h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Definitely not swine flu. And I suspect I'm allergic to truffles - I mean, I can't eat mushrooms so truffles probably fall into the same disgusting category. The kitchen does look as though I should eat from a trough, but that's 'cos I've had no energy to do the dishes... It'll pass. It's a good thing the doctor gave me the whole week off.

Can you think of any reasonably compact alternatives to a Japanese acer for a courtyard garden? Deciduous would be nice, autumn colour would be nice. I'm just considering the options before I commit myself.

Allergic to mushrooms, Thats harsh. I love mushrooms, though i would'nt include truffles on my list, i don't see the point of eating a dried up ball filled with spores

I've been trying to think of something that would look as nice as a japanese acer, but i havent come up with much. I did think of a nandina domestica or maybe a small bay tree (if you get bay over there) Myrtle is another one that came to mind.

A bay tree would be a good idea. Thanks. The site is just by the kitchen window, so it would be useful too. How fast does bay grow?

I could just whack in another pomegranate, of course. That's the fall-back option if I can't find anything else.

The mushroom allergy thing isn't too bad - I think mushrooms are bizarre things at the best of times and I don't feel their absence. They don't poson me as such, they just make me violently ill for a short time. (I can't eat seafood either.)

Bay are not supposed to be very fast growing, though mine seemed to grow pretty quick I think thats because i never use the leaves. One of the good things about Bay is that you can keep it small and any shape you like without it looking out of place.

Mushrooms are indeed bizzare, which is probably why i'm fascinated by them. I have a book about mushrooms and toadstools, some of the shape and colours are weird and alien looking.

I like some sorts of fish, but not shell fish or crustaceans I've never seen the appeal of eating what is basically a foot in a shell, it looks disgusting and the texture is just horrible.

I can never understand why someone would seek out and eat an oyster, when they can just wait until they have a heavy cold.

I'm on holidays now. Out of town tomorrow; back on the 15th. Then I have another week in which I might or might not do some gardening... I could at least wander off and see what plants are available at the moment. Bare-root plants, I assume.

I hope you're enjoying your holiday.

My Bee orchids have started to flower! There will be more this year and they multiplied

You know, i would'nt be tempted to eat an oyster even if i did have a heavy cold, just the sight of them Why not just go into the garden and find a slug to eat, same texture!

I'll do a Journal about the holiday sometime, either tonight or tomorrow. I did rather a lot of things, which surprises me, seeing as I sprained my ankle on the first day and had to hobble around with a walking stick for the rest of it. I'm staying home for a couple of days now, to rest and recuperate.

No plants died in my absence. What more could I want?

How did you manage to sprain your ankle? I hope it's starting to heal now
Good news that you did'nt lose any plants while you were away. I hope i have the same luck when i go on holiday in September It will be a first for me, i never go away on holiday, always stay at home well mostly in the garden.

How long will you be gone in September?

My ankle's more or less recovered now. All I did was try to get out of someone's way... Sketch details in the Journal, which I wrote a little while ago. Mind you, the ankle wasn't really a problem as such. I had to slow down and relax, which was something I neeed to do even before I hurt myself.

I was planning to do some gardening this week - ripping the camellia out, that sort of thing - but I think that can wait until I'm sure the ankle's recovered. Hurrah - an excuse to sit down and read for a week.

Are you feeling rested after your holiday and now you've had time to wind down?

I will be gone for two weeks and i'm hoping by that time the garden will take care of itself.

Rest and relaxation is what a holiday is about, well thats what i think.
I'm slowly getting loads of new clothes and stuff for my hols, at this rate i might start to enjoy shopping!

I have a new addition to my garden. It's a Verbascum called buttercup. I resisted the temptation to buy it for almost a week, but it just kept calling to me, so in the end i gave in. It looks an absolute picture in the flower border and the bees love it.

I'm feeling simultaneously rested and restless. It's very odd. But I'll be out of the house today, testing the ankle - I need to buy groceries, for a start. Then I might go and see some more Art or something. Or maybe not. Let's see how things go.

As a rule, I buy new clothes while on holidays elsewhere rather than before I go. The rationale is that things I have and am tired of will look new to the people I meet because they haven't seen them before. Maybe that's a bit dopey, I don't know, but it does mean that I come home with new clothes that double as souvenirs. <zen.

Someone at work said about buying clothes while on holiday, it would'nt work for me. I'm so fussy about clothes that if i did'nt find anything i liked, i could spend two weeks wrapped in a towel!

On the gardening front, my callistemon has put out loads of new leaves and is looking very healthy. I will be out there today trimming grass edges and weeding, what a great way to spend a day.

Two weeks in a towel? Equipped for all contingencies, true, but not exactly haute couture.

It's the shortest day of the year here, so I stayed inside with a book or two. There was actual rain out there. Lovely to watch.

It occurs to me that this would have been my paternal grandfather's birthday. I think he'd have been 113, so maybe it's a good thing he isn't still with us - with regard to 'quality of life' stuff, at any rate.

Have you had anymore rain since your last post?
We're having a brief heatwave here, which is very nice for a short time, but soon becomes tiresome as things start to turn brown and look dead.
It looks like the badgers finally frightened the nesting bees away They were nesting in my compost bin, which was'nt ideal but kind of novel and interesting to watch. Twice now the pesky badgers have tried to dig under the bin to get at the bees. I guess the last time was just too much for the bees.

I have no idea how old my grandad would be now as he was born in the late 1800's that would make him pretty ancient by now

I think we might have had about 1mm of rain since the last lot, in total. But I live in hope. There might be some tomorrow - in which case, I'll sit here and watch it again. Easily amused, that's what I am.

I have a mental picture of cartoon badgers being pursued by an irate swarm of bees...

There's a camellia outside that desperately needs me to chop it into bits, but I probably shouldn't do it this weekend. My ankle's still weak; one slip while using a saw and I'll make things even worse for myself.

I quite like the idea of the badgers being chased out of my garden by a swarm of bees
It's turned very hot and humid here, theres even speculation that the hottest day ever recorded will happen this week
I'm off for a few days after tomorrow, so i'll be staying where its cool as much as i can.

Hhmm, me thinks you might be using that ankle as an excuse not to deal with the Camelia, would i be right by any chance?

No, it was a perfectly valid excuse - the ankle's a bit swollen again, even though it's still bandaged, now that I've stopped using the Stick.

In other news - it's raining right now. Pity it's dark and I can't watch...

I haven't been here for a few days as I was trying not to express my irritation with certain individuals. The backlog's simply absurd. I'll fall asleep before I get through it all.

The camellia should be dealt with this weekend, or at least I hope it will be.

Oh dear, sorry i did'nt realise your ankle was still that bad.

Any rain, whether it's dark or light outside must be of benefit eh!

On Friday i'm going to visit a garden, it's a private garden thats open to the public. 3 acres of flower borders, trees and tranquility It's the last year the garden will be open, after August the owners are retiring.

A three-acre garden? How perfectly fantastic that would be. (Bags not having to weed it, though...)

I haven't seen my garden since Sunday afternoon. Not fair, is it? I simply haven't been home in daylight since then. Maybe it's flourishing, maybe it's all dead, I really don't know.

You should have seen that garden, it was just beautiful It was kind of in the middle of nowhere, surround by farmland, with just two other properties close by. One was a converted barn, very expensive looking. The other was the old farm house, equally large and expensive. I took a load of photos and came home with three plants. A sanguisorba, a double cranesbill geranium and a gorgeous stachys. I have no idea where i will plant them yet, which is fine as the ground is like concrete just now.

I read your journal, wow that was lucky you and your friend were not actually in the takeaway at the time, how awful.