The gardening thread

[Treacle Toes]

Making friends with the neighbour who needed the wood shifting is going to pay off once again... He is taking up the paving stones in his front garden and has promised them to me as this saves him breaking them up and disposing of them....this means I will finally have enough to create a new base for the very big shed and move it!

 

[campanula]

Whispering Aspen Tree

Please can I have some thoughts about this tree?
I shall read wiki, but before I was wondering if anybody had been "hands on".
My dead beloved's partner has planted one for her in Co.Cork where she passed.
Maybe I'll do the same in my Sussex garden.
Thanks

Hi Yardbird,
whispering aspen, aka populus tremula is a tall, fast growing tree which, unless your garden is huge, is not the most appropriate as a garden tree since it has a tendency to sucker, growing clonal colonies which can be hard to control. It is not as tall as hybrid poplars, reaching around 20m but will spread outwards to make a 10m canopy. Although it is not the problematic Lombardy Poplar, there are still issues with roots and buildings to be considered. However, if you do have space, this is an elegant, fast growing tree which will gain considerable stature in as little as 10 years.
You might want to consider some smaller, more mannerly trees such as some of the very beautiful rowans, the snowy mespilus (amelanckier), crabs (malus) or even (my favourite) the autumn and winter flowering cherry, prunus autumnalis subhirtella.
If you consider the sort of soil you have, the space available and the rest of the garden, you can pm me and I can give you a list of cultivars and suggestions where to buy and when to plant.
Sorry to hear of a loss - but planting a tree is a true and sure affirmation of life.

 

[campanula]

Making friends with the neighbour who needed the wood shifting is going to pay off once again... He is taking up the paving stones in his front garden and has promised them to me as this saves him breaking them up and disposing of them....this means I will finally have enough to create a new base for the very big shed and move it!

Top value - a good neighbour with assets - excellent.....and especially good to have a nice big useful shed (make sure you leave enough room for a comfy chair).

 

[yardbird]

campanula - thanks re whispering aspen - I hadn't realised that it was so massive, I should have read the wiki page
The tree that has been planted has it's own large space near the Cork coast that she loved.
This makes me happy.
I'll go to Kew which we both loved and mull this over.

 

[Manter]

I've finished sorting my back passage (fnarr)- I did the last of the planting and painting today
This is when we moved in (the rotten trellis you can see got treated, painted and is now an arch in front of the shed)

Cleaned it, painted it, put up painted trellis, blocked up the door the neighbours had illegally knocked through , attacked the moss, rehung the gate so it actually opens and repainted it

And today planted up planters (a fiver from ebay- horrific cheap orange things, I sanded, sealed and painted them) with pachysandra, ivy, and vinca, and put up solar powered motion sensor lights

 

[Manter]

Oh,, and aqua I was sent a plant catalogue today with some lovely shade ideas in it. I love the mix of anemone and astrantia, and may have bought a polygonatum today

 

[campanula]

sterling work, there!
I, too, have been painting trellis for what seems like days and days (2) - got to be one of the most tedious jobs in the universe.

 

[Manter]

sterling work, there!
I, too, have been painting trellis for what seems like days and days (2) - got to be one of the most tedious jobs in the universe.

Yeah, next time I think I'll buy it ready painted- even though it costs a fortune, it'll stop me going stark staring mad with boredom

 

[BoatieBird]

I've just bought one of those wooden swinging seats for the garden.
Our local garden centre normally sells them for £300, but this is last year's display model and I bought it for £135.
It needs a coat of woodstain and there are a couple of bolts missing, but I'm over the moon - I've wanted one for years

I can already see myself sitting on it in the summer with a GnT and a good book.

 

[campanula]

MY God, weak with seat envy - I too have little swinging chair cravings, with book, headphones, and a pint of Broadside

 

[Manter]

I have loads to do in the house. Therefore, I am digging the footings for a step and clearing the ground to put the new fence up

 

[Boudicca]

You're wasted on your day job Manter, have you considered setting up a landscape gardening company?

I have painted my shed to match the table and chairs. Also dug up the strawberries and scattered wild flower and 'easy to grow' seeds in the bed.

Bought some tomato seeds, intending to pass on some plants to gaijingirl, but there was only 10 in the packet and then a gust of wind blew them away after I had planted 5. I think I retrieved a couple, or I may have planted specks of dust, only time will tell.

 

[Manter]

You're wasted on your day job Manter, have you considered setting up a landscape gardening company?

I have painted my shed to match the table and chairs. Also dug up the strawberries and scattered wild flower and 'easy to grow' seeds in the bed.

Bought some tomato seeds, intending to pass on some plants to gaijingirl, but there was only 10 in the packet and then a gust of wind blew them away after I had planted 5. I think I retrieved a couple, or I may have planted specks of dust, only time will tell.

Ugh, it was windy today, but that must have been annoying

I'd love to do landscape gardening. Or a whole house renovation company- I love sourcing fireplaces in warehouses in Shropshire, and putting in skirting board and stuff...

 

[clicker]

A good friend , in greece, had a baby girl a week ago today....so i bought an olive tree and shall plant it in a pot to celebrate her birth....never had one before and hoping it is hardy enough for winter?

 

[Manter]

A good friend , in greece, had a baby girl a week ago today....so i bought an olive tree and shall plant it in a pot to celebrate her birth....never had one before and hoping it is hardy enough for winter?

Should be- if you're south ish and you keep it out of the wind. If we have a really bad winter you may have to wrap it, but my parents grew one in Hampshire happily enough. They grow in Spain in the Sierra Nevada, so they can handle snow, drought and the odd stinking storm

 

[Manter]

The mystery of why that plant never grows. Solved.

 

[gaijingirl]

The blossoms are GORGEOUS... we have started work on demolishing the end of our garden. Just bought a very big shed to replace our old small one which is slowly committing suicide. Hopefully within the next few weeks we'll have a new shed, a play area for the kids and some raised beds. Trying not to lose too many of our lovely plants - but mostly at the back there it's large, not too exciting bushes. The whole area is currently under a canopy of gorgeous mature trees dripping in blossom. Love this time of year. So much hope.

 

[Manter]

Does anyone know anything about wisterias? I have a white one that I planted last year- it grew lots and all seemed normal, but it doesn't have leaves on it yet this year- should it?

 

[gentlegreen]

Does anyone know anything about wisterias? I have a white one that I planted last year- it grew lots and all seemed normal, but it doesn't have leaves on it yet this year- should it?

I wonder if it's like the forsythia next door - didn't get a proper cold period to reset the clock...

My neigbour's wisteria hasn't got going yet, but then she seriously pruned it last year.

 

[gentlegreen]

I rearranged the curtains protecting my brugmansias in the greenhouse.
they're now only on the north side.
Both are raring to go so they'll have as much sun as they need.
If a nasty cold snap turns up, I'll go out and lag them a bit more.

Spoiler: Youtube video

 

[_pH_]

Does anyone know anything about wisterias? I have a white one that I planted last year- it grew lots and all seemed normal, but it doesn't have leaves on it yet this year- should it?

Look around you - there's still LOADS of things yet to come into leaf. Wisteria can be quite late coming into leaf anyway, a bit like Hibiscus. Give it time

 

[Manter]

Look around you - there's still LOADS of things yet to come into leaf. Wisteria can be quite late coming into leaf anyway, a bit like Hibiscus. Give it time

My neighbours have an established wisteria that has loads of leaves....

 

[_pH_]

My neighbours have an established wisteria that has loads of leaves....

Microclimate maybe?

 

[Manter]

Microclimate maybe?

They are growing by 2 front doors next to each other in a semi in South London?!

 

[_pH_]

They are growing by 2 front doors next to each other in a semi in South London?!

South facing?

Oh I'm with you now...yours is next to theirs. Gotcha.

 

[_pH_]

Have you checked yours is still alive?

 

[Manter]

Have you checked yours is still alive?

Well. It has stems that look healthy (woody bits with fresh stems at the ends. And there are what might be buds forming. Or they might be bumps on the stem and I may be being optimistic....

 

[_pH_]

Well. It has stems that look healthy (woody bits with fresh stems at the ends. And there are what might be buds forming. Or they might be bumps on the stem and I may be being optimistic....

Use your thumb nail to gently scrape back a bit of bark on one of the smaller twigs. If it's alive, the bark should come away easily and the cambium underneath should be green.

 

[campanula]

often, the flower buds open before the foliage gets going - there are no wisterias blooming in Cambridge at the moment - don't fret- they should be getting going by end of March, beginning of April.

 

[Manter]

Use your thumb nail to gently scrape back a bit of bark on one of the smaller twigs. If it's alive, the bark should come away easily and the cambium underneath should be green.

It looks alive. Just slow

Thankyou