Afore the storm

[Palustris]

We have been forecast a downpour and gale force winds. Thought you might like to see my favourite view before it is ruined.

[greenfinger]

Apocalypse in paradise,
Reminds me of the plantswoman Margery Fish, who wrote about good intentions staking the bigger plants but always "forgot" to do so in time. I experience the same memory problem in my garden, but I get the impression I'm in good company.

[ideasguy]

We have been forecast a downpour and gale force winds. Thought you might like to see my favourite view before it is ruined.

It certainly is a lovely view Eric, but not much you can do in such circumstances.

I've read about that predicted downpour. The Daily Express has the headline:

Today is wettest day for 50 years

Strange headline, a newspaper predicting the future - it hasnt actually happened yet. But, since it is now midday - whats happening in Berghill?

[Palustris]

It is raining, stair rods as they say in some places, cats and dogs in others and arrows and spears as they say in France. It has been since about 4 a.m. Just when you think it will stop, back it comes just as hard. Only been as far as the woodshed for some fiire wood. It is next to the hen run. They are all in their wellies and rain coats and splashing in the puddle which used to be their run. The wind is medium rather than strong, so far, so it is not doing much damage. The rain has knocked down the foxgloves near the house, but they were almost over anyway. It would be a very damp excursion to go look at the rest of the place. It has not stopped the birds from feeding, so spent a bit of time watching them, quite amusing really.

[ideasguy]

So far so good, Eric. I'd be afraid of airborne debris during a storm like that. I once found a sheet of glass from my greenhouse about 12 feet away. That's scary!

[Palustris]

We have not had the really strong winds forecast for the Irish Sea, so that is OK. Still raining. One of our greenhouses will have to be emptied and worked on. The last lot of really bad wind bent it. Now a lot of the glass is cracked and I cannot get it back in because the aluminum is distorted. We have shade netting over it, not for the shade, but so that at least when the glass blows out, it does not spread itself all over the garden!

[ideasguy]

Has the storm passed? How did you and your garden fare?

[Palustris]

We have been very lucky really, looking at the TV pictures. The only difference between Sunday and today, after the rain, is that the white flowers in the middle are now floating in the pond! The rest of the garden is pretty much as it was. The main damage is to some tall campanulas, which always fall over even in a normal summer.
One of our daughter's friends garden is now 20 miles down river!

[ideasguy]

I'm sure you are counting yourself as very lucky. Some of the TV scenes were absolutely scary - the story of the man who died, stuck in the drain, was appalling.

Did the white flowers get uprooted? What were they?

RE:

One of our daughter's friends garden is now 20 miles down river!

Dreadful 
That would be soul destroying.

[Palustris]

Aruncus dioicus. The flowers just came off and went into the pond which is behind them Happens every year, but not usually as quickly as that!
I will get the net out and dregde them out tomorrow. Today I have mostly been putting the knocked over and/or finished stuff on the compost heap. Got a mound the size of Mt Everest of stuff to shred too. Bad time of the year really, the Forsythia and the Buddleja globosa and the Philadelphus and etc. all need cutting down after finishing flowering. Always have a huge pile about now. It all goes on the borders as mulch.

[ideasguy]

Ah yes, the Goats beard. Yours were making a fine statement. You had them well presented and working very well as a specimen plant.
I'm very fond of my Philadelphus 'Virginal' as I grew it from a cutting - one of my very first successes in propagation.
I later called it "beginnners luck" as it took me a while to get more young plants from it. I gave one to my son for his garden.
Do you have that one? It has very heady scent, and masses of clusters of small double white blooms.
Pics will flow soon, as soon as I get this web page generator update completed.
Incidentally, mine has only started to bloom (here in Ireland). You must be a few weeks ahead in England - probably a warmer climate.

Question about shredding. Do you put the freshly shredded material down as a mulch?
B. globosa and Forsythia are good wood producers! Very popular over here as well.

[Palustris]

Shreddings are bagged and kept for a few months before using. Some types go as bedding for the hens rather than mulch.
We have Philadelphus  Belle Etoile, Schnewitzen(?) Sybille(?) Beauclerk, plus another double one whose name is lost, but probably Virginale. P. microphyllus, P. coronarius Aureau and possibly another one called something like Enchanted. Bicolor may be here somewhere too.

[ideasguy]

Thanks for the info on when you use your shreddings.

Thats an impressive collection of Philadelphus, Eric.
Have you photos of them?

How many hours do you spend working in your garden each week? It must take a lot of work.

[Palustris]

Probably got photos, but heaven knows where.
We reckon, between us, we spend about 8 hours a day in the garden, seven days a week. It is one advantage of being unemployable. You can spend as much time as you like on the things you like, as long as they do not cost too much money.

[ideasguy]

RE

We reckon, between us, we spend about 8 hours a day in the garden, seven days a week

Now, thats what I call dedication 

By some co-incidence, my work colleague brought in two pieces from his 2 varieties of Philadelphus.
One has 2in open flat, single flowers, carried upright in clusters on the end of the stems, and I've double checked - it has a mixture of flowers with 4, mostly 5, and one with 6 petals. They are quite fresh, so no "missing" petals.

The second has clusters of pendulous flowers, with multiple clusters along the stems. All have 4 petals.
They are shy - all closed, measuring 3/4 in across and 3/4 in deep, so if open fully would be about the same size as specimen no 1.

Leaves are noticably smaller than those of speciman No 1.

Both are white flowers with white anthers with a gold tip.

He tells me his mother-in-law grew the latter specimen from a cutting taken from the bouquet from his wedding.
She planted it for them when they moved to their own house. Referred to as Brides Blossom here.

Ive now put a few cuttings into water here (drooping rapidly). One of my other colleagues is taking a few home for his wife to root up. I'll take a few as well.

Hope to get photos of the parent plants.