Home again after a great holiday in Holland, Belgium and France.
Temperatures were between 25 and 32 degrees c the whole time. Just a tad on the hot side for this poor Scot though I can tell you!!
Went round the flower market in Amsterdam but managed to confine myself to buying just a few bulbs and seeds.
Picked up some Aquilegias (Akelei Winky Red),
Physalis,
Thumbergia Alto,
Sweet Williams,
Centaurea,
Violas (Rosso Cardinale, Blanco con ochio,Violetta.and Bleu Lago) & a pack of Honesty.
Just couldn't resist as they were 1/3 of the price we get them over here.
Also got a pack of white tulips called Maureen and some Apricot beauties, Queen of the night (Black), Rembrandt mixed, Parrot mixed and a bag of 50 mixed tulips going really cheap.
Then as I worked my way along the stalls I managed to get my hands on 4 enormous Amaryllis bulbs (about the size of a good sized swede) and some Lilly corms that will flower in the most beautiful colours.
I decided to leave it at that .....well.....until I found this fabulous garden centre!!! I bought 12 assorted water plants for my ponds (all under £1.50p each) + 2 water lilies (one a pale peach and the other a delicate lemon.) The water lilies cost E4.95 each which works out at around £3.30 ish over here and I paid £14.95 for my other ones here in Scotland >:( I also bought a Thai tulip, an Angels Trumpet and two large pots of Portulaca Carnaval.
Sadly that was all we could fit in the car. :'( :'( I could have lived in that garden centre quite happily for the rest of my days (sigh)!!
Next time we go I think we'll just leave the packing to a bare minimum - either that or buy a bigger car!!! ;D
Managed to get some pics of white stork fledglings at their nest site which I was really chuffed about - just hope they've turned out.
Ian bought lots of smelly cheeses and bottles of real ale - UGH!! My fridge stinks, it smells like someones old, dirty socks. Cheeses that smelly and mouldy should be laid to rest far, far away from human habitation in my opinion. I'll stick to cherries and iced tea! :D
All in all we had a great time but strangely enough I really did miss you lot!!
I'm off to catch up and see what I've been missing.
Cheers, Eileen.
P.S.
Forgot to mention the Pitcher plant I bought too!!!!!!
Eileen, I love it - you are surely running true to form but who could blame you! think you'll need an estate so you can really spread your talents around ::)
Welcome back to cloudy Scotland(tho sun is out now!)
Glad you had such a good and plantiful holiday!
We had a great time too sailing in the Inner Hebrides.
No plants to bring back tho.
You sound as if you could start a whole new garden with that super lot of bargain plants!
Cheers Toots
;D
Welcome back Eileen. Sounds like you had a great time and I don't blame you one little bit for buying all those lovely plants and bulbs. Look forward to seeing your photos of the stork fledglings, hope you will post them for us all to see.
Well Eileen, how on earth did you manage to get back home again with all that lot. You sure had a good shopping trip. Why didnt you bring back some decent weather though? I have spent this summer running away from the sun, so have not seen it yet. Anyway, welcome back and glad you had a good time.
;D ;D
A big welcome home to our sanest member :P. Sounds like you had a great time, my kinda holiday! If that were me, I would have probably turfed the old man out and made him hitch home, think of all that extra plant room you would have had! :o Glad you had a great time, and glad you are home safe and sound. Now you can get back to keeping us all in line! ;D
WELCOME BACK EILEEN MISSED YOU.
Yo Eileen
Wheres me rock?????...... nah skip the rock... u was in holland.... now come on now,.... share your stash!!!! is good to see you iz back..
Oz
:-* :-* :-*
Seriously thought of bringing you back a pack of the old 'weed seed' Oz as they sell it quite openly in the flower market in Amsterdam!!!! Ian, however, wouldn't let me and anyhow I didn't have your addy or I could have posted it directly to you. Wasn't expensive either. :D Got high simply walking past all the 'brown cafes' over there I can tell you!!!! Thought I was flying I did.
Eileen.
Hello Eileen. Welcome Back!
Sounds like you had a good trip.
Surely you had to hire a HGV to get all those purchases home didnt you ( ;)) . NO WAY could you have gotten all that in a car!
Next question is - what are you going to DO with it all?
Yo Eileen
hahahah nice one... to tell truth I have cut down me pot dramatically... and into me tomatoes... just tasted me first red one gardeners delight... words just cant explain how yummy they iz.... I is more of a marrowhead now hahhah ... really is diferent world growing your own veg/fruit... Did you know the Dutch were respsonsible for Orange carrots????? yep apparently carrots were purple and dutch peeps wanted them in there national colours,, and so they engineered the orange carrot in 1925ish? so next time you thinks to yourself that you really would like a good old fashioned purple carrot but can only find orange ones... blame Ina.. haahha soz Ina.. only joshing blinking europe changing our carrots what next from brussels???? only kidding there too cus i Love europe... spesh spain and i am babbling so wil just hit post......
Oz
:-*
We got a big 4x4 Richard just before going off on our hols. Traded the old car in as it just wasn't big enough!!! ;) ;)
What am I gonna do with them all?......Now the lawn, in my opinion, is just too big so I thought I'd be kind to Ian and let him cut some more of it away (to save him mowing it you understand... .no other reason :P) then I'll get him to enlarge my ponds (cutting out even more lawn mowing.) I'm such a kind, generous, thoughtful and loving wife am I not??!!??
Eileen.
;D Hi Eileen, sounds like you had a good time, I'm so envious all those plants, bulbs and things, just got to be..ee perfect.
Welcome back Eileen. Who needs a big lawn? It would surely be a kindness to your husband to reduce it's size...of course all that resulting bare ground will just sprout weeds so you'll have to think of something to prevent that!! I know, you could always put some more plants in to suppress the weeds....just an idea :)
Quote from: eileen on August 01, 2004, 14:30:12
We got a big 4x4 Richard just before going off on our hols. Traded the old car in as it just wasn't big enough!!! ;) ;) What am I gonna do with them all?......Now the lawn, in my opinion, is just too big so I thought I'd be kind to Ian and let him cut some more of it away (to save him mowing it you understand... .no other reason :P) then I'll get him to enlarge my ponds (cutting out even more lawn mowing.) I'm such a kind, generous, thoughtful and loving wife am I not??!!??
Eileen.
LOL LOL Eileen
Yep big lawns are a waste of space in my book. Trouble is on a hill they tend to be the best form of ground cover/erosion protection, so cant get rid entirely :(. I LOVE taking bits of lawn away to make new planting areas. Every time i do it i think to myself: 'HMM bit less to mow' ;D ;D
Have fun! :)
I am back as well, but unfortunately, my son came out with chickenpox last week.
Hi Eileen
Belatedly welcome back. Sounds like you had a fabulous time. I can see that when Mr Aqui and I go to visit my sister over there we are going to have to hire a truck to come home (we don't have a car!)
Thanks for the postcard - that was a lovely surprise!
aqui
x
Hi Eileen :D Missed your cheery messages ;D Glad you had a good holiday and spent it in the good old A4A way ;) :) -and who could blame you, you couldn't pass up all those bargains ::) Of course, if you do run out of lawn and planting space you know you could always off-load some in this direction :D :D Seriously though, glad you had a great time and WELCOME BACK :) :) :)