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The gardening thread

Ah, I do have a couple of really decent garden centres (even with cafes)...but the prices! I don't mind stumping up cash for a really good paeony or rose but stuff like antirhrhinums, aquilegias, osteospermums, echinacea, hemerocallis for almost a tenner a pot...I don't think so.
 
campanula said:
Ah, I do have a couple of really decent garden centres (even with cafes)...but the prices! I don't mind stumping up cash for a really good paeony or rose but stuff like antirhrhinums, aquilegias, osteospermums, echinacea, hemerocallis for almost a tenner a pot...I don't think so.
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I seen a chocolate cosmos for 8 quid at a posh one near me! The gift shop is bigger than the bloody plant nursery.
 
Most of the "garden centres" I used to have a wander around before covid had gone down the cafe / gifts and seasonal flogging of plastic-tat route. Even several of the bigger and more specialised places seem to have suffered this fate - and run by bean-counters !

Luckily, a couple of my more local establishments are in small chains, or still independent, rather than a cog in one of the larger national conglomerates. These seem to have managed to keep at least some semblance of actually being interested in selling plants to you, and have staff who know what they are talking about.
 
I use a lot of mail-order from specialist nurseries as this is the only way to get hold of unusual plants. Even the best garden centres have cut their inventory so you have a choice of a very limited selection of popular plants. I don't want to buy another Rozanne (great geranium though it may be)...I am looking for G.nodosum 'Silverwood'. The only downside with mail-order (apart from postage costs) is a tendency to send out very small plants which need growing on for another year (although this doesn't bother me at all, it can be a bit disappointing for customers). There are some truly spectaular nurseries which are also invariably cheaper than the average garden centre...I mean, check out Larch Cottage, The Place for Plants, Langthorne's Plantery, Edrom nurseries, Cotswold Plants, Hardys cottage gardens, Hopley's, Beeches nursery., the Plantsman's Preference, Monksilver (my local) ..and so on. Plentiful absolutely dedicated growers in this country, all of whom are more competent, committed, enthusiastic and caring growers than any corporate Town and Country, Dobies, Notcutts rubbish. And those garden warehouse companies like Garden Express or Dutch behemoths such as Parkers are to be avoided too.
Spend money at independent nurseries and keep the spirit of horticulture (and diversity) alive.
 
I still lament the loss of Green Plant Swap. You could find whatever you wanted on there, produced by folk who loved plants,. Little operations rather than big horticultural businesses. No use for a tray of cabbages, mind, but for that rare variety of Veronica or Hamamelis, unbeatable.
 
Another source of plants for me comes from various plant fairs (the Hardy Plant Soc. or NCPP - nat.council for preservation of perennials). There are always a couple, every season, which I try to attend (and often snaffle a few choice cuttings too, if in held in a botanical garden or stately house). And for seeds, join the HPS so you can access the free seed swap - 20 varieties for 5 quid...with an option to have a further lucky dip. A fabulous source of seeds for an annual subscription of around 20quid (plus the magazines which are fantastic too)
 
two sheds said:
I'd love to do a seed swap but I'm not hugely confident that the seeds I collect will be viable. Some of them I'm sure are ok but I don't want someone to go to the trouble of planting them only to find they don't come up :(
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That's nature shedsy. You do have a good heart though :) even if you do have 2 sheds and are greedy :p.
Yes, I give with one hand etc.
 
There's also the disadvantage that a few of my seeds are labeled 'pretty tall blue flower, full sun' which probably wouldn't be acceptable to over finnicky people :(

I'll also have you know that I have two privvies which I now use as shedlets plus a woodshed so you can refer to me as five sheds :)
 
two sheds said:
There's also the disadvantage that a few of my seeds are labeled 'pretty tall blue flower, full sun' which probably wouldn't be acceptable to over finnicky people :(

I'll also have you know that I have two privvies which I now use as shedlets plus a woodshed so you can refer to me as five sheds :)
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I found an envelope labelled 'big white daisy looking things'. Which I think is leucathemum. It's all part of the surprise.
I'm surprised you name 'your' seeds pretty tall blue though :D
 
O yeah, I have wraps with 'tall monocot thing' and even have a little sketch of the seed capsule because I have spotted some interesting foliage with an obviously ripe seedhead and thought 'why not'. Then there is the ubiquitous NOID label (which I actually thought was the name of some daylily when I first came across it). The seed collecting thing can get a little out of hand but I am hopelessly addicted to it now. The kitchen table is out of action for months on end as huge wodges, bags, bunches of greenery (actually, brownery) fill the entire top, awaiting sorting.
 
campanula cleome seeds.
I don't think I ever managed to grow one yet and I'm failing again with fresh seed.
8 days and no sign...
Pressed into the compost surface and a fine sprinkling of compost - a few of the seeds showing just in case they need light ...
constant 20-ish degrees ...

thanks ...

EDT:- oops - apparently needs stratifying - maybe I'll put the pot in the fridge ...
 
I will doubtless eventually have to dig up the area with the worst of the spanish invasion. I dug it up 15 years ago because it was infested with brambles so it's lasted quite well and there's loads of other wild flowers in there.

I'm interested to see whether this thing of scuffing up the plants does anything though, not hopeful but worth a try. I did see a photo of a bluebell wood with two lines of no bluebells whatsoever where a truck had driven over them so crushing them does have some effect.

I read that one of the reasons they spread so much is that bulbs can form at the end of their roots. I still don't know how the fuckers get so deep though they must burrow down like moles.

Anyway after tackling most of the bluebells it's time to have a go at the cleavers which are forming drifts in quite a few places. Annoying fuckers but satisfying when you hear a small 'rip' as you pull out the (tiny) root.
 
I've been waging war against brambles, cleavers [goosegrass], nettles and number of other things [snowberries & elders] - which have been growing where I don't want them. For about the last 20 years ! but I think I'm beginning to win [I don't normally use weedkillers].

I do have patches of nettles for flutterbyes and brambles 'cos I make loads of jam most years .

Currently I have designs for a contained leaf pile in my rebuilt composting area and plans to train brambles into a hedge [a bit like the rampant raspberry / loganberries]. I'm also thinking about re-designing the herb bed - which is overshadowed by a very nice cherry, which escaped the training wires years ago.
 
two sheds said:
I will doubtless eventually have to dig up the area with the worst of the spanish invasion. I dug it up 15 years ago because it was infested with brambles so it's lasted quite well and there's loads of other wild flowers in there.

I'm interested to see whether this thing of scuffing up the plants does anything though, not hopeful but worth a try. I did see a photo of a bluebell wood with two lines of no bluebells whatsoever where a truck had driven over them so crushing them does have some effect.
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I noticed yesterday that my hardy native perennial neighbour had acidentally on purpose stomped on the spanish invaders while pruning the forsythia :D
But the chances are she will actually have something to plant in their place ...
 
My neighbour who I collaborated with on the fence project bizarrely assumed I had spent a day netting the front of the house in order to hang LED lights from !
He surely can't think I'm some sort of Royalist ! :eek:
As it is I'm worried that my colour scheme has too much red, white and blue in it...

I wonder what the antithesis of jubilee bunting would be ?
Some sort of goth theme I suppose...
 
Arse.
I don't quite know what I was expecting, but the nicotiana alatas I'm growing are appartently going to be fairly tall - like the white ones - - so are not going to work in my lower window box in front of where my "geraniums" are - so I will have to swap them around and maybe even lower the rear one so the nicotianas don't completely cover the window .. or perhaps not ... but I will probably want the lower bit of the plant to be screened ...

It also means I won't need more than a few - leaving plenty to substitute for the cleomes that aren't germinating in the foreground ... I think the cleomes might be too tall too ... .. I'll plant them anyway ... I also have at least one "miracle of Peru" sprouted - that and the cleomes might have to go in containers ..

I'm aiming for a translucent veil effect - I have already transplanted some verbenas all the way across at the front ..

I suppose the geraniums will be some sort of focus

I still have zero confidence that the nicotianas won't be destroyed by mildew very rapidly - leaving me with a windowbox and "bedding" to be replaced with something else ..

I also have snapdragons, but they're growing very slowly at the moment - and French marigolds ... :hmm:
I suppose airy pastelly things are after all more suitable as a a "screen" ...and marigolds as a "focus" - and I do love my French marigolds and I have a second batch to prick out soon ...
I think I've decided to deliniate my "potager" with the large tagetes I nicked from the park and have loads of ...

Now that the garden is raked and it's rained, I'm still reasonably confident that I will have some amaranthus later as an option ...

paltalkwallnet.jpg
 
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Today has been almost 100% of a washout so far.
ie it has rained, at varying levels of intensity from late last night until about half an hour ago [16:30 ish] no sign of any sun, at all !
= quite depressing, but at least it hasn't been very cold / windy.

The only bright spot has been the delivery of the new mini-greenhouse.
This has now been built up - in the kitchen - and I am waiting for the house to stop dripping before attempting to install it ...
[assuming my back & knees co-operate].
The assumption is that it will have supposedly outdoor tomatoes in it, but it will need a few extra inches of height to accomplish that.
 
gentlegreen said:
Arse.
I don't quite know what I was expecting, but the nicotiana alatas I'm growing are appartently going to be fairly tall - like the white ones - - so are not going to work in my lower window box in front of where my "geraniums" are - so I will have to swap them around and maybe even lower the rear one so the nicotianas don't completely cover the window .. or perhaps not ... but I will probably want the lower bit of the plant to be screened ...

It also means I won't need more than a few - leaving plenty to substitute for the cleomes that aren't germinating in the foreground ... I think the cleomes might be too tall too ... .. I'll plant them anyway ... I also have at least one "miracle of Peru" sprouted - that and the cleomes might have to go in containers ..

I'm aiming for a translucent veil effect - I have already transplanted some verbenas all the way across at the front ..

I suppose the geraniums will be some sort of focus

I still have zero confidence that the nicotianas won't be destroyed by mildew very rapidly - leaving me with a windowbox and "bedding" to be replaced with something else ..

I also have snapdragons, but they're growing very slowly at the moment - and French marigolds ... :hmm:
I suppose airy pastelly things are after all more suitable as a a "screen" ...and marigolds as a "focus" - and I do love my French marigolds and I have a second batch to prick out soon ...
I think I've decided to deliniate my "potager" with the large tagetes I nicked from the park and have loads of ...

Now that the garden is raked and it's rained, I'm still reasonably confident that I will have some amaranthus later as an option ...

View attachment 322880
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That's going to look gorgeous, a wall of colour. Your neighbours are lucky.
 
clicker said:
That's going to look gorgeous, a wall of colour. Your neighbours are lucky.
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It's my final flourish before I inflict myself on an unsuspecting Brittany ... ..

Such a shame - for decades I lived at the back of the house and treated the front garden as a bin area - but now my wheelie bin is in the front room - the whole downstairs is basically a garage / shed ...

My current thinking is sort of a stage set with focal plants and "watercolours" ... sadly sometimes I forget plants have their needs and aren't just paint ...
Having netted the whole front of my house, when I'm living near the sea and mucking about in boats I'm definitely going to town on that ...

Cue for me to examine some vistas at Monet's garden ... :hmm:
Though Monet painted in oils - but French impressionism anyway ...

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I found my geranium nodosum 'Silverwood'. (Kevock Garden Plants)..and whilst I was about it, I also bought a charming ranunculus acontifolium and a sorbus pseudovilmorinii - cos I am cutting down the cherries on the allotment since I am fed up with NEVER getting any crop whatsoever. I am going to order chokeberries too - aronia melanocarpus and aronia prunifolia cos I am even more fed up with my ribes and rubus plants being infected by slacker neighbours. No-one else grows either these or saskatoons...so the pigeons will be caught on the hop too (I hope).

O...strike me down for delusional optimism but I have also ordered 3 meconopsis (blue poppies, although one of them is dusky pink) for arrival in autumn. Been a bit mad cos I have been working on 2 extra gardens this week...so when I am freezing and broke in the winter, I won't give a fuck because I will be rubbing my hands while hovering anxiously over my meconopsis (I really thought I was all done with craving these Himalayan beauties).
 
campanula said:
Your (ahem) garden is always something of an experiment, @gentlegreen. Sorry to say that the blisetering on your peach is not caused by aphids but a nasty virus - peach leaf curl. While it won't ill off the plant, the horrible red, bloated leaves look awful, Can be prevented with a fungicidal spray at budbreak and again at leaf fall...so if you want to keep it, I would suggest an autumn spray.
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What would you spray with, something like Bordeaux or dithane?
 
My solution was to chuck it on the green waste pile :D
Quite a surprising "weed" that turned into a flowering tree in a couple of years - but all it was doing was stealing sunlight from my brugmansias.
 
Getting the summer veg ready to plant out. Sweetcorn has been poor. One batch didn't germinate at all. The second batch has a less than 50% germ rate. Cucumber was also a bit slow off the mark. Tomatoes (one batch of large, one batch of mini) all came up fine and will go out in a week or two.

Strawberries looked unhappy early spring but seem to have found their stride. Grape vines growing nicely round the tori gate.
The grumpy winter jasmine that has sulked for the 7 years I've had it, is actually growing!
The very leggy eucalyptus that I cut right back and thought I had killed has come back to life and is promising to throw out lots of bushy/coppice stuff, which was my hope.IMG_20220517_132507696.jpgIMG_20220517_132523366_HDR.jpgIMG_20220517_132856809.jpgIMG_20220517_132921651.jpgIMG_20220517_132947004_HDR.jpgIMG_20220517_133026575_HDR.jpg
 
It looks like the NFT kale is on :)

I was able to insert my gutter into the ABS / PVC sewer pipe with the help of a little washing up liquid and then use a heat gun to soften the top which I was then able to squidge using my thumb in a rigger glove ....
I may try to flatten it even more - I would sooner not have a dip in the middle...
It overlaps a bit with the beans, but it leaves room on the sunny fence for two tubs of tomatoes.
Both the hydro and the runner beans look a bit "industrial" but then so does the fence - and in a month or two it should all be green :)


endwholething.jpgprofile.jpgchannelinplace.jpg
 
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With the hydro up off the ground, I can finish planting nasturtiums at every post - and mid-way - some may do as spares ... hops at the end ...
I have a couple of more shade-tolerant plants germinating but they will be a while ...

Both the nasturtiums and the tagetes came from the community veggy garden in the park - seeds rescued from the slugs ...
I'm looking forward to finishing the porch hydro unit so I can post more of the same nasturtiums to trail down - it may amuse a few locals to hear where the seeds came from :)

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