Neil I can't believe the incompetance of your first hospital. I hope this one works out.

Hugs to you Neil. Hope by Christmas you can have lots of goose with teeth to chew it.

Regional iris meeting next Sat. Speaker went to convention this past spring as well as early tour of iris gardens.

Early in the year I was supposed to have two teeth out , and I was told that I would be put out , Oh no, the dentist said, "That because of my medical problems he could not put me undedr, so awake I was, after one taken out, I told him "Sorry cannot take it, to have another one out", Peter said, "That I was like jelly when I came out of the surgery", I have been informed in the near future I am due to have two more out. so think I will say, "I want to go to hospital and get them to take the teeth out", hopfully be put out this time round.

Been to my mothers today as the winter bedding needed doing. Once Sarah and I got things weeded we started to do it, 600 pansies later it was time for the bulbs to go in between them. Dwarf tulip 'Red Riding Hood", then Dwarf tulip "Coronation', Iris reticulata mixed, and crocus 'Remembrance'. There is still a lot more to do as the polyanthus need to go in, and about another 300 pansies I estimate.
Mothers Elephant garlic is doing well, and so is mine so we are looking forward to that next year. Raspberries are in abundance as well as apples and pears.
Dinner at mothers with our own leeks as well, how lovely!
Regards.
Neil.

Heavy weeding in the iris seedling bed. My shoulder is very sore to prove it. Squashed 3 cut worms which gives me great satisfaction. Got one seedling moved to another bed. Put a rock on top of it to guard against heaving.

Nearly finished mothers garden! Just 40 geraniums to take out and then some more polyanthus to put in. I love to see bedding but as I get older it hurts my back, as there are so many plants and bulbs to put in.
Plus I have done it for years as bedding is a very Victorian and British thing.
Regards.
Neil.

Dear all, if you want a treat look at the new thread about Kew from Richard! It is at
Regards.
Neil.

I was dreaming of a white Christmas, but my mothers Christmas cactus is a bit early for that.
Regards.
Neil.

Nice. We have an apricot one, but it won't bloom this early.

Dear Lucy, I have a pink one that Sarah likes. Although it lives in the bathroom it is quite happy there, and is coming into bud! I will try to get you a picture when it is fully out. Mothers white one is nice, and there are a lot more blooms to come out yet on it. She adores them and has many different coloured Christmas and Easter ones.
Regards.
Neil.

I saw Richard's pictures and they are beautiful as usual.

We don't have much houseplant room, but the Xmas cactus lives on a TV tray in an east facing window.

I think I have never seen a white Christmas cactus before. Ours are all pink which is probably the most common colour. Then we have November cactus which has orange red flowers. Neil, your mother must have a beautiful garden as you have been planting such large quantities of plants in it. Please put some photos here for us.

Best regards to you all.
Magga

Dear Magga, when all the flowers are out in mothers garden I will take a photo for you but that will not be till the spring! Mothers white Christmas Cactus is unusual and stupid at the same time. For it has flowered before at Christmas just seems to have changed its mind this year, oh well it still is pretty.
Hope the family are well?
Regards to all.
Neil.

Magga, I think you can see a tantalizing glimpse of the back through the cactus photo.

Yes Debra, thanks.
Neil I think I just didn´t quite understand the word "bedding" you use for autumn planting. I looked it up and found all kinds of bed linen Up here we do not plant flowers in the garden until spring. Pansies and other biennials we usually sow indoors late in January. Polyanthus, we only grow as houseplants in the spring, but I would like to try to grow them in my garden.

Best regards.
Magga

Dear Magga, carpet bedding for plants was invented by the Victorians! As more plants became available and the price of glass dropped large greenhouses could be made and labour was cheap then. So thousands of plants are put in a small flower bed with 'dot' plants to give the bed some height. It is used in nearly every park in every city or town in the UK. It is expensive and time consuming, but the public like to see it. Every gardener I have worked with has had to go through the agony of planting the winter/spring bedding and then the summer bedding, it hurts believe me.
Regards.
Neil.
p.s. This is summer bedding in a private garden.

Beautiful, Neil. You are themreal master!!

Hugs

In this hemisphere if we have salvia like that we would get hummingbirds.