May Day

[adesmith]

I know its a day early but I thought I would start off a May Day thread. At home because I finally went down with the dreaded sickness bug that both Rachel and Rupert had had (Rachel was off work yesterday). I am lucky though because I was poorly last night and so I feel a bit better this morning and I have had a piece of toast and half a cup of coffee. No way I could go to school without knowing for sure that I was going to be ill again and obviously I had a very broken nights sleep. So here I am, my first day off sick in 3 years and feeling bad for not being in work! Rachel is exasperated.

Anyway, I am hoping that I am going to be fit and well to enjoy the long weekend. I am going to go to the garden centre tomorrow to see about buying some summer plants and I have lots to do in the garden. I have been nagging Rachel all week to come to the amphitheatre in Caerleon to see the Morris Men welcome May Day at dawn (5.20am) and she has been very firmly saying no its too early for a Saturday. Now I am going to concede defeat because I dont think I will want to get up early after being poorly. I will however insist that she washes her face in the early morning dew! On Monday we are planning a trip possibly to the Roman Legionary Museum because they have an event on and then maybe up to the White Castle for a picnic. It is lovely there, in the middle of nowhere and the most spectacular views from the tower.

Has anybody else got plans for the weekend? Lets hope that the weather stays nice for us all!

[Kath Mulligan]

I will however insist that she washes her face in the early morning dew!


Hope your weather is better than ours is forecast to be then, Adrian, otherwise poor Rachel will be washing her face with heavy rainwater!! Whilst I love your enthusiasm for all the quaint old customs, I am firmly on Rachel's side over getting up so early to see the Morris Men at dawn. I enjoy watching Morris dancing but not enough to get up at that unearthly hour, and surely Rupert would be cranky for the rest of the day after being woken so early? I know my girls would have been!

Sorry to hear that you have had the dreaded tummy bug, I really hate those. I can cope with a rotten cold much more happily than being sick. Hope you are on the mend now and will be able to enjoy your weekend activities.

I'm letting the garden centre take the risk with looking after the summer bedding plants for a while yet since we have had a touch of frost in the air a couple of nights this week. It's not usually wise to put them out up here until the last week in May. The sweet peas that I planted last week though have settled in very happily and growing rapidly so am hopeful that I shall have a good display this year, which will be fantastic since I have failed miserably with them for the past two or three years.

We had hoped to go out to see some bluebells this weekend but that will depend on how much rain we get!

Kath

[Sybille Weber]

Oh, poor you, Adrian! Hope you and Rachel and Rupert will soon have got over this bug completely so that you will be able to enjoy the long weekend.
No long weekend for us here in Germany. May 1st always is a holiday over here, but if it falls on a weekend - bad luck for all those who have to go out to work, as we don't get a Bank Holiday Monday instead. Bad luck again, too, on October 3rd (Reunion Day), which will be a Sunday this year.

[gloria townsin]

Get well soon Adrian.
I risked summer bedding plants in Mullion and planted up two of the, now three, hanging baskets. I've left them all on the er.....patio......(nuff said about that for now!) so hope they will be o.k. Some of the plantings are sheltered. The camellias are almost over and I finally got to take the dead heads off the hydrangeas - Hurray!! - lots of new shoots and a new plant I thought had died last year has lots of little shoots all round the base so it's going like a good-un at the moment. Happy gardening if you get to do it Adrian and our forecast is rotten here so hope Wales fares better.

[adesmith]

We are all feeling a bit better today, although still a little delicate. It is a beautiful morning in South Wales but rain is forecast for later. Will get some bits and pieces from the garden centre and start to pot them up but will keep them under cover, or at least ready to move under cover for a little while yet. Wont plant anything in the ground yet. Technically our last frosts pass here at the end of April but you can never be sure and in my garden journal last year I noted cold winds that damaged some of the plants on 11th-13th May. It is nice to have our plastic greenhouse this year, even though it is quite small. It is full of seedlings and overwintered plants coming back to life. There are 4 tomato plants in there as well and they have been growing very well.

Here is a May Day quote:

"In the month of May, namely on May-day in the morning, every man, except impediment, wouldwalk into the sweet meadows and green woods, there to rejoice their spirits with the beauty and savour of sweet flowers, and with the harmony of birds, praising God in their kind" John Stow, 1603

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

[Gill Bilcliffe]

Pleased you are all feeling much better Adrian and will now have a lovely May weekend. A lovely quote you have posted this morning ~ thank you.
We too only have small housing to keep the young plants. A coal frame that is bursting at the moment with plants waiting to be planted outside. In fact far too many as I have been very ambitious this year. I think I will be cautious too and keep them safe from frost. The garden is looking very fresh after the rain yesterday and many plants that I thought would be lost in the cold winter have survived!
Happy Bank holiday to all

[jane jackson]

Great quote Adrian. Sunny for the moment here in PZ but lots of clouds so may not last. Glad to hear you're all feeling better. Have fun with the gardening.

We started to construct our greenhouse 2 weekends ago just before my friend arrived and we went out and about. This is a Norfolk Ultimate Greenhouse with polycarbonate glazing 6'x6' and has a opaque twin wall roof which comes in 2 sections each one folded in 3. It took us 2 days to put the frame together but it was very well marked with numbers on each piece and reasonably good instructions, trouble is "they" always assume you know or understand more than you do. We were then very tired and our minds had gone blank so we gave in and "phoned a friend" a retired builder who came and had a look as to how to fix the glazing. There are no clips but green plastic trims which go on to the aluminium and hold the glazing in, then you drill and use self tapping screws ~ fine if you're that way inclined which we're not. Mick said he would help Bryan the following week so while in The Scillies I got a text from Bryan saying Mick had arrived on the monday as they were completing the glazing so when I got home it was more or less finished ~ which is just how I like it! We still have the window to fix which involves removing something first and looks a little strange but we'll get that done soon. Bryan has had to go to Minehead this week but the greenhouse is usable for protecting plants and keeping things dry so I'm well happy. I've had a greenhouse since the early 70s until 4 years ago so I have missed being able to pot up and prick out in the dry away from the wind.

[gloria townsin]

It's the Merry Month of May............a lovely month with all the summer before us.........we hope. Croxley used to have a maypole for the local children to dance round on the Green on this day but the weather year on year was so dreadful it is now June before this happens along with the Croxley Revels which I have been involved with since the boys were small. This though will probably be my last year, unless I travel back from Mullion.
Have a great weekend folks whatever you do. Eddie still has his rotten headache so it's a quiet house for us.

[Gill Bilcliffe]

Well done is assembling your green house with added help Jane. It is a pity though the suppliers didn't send a man along to construct it!! Any item to be assembled at home is a trial but none so as at my house where it quickly becomes a nightmare!!!!

It is nice to sow seeds and watch them pop through the soil but the pricking out requires much patience as I discovered last week plus surplus seedlings to find homes for too. A garden book I have advises to disregard and dispose of the weak seedlings but it seems such a shame to do so when they have made such a effort to survive.
Happy gardening this weekend to those who have no rainy days.

[jane jackson]

They could have sent a man to construct the greenhouse Gill but as it and he comes from your neck of the woods at 40p per mile to PZ was a trifle too expensive with the erecting charge as well. The greenhouse cost under £200 with delivery as trying to keep costs down. We have our final monthly interest to come at the end of this month on our 2 year Bond and the interest rate is going to be half of what we've had up to now so economy drive here we come! We still love retirement though and living in such a wonderful place we have most things and places we need on our doorstep. Walking the dogs on the beaches is free apart from petrol and car parking. Long Rock beach is good as the parking is free and very close to us. Just come back from there now with the girls and the sea was sparkling with tiny waves. Lots of folk enjoying themselves with their dogs.

I also used to try to save every last seedling when pricking out but then ended up with too many plants with no room for them and when I was working full time it was putting the pressure on to get everything planted so then I started getting ruthless and just keep enough for what I need plus any for friends. Enjoy your gardening weekend.

[Kath Mulligan]

Happy May Day and happy gardening, or whatever else you are doing, to everyone. So far it is sunny and quite warm up here, but I am told we have possible thunderstorms threatened for later.

I used to be just the same with seedlings, Gill. I always had far too many, and if I couldn't give them away (or sell them at the school PTA events) I couldn't bear to throw them out so ended up buying more hanging baskets and tubs just to accommodate them all! In the end Vin got quite cross with me so I had to grit my teeth and throw out those which were surplus to requirements. Haven't grown any seedlings since he died, and perhaps I hadn't better start again since he is no longer around to curb my enthusiasm!

Glad you have got your greenhouse up and ready to go, Jane. Your garden is lovely anyway, no doubt it will be doubly so now you have space and comfort to prick out to your heart's content.

Adrian, did you make Rachel wash her face with dew this morning?


Kath

[adesmith]

No, I decided not to push my luck! Our May Day celebrations were a little muted because we are still not feeling 100%. Better than we were but dont seem to be able to shrug off the residue of queasiness, headache and tiredness. We went to the Farmers Market at Usk, the playground at Llanbadoc Island for Rupert, Usk Garden Centre and then the supermarket. I decided I wanted to do some gardening but just felt rotten. Did a bit today but not half as much as I would have done had I been feeling 100%. Out for a picnic with Rachel's parents tomorrow but I dont think we will be in late and so I may be able to do some gardening later tomorrow as well.

I am really brutal with seedlings. I think it comes from when we lived in the flat and there wasnt much space so I used to just keep what I needed. I dont always have the confidence that what I sow will be much good so never think about potting some up for friends. Maybe I should! It is a bit sad chucking them away though. I should possibly sow half packets and that would get around the problem.