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!

He won't be there, got to do work. If I go I'll post on here what I'm wearing. Or just look out for the woman yelping 'George! Not in the pond!! The coi carp don't need a kiss!' or something similar at a two year old.

Well I have emailed the parish council... will report back!!

I want to go to Wisley

why not come along then? or we could do a humph's happy gardeners meetup at one of the RHS partner gardens that my membership book says are free to enter all over the country if it's the location that's difficult.

just over an hour to GW. it's going to feel like putting on an old, warm pair of slippers isn't it...

Saw a stoat today (or a weasel; does anyone know the difference?) nipping across the veg patch with what looked like a mouse in its mouth. Haven't seen one in the garden before but if they're going to eat the mice they're more than welcome.

50 minutes. Going to open a bottle of wine and settle in on the couch.

yeah, my DH had better get home asap and deal with bathtime... already on the wine

Yep open and ready and waiting for Monty

Although I am frightened it's going to look a whole lot better at Long Meadow than it does in my garden at the moment...! I'm sure a load of stuff has died over the winter

weasels are weasely recognisable, but stoats are stoatly different.

Climbing frame has been installed in our garden under cover of darkness. Boys birthday tomorrow....

Ahhhhhhh.

Oh yes. South African Shiraz and Monty's jumpers. Can Friday nights get any better?

Do you think we I need to get out more?

Thanks for the weasel/stoat input UniS

Ahhhhh, that is SO much better, how I've missed Monty and his crumbly soil that just breaks up when he puts a hand in and has no weeds. That Hellebore lady has lots of gorgeous ones on her website.

Fingers crossed with local council Lexi. I'm wondering if I can sow these wildflower seeds in modules and then sneak them into the bit of scrub opposite the bank I've been having a go at.

Today I had a monent of realisation that I had to get a grip. It was when I found myself in the Farrow and Ball shop as I didn't like the Colour I had painted my potting bench and cold frame and wanted something more soothing. There were a couple finding paint for half their downstairs and there was me wittering about which colour would soften the aluminium greenhouse and blend in with the grey stone wall. Nothing in my house is painted in Farrow and Ball and I am buying it for the garden.

And even worse, yesterday I paid £18 for an 'antique' dutch flower crate on the grounds that it would look good under the potting table. And, and I spent £6.50 on a potting scoop (did get a third off). The only bright spot for my bank balance is I found a couple of seed tins for £4 each to take the strain from my bulging at the seams old Speckled Hen tin. Then when I looked inside found they came with a pair of gloves , 2 balls of string on a wooden stand and one of those things for marking out a straight line.

So next year I need to be very good and buy essentials only. This year I should get down the Market and try to flog some excess chilli and tomato plants.

Wynken!! The extravagance!! Um, it wasn't you in that thread about the wallpaper in homebase was it? soothing potting table indeed. I must put up a picture of my potting shed tomorrow
You'll be utterly scandalised.

I planted more seeds today. Heritage yellow tomatoes that came with a magazine, jekka's herb farm basil 'purple ruffles', tomatoes dried from last year's crop, aubergine the same, and seeds from a waitrose 'coquina' butternut squash.

Friends coming round tomorrow to help gardening. It is a team sport sometimes.

'twas not me, the inside of my house very neglected! In my very slight defence the inside of the greenhouse is being photographed for work . I stood back, tried to be objective and realised that a yellow builders trug and rusted metal potting trolley might not be giving a very professional impression and had to do something. Admittedly I am now going too much the other way now ...

I love yellow tomatoes, my favourite is Golden Queen which is delicious and I can't wait to have some again. Saved lots of seed if anyone wants any . Have also got spare aubergine seeds, lots of beans. You've encouraged me to start some butternut off soon. We're still eating last years which were brilliant. Think I'll have a seed session at the weekend.

In answer to the question of whether it can get any better ... well, yes it can. Monty followed by Melvyn.

::Blissed out::

Can the Australians join in?

It's officially autumn in Melbourne but still warm and thankfully a bit rainy so madly moving plants around.

Miss the gardening progs, as here in Oz they're not all year round, then they do a whole continent in a half-hour programme, i.e. not well.

Oh I went for Patrick Jane after Monty (who was looking rather gaunt, I thought. Hope he's just pale from the winter and not unwell)

Please do join in echt! What do you grow, and are we all going to have to learn drought gardening sooner than we're ready for...?

::Baffled that anyone can turn off Melvyn::

::So to speak::

Lovely to meet you, Echt. Jacksmania sometimes drops in from Canada, so it's great to get the international dimension.

I am such an old fogey that I had to Google to find out who Patrick Jane is.

And may I just sing the praises of today's favourite plant - euphorbia mysinites? I bought a baby one for 50p at an NGS garden ;ast year because I loved the foliage and it has just come into flower. I adore euphorbias (and have started planting them again now that dd is older and can be trusted not to eat or crush the plants) but this one is particularly gorgeous. It's underneath a crimson rose and the contrast with the lime green is lush.

PS Yes, I thought Monty looked unwell - his face is beginning to look (in the words of the song) like a cake that's been left out in the rain.

Gardener's World was heaven. I don't know how I coped this winter without it.

I'm thinking of setting up a little stall at the front of my house to sell some seedlings (mabye tomatoes, courgettes, pots of wildflowers a bit later as I have a bit too much seed) and then maybe some lovely fresh bread too. Just two or three loaves a day. (Am a bit obsessed with Richard Bertinet right now and might do one of his courses soon) I thought I'd only ever do something like this if I got chickens and had eggs to sell but that might not happen for years, so I thought, why not now? We have a station and a school nearby so lots of pedestrian traffic. What do you all think? I would only make a tiny bit of money but it would still be exciting. I'm just not confident how much would sell, and I don't know if you need a license. I need to ask my landlady too.

Fingers crossed I can get to the poundland near me next week to buy more compost and really get going. Am very of people going to Wisley. It looks amazing.

I won't have time to go to Wisley for weeks. ::sob::

Am mid-gardening as we speak - I only came in to recharge the iPod. I have potted up some bulbs and now (ta da) am going to start on the seed sowing.

I would buy plants from your stall, worzelswife. I wonder whether you can get around the issue of the street trading licence (if you need one at all) by having the stall in your front garden?

I have had a very productive morning and the sun is glorious. I planted garlic and shallots from last year's crop (i.e. free!!) and three each of two types of potatoes I've been chitting since January. Moved and lifted things and did some compost bin maintenance. Mainly just enjoyed being in the sun. Need to tie in my peas and beans and we're going to go out for a walk in the woods and do some 'voluntary coppicing' of hazel for bean poles.

Lovely afternoon in the garden. Have spread the newly-got horse pooh - still need more though but have been told of another well-rotted source by a friend so will try that one next. Planted the quince in a very large pot on the patio; really hoping my mother's rough-handling whilst digging it up hasn't killed it. Then more seeds went in - leeks, beetroot, broad beans, red basil, borage, cucumber & some ornamental grasses. And finally refreshed the compost in most of my pots and covered all of them with some grit to try and keep the moss and weeds at bay.

I will report back from Wisley tomorrow for all of you who'd like to go but can't.

Oh - also planted the oca in a big pot.

don't suppose I could cadge a few borage seeds off you if we do meet at wissers bertha?

::Wanders in, giving off a discreet whiff of Eau de 6X::

Another productive day here - finally started the seed-sowing ::fanfare of trumpets:: - but am doing ornamentals for now, as DH gets very picky about things that I grow for the allotment and often ignores them until they're half dead. So, I've sown agapanthus, morning glory and cosmos.

This reminds me that I need to acquire two big pots for the Jerusalem artichokes and oca.

Would anyone like some galium odoratum (sweet woodruff)? I have got several acres square feet of it I need to dig out.