's not required as they are not deheaded in the wild.
A great tip as that variety eventually reaches 23 feet in height

[hollins]

They look fantastic Hugo but I don't remember giving you advice!
The colours are super.
We have this huge one flowering for the first time this year. The leaves are massive.
We bought it from Bodnant nursery but we don't know the name of it.

[SteveH]

Hi Hollins, both yours and Hugo's look great specimens, you mentioned Bodnant here is todays link.........

Collection of spring blooms wow at Conwys Bodnant Garden

BODNANT Garden?s prized collection of rhododendrons and azaleas are currently putting on a dazzling display in Conwy.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/24300868.collection-spring-blooms-wow-conwys-bodnant-garden/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Hugo]

I had admired the Rhododendron in someone's garden and called at their house to ask for the name of the variety.    The man told me that his wife was the gardener so he phoned her up and I spoke to her.    She was in Spain at the time but she couldn't help me as the shrub was already there when they bought the house
Anyway I asked the man if I could take a flower as I was going to Bridgemere soon and perhaps they could identify it for me which they did and I purchased the Rhododendron from them.
I called back at the house again and saw the man and told him that the variety was called Cynthia and he replied that that was nice because that's his wife's name!
I took your advice Hollins after your posting on the 11th July 2013 and it has saved me many hours of hard work over the years so thanks for that