On Mon, 29 Jan 2024 22:29:49 -0000 (UTC), Wenlock
<wenlock.house@googlemail.com> wrote:

>Tonysmith <agsmith578688@gmail.com> wrote:
>> How do archaeologists look underground for non-metal things?
>>
>
>Trowels.

I say! Steady on there, old chap!

Nick

On Sun, 28 Jan 2024 21:15:35 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> scrawled in
the dust...

>Wofe had bought six new rose plants (bare rooted) and has been _trying_
>to plant them near a large silver birch[1].
>She decided where she wanted each one, and started to dig a hole...
>Large tree root.
>She moved to one side and tried again.
>Another tree root and a girt big rock.
>Rinse and repeat for some time.
>
>I strongly believe there would be a good market for a hand-held ground
>penetrating radar which could identify obstacles like roots or large
>rocks _before_ you expend so much energy (and backache) digging the hole.
>
>[1] The roses are intended as a cat-deterrent[2]. We have bird feeders
>hanging from the branches of this tree and a neighbours cat likes to
>lurk under a bush,
> From there it can leap up high enough to snatch a bird out of the air.
>The roses are meant to occupy the cat's launching site.
>
>[2] The fact that these are pretty roses is entirely incidental.

Catching up here, but I don't think anyone else has suggested putting the
roses in planters. It will mean watering them regularly, but that will
probably be better for them than expecting the tree to share nicely, even
in Wales.

I'm hopeless with roses, but I haven't managed to kill them all (yet).
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On 05-Feb-24 17:02, Penny wrote:
> On Sun, 28 Jan 2024 21:15:35 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> scrawled in
> the dust...
>
>> Wofe had bought six new rose plants (bare rooted) and has been _trying_
>> to plant them near a large silver birch[1].
>> She decided where she wanted each one, and started to dig a hole...
>> Large tree root.
>> She moved to one side and tried again.
>> Another tree root and a girt big rock.
>> Rinse and repeat for some time.
>>
>> I strongly believe there would be a good market for a hand-held ground
>> penetrating radar which could identify obstacles like roots or large
>> rocks _before_ you expend so much energy (and backache) digging the hole.
>>
>> [1] The roses are intended as a cat-deterrent[2]. We have bird feeders
>> hanging from the branches of this tree and a neighbours cat likes to
>> lurk under a bush,
>> From there it can leap up high enough to snatch a bird out of the air.
>> The roses are meant to occupy the cat's launching site.
>>
>> [2] The fact that these are pretty roses is entirely incidental.
>
> Catching up here, but I don't think anyone else has suggested putting the
> roses in planters. It will mean watering them regularly, but that will
> probably be better for them than expecting the tree to share nicely, even
> in Wales.
>
> I'm hopeless with roses, but I haven't managed to kill them all (yet).

Wofe started out by filling the area with plants in pots - just to make
things harder for the dratted cat, but wanted the roses as a permanent
installation.
We do have irrigation in that part of the garden (individual drippers -
usually put one-to-a-plant-pot[1]) since she is in the habit of keeping
significant numbers of plants in pots near the house. The irrigation
means we can go away for several weeks at a time without a problem.

[1] They only need to be run for 5 minutes, twice daily, and that keeps
everything happy without wasting water.

--
Sam Plusnet