Humph's Happy Horti-cult: harvesting, preserving, mulching, leaf-gathering, bulb-dibbing, seed catalogue-surfing and hunkering down for winter

[Lexilicious]

Following on from the original March to August thread. For all - whether still gardening through the winter or planning to sweep the shed, hibernate, sharpen the tools and get started again in the spring.

Happy gardening again!

Yes Humphrey, he absolutely needs them , it is my duty

I agree. Besides it's far more satisfying to go to the garden centre and choose actual plants rather than just buy a voucher.

I have perused the Jungleseed catalogue. There are now a few pages turned over at the corner...anyone grown ornamental winter kale & cabbage? Quite fancying some for the long bed next winter.

Ah, seeds. Only a week now to the seed and potato fair.

::Twitching fingers::

Where is the nursery, WB&N? Is it worth a trip if you're not lcoal?

And had meant to say that the self-sown calendula in the front garden is still flowering and the passionflower looks about to produce another flower. It's all kinda crazy.

::Stomps in, in a temper::

Harrumph. Just spent ages getting frost-bitten fingers as I put the new cover on my plastic greenhouse, only to find that it is ever so slightly too small, so won't zip up all the way to the bottom, and the zip is so cheap and nasty that the puller snapped off on the first attempt. I think I might offer Gardman some ::cough:: constructive criticism.

On the plus side, it's a lovely morning, despite the cold, and the garden is looking lovely with its covering of frost.

I for one am glad of the frost, hopefully it'll see off the slugs before the bulbs get too far above ground.
I'm still holding out for a bit of snow, I doubt winter is done with us yet.
Dug up all the parsnips, dislodging the garlic I forgot to lift in the summer that re sprouted in the same bed.
I replanted the garlic in a different bed, just before the frost hit in earnest.
I like this time of year, making plans, buying seeds and having a little breather before the work of spring

I have just ordered all the freebie offers from GW magazine - my theory is that what I don't use at home I can use on the allotment or donate to the gardening club.

I would be glad, too, to see the end of the slugs.

I must scrub out the bird feeders and refill them and hang up my new birdy drinking station.

Can't stop but just wanted to tell you about half price sake at the Garden Centre group when you click and collect, if you have one near you. There are David Austin Roses included (£8) and a fair range of other ones (got Fairy which I have been after for £5) The clematis work out about £4.50 each mostly.

Oooh err. I don't think we have a Garden Centre near us, but I do seem accidentally to have bought 3 more half price roses - William Shakespeare, Winchester Cathedral and Buff Beauty - in the Crocus sale. I only went on the site to buy a water butt connector!

Oh no. The garden centre that's about 5 minutes away from my parents is now a member of the Garden Centre group. I am doomed.

::Puts padlock on wallet::

That's exactly what happens Maud, an innocent water butt connector and bang goes loads of money !

I have bought:

1 x Clematis 'Carnaby' 2.5 litres @ £8.99 - Not available yet
1 x Clematis texensis 'Duchess of Albany' Virgins Bower - 2.5 litres @ £9.99 - Not available yet
1 x Hosta 'Fire and Ice' Plantain Lily - 3 litres @ £7.99 - Not available yet
1 x Rosa 'The Fairy' R. 'Fairy Rose' - 4 litres @ £9.99 - Not available yet
1 x Rosa 'Zephirine Drouhin' 6 litres @ £12.99 - Not available yet
1 x Rosa William Shakespeare 2000 - David Austin Rose 6 litres @ £16.99 - Not available yet
1 x Clematis montana 'Christine' Spring Clematis - 2.5 litres @ £8.99 - Not available yet
1 x Armeria pseudarmeria 'Ballerina Red' Sea Thrift - 2 litres @ £5.99 - Not available yet
1 x Aster novi-belgii 'Anneke' 1 litres @ £3.99 - Not available yet

That lot will come to about £42 when the discount is applied, think that's pretty good really. I think I might need to sow extra chilli seeds or something and try and flog them down the Market to recoup some of my costs !

You have some lovely stuff in there, WB&N. Once my new trellis is up, I may ::cough:: need some more clematis. Your list has reminded me that I planted Duchess of Albany years ago but it's sunk without trace. Ah well.

Quick Maud, order it quickly now, you know you'll only pay more later so just be done with it! I love the look of William Shakespeare, quite excited about that one.

Yes, I'm just a teensy bit resentful that I've paid more for William S than you have, but I s'pose I have the convenience of having it brought to my door. I just spent a while browsing the Garden Centre website, though, and couldn't find anything I really really wanted and thought I could find a space for. If they had had some nice astrantias I'd have been a goner, though.

Sorry, hadn't looked at the Crocus sale until just now and didn't realise it was more. I'd have refrained from posting the prices if I'd realised.

I am a bit gutted that I bought that Tayberry and Mme Alfred Carriere yesterday for significantly more than I could have paid for them today. But I guess at the end of the day when we get to the summer and see them in flower it won't be so annoying.

'Sfine - a useful reminder of the benefits of shopping around!

On a balmy summer's evening, when we are sitting in the garden with a glass of wine and inhaling the fragrant night air ::we hope:: none of this will seem important.

Indeed

I'm indulging in a little daydream about my yet-to-be-built new patio, yet-to-be-bought new patio furniture and generally spruced-up garden.

::Sighs::

::Am I old enough for a slanket?::

Yes, my DD's friend has one and she is 13 so it's fine. And so useful outside on your new patio on a chilly summer evening. Or over PJ's so the midges don't get you when pyjamma gardening (or is that just me).

Hmm. I have definitely stopped nightie and flip-flop gardening after a horrible bout of cellulitis in my foot last year, which the GP said was very likely caused by soil-borne bacteria entering via any tiny cut on my foot.

Actually, I have just been sewing badges onto my guider's camp blanket and intend to use that when sofa-surfing.

::Arrives smelling of wood smoake::

I have had a lovely afternoon in the garden. I have been thinking of getting rid of the chiminea as we haven't used it for years, but I lit it this afternoon and burned a lot of old tree prunings that have been hanging around for ages. Warming my hands near it was bliss!

That sounds lovely Maud and will go well with the whole wine on patio thing, probably removing need for Slanket. I am never flip flop gardening again after reading about your foot.

I spent 4 hours at allotment today, mostly digging to get it (and me back into shape. Have split a large bit of rhubarb and have lots of strawberry runner. My shed is in a state though, the windows have blown out and the door latch broken off. The wind took out a pane of glass in my neighbours greenhouse right as we were watching it.

Yes, I think the chiminea gets a reprieve, so that in the freezing balmy British summer we can warm our toes on the soon-to-be patio while drinking wine.

Our allotment will be needing some serious attention by now. Oddly, it was me who lobbied for years to get an allotment, against dh's scepticism, but now we have one it seems to have become his. I was growing rhubarb in the herb bed here but it has got too big and needs to relocate to the allotment. Need to do it soon as it's starting to sprout. Problem is that I bought a lovely terracotta rhubard forcer for it, but daren't take it to the allotment where even the roses from the watering cans get stolen, and it will be redundant but decorative here.

I thought the fact that my butt derriere is the only place that has any muscles was because of the number of stairs I have to climb at work, but maybe it is the digging in the garden?

Could you split it, use the forcer at home and then let the other bit do what it will at the allotment ?

DH isn't hugely whole allotment thing. However, he is getting very into chilli growing. I do the seed buying and have just taken delivery of Dorset Naga seed.

Digging is fabulous for toning, I had significantly less wobbly thighs and definitely firmer backside by the end of the summer. It's all gone to pot a bit since then so am trying to get back out there and do some more. Just a bit worried as to whether I'll be able to move in the morning...

I could, but I made an Elementary Novice's Error in planting it at home, because I hadn't appreciated exactly how big it was likely to get and it crowds out and shades a lot of other stuff that then struggles. I think it will have to decamp to the allotment and then the rhubard forcer can be artfully arranged as an objet in one of the beds.

I've just started to worry that a lot of digging could lead to a lop-sided bottom, or do you manage to dig with each foot?