Windy weekend

Its been REALLY windy this weekend. yesterday was rainy too but i went to my nans rather than go outside in the garden. She has some huge ferns which she wasn't to keen on - the kids call it the jungle! But lots of roses as well. Quite pleased that i can now name a lot of common garden plants. I couldn't fine her camilla though. I think I know what the flowers look like but not so sure about the leaves.

Today we did a little bit in our own garden. I planted the last of the hanging baskets with petunias. Mr L watered and fed the flower beds and the lawn and the tomatoes. I tied the clementis on the back fence up a bit. Its taken a real battering in the wind and didn't look too happy in its spot at all. In general the back bed is looking OK. the ferns are beginning to fill out - even if they aren't at nan's proportions yet. The 2 nicotiana from last year have grown with avengence. So they were perennial after all. they were almost completely bent over this afternoon though in the wind. not happy at all. I thought about staking them, but I'll see how they look when the wind stops. The lilies have a few beetle holes but they are generally OK and its not got worse since i went on pest control and killed a couple of beetles. The laurel trees seem to be doing OK as well. The green netting i put up really does provide some shelter from the wind at a low level. Also it is protecting that bed from the wild grasses and meadow that is now behind it in the park. A few brambles were trying to climb their way in. I could do with going into the field and cutting them back if i get a chance. Some people further down the road got into trouble for mowing the grasses in the field though as its meant to be kept as a wild meadow.

The plants in the two main flower beds were getting a bit of a beating from the wind as well. I thought of doing some more staking but didn't in case it breaks the stems. The campanula in the cottage bed is coming out. One Delphinium got broken but I've got that in a vase in the house now so that's OK. There is a rouge red geranium in that bed that will need moving but i have a spare pink one from an old hanging basket to replace it.

In the hot bed a few things are beginning to come out. There is pink lupin which is meant to be red! The daliahs are beginning to come above ground now that the slug population has been seriously reduced. The popies come out but only last a day or two befine they get rain / sun / wind damaged.

The new mower is fab. It was definitely worth buying. Mr L mowed the grass earlier and none went in the flower beds. It also cuts the edges a treat. So it was worth getting.