Boomerang kids, I know about that. Time to dig out the horseshair blankets, move to meagre rations, and turn the thermostat to -5. Think the Wi-Fi router is just about to develop a mysterious fault.....

Funny that, AA.
My dryer regularly went on the fritz in the summer. Once, my daughter had thoughtless house guests doing not only all their camping laundry but their dog's bedding as well when they stopped in on their way home without thought for the cost to their host.
That was when I told her how I used to turn off the circuit breaker for the dryer so that laundry had to go outside on the line because the dryer was 'broken'. A working mom can't be there to instruct.

I had no idea how much it cost to use the dryer but why when the sun shines ? Well, last year after I broke my wrist I used the dryer for laundry and found that my hydro bill was 7% higher even though I did no canning with the electric stove! I had no idea it would be that much. Our electric company tells us our usage each month compared to the same time last year or I wouldn't have known.
Back to the line this year.

The wren is quite tiny but this is as close as I can get before she sqwarks at me for getting too close.

A couple of days ago there was a robin in the garden making a terrible sqwarking noise. I was sat in my back porch, (its only a tiny porch) with a seat along one side, when a fledgling robin fluttered by me in a "I'm not very good at flying yet" kinda way. She flew straight past me and into the kitchen. The mother was having a bit of concern as she continued to try and call out to the fledgling. i managed to get the two dogs out of the kitchen and then proceeded to coax the fledgling back outside whereupon she just about made it to a branch on the same plant shown in the above photo. The mother swooped in onto the same branch and seemed to remonstrate the tiny baby She hopped onto the fence to the left encouraging the baby to do the same - the fledgling flapped in a clumsy type of way and just about made it to the fence - and then i watched as the mother flew onto the next fence along. After more encouragement, i saw the fledgling take more baby (flight) steps to the next fence. Some minutes later after they had made it into the trees at the end of our terrace, the mother returned and hopped onto the kitchen window, she cocked a head and then she was off...

Some random shots of spring.....

Sour Cherry Blossom and a little touch of Apple Blossom

Red Currants about to spring forth (they take a long time to get really sweet)

Bleeding Heart tempting the bees (the peony is out of shot on the right, but since moving her to a west facing position it looks like she will reward us with some blooms this year - fingers crossed)

We have the same bluebells here. I bet the came from Britain originally. Old garden flower here.

[mention]Bower[/mention] So the ones we seem to have are not the native bluebells but spanish bluebells. They do not have the same aroma as the native variety which is increasingly under threat with the hybrids. In truth, this variety is too prolific for my likeing so i have to be ruthless each year to cull them back. But, they still manage to multiply and as long as they don't take over I'm happy.

Peony is a favorite of mine [mention]Amateurinawe[/mention] good luck with yours. England has such pretty gardens in general and yours specifically is beautiful.

[mention]karstopography[/mention] Thank you that is kind, but this is all credit to my wife - she does the flowers, i do the fruit and veg and we both enjoy the outcomes...

My hand was forced, in my eagerness, I started too early. Some plants have to go outside but the next 5 days is quite unsettled weather. We have 50Kmph winds coming soon and still night-time temperatures close to freezing but by Sat 8th I think we have lows just about tolerable. I will give it a go, there are plenty more plants queuing in the greenhouse for some more space. So today we have put in the 20mm steel rods to be ready. It was a bit of a faff. When the wall was built it was backfilled with a lot of rubble and i think i hit some rather large paving slabs as a consequence - rod not going any further. However, the first bed is done and as soon as Mr Weather Man gives me a clear sign then i can release the first 16 into the wild. I hope we do get some warmer spells soon.

For those who suffer from a little OCD, and are concerned with the slight irregularity in height and alignment, and my wife is one of them, I'd just like to point out, that actually its not OCD but CDO - because that is the correct alphabetic order....!

Note: the cheap plastic greenhouses in the corner. I mentioned before how they fly higher than a kite in the winds and had an awful time in previous years when all pots were thrown asunder. This year, and knowing we have some high winds coming, i have driven some rods deep into the ground and bound the frame using tie-tags to these stabilisers. If they take off, the whole garden goes as well...so i don't think that is happening. Anyhow, I have a front seat view so bring it on

Sounds as if your plants are going to be rocking and rolling getting some thigmomorphogenesis when the storm comes!

Transplanted some of them exhibition carrots that are supposed to grow long into four foot drain pipes filled with compost [mention]Rajun Gardener[/mention] . Have no idea whether this will work or not but it is a bit of fun. The real problem is finding a pan big enough to cook them in if they grow....perhaps i need to build me a worth idiot grill and give them a good roast/smoke. (I can still taste brisket in my head....damm you [mention]worth1[/mention] )

After months of carefully balancing the avocado seed, skewered with two cocktail sticks , balanced half in and half out of a glass of water, we had growth. In two weeks this thing has rocketed in growth, you can see the difference in a day. I am going to have to have a teenage conversation with it soon. It won't be allowed out at night, not in our climate.

Just occurred to me people might not know what I mean by "the wall". Here's a shot which hopefully shows....
"I'm the king of the castle, you're the dirty rascal..."

How old is the wall? Interesting top on it.

2 days to go for planting the first batch of tomatoes. The spacing will be tight and crowded so to maximise root growth, and because the first batch are so large already, I think I shall lay the tomatoes, so the root ball is away from the vertical to encourage additional root growth along the buried stem. The plants look flexible enough to do this. In preparation I shall remove some lower leaves to give the plants a couple of days to heal any wounds before planting beneath the soil.

I had to do a slight soil amendment as PH a little high. I shall be watching and adjusting slightly as things progress. The weather though is in the lap of the gods, but I think we had the last frost last night and the world weather map forecasts a mild week.

There'll be no room for interplanting, but I might be able to squeeze something at the ends and middle section of the bed.

Bed number 2 needs prepping as well and I expect PH will be similar. Bed 3 will be shortly after that. Peppers, chillies and aubergines will stay longer in the greenhouse.

[mention]Growing Coastal[/mention] it's only a few years old. The bricks had to be sourced specially as we are in a conservation area so the wall had to be in keeping with the general look of the area. The amazing stuff is the massive concrete L shaped supports the wall is built against. Hence having the garden removed and then having to be backfilled again. It was fascinating watching the construction.

Amateurinawe wrote: ↑Thu May 06, 2021 1:36 pm After months of carefully balancing the avocado seed, skewered with two cocktail sticks , balanced half in and half out of a glass of water, we had growth. In two weeks this thing has rocketed in growth, you can see the difference in a day. I am going to have to have a teenage conversation with it soon. It won't be allowed out at night, not in our climate.

IMG_20210506_193146.jpg

All that water glass and toothpick stuff isn't necessary.
Just put the seed in the soil.

[mention]worth1[/mention] lol, it sat for months on the window sill