My garden makes me so happy

[HumphreyCobbler]

I wanted a garden all my adult life, and for the last three years I have had one.

To begin with I was worried it wouldn't be as much fun as I thought it would be, but I soon discovered it was even better.

It was an overgrown, tangled mess when we moved in and slowly we have transformed it. I am still a beginner, but I already know so much more than I did.

Today I came home to find a massive pile of well rotted horseshit waiting for me. It was brilliant.

I don't really know what the point of this post is, I just wanted to share

Some of my sweet peas are still very spindly, but the ones on the willow obelisk are bulking out nicely.

What's new with you, Humphrey?

hey there

I have just realised that one of my great pleasures in life is cutting flowers from my garden for my house. Just picked a bunch of field marigolds and tansy leaves, a mixed bunch of cornflowers, some new dawn mixed with catmint and two enormous sprays of blush rambler. The latter is the most reliable rose I have, it even fades prettily.

Am finding the wildflower meadow such a delight, sorry to keep banging on about it, but it really is so amazing. I have no idea what half the stuff is called but I have seen the first few red poppies

We have just picked 7lbs of raspberries.

7lbs! That's a baby not a raspberry crop! Congratulations.

I am of your raspberry's, your pigs, your wildflower meadow and your cut flowers. Please keep 'banging on' about them though as I like to live vicariously through this thread. Was considering cutting a small bunch of sweet peas for the house tomorrow, will definitely do so now; there are some beautiful deep purple ones in the mix which I'm particularly taken with.

do pick them and keep them by your bed. That is what I am planning to do if my sweet peas ever flower.

Wouldn't it be great if we could all visit each other's gardens? I think about you all on this thread whenever I come across plants you are fond of. You are all welcome to come here but give me time to weed it first

Oh I would love to wander around all the gardens on this thread. I have recently become incredibly nosey of all gardens and am often tempted to knock on random doors to ask the names of plants they have growing. I give guided tours of the veg plot and the pots on my patio to anyone who shows the remotest interest but am yet to be proud of the rest of it (working on it steadily). If anyone is ever hanging around the Hampshire/Surrey border at a loose end you are more than welcome to inspect my veg.

I have started raiding charity shops to buy jugs in which to put my cut flowers - I got a lovely terracotta one today. Last week I took a bunch into the office. ::swank::

Hello all I lost you all and have also name changed due to stalker so hello again!!
7lbs of rasberries sounds amazing I think I have had 7!!! My sweet peas are however very good I am so pleased... Does anyone know of they continue flowering if I cut them or not. I am loathe to do fo but have decided their scent is possibly the best smell in the world!!
My broad beans look good and obviously thrive on neglect so may have some tonight!

the more sweet peas you cut the more you will get, cutting them is therefore obligatory

what a wonderful flower

hello there again

How tall do everyone's sweet peas grow? Mine are about 1.5m high but I've been round someone's house today and their neighbours are about 2.5m possibly closer to 3m! i could only see the foot or two that was peeping over the tall fence but they looked amazing and simply laden with flowers. How do you get them to do that? I was quite impressed with mine until today; now I think they need a good talking too.

My mother has brought some cut asian lilies over tonight as the scent was apparently making her 'allergies troublesome'. I thought she was talking nonsense but I have never smelt lilies like these, the whole house is thick with the smell. I'm contemplating putting them outside! My little vase of sweet peas is completely overpowered.

I just cut a little jug of sweet peas for my bedroom, as they've exploded into flower just this week. The smell is absolutely heavenly.

I have just been in the garden, yelling at nurturing my sweet peas, to encourage them to grow and flower.

My sweet peas are just 8 inches tall. I am very confused and worried for them in case they never grow up but perhaps it is because they are the perennial type?

I cut two roses today from my only rose bush, and have put them in water in a wildly unsuitable large Kilner jar. I now realise how short of vase type things I am - was going round charity shops this morning and thought of the mention someone on this thread said about things for flowers. Then was at Ikea this afternoon - but did I get vases? nope.

My VB are 1.5m tall, crocosmia about a metre and very imminently about to bud-burst. One honeysuckle has gone crazy while I've been on holiday and is peeking over the fence, another (a lonicera) is taking it slower but may end up less leggy.

I had that vast quantity of nicotiana (if anyone remembers) - about 20 plants, of which I successfully kept maybe 15 alive and grew on. I was just looking this evening at a couple of them - ones which are in full sun have huge leaves and are about 40-50cm tall and lots of flowers. Some others which are rather more enclosed between other tall things have got nearly as tall but much smaller and fewer leaves lower down. They are quite elegant when not allowed to get so bushy, and I find it interesting that they are coping with different conditions so well. Calendulas too - have some along the path to the front door which are massive and have multiple flowers already. Three others, planted at the same time in just as much sun but on the rockery - smaller, one or two flowers, but clearly healthy. Just not got as much energy to throw at flower and thence seed production.

Today I bought two buckets with lids and will from now on be making compost tea with the evil quantities of horsetail I pull up from the front garden, and with all the silly little weeds in the back. Am so nervous about introducing horsetail to the back that I will use the front garden compost tea only on the front garden... just in case the 'brewed' liquid somehow has spores or something that could regenerate into horsetail. Bastard stuff.

Yes the perennial sweet peas are different from the annual kind. I have my first bud on mine! My were-supposed-to-be-orange-but-are-red ranunculus have nearly finished flowering and they have been gorgeous (if the wrong colour). VBs and dahlias are out now but the cannas are taking an age to grow.

I have to had to yank down a load of hop which are hugely rampant. I am gardening on totally different soil here - sandy loam rather than heavy clay and things which were very well-behaved in my old garden are irritatingly invasive here. I'm learning though :)

Hello! (again) I forgot about this thread, hidden away in Threads I'm On.

I planted up some more alpines yesterday. I am really addicted to them. One of my raised beds has an alpine area in it, with some rocks, but I don't really have garden space for more areas, so have had to start putting them into sodding pots. Which I like, visually, but they don't appeal to my garden plan, which involves NO POTS, so I don't have to worry so much about watering.

Never mind.

Have just removed an invasive grass that I planted by mistake [nobbin]. Thought it was just a pretty grass. Then a month later it was 3 times the size and threatening world domination.

Unlike my strawberries, which have leaves that have withered in the sun, and 1 deformed fruit over 12 frigging plants. There were more fruits, but they seems to have vanished into thin air.

I am desperate for more Crocosmia, we moved from a house that had a lot. I tried to bring some but it didn't work. Shall have to remember bulbs. I replaced them with a load of Freesia this year (my favourite flower) but they have all flopped to the ground. And look pathetic.

Also trying to decide whether to simply turf a chunk of soil in the front garden or grow elephant garlic in it this year.

How are we all?

Just about to eat my first courgette. V excited.

Opium poppies are out, only planted black which are lovely, but Hampden Court Garden inspired me to plant lots and lots of colours next year. Single black hollyhocks out too.

Hello everyone, did you have a nice weekend?

Lovely weekend thanks Humphrey but too busy to spend any time in the garden unfortunately.

How was the courgette? We're somewhat swamped at the moment. Although I have started making courgette cakes which are going down rather well. Picked my first carrots today. Had a salad for lunch entirely from the garden apart from the tomatoes - lettuce, spinach, rocket, radish, spring onion & carrots. And then we had a pile of broccoli for tea. Feeling very healthy and self-sufficient at the moment!

Every time I get excited about maybe getting a strawberry mine vanish in to thin air too Pfft. I'm presuming slugs.

Pfft - Is it the bog standard crocosmia that you want? If so, I'm about to dig some up and put it on the compost heap, so would be happy to continue my tradition of MN plants by post and sent it to you. I also have a small quantity of Lucifer that somehow evaded the round-up for the school fete.

All good in the garden here, except the snails have reduced the Bishop of Llandaff to a skeleton.

Oh, maud, would you really do that? I can send you the postage costs via paypal if you like?

I will take any and all Crocosmia I do love them.

Yes I would, Pfft. I love crocosmia too but I have a small garden and its rampant spreading has to be checked from time to time.

I don't want the postage - this is my version of the 'random acts of kindness' thing where people leave books in public places and so on. Notamopsa alreday has some of my aquilegia gloire de Mumsnet. PM me your address and I may get a chance to go to the post office tomorrow.

SQUEE!!

Wow, thank you. I shall endeavor to pay it forward in a garden related way

I have lots of space to put them in, I promise to look after them!

pming now

Indeed I have Maud and they live - 'twas touch and go due to clay soil and much dryness but they live!!!!

My garden is so far behind the rest of the world my roses are only just out and my buddlhea (sp!!!!) is just about to bloom. Perennial sweet pea also not doing much

One of my ranunculus is entirely overrun by blackfly, the other untouched. Very odd.

But my Eryngium is starting to get those fab almost neon purple stems which look ace in front of the VB.

In other news, my mother dug up one of my cannas in a bout of over-enthusiastic weeding. I am really upset about it but won't say anything as she was 'being helpful'

My eryngium seem to have vanished - slugs or choked by other things, I know not - but the cerinthe are just beginning to flower in that fab neon violet way of theirs.

Those aquilegia will be well used to clay, GoblinMarket [love the Rossetti reference, by the way] as you could make pots with the stuff in my flowerbeds.

Good!!! Home from home then!