Rain Rain, Go away

Ah yes, of course! Never thought of that. But what should one expect when taking plants out of their native environment? Always tricky.

Well there is photosynthesis...
I notice that the things that are native europeans grow happily in a wet Uk summer, but several of our tender summer plants come from places like mexico and s. africa where levels of sunlight higher. Things like cosmos and dahlias. These sub tropicals are not happy when skies are grey and rainfall high.

Plant growth is usually high in places with high rainfall. This is why Ireland is so green and why lush forest grows in the tropics (in spite of low soil fertility). We get high rainfall in west Scotland where I live and my work is cut out to keep pace with the growth in my garden. I wonder if other factors are affecting your garden and slowing growth, pinkscorpio?

i am so fed of constant rain. Nothing in the garden is growing. I've tried to be optimistic but last Sunday it rained so torrentially that I gave up and cursed, it seems to have worked, it hasn't rained since

At our monthly Fair Trade cafe today bought a Traidcraft greeting card with these words.
'He fills the Sky with Clouds and sends Rain to the Earth so that the hills will be green with grass' Psalm 147 v.8
over a beautiful picture of clouds,fields and wild flowers.

a gentle reminder to me when I moan about the rain.

I realised today I don't mind the rain too much because we've had lots of really hot and sunny spells in between. It would be different of course if we'd had the extremes and floods or if it rained for a whole holiday with kids. Because this current weather has been so prolonged, I've also got the clothing sorted with all over waterproofs and footwear for all day rain & walking with easy dry trousers and sandals when it goes from hot & sunny to wet and back again.

Yes, those darn trees do that, don't they when?
Every time I go down the garden path to the car at the bottom of the drive I have to walk under a plum tree and a flowering cherry - and they both dump their rain collection on me, every time!

I have been drenched three times today! Every time I get to the garden gate, the trees empty themselves over me as though someone was waiting with a bucket. The heating is on, I've made some soup, and put my dressing gown on as my clothes were dripping when I came in. Roll on tomorrow for more of them same

Still pouring in soggy Cheshire. The brook at the end of the garden is a raging torrent all the time this so-called summer.

For the last couple of hours we have had glorious sunshine with towering clouds building in all directions. I think we must have been in the middle of one of those low pressure swirls again. I've been out in the garden cutting back some of the lush growth in certain corners and deadheading roses to encourage second flush. While cutting back some soggy ground cover geranium disturbed one of my frogs. Who needs a pond when the garden is a soggy slug filled jungle.)

Sun? Is that that funny light in the sky? I loathe gardening but even I can see that the brambles suddenly seem to have a life of their own and are spreading like triffids across our lawn. I just hope that all the wild growth will attract butterflies and other creatures - useful ones! - so if/when the sun does put in an appearance I won't feel obliged to rush out with secateurs in hand rather than using said hand to hold a glass of wine as I amble to the lounger

I have an amazing assortment of mushrooms/toadstools at intervals at both the front and back of my house....all different

- even one of my pots of tomatoes has some in it, don't know how they got there!

Wet and cold here, central heating has been on two mornings running. Everything soggy, the potatoes have blight, some courgettes to pick, everything else growing but either no flowers or flowers not setting. OH says mushrooms will be early so he will be off to the forest all day soon.

I think I'm hallucinating most days! The things people tell us to believe? They can't be real!
Can they?

There is a good free app for identifying fungi on ipad

the stories i could tell about people I know taking magic mushrooms. Never fancied hallucinating myself!

I used to have two great books on fungus identification but OH took custody of them when he slung his hook.

I think mushrooms have pink/ brown gills and death cap white! But don't experiment unless you've had them checked. Death cap is aptly named!

Death cap is very similar

Annobel If it looks like a mushroom and smells like a mushroom........
Doesn't mean it's a mushroom!!

Did you risk eating them, Ella?

Well they made a fairy ring!

I have a short wall at the front of my house, with plants and grasses. Last week I picked at least 2 lbs of mushrooms. They were beautiful and looked exactly like the edible ones in the supermarket!

Are they magic mushrooms?

Mixed bag of weather here again..have risked some washing on the whirly-thing

garden folorn! Still waiting for the workmen to start to take up last of the concrete paving slabs and prepare the ground and lay new paving stones.

Few plants doing really well... the toadstools are now colonising the whole of the grass and there is no way of getting rid except digging up all around them...they are everywhere