Out in the garden today

It looks nice and tidy Pixi, makes you feel so much better when you can get out there for a while. The little plant is Lithodora Diffusa, I have the plain blue one.

Well done Pixi. You are braver than me..........it is so cold.
That chap at the bottom of your garden has turned to stone with the cold winds. :o))))

Thanks Annella..i should have labels womethwere in the shed lol..jsut finding them! :)
THanks Linda..yeah..needs a wooly hat? ;)

At least you got something done Pixi - I've been gonna put 30 iris bulbs in now for a week but the grounds too hard!!

well done you, more than i've done in a month!!!

Have done nothing in the harden since early Nov!!!

lol well the ground was like that the previous 2 days..bit soggy but not too bad :)

That is going to be something to look forward to,Pixi..good on you for getting out there..don't overdo it though..What kind of apples are they ? I keep toying with having one,but in a tub..a dwarf type,but haven't looked into what's available yet for my small garden.

Um I think Bramley? will check the label tomorrow..not going outside now in my jammies haha

Nice work Pixi :))))) I love your garden plants - remember seeing the video :))))))))))))))

Ah,cooking apples then.? wot..not going out in your jammies..not even for a ciggie ? Lol.Just watching a programme on Sicily..and showing pics of an artist called Carabaggio ? (spelling ) Beautiful !

you've been busy then Pixi, looking good, lovely plant that lithodora :-))

Thanks Paul..cant wait to see it all blooming agin! :)))))
Bramleys are cooking apples? oh..oh well i make lots of apple pies hehe :)))))) Caravaggio?
Yeah SL and my back is kiing me now! Just had to take some pain killers! Yeha one of my fav plants :))))

:-)

Even a few mins in the garden is good for us and it soon looks better after a wee bit of a tidy up, it can be a hard job planting trees and shrubs in soggy ground, I know that from experience, I have Lithodora here but no signs of any flowers yet..

Yes it is! THo my back hurt I felt good looking out at it this morning:) My soil is full of clay especially down the bottom fo the garden and very soggy. I put a drainage pipe in diagonally last year but seems to have little effect! :(

I couldn't exist without my Bramley apple trees, Pixi! That's why we hauled 3 of them out here in the car's roofbox to brave the frozen/baked wilds of the Appennines. Good choice, brilliant apples. Just think of all those scrummy pies!
P.S., I bet you end up having to move that tree in the corner - they spread quite widely.

Cool! It was Rick's choice he bought them for me.
Oh dear do they really grow so big????????? eek! :)

Well mine are on dwarf stock, Pixi, and they have a spread and height of about 2 metres and they are about 5 years old. Of course, you can always get the secateurs out!

Yeah Rick said to grow that one kind of along the fence! lol

I jsut do what I'm told...somtimes hehe ;))

Might be useful to look it up,Pixi..does it have a label telling you what root stock it's grafted on to,,and.is it supposed to be about time to prune ? I don't really know,as I don't have any fruit trees..or any other,for that matter ! Lol. I'm sure you would get some info on 'questions'..:o)

You have been busy, looking really nice and tidy though. Good to see Rick 2 is still standing and braving the cold :)

There was a good article on pruning apple trees in this months Gardeners World (well I'm pretty sure it was this months). If I remember rightly it suggests pruning quite hard in winter to stimulate good leaf production and growth. Not sure its a good idea to prune just after planting mind. I'll see if I can scan the article for you if you like.

Thanks all..apparantly they have to be left as they are..bought them pruned and buds are growing. :))))

Oh that's good..all sorted then....roll on apple pie time ! Lol.

Totally! mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! :)

Hi just joined the site & feel like im butting in but have to start chatting sometime. Lovely garden Pixi, I got out in mine this week & it felt so good. I have just ordered a mini orchard off of Ideal world, 4 fruit trees. one apple, one pear, one cherry & a plum. They come with tubs & are dwarf ones (well I hope so because I only have a small garden) £39.99 which I thought was a bargin. Should be here next week so hope weather stays good for this southern softy!!! Happy Gardening.

Hello, Willinilli, Welcome to Goy! That sounds like a really good bargain you got there. I hope none of them need pollinators! What varieties did you get, and how old are they? If they are in tubs they must be fairly well established. Loads of us on GoY have fruit trees, so you're in good company. Kent is supposed to be the orchard of England, so you're in the right place, too.
Pixi, Caravaggio's one of my all time favourite artists; a bit of a wicked wild boy, too, by all accounts! Sorry I missed that programme.

Gattina..the programme was a series on BBC 2 ,last one last night..but missed it and forgot to record it. duh! Called 'Sicily unpacked.'.Do you have I player,in Tuscany ? It has been so interesting,learning about Sicilian culture,apart from the obvious.:o)
Hi,Willinilli..and welcome from me too..and must say hi to you too,Pixi..seeing as it's your blog ! Lol..don't want you to feel left out ..ha ha.:o)

Welcome to Goy Willi!!!!!! good name lol.
That certainly was a bargain you got there!!!!!!!! wow!
Just join in..all welcome here :)))))
Yes Gattina me too..love his artwork. Hvaent seen the programmes tho as I;m out teaching every evening...so much to catch up on I player lol and here! Gah! sometiems there jsut arent enough hours in the day lol. :))
lol Bloomer..you dont have to do that :))))))))))))))))))))

Hi Gattina they are Conference Pear, Victoria Plum, Braeburn Apple & Sunburst sweet Cherry. The tubs looked quite big & they did say there was a good possibilty of fruit this year. I dont know much about fruit trees so will be bending your ear about what to do when they come.

Well i will take advice too never grown fruit trees before lol :)

Thanks Pixi Its one of my dogs names, Carmichan WilliNilli, but he's pet name is Willi, a right mummy's boy who loves helping me in the garden. Bet he will love the trees! Good job they are in tubs & he is too small to aim that high! lol

LOL! Aw you will have to post some pics of him! :)))

I will try, not too good with the computor might have to wait for my son to come home from Uni next weekend to show me how. Got lots of pics on my phone of my garden last year, just dont know how to get them off, lol

SHould have a lead with the phone? Plug it into phone and other end into comp..should take you from there. THen save in your pictures :)

The last tree I planted last year was a Braeburn, and I am a bit worried to see that it is covered in big fat blossom buds, just as the weather forecast is threatening last amounts of snow and a few heavy frosts, too. Do you have lots of other gardens around where you live, Willinilli? I only ask because you are going to need pollinators for your trees. I don't know about your plum, pear and cherry trees, because what we have are varieties that are suited to our climate, but all our apple trees are English. I can tell you that Braeburn and almost ANY pear tree will be effectively self-sterile, and any other pollinator needs to be chosen from a group that flowers at the same time.
We are currently making arrangements with a local beekeeper to put some of his hives in our orchard, and we are sowing as many wildflowers as possible close by, just to attract as many bees as possible, in the hope that they just might be carrying suitable pollen, but virtually no-one round here grows apple trees, so we have been careful to plant our own suitable pollinators. Seems to be working quite well so far.
P.S. I LOVE Victoria plums - when can I come a-visiting? ;o)))

After you saying about pollinators I tuned in to the garden bit on Ideal world to watch again what they said & they said they all dont need pollinators, so hopefully they will be fine. I too am worried about plants coming to life now when a bad frost or snow will damage or kill them, ready with metres of fleece! Your welcome to visit anytime but probably have a better crop next year, not expecting too much this year.

Give 'em a couple of years and you won't be able to eat all the fruit! A great way to get your 5 a day! So pleased Ideal World say they don't need any other mates. They must know what they are talking about.

Found this on you tube..might be worth watching

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUvQ_U5I3oU

This is what I am intending to do, though we do get bees here too. :)

I had a look at this, Pixi, and all the other clips of her advice, and they are all stored in my "Gardening" folder for future reference. Very useful! I found some beekeeping ones, too.

Yeah well I do hope all the bees come lol I dont really fancy pollenating every flower lol :)

Well done, nice to be able to get out....