Gardening tips and ideas

[Diane65]

Love it Preston. I think that most problems are opportunities to think ..sideways / offpist (?) At least when I have climbed down from the wall I have been driven up!! That is why I am also a horder... it WILL be useful!!

I b*ght a thyme plant at a brocant on monday. Today I took it out of the pot, got rid of the old orange roots, tore it into about 4 separate plants. The 'new' plants have more whiteish roots are have now been replanted. Also, killed the snail eggs that the pot had. Watch out for those little yellow 'beads', No!!, they are not fertiliser!

In our agricultural department they buit a green house out of plastic bottles... one inside another. Now that looked interesting, just don't think OH would put up with the amount of bottles it took.

I think that the shelving unit, with plants, lit by day light bulbs would be a winner. Now where did I see a shelving unit I could transform?

By the end of the summer I will have a lot of holly hock seeds if any one is interested. I could also grow on rosemary, sage (purple&green) maybe lavender too.

The chives & garlic chives are about to seed so will collect these too.

In the next meet, I will be the one weighed down with plants!! That is if anyone wants them.

I would love some hollyhock seeds ooh and garlic etc. Will pop over to France when I'm in Switzerland in a few weeks and try and get an interesting flower pot or something for the garden - you will be suprised what I have brought back in my hand luggage Moroccan lanterns, Swedish Christmas decorations and 2 beautiful tablecloths from Wazemmes market in Lille including one for my garden which prettyxcool and Canadian_turtle have seen on my way past St.Pancras station.

Shame there isn't still a guards van on the train as we could have a travelling plant swap on our way to Edinburgh next year

[ejwrank]

Diane -- we also have lily of the valley and I like them very much but be careful as they will spread everywhere. I spent one summer taking them out and clearing all the roots and transplanting just a few to another spot, but lily of the valley have a mind of their own and they are impossible to clear completely. I say this as said flower bed is now full of them, yet again. Not that I don't like them -- I love them and I always give my elderly neighbour a posy of them and she claims it is much better than all the shop b*ght bouquets she gets from others. But they are invasive and tough to tame. As Sunny Saver's cousin says -- if a plant wants to grow, it will grow and lily of the valley likes to grow and spread.

We also keep a couple of compost bins going. You might try your Council, Diane, as some do deals on them. I actually found mine dumped in the street (NEW) and I realised later that they are very are wide (like Daleks) and hard/impossible to get through to the back garden if you have to take them through the house. We managed to walk them down a party wall and threw them from a height to get them in (well we had a builder do that when he was doing some other work!) Oh but you have a clever corner property so won't have that problem.

[Sunny Saver]

?..As Sunny Saver's cousin says -- if a plant want to grow, it will grow....

Yeah, but don't forget they are 11 going on 111!

My MIL is a keen gardener, so I told OH to ask her for cuttings, but her plants don't suit my garden, as she has acres, I have postage stamp.

I'm thinking of just growing lavender in my raised bed at the back, mixed with some Honesty, which self seeds. Less work the better?

Btw, ejwrank, what's the name of the bush in my front garden that's going to have an abundance of yellow flowers?

[Diane65]

Diane -- we also have lily of the valley and I like them very much but be careful as they will spread everywhere. I spent one summer taking them out and clearing all the roots and transplanting just a few to another spot, but lily of the valley have a mind of their own and they are impossible to clear completely. I say this as said flower bed is now full of them, yet again. Not that I don't like them -- I love them and I always give my elderly neighbour a posy of them and she claims it is much better than all the shop b*ght bouquets she gets from others. But they are invasive and tough to tame. As Sunny Saver's cousin says -- if a plant want to grow, it will grow and lily of the valley likes to grow and spread.

We also keep a couple of compost bins going. You might try your Council, Diane, as some do deals on them. I actually found mine dumped in the street (NEW) and I realised later that they are very are wide (like Daleks) and hard/impossible to get through to the back garden if you have to take them through the house. We managed to walk them down a party wall and threw them from a height to get them in (well we had a builder do that when he was doing some other work!) Oh but you have a clever corner property so won't have that problem.

Well then that puts a different perspective on things then so I might just plant them either in one of my bulb pots or as they like shade at the edge of my lawn and underneath the hawthorn I want to grow an abundance of bluebells (mine look purple so would fit in with my colours) and snowdrops so could add lily of the valley to here just to add a bit of interest.

Just having another read and I need some bonemeal and soil improver first. Should I get a plastic or wooden compost bin? Ideally I would prefer wooden as already have 4 wheelie bins which I can't think of a way to disguise

My MIL is a keen gardener, so I told OH to ask her for cuttings, but her plants don't suit my garden, as she has acres, I have postage stamp.

I'm thinking of just growing lavender in my raised bed at the back, mixed with some Honesty, which self seeds. Less work the better?

Btw, ejwrank, what's the name of the bush in my front garden that's going to have an abundance of yellow flowers?

I adore Lavender and I do agree with certain plants go with different sizes and styles. As I have been noseying in people's gardens as walking past (glancing not stalking) to get ideas it is wonderful to see so many different styles in just a miles walk from very trendy structured type plants, lots of bamboo to almost show type gardens with perfectly perfected lawns and although I think they are fabulous I am keeping within my colours and style as it isn't large enough to incorporate lots of different styles.

[ejwrank]

I think it's Hypericum, Sunny Saver.

http://www.gardens4you.co.uk/index.php? ... 1l-0seS1AA

[Sunny Saver]

Thanks ejwrank.

Diane65: is it too late to plant bluebells now? I have Spanish ones in my garden. I prefer them as they are very erect. Last year when I moved in they didn't flower, just leaves. I didn't even know what leaves they were till a friend told me. The front garden was a mess though, as we'd only just moved in. Got someone in to clear it up and this year we have bluebells flowering and campanulas too.

[Diane65]

Probably but I'm not sure but you can split them after they have finished flowering. I have quite a few so intend to do that. We'll have to wait for the experts to respond as I am learning on the job. What is the difference between a Spanish one and an English one as just been looking a images of them and I can't tell? Just found it the English curve over found in woods and the Spanish stay upright plus found in open ground so as London is closer to Spain than Manchester is that's why I have English and you have Spanish.

[baty]

With bulbs, I think you should let the leaves die back before lifting. The bulbs are building up strength for the next year. Sometimes you can't wait so give them a bit of a feed when you have shifted them.
Feed= liquid, pellet, manure etc what ever you have.

I have blue and white bells in my garden, have moved them around from time to time and they don't seem to mind.


ejwrank, I made the mistake of planting a droppy, on its last legs, varigated grass into my garden. It took off and I have regretted it ever since must have pulled up tons of the stuff over the years. Think might have preferred having at least the perfume of the lilly-of-the-valley.

Bamboo, becareful and do not plant directly into our garden. If you want it, bury it in a pot, it make sure the roots are restricted. Went to a house once where the stuff had rampaged through the garden and was coming up through the block paving around the house. The bit of plant I took away went stright into a pot.

Ok Diane will bag up some hollyhock seeds and will try to grow some on as well. I will also take some lavender cuttings.
I do enjoy seeing things grow.

[Sunny Saver]

I read that with bluebells you can lift the bulbs while the leaves are still showing, but I'm a novice so not sure .

Hypericum: so it's St John's Wort, which is used to cure depression, yeah that means we'll never be depressed then!

[moondance]

I saw this image recently made from a pallet which looks interesting

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 2528_n.jpg

I no longer have a garden only a roof terrace and very small shady courtyard so am on the look out for good container plant tips

For those who live in London Columbia Road flower market is great and they sell things off cheap just before they close http://www.columbiaroad.info/
I b*ght a hanging basket strawberry plant 8 years ago and despite neglect it continues to grow each year and produces sweet strawberries all summer so a few of those in pots/baskets look nice and taste nice!