Sedum,'Purple Emperor' from Carole(P.Potter) .:o)

It's a beauty.

Yes I like that.

Nice one.

Thank you Girls..I like the fact that it doesn't grow as tall as the other Sedums ,and has spread out more..it was only very small ,when Carole gave it to me,last year..so I overwintered it,before planting out in May.fully hardy,so it should be fine there..It will be finding it's way into other borders I have :o).

Wow it is so pretty and fits in so nicely with the Begonias Sandra, yours is ahead of mine which is only just budding;0)

Can you believe how big it has grown since planting out,Carole? although it split as I was planting it,and I was surprised it rooted so easily,as I just bunged it in,and hoped for the best..so there are actually two in that bed..It gets lots of sunshine in the front,so that might be the reason..or it's a Yorkshire thing ! Lol.

I find that all sedums are so easy to root, with the bigger sedums I usually cut the to head off and put it in the soil and it roots so easily, great plants;0)
im just going to relax now there have been 9 of us this afternoon, SImon, Clare and children and Rob and carers, plus Harry and I all needing food and drink!

I love grey foliage as it seems to really go well with so many other plants around it. This bed looks lovely.

Lovely Bloomer!

Cor Carole..... you're a glutton for punishment, at least its cooled down a bit! is this the sedum you sent me? it's not flowerd yet, and the leaves are green... love this one :-)

Val the Sedum I sent you was Sedum Joy, one of the larger sedums with large flat flower heads and green leaves;0)

Another busy day for you Carole..but nice to have your family around you..we had ours this afternoon too..:o)

Thank you Chris.That is one of two little Hebes I bought earlier in the year,but the name escapes me,till I check the label..I am awaiting the small white flowers it says it should have,but maybe it will give me a miss this year..

Love the dark leaves of your Sedum Bloomer, very pretty and good that you now have two from the one plant always great when that happens :o)

Thanks Carole for the info. Will PM you in the next couple of days,don't think I'll be doing any gardening for a few days... rains back with a vengeance! :-(

Thank you Neena..I love it too..I didn't know there were dark leaved ones till Carole gave me a cutting..it contrasts so well and a change from the green leaved ones..of which I also have a few of..Nice that this one is summer flowering,and the others later on in the season though :o)

Super plant Bloomer, I love dark leaved plants :o)

Me too..you do need a change from green sometimes..:o)

Absolutely, I do have a lot of brown leafed plants here though :o)

Oh Pretty! Gimme!
Sorry, that sounds awful, but you know what I mean. I hope.

My sentiments exactly,Gattina..if Carole hadn't offered ,I would have said the same:o)

So you're as bad as I am, then! We must be a couple of old reprobates.

Yes,both of those ! :o) We have just been to stay with friends in Lincolnshire..and managed to drop not so subtle hints about how nice her blood grass was..so came home with a clump of that,a Fuchsia cutting,a small cucumber,and some tomato's :o)..If you don't ask,you don't get ! Lol...Damn..I forgot about the lettuce !

You've got this system sussed, haven't you?
What's blood grass? Probably what I cut my thumb on when I was pulling weeds and grass out from between the raspberries on Saturday: I cut my thumb so badly that on my way back from the bathroom, and 4 elastoplasts later, I discovered a trail of blood, all down the stairs, across the hall, and up the garden path. THEN I felt faint. It was a good excuse not to do any more weeding, though!

It's called Imperata Red Baron,Gattina..impressed ? Lol.
I just googled it,as I couldn't remember....so sorry to hear you cut your thumb badly..they never seem to stop bleeding,do they? I hope it's ok now..:o) x

I AM impressed, Sandra, but then, it doesn't take much..........Thumb much better, thanks, but still throbbing, and because the darned sticking plasters don't stay stuck for a moment, the cut keeps catching on everything. That's why I'm not doing the washing up, either ;o) (or the ironing, or the dusting)

So,that's yet another ruse to get out of the housework,is it? I'm sure your OH has got you sussed as well !..my devious scheme is always to go in the shower first,so I don't have to wipe it down :o).x

My OH wouldn't understand the term "Wipe the shower down." or "Use the loo brush". Or, come to that "Put the crockery away as you empty the dishwasher." In fact, I'm surprised to learn that he speaks English at all, which is why I don't feel too guilty about the washing up.... :o)

Ha ha,Gattina..I'm sure he pulls his weight in other household tasks..and admit it,you wouldn't have him any other way,whether he speaks English or not...the raised eyebrows and tut tutting,are universal :o)

His or mine?

Actually, if you go into any small town round here during the morning, you will find bars and the pavements crowded with groups of little old men, standing round, looking lost. It took us a while to work out that this is a retirement area, and the little old women kick the l.o.m. out of the house/apartment to stop them getting under their feet while they're doing the housework. I asked my friend Serena if this was true, and she howled with laughter, nodding all the while. We worked out that this doesn't happen so much in the UK because daytime television is better, or British women, in all but the worst weather, can send their OHs up the garden "to do something useful". (actually, it's more likely to be self-imposed exile)

Both,Gattina ! Lol..and what's wrong with going out in the worst of the weather,may I ask ? the snow has to be shovelled by someone,and it ain't going to be me! ..I have to get my daily fix on here,so no way am I going to do anything life changing....I might just flick the snow off the plants,in a nonchalant manner..more befitting of a " Lady " ? ,don't you think ? :o))

You're right, snow shovelling is definitely not a job for us girls, EXCEPT when his Lordship knocks the 18" caps of snow off the flowerpots with a metal-edged snow shovel and chops all my dormant plants down by the same amount. This winter I shall stay indoors and direct him and his excesses using a loud-hailer while making mugs of hot Bovril. It's what I do best.

That's my girl! we had mountains of snow piled high in the back and the front,which remained long after everyone else's had disappeared..! I think he was reminiscing about the 1953 days,of Sherpa Tensing and Everest :o) ..but help was at hand in the form of a two year old and a trowel..he was three before he finished :o))
but he did get a sweetie as a reward..and a long,long sleep !..I wasn't that cruel really,as I did go out and flatten it so he could reach ..:o)

I'm a little confused here - I take it you gave the long sleep and the sweetie to the three year old rather than OH? That sounds a bit discriminatory.
I shall have to go and put the kettle on in a bit - my OH (no 3 year olds to help him) is out in the hot sunshine, transferring a HUGE pile of firewood into emplacements built of old pallets, all down the drive, and will be in shortly to fall asleep in front of the athletics. It's hard to think of winter at the moment, but today's an important high-summer holiday here, and we need to finish all our tasks before we feel able to do chill out and do a bit of dozing on sunbeds.

Not discriminatory at all,Gattina..OH is big enough to get his own sweetie..and like your OH,nods off when he has the TV on..but only in short bursts..if I turn it down,it is always "I was watching that" ..erm ,no you weren't ..!
Big three year old,can now reach the sweetie drawer himself..but always asks nicely first ..aw,bless..how long will that last,i wonder? :o)
I hope all your wood is safely gathered in now..time to chill :o) x

Sadly, OH has still got quite a way to go with the firewood - he's been stacking all day, poor old soul, and probably has as much again to do. We aren't entirely sure that there isn't another half lorry-load to come, either. We order the firewood back in late winter for the following year, and it always takes us by surprise when it arrives at the hottest time of the year - at least it dries it out perfectly before we start to cover it against the damp of late autumn. We have to order early, or, like our blasé friends found out, there will be none left and they'll have to rely on incredibly expensive GPL gas central heating. The forestry commission (or the Italian equivalent) will only allow a certain percentage of husbanded woodland to be cut each year, and if you aren't quick off the mark, it'll all be sold by April/May - THEN you're in trouble. You have to stack it all properly, too, because if left lying around in a heap, it blocks roads and causes accidents to people, pets and wildlife - you try re-housing a newly hibernating hedgehog just when you disturb it because the stove needs filling!