Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May: Alternative potting shed thread

[funnyperson]

On the grounds that potting sheds should admit those of all cultures here is an alternative potting shed thread. Probably makeshift and not as posh as the other one. Definitely subversive and open to gardeners of all capabilities.

[funnyperson]

[funnyperson]

[HumphreyCobbler]

Hello!

[HumphreyCobbler]

I need a strong coffee, thanks. Have been up for an hour.

[iamEarthymama]

Hello, I have seen the threads and not felt motivated to join as I have been ill since the beginning of the year.
Now I feel better I can see how much work there is in the garden and allotment. Overwhelmed by it all to be honest.
I am also waiting for an operation on my hand so can't do any lifting or digging.
I might just stay in bed and ignore it all!!

On another note, how subversive is the gardening here? Do you plant your sweet corn in rows not blocks? Are you bean rows not completely straight? Do you have council park planting on the flower beds, full of African Marigolds and Salvia?

[SugarPlumTree]

Morning all was that early start child related Humph?

Welcome Earthymama, sorry you have been ill. My subversive bit was a spot of guerilla gardening on a very small dry bank under a tree at the top of our shared drive on no Man's land. It now has a hypericum, a couple of primroses, bluebells, oxalis and a couple of shrub seedlings. I noticed that someone planted some vinca opposite the other day.

Lovely May vase Haps on the other thread. Looking forward to my cutting patch getting under way. On the subjec of molluscs I put my hands up and confess I cracked last year and use pellets. Hence I still have some lupins, hosta and some of my clematis are coming back to life.

[Rhubarbgarden]

Ooh, controversial start! Fwiw I loved Echt's quote. But then I am an atheist so it really chimed with me, and came across as positive and serene rather than gloomy.

But I can quite understand Funny's position on it and it is obviously only that right that the potting shed is a friendly and welcoming place for all!

Hello Earthymamma.

[Callmegeoff]

Morning

Welcome earthymama sorry that you are ill.

bertha your garden sounds huge and lovely, a ride on mower I am

I've never done any guerrilla garden but I am thinking about it, there is a 4 acre millennium garden near my house. it was made with lottery money by volunteers. I walk the dog there it's really lovely but could do with some more pollinators and less brambles.


Dh and my Bil are erecting a new shed, once all the tools are in I doubt there will be any room for potting but we'll see.

I finally watched Monty I would like to go to Malvern it looked lovely.

Today I'm planning to replant the gone over tulips, pot on nearly every thing in the greenhouse and plant out the Dahlias and scabious. A couple of this years full price Dahlias have still not come up so I've emailed Sarah Raven.

Aquilegia are all coming into flower, the dark purple one has disappeared and they are all white. I must sow more seeds. One snapped in the wind and is now in a vase cheering up the Kitchen.

[AlternativeTentacles]

Morning.

Alternative here, at your service, Ma'am.

Moon gardener, seed bomber and all round 'breaking the rules' type of gardener.

We are revamping our garden at the mo - from borders and 5 square veggie beds - to woodland garden with wiggly grassy path [well, as wiggly as my OH is able to go, he likes things just so]...

Yesterday I sowed Didiscus caeruleus, a lavender blue flower similar to cow parsley, an azure blue Sweet pea, a Rudbeckia, some more Echinacea and two nodding Alliums. All for the new forest garden. And some Papalo, Pipiche - both leafy herbs from the South Americas [from real seeds], a mammoth Basil for me and for some salad cut and come again pots we will be potting up in a month, and potted up the squashes to the bigger pots. We have a Courgette [Shooting Star, a yellow climbing courgette] and some runner beans that are now big enough to go into the polytunnel - yay!

And I've been making some netting for the courgettes, runner beans and tomatoes to grow up. Our polytunnel is huge so I make nets, hang them from the scaffoldy bits, and weave my vine tomatoes through the holes to keep the plants off the ground. I will need to make around 4 huge nets this year, and I ran out of compostable twine so have reverted to non-compostable acrylic wool that I had left over.

www.realseeds.co.uk/herbs.html

[AlternativeTentacles]

p.s...my first seed bombs I threw onto the verge of the A52 going into Nottingham, just by the toby Carvery where it meets Woolaton Vale - each year there is now a lovely display of red poppies from them. It took a fair few years to know that they had done anything, as I moved away the year later and didn't drive past at the right time until 2 years ago and I saw them. I used to sit in traffic and throw them out of the car window onto the verge.

Seed bombing is fab!

[LinkDat]

I am so happy with these. My tiny delphiniums. My heart is singing. I really need to get a life.

[SugarPlumTree]

Your plans sound lovey Alternativetentacles and I'm jealous of the huge polytunnel. I'm currently tapping my fingers waiting for beans to germinate. I bought a fair bit from Realseeds a few years ago and the only time I'm a bit sad about having given up allotment is when I realise there is no space to grow Oca anymore.

Am liking the idea of seed bombing, did yo make them yourself? I'm going to see what else I can plant up the top now by the Vinca. It's by a bus stop so would be something for people to look at whilst waiting.

[Blackpuddingbertha]

Morning potting shed!

Welcome to the new people. You all sound like you'll fit in perfectly, seed bombing & hearts that sing because of seedlings

Mowing the lawn is the order of today, if DH can get the blasted thing going. It needs a new battery and is being temperamental.

Potted some stuff on yesterday & started hardening off the sweetpeas & sweetcorn & beans. Also realised that several of my large pots usually used for pumpkin patch over-runs have disintegrated over the winter so I'm going to have to buy replacements to house the courgettes.

I keep distributing seeds along the lane to our house. This year I have so far spotted aquilegia, red valarian and lots of forget me nots but no sign of the poppies & other stuff I've thrown there yet. I'll keep trying.

[Blackpuddingbertha]

Just spotted Rhubarb's elderflower wine was uncorked.

[MyNightWithMaud]

Morning all and welcome to the newbies!

::proffers slightly grubby potting shed mug to be filled with elderflower wine::

I'm afraid the controversial aspects of this or other thread titles had gone completely over my head, but I do hope the limits of any arguments here can be whether or not to use slug pellets or (as someone has already said) to plant sweetcorn in blocks or rows. I want everyone to be happy and supported and to join in the heart-singing over the emergence of seedlings.

::invites everyone to join an elderflower wine-fuelled group hug::

I seem to be reaping the rewards of nature's own seed bombing, as I have opium poppies popping up everywhere.

I have a quick question for aficionados of the dahlia. I started mine in trays of compost and one has grown so much there (in the rather warm dining room) that it has flowerbuds. Shall I go for broke and plant it out now?

[mousmous]

morning!
have been away from the last thread - stress related.
am enjoying a warm afternoon with my bright ceanothus, blubells, the last of the tulips.

[SugarPlumTree]

Hi mousmous, hope you are ok. Maud my Pelagoniums are out as couldn't be arsed to put then in the greenhouse the harden off. If you do decide to put it out can you take a few cuttings as back up?

[mousmous]

my success story of taking cuttings: took some twigs of a blue hibiscus shrub in december, planted the ones out that showed some leaves (3 of 6 twigs) and so far they haven't died. and the ones I saw in a garden centre looked about the same leaf-stage-wise.

[mousmous]

hibiscus twig

[AlternativeTentacles]

Seed bombs - yes just pop the seeds into a bowl [not one you use for cooking I'd suggest] and throw in some soil [clay if you have it] and add water to bind it. then roll into balls and go chuck them where you think the space needs something a little extra. Poppies are always good for adding to seed bombs.

[Bearleigh]

Maud I've been hardening off my dahlias and plan to plant them very soon. I also accidentally left outside my Pelargonium Sidoides about a fortnight ago, and that seems very happy, so I suspect that those of us in SE will be OK to put big plants out.

I do like the idea of seed bombs, and how lovely to see the results, Alternative. I planted a teasel in my only foray into guerrilla gardening but I think it failed. I look every time I pass, but nothing. I must have another go.

Has anyone else noticed that lobelia doesn't like peat free compost -all my other seeds have romped away, but lobelia, 4 weeks after sowing is still on the first leaves. Or maybe it's always slow and I haven't remembered?

We went to Wisley today – hordes of people looking at the rhododendrons and azaleas which were making a spectacular display. It wasn't as busy elsewhere and was just beautiful.

[HapShawl]

Thanks for the new thread and hello to fellow newcomers

[SugarPlumTree]

That sounds very easy, I don't have clay though. Will have a go at that, thanks.

Haven't sown Lobelia Bearleigh, sorry. How is DS coping with the rather imminent exams ?

I was potting up in greenhouse when a gigantic bumble bee came in. Was trying to ignore it, it got caught in a spiders web. Luckily freed itself whilst I was trying to work out how to free it, but sounded very pissed off so I legged it.

My Zinnia are growing very slowly, Cerinthe and calendula refusing to germinate. Cosmos took a long time too, think nights have been too cold out there.

[Blackpuddingbertha]

Been pottering in the sunshine. Very restorative.

Bad things - slugs/snails have decapitated some tall alliums just as they were about to burst open

Good things - my pink jasmine that is lovely but has yet to do much has reproduced itself. One whip got stuck under a big pot so I pulled it out to find that it had grown a mass of roots under there. So I chopped it off and potted it up and now I have two

I'm going to put my dahlias outside now. They are really too large for my conservatory and I really need to pot them on

[SugarPlumTree]

This has come over from neighbour's - any idea what it is ? The bees love it.