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I think you are off to a good start. You aren't too late. Cut out any skinny scraggly looking branches that won't produce any apples.

Thank you for all your comments and advice. Rusty doesn’t pull much at all unless he’s hurrying to that perfect toilet spot or he sees another dog. The latter is when he can’t restrain himself, regardless of size of dog. If it has four paws then it must be barked at. I know we’ll get there eventually, but while we’re going to school we ought to follow their advice. So no head collar and no harness. I had a harness for my lovely BJ even though she didn’t really need it because I felt I had more control if necessary. Teacher says not yet for Rusty but I think I’m going to take things into my own hands very soon and do what I feel is right, ie getting very cross when he lunges and barks, then giving him a treat when he quietens down. And wearing a harness, possibly with a Halti too.

As for gardening I don’t even want to know today as it’s been raining heavily since early morning. There are puddles and mud everywhere. I do need to get on and do something as Him Indoors has widened all the borders. I’ve moved some plants but there are a lot more to re-site. They will have to be done in the spring now. Then we’re going to put the stone urn in the centre of the lawn which is a wavy circular shape. I felt the garden needed some focus. Sadly, in this tiny garden I can’t give free rein to my passion for plants and there are so many I’d like to have, hence the widening of the borders. Hopefully, my back will allow bending come springtime.

I want to wish all at GOY a wonderful Christmas and a healthy and happy NY. Enjoy life while you can.

first for long time here too Bloomer, hardly see it now kept it secret for him/her just eats the food :D

lol hi Bloomer , he is doing some work :D x

There are many “antipulling dog leashes” on the market that will effectively solve this problem. To find them just type what I have in between the quote marks into your search engine. To see how they work go onto YouTube and type in the same thing to get videos on their application and function.

I have some young Lonicera Baggesons Gold that I was intending to grow on for a short hedge which I don't need any more. You are welcome to them but I would have to ask for postage as they will be quite heavy. There are about 10 in 10cm square pots and they are desperate to be planted out or potted on.

Ah yes, Senecio, the shrub, very good workhorse, quite rapid growing, responds well to pruning, now reclassified and given the unlovely name of Brachyglottis - 'Sunshine' and 'Walburton's Dormouse' are the usual ones. If you have a Waitrose that sells plants, they always have this in spring/early summer at a relatively reasonable price, about £6 this year.

Thanks again folks,
Julien, the idea of protective stakes sounds good, my only hesitation is the general public do walk through & wooden stakes could vanish quickly, or worse, chucked around causing damage

Worth trying once once though.

Hebe are on my "get it" list, and senecio I hadn't thought of but having experience of it that also sounds must have

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I'll ask for his advice when he comes down at Christmas time Dawn .... we've been away to Poland Krakow for almost a week for the Christmas fairs it was so pretty I must get the photos sorted out to put on here ...

Never seen one for a long time either,Paul..lucky you :o)

Looks like he is all set for hibernation,Paul,or hiding from you .Lol x

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I organise my photos into their type. general folder ie bulbs the one for each genus I grow eg narcissus then sub folders for each one eg Jetfire. Am I a bit too strange do you think? No don't answer that haha.

Thankyou Shirley and Wildrose for your kind thoughts.

Do take care Linda.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for a healthy new year.

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Thanks, I will see to it :)

Interesting.

Enjoyed this blog Kate. What a lovely way to spend a birthday.

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It's frosty this morning, no snow yet though...we keep a snow shovel in the shed in case of snow, our road doesn' t usually get the gritter up it, so the people living here have cleared it in the past. I hope you don't get too much snow Paul.

Take great care of that elbow Linda ...

Is it time to dust off the sleigh yet Paul?

Thanks

Hope you have a lovely time, Paul and Hywel. I hope there's not too much bad weather, so that families can be together and share Christmas.

Thank you Linda! A glorious Christmas to you and your family.

Very interesting! I was amazed to see how big they can grow. In Mexico, they can grow to a small tree and glorious when in bloom.

Try to increase it's light exposure - as bright as possible short of direct sun. A little fertilizer would help too. Also if the pot is too big it won't bloom either. They prefer a tight fitting pot - almost root bound.

yes!

You've been shovelling ??

A very welcome sight :) I have just one African Violet and it hasn't flowered for several years. I can't even remember what colour it is. I used to have several of them but alas they have all passed over now. I don't know why the one I still have is surviving. It must be very tough.

It wasn't the only one weeping when I saw all the snow. My back!!

thanks

yeh it ain't much but it's blooming in December.

Thank you Linda, and the same to you :)

Such a dainty flower :) Very delicate looking ...

:( So depressing :( I hope it won't last long for you.

No wonder it's weeping under all that snow. It must be feeling very depressed.

Thank you both :)

That's what I hope to do with my photos also Balcony but it's going to take ages to go through them all. I will have to try and do them when they are new.
We didn't get any snow here last winter, except on top of the highest mountains. I don't remember any significant snow here for several years and I hope never again. I hate the stuff, it's so depressing.

how are your African Blackwood go? i am interested to come to see them. I am in London. Where do you live?

Thanks Shirley and Meadowland, just had an elbow replacement taken out because of infection in it and it fractured, so I have scaffolding in my arm until it's all clear, then I can have another elbow replacement put in early next year. Learning how to cope.....

A great monthly blog, Hywel! you have made a great calendar there! I love all the flowers you have chosen for it as well!

our computers must be very alike then as I have 1,000s of photos over many years. I like to reorganize mine into folders with their own names & years so I can look back at what I had flowering on the balcony, or in the flat, & compare dates & what was flowering when!

In fact did you know that this week last year we had snow? I'd forgotten till I saw some of last years photos of early December!

We DO have frost, they are used to.
The only on I'll take from the soil next march is the red one, because it came in a pot. So I'll move it to the pot during autumn and winter and move back to the soil next spring.
And now I'm curious, will buy different amarillys bulbs to plant next spring as well :)

I'm impressed. The ones I saved were deep in the ground, about 2 or 3 inches the big ones. we had to dig around to take it. When I moved it from the pot to the ground it already had buds, so We kept it outside, but the entire bulb went under the soil.

Congratulations, Dawn! That obelisk looks really good! I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it next year!

Beautiful snowdrops, Brian! :)

This bud has almost reached the height of the previous flower whose scape is about to keel over. It will probably flower in time for Christmas.

I have others alongside it that are at different stages in their growth. One in particular that has a twisted scape should flower about Christmas or the New Year. Others have buds in the neck of their bulbs & will probably flower at the end of January 2020.

Amaryllis should be planted with about half the bulb out of the compost otherwise they rot!

This one is further out of the compost than normal though!

As it seems these plants are native to Brazil you shouldn't have much trouble trying to keeping it alive - as long as you don't get frost!