There's some good news in the garden!

WHat a shame K..never mind there are still lots of things in your garden..love that Wisteria!!!! WOW! :)

The Wisteria makes up for all that, the apple blossom is wonderful and Coco's a stunner.

After what you have been through Karen it must have given you such a good feeling to see the Wisteria in your own garden, its fabulous, I know its a shame about the lost ones but you'll be able to replace them or even have something different you'll no doubt see a lot more emerging , its a great time of the year, Coco is looking a bit wideyed,lol....

Its nice tohave the happy ending after the poor frozen plants, that wisteria is glorious....as is Coco.....

Why do the apples never set fruit?

oh that wisteria is so beautiful and how lovely to see coco again!!
that apple tree looks good too, lots of good news ~ but mostly that you [and coco] are back!!!

loving that wisteria, absolutely wonderful...

Yes, and here's me with not a single flower on mine again... but I'm sure it will be worth the wait! Wonderful!

Wonderful wisteria .. and welcome back Coco :o)

And me Karen mine is not showing any signs of growth yet.

Absolutely stunning wisteria. Coco's gorgeous too!!

I waited years for my first flowers on my Wisteria......it is wonderful. Mine is pink and it gives me such a lift at the start of the year.

So glad you had the lovely Wisteria to lift your spirits,Karen..and to see Coco again,is worth more than lost plants..even though it must have been sad..maybe you will have some new ideas to replace them..so a lot to look forward to :o)

I almost cried when I saw that Wisteria - took the plunge, dug mine out and binned it last week - just can't be arsed with the hoping/wishing anymore.
You have lost quite a few but I'm sure there are plenty to make up for it and all those trips to the market - the stall holder will be very pleased to see you are back :)))))

So true, everyone...you can't stay down-hearted for long, with such a beautiful tree in the garden :)))

I don't know how old it is, but there's an ancient French garden hoe imbedded in the trunk...the old gardener must have hung it up in what was a fork and the tree grew around it.

I've been very strict with it, since when I first tackled the garden it was sending out lateral shoots just below ground, which circled the perimeter three or four times! It looks like Camille really took it in hand, last November, too.

The apple blossom's lovely too...I bought them in Lidl early last year - then when I looked them up, I discovered that they were of a type which needs three trees - and I only bought two!!! I think one of them's Jonagold? and I can't remember the other...Never seen them since! Does anyone know anything about triploids?

As for the casualties...c'est la vie - and it's market day tomorrow...will look for something more hardy this time (since I will still have to visit my poor husband from time to time in the winter months).

And CoCo says 'hello' to you all...in several different voices, with accompanying whistle of 'The Archers' theme tune!!! :)))

Triphids clone you and......

...you and? ...Yikes!...anything other than apples, I think, Pim! lol! :))

I'm going for loads and loads of perennials now, J...(which has just made me realise that that unidentified crater I noticed earlier used to be my Jerusalem Sage...urgh)

The roses are all looking very, very healthy - there are even a couple of buds on one of them...

...and Apollo was very welcoming - none of his bits had fallen off! XXX

Days? Months of pleasure ahead, J!!!!

...well, I have to keep my boy happy in his surroundings! lol! XXX

Lol!

Lol! That Wisteria is amazing Karen, can you post a pic of the old garden hoe in the trunk please hun :o))

i was wondering that too ~ please karen

'Fraid not, girls - it's not there anymore...but I'll post a pic to show why! lol!

Pitty about the plants that died, but that wisteria is gorgeous .... I hope some of the others will recover. Hope you're settled back in France now :o)

Thanks Hywel! It was a bit of a shock finding so many of them gonners...but, I've been out and about and I'm by no means the only one to have suffered...so, time for a change of tack, I think... :))

So pleased your story had a happy ending, the Wisteria is wonderful, was it an exceptionally cold winter this time, I thought you lived in a warm region of France, will you buy more of the same or change your planting?

It is warm here, Dd2, normally. We do have seriously cold in the winter, but not like this year (I've lost so much)...

...so, yes, changing my planting...

...am just going to do the sensible thing - and go French!!

Look at this link to find pollinators for your apple tree Karen. I love the wisteria It is just such a welcome sight. I'm sorry to see your garden looking so devastated but it will soon revive now you are back to look after it. I'm still playing catch up. http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/fruit_veg_mini_project_september_2b2_apple.asp

I'm out there now, Sg - it's a bit blustery but at least it's not raining! I've just come in for a break and had a look. I've noted all the names of the triploids - I'm sure that the nursery can probably order one for me. Thanks for that! :)

If you remember that Jonathon was mentioned then all of the trees in the groups before and after as well as the ones in the same group should all work together to get you some fruit. It may be that other apple trees in neighbouring gardens could be pollinators for your tree. I did not know that it could take a tree + 2 others to produce fruit on some varieties so I have learned something new. I bought a braeburn mini tree in Aldi or Lidl, cr which this year. Fortunately it is self pollinating.

I got mine in Lidl two years ago, Sg, and am attempting to espalier them on a fence. There are dozens of apple trees around me, though -so there maybe is a chance of getting some fruit after all!

I thought that was a very good site because it told you how to grow, prune etc as well as about pollinating groups. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. I bought my daughter a Gravenstein apple tree and it turned out to be a less well known variety. She has had great success with it and the children think it is wonderful to be able to grow fruit they can eat.

Lidl had them in again today - £4.99 - got 2 Jonagolds...that should more than cover it!

I think if you already have jonagold then you would need 2 different ones to pollinate the tree. I did not know that a triploid tree needs itself and two other different varieties to get you fruit. I hope I have not misled you. If you go back to the link I'm sure it is saying that Jonathon is in Pollination Group 3. To get fruit you also need 2 different named varieties from Pollinator Groups 2, 3 or 4. It may be that some of your neighbours have trees in those groups which are not Jonathon and they will hopefully do the business for you. I was going to copy and paste the named varieties but they are copy right so you will need to check it out again. Sorry about that. If Lidl are selling triploid trees it is quite possible that you will be able to get two different varieties from the choices on offer. If all others have been sold out keep your fingers crossed that it is someone reasonably local who has bought them and you can benefit from that.

Ah! I read it like I need three triploids!!! No problem, Sg! I'll just check the factsheet and varieties again, then take them back and change them...they've got a few to choose from :)

I'm glad to hear they are as good as Lidl here when you have a problem.

They're great, Sg...no problems exchanging anything. I love that shop.

I bought a sewing machine from them last year and can't believe how good it is! A fraction of the price of my very expensive (and broken) Husquvarna Viking...in fact, it was less than the cost of the repair...

We love them too. When my daughter was doing her year in industry she went to a small village near Nustenbach in the Neckar Valley. Both Aldi and Lidl have their HQ near one another. It was our first experience of either shop and every time we went in we asked when were they coming to Scotland. They arrived a couple of years later and as you say no problem with quality and if something breaks down or as was the case when I bought a small tow along vacuum cleaner we could not get the spare parts we were given a refund. Guarantees for three years is a bonus as they honour it throughout the whole period.

Everything electrical has a three year Guarantee under EU law SG...Some retailers would rather not let you know it though.

Really. I did not know that.

I didn't know that either...thought it was one - or at best two. All those things I've thrown away...

I think having had a look there might be a catch. Some retailers are saying after the first 12 months you have to prove there was an inherent fault in the product, and that could be hard, whereas if you have the receipt both Lidl and Aldi have a guaranteed refund policy, something that I have never come across before.

Very interesting

Sorry it's 2 years..not 3.

No, what happens is the retailer tries to tell you that they have a 12 month guarantee after that you take it up with the Manufacturer. that is NOT the case as your contract is with the retailer..White goods have a 2 year guarantee.

"Secret" EU law that gives consumers a two-year guarantee on goods

EU law that gives consumers a two-year guarantee on goods is a well kept secret among retailers

Shoppers with faulty goods are being routinely denied repairs or replacements because they are not told about their rights under a guarantee scheme.

EU law creates a minimum period of two years in which a faulty product can be returned, and in England and Wales the figure is six years.

But many High Street stores are denying customers these rights, either because the staff don't know the law or because they think they can get away with it.

Generally, retailers hide behind the offer of a standard one-year guarantee and refuse to do anything when this lapses. Consumer experts say this means they are failing to abide by the law.

Most shoppers are in the dark about their rights and often simply throw out a faulty product.

At one time, household products were manufactured to last, but the industry can now make more money by churning out 'junk products' with a short lifespan.

Chris Warner, consumer lawyer at Which?, said: 'While it is true that the EU consumer rules mean stores should repair or replace an item that breaks inside two years, the Sale of Goods Act affords consumers protection up to six years from the date of purchase.'

He said the existence of one-year manufacturers' guarantees can confuse the situation. This is because stores wrongly deny any liability when these lapse.

'I don't think it's too cynical to say that retailers have been happy to let consumers think they have only a year's guarantee,' he added."

Source Which Legal Dept. Makes you think about all those un needed extended guarantee's they flog you!!!

***EU law creates a minimum period of two years in which a faulty product can be returned, and in England and Wales the figure is six years.****

Thanks Pimp

lol..Karen's Advice Page..

No one sells me a dodgey washing Machine and gets away with it.

Lol!!!

I hadn't a clue about this,Pimms..thank you..and we never take out their extended warranties..another money spinner for them too..what a con..

We're the same, Bloomer...but it's strange how often they seem to break down just a month or two after the two years have elapsed...

The powers that be will be shutting us down for inciting consumers to stand up for their rights. lol.

Just knowing your rights is what it is about. Most store assistants genuinely don't know either. If in doubt go to trading standards dept...They do act.

They phoned me up at my shop once asking if I would "re-consider, my returns policy, just this once."
"No." said I.

Joe public is just as bad at ripping retailers off.

So.....I'm filling a container...

So far, I've got 5 strimmers, two lawn mowers, a fridge freezer and a vacuum cleaner...all dead (and all mine)...

...headed for Lagos, Nigeria!

...which is where all the 'leading' retailers send their dud returns...

Fancy cutting out the middle man, anybody?? ;))))

PMS...And they get them working again!!!

True!!!!

OH would fit in well then. Everybody brings their US stuff to us in the hope that he can use said item as spare parts. He does not believe you need to throw anything away - it is all fixable. We could have made our fortune as scrap dealers over the years.

I went back to Lidl today with the apple trees, Sg...The had three different varieties - Jonagold, Elstar and Schone Van Boskoop. So I swapped on of my Jonagolds for the SVB and kept the other as I already have an Elstar from last year. Haven't checked yet but am hoping that, as they sell only those three, they will work together.

You are okay with all your apple choices I think. Elstar is a group 3, and so is Schone van Boskoop. It is known in Holland as Belle be Boskoop and has an AGM from the RHS. I'm looking forward to seeing all your beautiful apples.

Woohoo! So am I, Sg! Thank you for all your advice! :)))

Your welcome