How does your garden grow?

[Bill fawcett]

Had a surprise visitor to my garden today - an Australian Zebra Finch. I was just pottering in the garden when it landed on the gravel about 15ft away. I crouched down and started talking to it, and it hopped down the garden to me and stood about 2ft away showing no fear. I sidestepped it and went up to the house and shouted for my wife to come out and see it. When I turned around it had followed me and was sitting just behind me on the patio. Margaret came out and was looking at it when it suddenly flew away. I said I would have to get my bird book out to see what it was, as I had never seen one before. It turned out to be a Zebra Finch and it stated that they are very friendly with humans. I guess it must have escaped from an aviary somewhere. I just wish that they were residents in this country.

Bill

[Ernie Jackson. (Bunty)]

My lupin seeds aren't ready yet as the seed pods need to go brown before harvesting.

I mistakenly thought I had to keep the seeds from each plant in separate containers to reproduce the same colour but have discovered that the colour of the donating plant has no bearing on what colour the seed might produce.

Cuttings from my flowering hedges are almost ready to plant in gaps that had appeared due to old wood. The cuttings from roses and clematis are doing well and I have enough to plant out for next year.

I am beginning to realise why garden centres make so much money. Thank you Google.

If anyone fancies some lupin seed I will have enough to send on when they are ready.

We had a stork in the garden last week....it mustn't have realised that my personal in house seed is long past its sell by date.

[bjones]

Bill that kind of visitor would be very welcome, shame it flew away before you could get a photo

We had a stork in the garden last week....it mustn't have realised that my personal in house seed is long past its sell by date.
Top

Ernie
In a similar vein... Harry and I were sitting doing jigsaws the other day when I thought to myself "getting jiggy" has certainly taken on a different meaning as we've aged.

[Ernie Jackson. (Bunty)]

[Patricia]

Bill your "Talking" to the bird reminded me so much of Lew, who also "Talked" to not only the
birds but a rabbit that occupied our garden. Amazingly, the bird a Blue Jay, eventually came and would
take the peanuts out of his hand! The rabbit would never run when he passed it but it sure did for me!!!
Thanks for posting that and bringing back that memory!!

[Ernie Jackson. (Bunty)]

Being brought up in Bootle the only birds I knew were seagulls, sparrows and pigeons. No trees unless you went to the park.

This leads to my recent post which was in error when I mentioned a stork had arrived in my garden.

I have just seen it in a neighbours back garden next to his fish pond. He tells me he has covered the pond because he has seen a heron in his garden.

[ALAMO2008]

Lovely Sunny morning.

[Shelagh]

These gardens are absolutely beautiful, keep these pictures coming please. so much appreciated
Music for all our Gardeners..

https://youtu.be/1FCs4afQ2Pc

[filsgreen]

Shelagh, I commented on another YouTube video of Elizabethan Serenade, that it was composed in a time, long lost to Britain, which we'll never see again. its a beautiful piece of music, perfectly suited to the era. Mind you, am I just thinking through rose tinted glasses? Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

[bjones]

by Ernie Jackson. (Bunty) » Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:58 am
This leads to my recent post which was in error when I mentioned a stork had arrived in my garden.
I have just seen it in a neighbours back garden next to his fish pond. He tells me he has covered the pond because he has seen a heron in his garden.

Ernie, you're not alone; I recall a day years ago when I went bouncing like Tigger to tell my neighbour about the "stork" looking in his pond from the roof of the house behind him ..... the day I learnt the meaning of the term "a withering look"

I do hope your scan goes well and this latest issue doesn't stop your gardening. How are your spuds doing?

[Ernie Jackson. (Bunty)]

Thanks Bee.

I am 'taking the tablets' and they seem to be working well. I am told I am very fit, a similar weight to when I married almost fifty eight years ago and I stopped smoking 30 a day 54 years ago because I couldn't afford 3/11d for twenty any more.

No 'belly' and my last medical told me my lungs are as good as those expected of a non-smoker twenty five years younger. I just have a dickie ticker. Apparently if I can get a pacemaker fitted then I could eventually qualify for a telegram from the queen.

Good news is that it is a sh** world to live in these days. More good news is that when we got married we promised to be together till we were 'old and grey' and we have kept that promise.

I still do a bit of gardening (no heavy digging) but am of the age that I do as I am told so it is fine.

The heron has gone...for the time being at least.

[Bonesy]

Our latest small batch of our home grown vegetables




Keith

[Bonesy]

Bought these potato grow bags and realised that they might come in handy as covid protection. Think the green one is rather fetching








live plants with betta


Keith

[Shelagh]

No rose tinted glasses, Phil; the music of yesteryear, created to stand the test of time, and it does

Time to bring back the classical thread, Phil, we had some great music to listen to

[Shelagh]

Keith; very impressive, the vegetables, that is...not the headgear

Doing a great job, you might be able to provide some helpful tips to others who want to start growing 🌶

[bjones]

Keithos, I'd stick with the beige hat, the green one makes you look a bit bilious
Where did you get them? I think they could be good for keeping spuds in rather than growing them. I keep my spuds in a thick paper bag in the garage. Cool dry and dark is the perfect environment. One of your hats would save me buying small items from Primark just to get the little bags which are perfect but don't last long.

[ALAMO2008]

Had my first 2020 Blackberry yesterday out of garden hedge. Seems to be a bumper crop growing this year.

[bjones]

Ernie, let's have another deco at your spuds...

[Bonesy]

Steady on now bee


Keith

[Ernie Jackson. (Bunty)]

Regarding my potato patch.

We unearthed the first Charlottes last week, grown in a bucket from a seed I had over. . They were small but delicious. About four pounds weight. No peeling required...just a rub down, a few eyes to take out and into the pan..
Just an hour ago I extracted a plant from the 'patch' and was delighted with the harvest...about five pounds of very large Charlottes. Same easy procedure and for tea tonight.

The benefit is nothing to do with saving cash....I had long forgotten how good spuds direct from the ground can taste. Unrecognisable from supermarket spuds and good enough to add a little butter and eat them on their own. Delicious.

We wondered what was the interest to blackbirds gathering in our hedge. We found that the hedge included bilberry bushes and in twenty years have never see any fruit on them. They were covered with fruit but the missus is suspicious of them as they 'just' appeared. Not the birds....the bunches of fruit.

[ALAMO2008]

[Patricia]

For anyone growing their own Tomatoes and Basil - this is a lovely light lunch on a hot day!!

Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil Bruschetta
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Serving Size: 2 to 3 bruschetta

Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil Bruschetta

Ingredients

2 cups chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for brushing baguette slices

1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

One half baguette, cut into 12 3/4 inch slices

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine tomatoes, basil, 1 tablespoon olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

2. Brush baguette slices with olive oil and place on large baking sheet. Top each slice with mozzarella. Bake for 10 minutes to 15 minutes or until bread and cheese are slightly browning.

3. Remove from oven and top each slice with tomato mixture.

4. Serve immediately.

[bjones]

Patricia thanks for the reminder of my late great oldest brother; that was his favourite lunch..... can still picture him sitting with it on a plate, glass of red wine in hand telling me "it's what retirement's for".

Ernie great news about your crop, I grew up on produce from our dad's plot but never appreciated how good it was at the time.

Alan that's looking good - wonder how many spuds you could grow on that expanse??

[Shelagh]

Delicious tasty lunch, and prepared in minutes what more could you ask for.

Alan, same thought as Bee, your garden is absolutely breathtaking, I love it.
Perhaps a neat little vegetable patch to serve you through the forthcoming seasons..I would definitely encourage people to have a go at growing.

Never attempted to grow vegetables before, never needed to, supply’s were in abundance, but that may change in the near future, so my little garden will have to change with it.
Probably start with pots, containers and grow bags, anything really, but professional advice from our Bootle gardeners would be very much appreciated

[bjones]

Hallelujah, first strawberry from the seedlings I rescued from my grandboy Paddy. Second pic is the rest of the plants. The kids are over at their place in Wales for the school holidays so now there’s some progress we’ll take half of the plants over there next week.

[Shelagh]

Young Paddy will be so proud of his first British strawberry well done, Bee

[Bonesy]

Look what we arrived home to today from the
Maghull Vegetable Growers Society.
coin changer near me

[filsgreen]

Good stuff, Keith, well done to you and Lil.

[Glenys]

Wow, Well done Keith and Lianne.

[Silver-Haired-Hippy]

Delighted for both of you! Congratulations!

Loretta

[ALAMO2008]

Had some Potatoes go soft and start to sprout in the Car Boot so planted them in 3 foot area between the Rhubarb and the Sage Bush
This is the crop.





[url=https://postimages.org/]

[ALAMO2008]

Cut ends off Shop Bought Onions and Spring Onions and rather than throw them away as scraps, planted them and left them alone to Clone more.
These are the Clones , never need to buy Onion Seeds again.

I can keep growing Clones forever now.

[ALAMO2008]

Foxgloves normally flower May /June got some babies attempting to grow Mid September have had them flower in Mid November

[ALAMO2008]

Our Lupins are attempting a Second Flowering after being chopped down by the winds the other week.




We also have the April Flowering Rhododendrons along our Driveway giving a Second Flowering in the Autumn.

[ALAMO2008]

These Love this time of the Autumn one bunch has had a flower on it every day since October 2019