Since there’s now little point even attempting to post a Sunday safari I need to find something else to post about…
It’s difficult working because I don’t see daylight hours when at home, I can’t even comment on which birds are visiting my garden because I have absolutely no idea!
Saturday I had a trip to Dobbies with my mum and nan to check out the Christmas decorations and I wanted to pick up some seeds… Yes, that was the plan. Honest it was. It didn’t quite work out that way though sadly… I bought new Christmas decorations, as I’ve had the same colours for the past few years now… This unfortunately bumped up the cost immensely, so what should’ve been a £5 visit, turned into £60!
Ok so there were some very cheap ready made pots that I also bought, but they were only £5 and £7, so hardly much! (worth it just for the wooden pot and nice ceramic glazed pot) But I do have some nice pots by the front door now, one with herbs (Chive, sage, marjoram and thyme and the other with an assortment.
It’s difficult working because I don’t see daylight hours when at home, I can’t even comment on which birds are visiting my garden because I have absolutely no idea!
Saturday I had a trip to Dobbies with my mum and nan to check out the Christmas decorations and I wanted to pick up some seeds… Yes, that was the plan. Honest it was. It didn’t quite work out that way though sadly… I bought new Christmas decorations, as I’ve had the same colours for the past few years now… This unfortunately bumped up the cost immensely, so what should’ve been a £5 visit, turned into £60!
Ok so there were some very cheap ready made pots that I also bought, but they were only £5 and £7, so hardly much! (worth it just for the wooden pot and nice ceramic glazed pot) But I do have some nice pots by the front door now, one with herbs (Chive, sage, marjoram and thyme and the other with an assortment.
Deary me, it’s a dangerous place.
I also got a selection of 6 Hebes for £5, a pink Jasmine for the princely sum of £1!!!! Oh and an adorable tiny orchid destined for my desk at work – it may never make it though!! ;)
The seeds I bought were Harebells, field Scabious and Peas.
The weather today has been generally shocking, it did eventually clear up long enough for me to plant the Hebes I bought in some pots, pot up the Hellebores that finally arrived too and take a couple of quick snaps of things which caught my eye. Curse my procrastination and assumption that today’s weather would also be fine…
3 Hebes planted together just for the winter, I plan on putting them in the front garden next spring.
Single Hebe… I liked this one best… Only joking!
As I was working around the decking I noticed bulbs were coming up, and began to notice just how many were! Far too many, and even Tulips!
I think these might be snowdrops??
Iris – lots are coming up around the garden…
Tulip showing its head, far too early.
Because so many were coming up in the pots I decided to check the ground too, assuming there’s no chance they’re also coming up in the ground…
Well, I think you can guess I was wrong!
Some other random shots…
Tomatoes haven’t yet been cleared, I did attempt it today but my fingers were like blocks of ice, I couldn’t actually feel them anymore.
I ought to have picked them…
Sweetpeas are still here…
This Campanula has put in a second flush, a very welcome flush too!
Roses are still flowering, in future I won’t dead head at all!
A white Scabious, I didn’t know I had any, this must’ve only just opened!
Do midges ever die??!!!
Now I'm counting the days to the solstice, then I can breathe a sigh of relief knowing it'll be getting lighter...
Next Saturday is the beginning of the run in for Christmas, I'm off to Southwell for the annual WI carol service, I may attempt photos if the weather is nice. Then on Sunday I should be getting the Christmas tree...
I'm fully booked until Christmas now, and really must find my hair appointment card, I have no idea when I'm due!
24 comments:
Don't you just hate it when that happens? lol!
I did a similar last month when I went to buy two trees and ended up with another six large shrubs.
Have you checked out my Christmas Competition with Dobbies on my blog? Be sure to check it out and follow my blog as I will be running other competitions in the future with Dobbies.
Ryan
Hahaha -I'm off to the Podiatrist at Shuropody this afternoon and was planning to pop into Dobbies for a quick look round .....!!!
We managed to get outside yesterday afternoon to do some more on the tea house - have to get it weather tight asap. It was a bit chilly - I had 6 layers on at one point! :(
Great photos today Liz and, no, midges NEVER die - they are androids and can only be removed by squashing the mechanics to smithereens!
It's our doom, Liz. Whatever we plan to get, we don't!
I am sure you'll find Sunday Safari subjects soon enough again.
Just think of the macro shots those two pots at the door offer you?
And like you showed us already; new life is urging to get up to your lenses, albeit it with an unforeseen danger of cold still to come.
Great photos again and I'm looking forward to photos of the Jasmine in due time. (one of my favourites)
Hi Ryan, garden centres are evil, I'm just going to refuse to go again until spring - mind, I have no reason to now... Unless of course I just have to pick up some compost... Oh and some Daphne... Oh and....
Stop me!!!
Hi Liz, Don't do it!!! It's evil, seriously!
Not only is there Dobbies, but there's also Laura Ashley with far too many nice bed spreads, tableware and so on but there's also a Moshulu... I've been known to get a pair or two from there *whistles innocently* and also a farm shop with local produce...........
Sadly lots of places have shut down though, as there also used to be a craft shop.
I hope you manage to get your tea room watertight soon! I believe today and tomorrow are supposed to be clear - cold though... So get it done soon!
Midges are horrible things, fluttering around in your face... They weren't near the house, so no problem but very surprised to see them congregating in such cold weather.
Hi Yoke, I have a couple of possible posts left to do, but it really is getting desperate now... lol and no doubt rather boring!
Yes, indeed I could explore the different follage in the new pots, the heather will at least provide some interest during winter, but the herbs are likely to die away (although they may survive as they're under the cover of the over-hang.)
Perhaps the main issue at the moment is the weather, the high winds and sudden cold are not enticing me out to take photos, although a good frost may well!
I think the Jasmine may take a while before flowers, it's still only very small, and my much larger white Jasmine is now almost three and I've still barely got any flowers on it... It is growing nicely though!
Hi Liz, I went to buy one replacement bird feeder costing around £2.99 the other day and somehow managed to spend about £55 just on bird related things!! The garden centre in the Summer is just the same, I go in for one thing and come out with ten! It is much more sensible (and a lot cheaper) to stay at home and get HLH to pick things up, he always sticks to the list.
Anyway, I can see all the new plants are going to give you lots of pleasure and they sounded like quite a bargain.
How lovely that you still have some colour in the garden to cheer up these dismal days and I agree totally, it will be so good to get the other side of the Winter Solstice and gradually see the days lengthen. I often look at the clock around 4:30pm and think just a couple of months ago I would have been sitting or working in the garden or off over the fields with the dog, of course negative thoughts like that don't help but...
Lovely photos Liz and a great read.
Oh dear trips to the garden centre are never cheap unless you leave your money behind
I hear a lot about Dobbies but have still to discover one in this part of the world. Just as well perhaps - I would be tempted too :). It's scary how those just a few pence can soon mount up to £££s when temptation is in the way. Isn't it good to think that shortest day is soon on the horizon ?
Hi Liz....temptation got the better of you...welcome to my world. I have got to stop going, I spend way to much and buy what I do not really need.
Love your herb pots.....one of my favourite displays. I love cooking, so all mine are put to good use....
I cannot believe your bulbs are coming up. There is not sign of mine......I need them to stay below ground,......I do like to see plants at the right time. Do you??
I don't think midges ever die.....not in my garden they don't anyway.
Hi Jan, Oh no, you’re as bad as me!!! Ha ha, maybe we could make a pact to steer clear of garden centres for the next three months??
I made a promise to myself that I would only grow from seed, but that plan just isn’t working right now. What I secretly want as a Christmas present is a Dobbies/garden centre voucher to save me money!
Well I like to tell myself they were a bargain, but perhaps not…. Lol.
At least I know I definitely won’t be going back for a few months now, I have no plans at all to go until at least February or March so I should be fine.
I have an academic calendar at work, inside it has lots of random info in it and contact numbers… I regularly check the sunrise/sunset times… I need light, and I’m so tempted to start going into work later so I can see light before work…
By the time Christmas is here I'm sure it'll be much better, I have two weeks off so by the time I go back to work I should see quite a significant difference...
You got a lot of nice things in that center! A gardener can never have too many pots. I love the blue herb pot! Hebes look good!As for the bulbs, mine are showing their green tops too! TOOOO early! I think they are confused. Your December sounds very busy. Good luck!
Hi PG, Garden Centres really are evil... Luckily I don't go too often, I try to be self sufficient, but sometimes curiosity gets the better of me and I have to check what's out there to buy!
Fantastic post, I agree Garden Centres are VERY dangerous. It's impossible to stick to your intended purchase, especially when you go to the discount section. You have some wonderful finds, the first 2 pots are lovely and the tiny orchid is precious. Sounds like you had a fun trip. :)
Hi Anna, it really isn’t a bad thing that you haven’t yet found a Dobbies! No doubt you have garden centres near you though and I would always say go to a nursery before a centre as the plants will likely be better – also better for local economy.
I’m very happy that the solstice is very soon, it’ll be like a weight off my shoulders and things will begin to feel much more brighter for me as I watch the plants for signs of life :)
Hi Cheryl, I usually have rather good will, however I fell with the Christmas decorations and no doubt in my heart I knew very well that I would give in to the decorations there… I’ve managed not to for a couple of years of visiting.
I actually bought the herbs for my brother to use… I hate herbs and spices so I won’t be using them. Well, I’ll probably use the chives as I do like onions but sage and thyme will never make it into any of my dishes!
I have to agree and would much rather see the bulbs coming up when they should, I worry that at this rate I’ll have nothing coming up in Spring if they all get killed off before… As nice as it would be to have snow drops and Irises right now, I would much rather they came out in Jan/Feb/March as they should.
Hi Rebecca, Normally I would stick to buying plants online, this way at least I can keep track of the money, but sadly they also don’t usually have the same bargains!
And if I’m completely honest, going to Dobbies is becoming something of a girls day out for my mother and I, it’s nice to spend some time together without dad, boyfriends, brothers and so on… We can spend as long as we like browsing, chattering away, drinking cups of tea and so on!
Hi Tatyana, lol, I have far more pots than I could possibly need! I’ve been attempting to get rid of a few as they were lining the walls of the garden. And by planting these Hebes in pots I’m right back at square one again now…
But yes you are right, and especially as these pots are very nice. I’ve had to smash a few of my glazed pots trying to get plants out to plant them in the ground… Such a waste.
I love looking at my calendar at this time of year, seeing how busy it is, knowing I have lots of things to be doing and enjoying myself. The rest of the year is just depressing, but with the Christmas markets, craft markets and continental markets in the city it should give me lots of things to look at.
The bulbs are very confused, I’m especially surprised at the tulips as when I planted them they weren’t even beginning to sprout. Some were, like the crocus and were the reason I was in such a rush to get them in. But everything was fine and yet they’ve still come up…
...it's too late!!!
I spent a fortune in Shuropody on my custom-made insoles (but what a joy! I can feel the difference already!)
I then hit Cotton Traders (present for a friend), Laura Ashley (nice quilt cover for me!),Moshulu (present for 1st Born but severely temped by some boots for me!) Dobbies food hall (yum!)then Dobbies itself - fatal!
I got an orchid, some seeds and a few other bits and bobs ....£35's worth of bits and bobs!!!
I found 4 red candles with NOEL spelt out on them, but with no price on. The assistant got on his radios, saying "there's a woman at the counter with four candles....". Needless to say it prompted half the shop to launch into the full Two Ronnies "fork handles" sketch - brilliant! I chuckled about it all the way home! :)
Oh no Liz!
You’ve gone to the dark side!!! You’ll be lost forever…
Mmmm nice quilt from Laura Ashely… Luckily things are a little too girly in there and I feel it’d be mean to make Pete have a boudoir! So I never actually buy anything, but do like to daydream…
I steered well clear of Moshulu after spending far too much in Dobbies… Although I do seriously need a new pair of winter shoes, my current pair aren’t looking too good… I kill shoes too quickly walking to/from work every day.
We always have a jacket spud with chicken Caesar dressing… Next time I’ll have something different because I have had it the past 3 times now… Must have something different!
Orchid! Haha, I seem to come out with a new one every time I go. And what I find craziest is the tiny ones are far more expensive than the large ones!
Tut, tut… £35 of bits and bobs…
Did you check out the Aquarium centre, they have some fantastic displays in there with anemones and everything!
Hi Liz, I always love your photos. Hope the orchid makes it!
Hi Emma :)
Thank you very much! I haven't yet taken little Orchid to work... I'm telling myself it's too cold at the moment to do so, so it just *has* to stay in my house.
Uh-huh. Honest.
Sounds like a fun outing! My local gardening friends benefit from the garden center impulse buys that don't actually work in my garden.
And I love the photos of the orchid.
Wow...your photos are super fabulous..lovely closeups! Great post! I love all those awesome herbs..they look so beautiful! Wonderful blog..I enjoy my visits here!
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