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The gardening thread

Knautia black night, blue scabious, tonnes of rose campion and rubedkia straining it's neck to get some light.
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Finally got round to planting the staghorn that's been bound in a pot ( in case I moved, 12 years now :facepalm: ) . Dug over ground where my 30 ft conifer stood before being felled by landlord ( apols to Mr blackbird who used it to sing his heart out every year looking for Mrs blackbird) .
Planted blue geraniums, periwinkle, verbena and some thrift. Bird post on hold as I've put my bloody back out!
Full diary next week, so hoping a Sunday doing the sum of fuck all will help with my back.
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A bit strange me saying this to you but ... you do know that stags horn will spread like fuck? They are lovely but I took a couple out of my garden because I decided it's a bit small for them, I've only got 1/3 acre or so. Someone's got one down the road and it's now taking over the outside of their garden along with the road verge.
 
two sheds said:
A bit strange me saying this to you but ... you do know that stags horn will spread like fuck? They are lovely but I took a couple out of my garden because I decided it's a bit small for them, I've only got 1/3 acre or so. Someone's got one down the road and it's now taking over the outside of their garden along with the road verge.
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Yeh, the whole of that area was huge conifers, so I'm happy for the spread. The wind is relentless here and they provided some protection. The garden is fairly big and can easily take them. I planted yew ten years ago down the bottom and they're starting to provide some more wind protection. Whichever way, I love stag horn and I don't mind it going feral :D
 
Calamity1971 said:
Yeh, the whole of that area was huge conifers, so I'm happy for the spread. The wind is relentless here and they provided some protection. The garden is fairly big and can easily take them. I planted yew ten years ago down the bottom and they're starting to provide some more wind protection. Whichever way, I love stag horn and I don't mind it going feral :D
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This was before the tree murderers came and felled them.
Calamity1971 said:
Sat waiting for the tree killers, don't know why they can't just halve them in size? :(
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The thing about having a tiny garden\: the need to be ruthless. The larkspur have done sterling duty but they were beginning to go over. After the first few tentative, slightly sorrowful snips, it gets easier and before long, they just get ripped out by the roots. Now no more (but there will be seeds and a massive last hurrah in my favourite jug). More salvia involucrata and red flax to fill the gap. Apols for terrible blurry photo - selected the wrong file.
 

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Calamity1971 said:
I have as much success with that as I do lavender :(.
Beautiful, and I can just imagine the smell.
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OMIGOD how did I not have that on my list ?
Deffo for next year ...
"Oswego tea"
The only minty things I have are self-sown lemon balm and a little deadnettle that blew in ...
But like you say - lavender :p
 
gentlegreen said:
OMIGOD how did I not have that on my list ?
Deffo for next year ...
"Oswego tea"
The only minty things I have are self-sown lemon balm and a little deadnettle that blew in ...
But like you say - lavender :p
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Can I suggest lemon verbena too. It just sits there, wafting citrusiness at you every time you brush past.
 
moonsi til said:
Yes! I assumed daisies!
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I was about to get all cross about country names, but them I'm reminded the fluffy pink thing in my front garden is "meadowsweet" - filipendula rubra - which is, however as I correctly remembered the actual original source of the salicylic acid for aspirin but the origin of that commercial name is from spirea which used to be a genus including Filipendula ulmaria the species originally used ...Both in the rosaceae.

... whereas "Feverfew" Tanacetum parthenium has no proven medicinal action against headaches in spite of being sold for that ...
 
888@BristolEcho. Rule of thumb for lavender, On the 8th day of 8th month, cut back 8 inches. So yep, your partner is almost on the right track but you have a few more weeks to enjoy the lavender flowers. I take it as far back as I can before hitting old wood., which can be quite far indeed if you are growing the much larger intermediate Dutch type such as 'Vera' or 'Grosso'. 8 inches is perfect for Hidcote or Munstead - the usual English lavender. Doing this will prolong the life of a shrub to a good 10 years or so and will keep it tidy, healthy and floriferous.
 
Ghastly sight at the allotment today. Much shrivelling and desperate drought horror. Not a single blade of green grass to be seen, the 'meadow' a 3foot high sea of brown crispy stalks with only the achillea, scabious and knapweeds making any sort of floral effect. Roses all finished, but many still hanging on the trees in that used looroll effect, while all the early summer flowers finished, but clinging on to woody stems. The only cheerful plants are the salvias, and a few straggly penstemons. As for vegetables...potatoes ready to dig, all peas and beans eaten by mice, strawbs over, leaving too many redcurrants and not much else. This is the same every July (and August), when I despair about the whole project. Always looks glorious until midMay when the roses are at peak bloom and the plot is full of simple summer flowers...but the dry soil causes bolting and drying out - never an encouraging look. Usually picks up by end of August, with dahlias, cosmos , tagetes and such, as well as squashes, leeks and currants...have to keep my nerve and not throw up my hands in disgust
 
campanula said:
888@BristolEcho. Rule of thumb for lavender, On the 8th day of 8th month, cut back 8 inches. So yep, your partner is almost on the right track but you have a few more weeks to enjoy the lavender flowers. I take it as far back as I can before hitting old wood., which can be quite far indeed if you are growing the much larger intermediate Dutch type such as 'Vera' or 'Grosso'. 8 inches is perfect for Hidcote or Munstead - the usual English lavender. Doing this will prolong the life of a shrub to a good 10 years or so and will keep it tidy, healthy and floriferous.
Click to expand...

I've never heard this before, but'll try it out in a few weeks and let you know how it goes...
 
campanula said:
888@BristolEcho. Rule of thumb for lavender, On the 8th day of 8th month, cut back 8 inches. So yep, your partner is almost on the right track but you have a few more weeks to enjoy the lavender flowers. I take it as far back as I can before hitting old wood., which can be quite far indeed if you are growing the much larger intermediate Dutch type such as 'Vera' or 'Grosso'. 8 inches is perfect for Hidcote or Munstead - the usual English lavender. Doing this will prolong the life of a shrub to a good 10 years or so and will keep it tidy, healthy and floriferous.
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Thank you!
 
campanula you mention currants...blackcurrants?! I have red which have some fruit but my blackcurrant has never done anything! I assumed incorrect pruning or it doesn't like it's spot (shady) but also assumed it would fruit the same time as the reds!
 
A few things come to mind, Callie. How old is your currant? They take a few years to get going (4 or so). They are also really demanding in terms of nutrients, really benefiting from a spring top-dressing and are not terribly happy in the shade. Pruning can also be an issue as they fruit on older wood so when you prune them, you need to take out the oldest and gnarliest branches, leaving all the newer growth. Did you notice spring flowering (little hanging clusters of pale green flowers)? If so, the lack of berries could possibly be bird related. As a rule, blackbirds and pigeons will go for the redder fruits first, often leaving blackcurrants alone...but if no other goodies are available, they will strip the blackcurrants off the bush. Odd that you have some redcurrants while not having any blackcurrants so I am going to hazard a guess that the bush is still a little immature. You are right inasmuch as blackcurrants do ffruit at around the same time as redcurrants (if a little earlier) so maybe do no pruning this year and give them a good bump of balanced fertiliser next March.

Ah, there is another problem...which mine have. There is a nasty pest called big bud mite which is a sort of gallwasp which lays in the incipient buds. Quite literally, you will see that some of the new leaf buds are bigger and more rounded than normal sized buds. While the pests don't actually kill the plants, they cause a disease called reversion which will lead to a much reduced or even missing crop of berries. This is a particular problem on allotments and shared sites since it is almost impossible to get other people to grub out diseased bushes, so eventually, all the bushes across a whole site will become infected. This has been a major problem for me, resulting in grubbing out a dozen bushes and only replanting, supposedly big bud resistant varieties, The results are not, so far, wildly promising, and it looks as though blackcurrants are going to go the way of raspberries and onions on my plot. Total fail because I have ignoramus neighbours, who maintain virused or diseased plants, regardless of the effects on other allotment users. You can see big buds quite clearly once the new buds appear over winter.
 
Thanks campanula the plant isn't young and has been in the ground about the same amount of time as the redcurrants. They are in quite different spots though. Can't say I've noticed any weird budding or flowers. Will spoil it and try to chop back some of what's causing the shade which included the gigantic hydrangea which doesn't seem to be effected by chopping back :D
 
Grandpa Ott is taking off in the front and back gardens, East, north and south :)
Bred in Bavaria apparently.

But something has been chomping on one of them on the fence adjoining my neighbour's bird sanctuary ...
I hope they don't make a habit of it ...

EDIT:-

google says earwigs ... :hmm:

ottfront.jpgchewed.jpg
 
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🥰 I received a lantana plant for Father's day, which I put outside on a hanger. Within 3 days, it had attracted visits from hummingbirds!
...but now, about a month later, the blooms are decreasing and the plant is getting "leggy".

Any tips for "more blooms, less vine"?
 
Stupidly large crop of blackcurrants down my plot this year - seems what they needed was the brutal cutting back they got midwinter. Picked 1/2 a kilo a few hours ago without really breaking a sweat. Wondering what to do with them - initial ideas are icecream, cordial and gin liqueur...20220712_193111.jpg
 
Wolveryeti said:
Stupidly large crop of blackcurrants down my plot this year - seems what they needed was the brutal cutting back they got midwinter. Picked 1/2 a kilo a few hours ago without really breaking a sweat. Wondering what to do with them - initial ideas are icecream, cordial and gin liqueur...View attachment 331984
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Jam, fool (the pudding, I'm not calling you daft :D), all kinds of cakes and puddings if you're into baking, freeze portions fresh or lightly stewed with some sugar...

Got 2 lb of blackcurrants from my plot this year which I'm happy with for two bushes that've only been in the ground 18 months. The cuttings I took at planting, left in the fridge for weeks, potted up and then didn't water for most of last year have somehow survived and grown into bushes too.
 
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