Anna Key
Escaped through the hedge
Feeding the Birds
Posts: 435 
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Post by Anna Key on Sept 16, 2019 20:56:27 GMT
Been extremely dry here in East Anglia which is normally a phrase for it will rain forever now. But while it is so dry I will be taking a leaf out of GQT's book and using my homemade compost to lock in any water we get. I obviously cannot do this until we actually have some rain but as soon as it does I will be there.
I have taken a lot of trouble in making my compost, turning it regularly, adding Horse Manure in layers until. as the late Geoffrey Smith said, you could have it in sandwiches. So, It's looking and smelling good, in that it doesn't smell, and in the spring after a hopefully wet winter I will apply it. No digging in, just laying on the top so the worms can take it down. Meanwhile, I do have to water some of my newer plants and trees in order to help them establish
Looking after the soil and improving it with compost is my raison d'être
End of Boring Lecture. back next week for the watching grass grow tale
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2ndwitch
Escaped through the hedge
Posts: 154
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Post by 2ndwitch on Sept 16, 2019 21:08:20 GMT
I have read and reread the above several times, but I cannot find the boring bit. Can you provide a signpost? ;-)
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Anna Key
Escaped through the hedge
Feeding the Birds
Posts: 435
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Post by Anna Key on Sept 17, 2019 7:44:05 GMT
I have read and reread the above several times, but I cannot find the boring bit. Can you provide a signpost? ;-) So very kind. My grass, however is boringly continuing Not to grow 🥴 |
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Post by Mermaid on Sept 17, 2019 7:54:26 GMT
Ours is growing. We're wildlife gardeners. Mow the front garden about twice a year. Lot of wild flowers. (no such thing as weeds) Small pond with newts and frogs in back garden and in the spring a mass of lady smocks. A few flowers appeared some years ago and have multiplied so the garden is full of them.
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Anna Key
Escaped through the hedge
Feeding the Birds
Posts: 435
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Post by Anna Key on Sept 17, 2019 8:33:18 GMT
Sounds lovely Merms. I garden for birds and insects too and am so pleased to have a resident Hedgehog. I find the empty snail shells frequently. I do love a nice lawn. I don’t feel too badly because all of my neighbours have lots of ‘Wild Flowers’ in their’s
I have a wood pile and insect hotel, bird boxes and feeders. I always said the Birds cost me more money to feed than my little dog. I just wish we could have a bit of rain now.
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Post by Mermaid on Sept 17, 2019 8:41:11 GMT
We compensate for the majority of the other 13 houses in our cul de sac of which 10 have gravelled their front gardens.It's supposed to be open plan - but we have a hedge and a horse chestnut.
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Post by goodlookingone on Sept 17, 2019 10:54:35 GMT
There is a tree in our courtyard -
That Tree is why the pavings lifter and I tripped over.
That tree is why my kitchen floor is "Slopping"
That tree is also suspect of causing lack-of-flowaway, and my gutter overflowing
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Anna Key
Escaped through the hedge
Feeding the Birds
Posts: 435
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Post by Anna Key on Sept 17, 2019 11:11:00 GMT
There is a tree in our courtyard - That Tree is why the pavings lifter and I tripped over. That tree is why my kitchen floor is "Slopping" That tree is also suspect of causing lack-of-flowaway, and my gutter overflowing Has it got a preservation order on it? If not I would think it can be removed. How far is it from your property? Remembering root spreads out beyond the canopy. I hear the sound of Chain Saws 🤔😜 |
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Post by goodlookingone on Sept 17, 2019 11:33:33 GMT
The tree is nearer to my neighbours house than mine, but the roots aimed themselves to me. Doubt if it has a Preservation order. Would it confuse you, if I exolained that This town was Built by Commission fur the New Towns. So this estate has a mix of ownership (Councils of Essex, the three villages that formed this town, The various London Councils Rebplacing bomb damage), Houses for private sales, many administered by the Propprieters of the Businesses being encouraged to come here... and so on - So many owners are now renting out whenm they moved on.
When I worked, one of my jobs was with a Local Gov (not this one) but I recall there Parks dept Suggested to people who might want to Plant trees was: Plant the no nearer to a house/building that is tree two and a half times the height that the mature tree will eventually reach. That doesn't fit many Gardens...
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Post by Mermaid on Sept 17, 2019 17:22:38 GMT
Bonsai
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Post by Honeysuckle Woodbine on Sept 17, 2019 19:53:21 GMT
I'm in Essex as well and it's very dry. We're supposed to be drier than the Sahara Desert.
I'm on a hill which is mostly gravel over a seam of London clay. Before the houses were built, the developer sold the topsoil for almost as much as he paid for the land. It used to have sheep on it. We've added loads of manure but it hasn't done much good as it was so poor to start with. We compost as much as we can.
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Post by Honeysuckle Woodbine on Sept 17, 2019 19:59:32 GMT
I agree about trees glo. The council planted 2 little sycamores one each side of the corner of our road. One died despite my watering when it looked so sickly in it's first months, but the other is a 40 ft monster which ovvershadowd the house across the road.. and because it's opposite us, we get all the flamin' wings and leaves in autumn. I spend time going through our plants trying to get out the seedlings..
There should be a law about planting so close to houses. Neighbour has made endless complaints to council.
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Post by goodlookingone on Sept 17, 2019 20:28:01 GMT
Snaffling topsoil, Gravel, and Brick making clay .... Just thinking of the ex-RAF Fairlop - aka, Landfill, once the valuables were snaffled. You might know it as A Local Gov Sailing place using their remaining un-land-filled Scavaging pits....
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Anna Key
Escaped through the hedge
Feeding the Birds
Posts: 435
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Post by Anna Key on Sept 20, 2019 14:30:10 GMT
The young Builder working on a neighbours extension kindly came over and put my new Trellis on the wall. The old one, which has been here longer than us, which is 40 years, was falling off. He did a great job and wouldn’t take any money so I gave him a Bottle of Red and a bottle of Prosecco. Well worth it imho. Looking forward to my climbers climbing in safety next year
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judithl
So much post - Susan out of stamps
Posts: 1,275
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Post by judithl on Sept 24, 2019 20:26:50 GMT
We have some trees in the street which are quite close to houses, but they were probably planted back in the 1930s when the houses were built.
One or two have been felled, but there are still some plane and beech trees.
The nursery where I buy quite a few plants has a tree in the car park which has been there since the civil war. It has a preservation order on it, but the owner wishes cars wouldn't keep reversing into it.
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