Come into the garden with Maud - all obsessive and wannabe gardeners welcome

[ComeIntoTheGardenMaud]

Whether you've got rolling acres or a tiny courtyard, whether you're a novice or a gardening die-hard, whether you're aiming for a garden of Sissinghurst loveliness or self-sufficiency à la Felicity Kendal in The Good Life, this is the place to be. Take a seat on the tastefully-painted Lutyens bench and chat with fellow enthusiasts. There may even be a bottle of gin in the potting shed.

It was a mile a minute plant from my neighbours garden.

I moved house 18months ago and have to re establish my garden and wanted something that would grow quickly for privacy (and the flowers are pretty).

So I asked neighbour (I'd known them for about 6 months) and they were happy for me to take a cutting where it had grown over the garden wall. It was on my side anyway.

The rooting compound was new I'd bought it that day and took a few cuttings hoping that at least 1 would work. Every single one died.

I'm clueless.

TeaTeaLotsOfTea, are you over watering them? I've had most success (although generally not much) when I have kept thngs fairy dry.

Hmm Ok I'll try it.

So not water at all?? Use dry compost?

I'll buy new rooting compound again too.

TeaTeaLotsofTea - not everything grows easily from cuttings. I've had a quick search and most pages on Mile A Minute (fallopia baldschuanica or Russian vine) are about how to kill it, as many people consider it an invasive weed, but this page says it should be propagated by division, rather than cuttings.

The minimum amount of water, start with damp soil then perhaps use a spray rather than actually watering them

I would appreciate ideas on what works well to plant with dahlias.
I appear to be in possession of a number of tubers sent 'free' with orders- dahlia cactus mixed. Locally I have seen a gorgeous dahlia hedge which is a lovely idea but I cant do it in my garden .
I thought perhaps I'd plant them at my mums house when the weather is warmer, but it would be nice to plant them with something pretty and complimentary which a)flowers at the same time and also b)something smallish which will fill the flowering gap before the dahlias come out but not inhibit their growth.
Does any one have any ideas or experience here? Where does everyone else plant their dahlias in the garden? And what with? And when?
Sunny loamy bed for them.

Ah Ok Jumped up I'll try that but obviously not with the russian vine.

Lots of things bought at the garden centre today, including raspberry canes, dwarf bean plants (I have never managed to grow them from seed) lots of herbs, and some pre-grown garlic (I forgot to plant it earlier in the year), and a few more packets of seeds.

Pity the weather has gone horrible again, as we haven't managed to get anything planted.

Dh went to the allotment today and got a call just as he arrived to go to work. So nothing done there. I've been attached to dd3 for a week now as she's been quite poorly.

Ive had a really great outdoor day even if it didnt involve much gardening! When we moved house last spring (almost a year ago) DD was really ill in high dependancy unit, we paid a firm to come in and pack us up and when they unloaded they filled the shed and the garage with the outdoor things from my old garden but [bublush] I never found the time to clear out.

But today the burning need to garden had me totally empty and clear out the shed. While I did that DD decided to plant petals from the fruit trees and it has to be said she really did get mucky but had a great nap afterwards. Tomorrow I am going to do the same to the garage and hopefully on Easter Sunday get myself a little potting area established. I am so excited!

We finished the day with a long walk, now cooking up a curry, anyone know if you can grow cauliflower in pots?

The weather here has been lovely (sorry, LackaDaisycal) and I planted out a lot of the stuff that I had been growing-on in pots. I am particularly excited by the Japanese wineberry and the rubus cockburnianus. I also chucked some of the tulips that have been coming up blind in the compost, hoping that they're not full of tulip fire.

I also have some of those free cactus dahlias. I will be probably be stuffing them into any spare space in the Venetian (ie red, purple and lime) border with the hemerocallis and verbena bonariensis.

Urgent news for Humph - An inch-by-inch search has revealed that all three thalictrums have come back, so fingers crossed that yours will too.

DH has just returned from the allotment, with a posy of wallflowers.

Hi all. I am still fretting about my seedlings but having fun on hols. Stayed at an old friend's house on Wednesday and helped him build a raised bed for veg. We had to clear out a shrub and a huge hellebore clump first, as well as a couple of clumps of something I didn't recognise. It was a really thick rhizomatous root, almost like a rhubarb crown, and also had rather rhubarb-like reddish shoots coming up... Can't be rhubarb though, far too late. Any ideas, anyone?!

In Devon the bluebells are coming out, the daffy are almost all finished, and chestnut tree leaves are fully burst. One of my parents' plum/damson has flowers right at the end of a branch, and apples with leaf buds about to burst. Saw some lambs and calves today but none actually being born.

We're going back home slightly earlier than planned (a half day sooner, that's all!!) to get DH's shed finished. If I can drag my mum to Rosemoor I will no doubt come home with some plants, because I offloaded a euphorbia on my friend and therefore am in garden budget credit...!

Could the rhubarb-a-like be gunnera or rodgersia, Lexi?

Bit difficult to tell as it is in its sprouting state and those pics are mature, but I don't think the location was wet enough for it to be gunnera. I have just had a look on the Internet myself and wonder in fact if it could be Chinese/ornamental Rhubarb. We just chopped the crowns with a spade and dug them in to a different part of the garden, also divided the hellebore and dug in the same. May not survive, but I don't think my friends will worry about replacement - it's all the fun of learning.

It was a cold but clear day here.I did 7 hours gardening while dh took dc's out for the day.Planted erysimum and dicentra and geraniums and lamiums plus others i've forgotten.Planted masses of summer bulbs in the really dry beds-iris,brodiea and crocosmia.Also planted the powder puff dahlias with more crocosmia and erysimum.Planted several alpines along bed edges and potted up more erysimum plugs from Sarah Raven.Also rather boringly sorted out all my pots,tied up the clematis[managing to break off two pieces as i did this] and brushed the patio clear of millions of pine needles.The pine trees are moulting due to drought or sickness-i'm not sure which.I'm now knackered and am treating myself to a drinky.

Am of good weather, and allotments. I would love an allotment, but the waiting lists here are depressingly long. DH think we have enough growing space, but I think he is just thinking of his back and all the digging he would have to do :o

Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow as there's loads I'd like to get done.

Ah Monty, what a naughty tinker you are. Joe tells us to plant in odd numbers and you straight away divide your hosta into two, in your über-natural pond garden. I luffs you (or the GW editors, maybe).

Forgot to say, I was similarly worried about my astrantia 'Venice' as Maud/humph we're about the thalictrums. I had three, and can only remember where I put one. But that one was coming up a week or so ago, so I'm happy. If the others appear too and I manage to avoid pulling them up as weeds first then all the better.

I do that Lexi!.I've been pulling up what i thought were weeds all day only to find compost underneath .I think i've done this with some plants several times.It doesn't help when the dog pulls up all the labels.I vaguely remember where some plants were from last year-i think.Just as well i have lots of lupins and delphiniums as those are instantly recognisable.

I'm worried that my two (oops, sorry Joe) astrantia Venice that came as bare root plants are still doing nothing. Roma and the mongrel one from my mother's garden are up and sprouting, though.

And Joe didn't say not to plant in even numbers, just that it would be more static and formal than planting in odd numbers. Which is probably true, but as I am a magpie when buying plants I often plant in ones.

Sorry Bertha, it was the black pudding in your name that confused me!

I have been buying threes of everything in my many trips to the garden centre recently, I hope it will make my borders look more 'together' - though if Monty does even numbers, surely it can't be wrong? I spent about five hours today digging the new extension to a bed, putting some netting on a tree stump for a clematis to grow up, planting more strawberries, and wandering around with a notebook. Bliss!

I managed to get my borders cleared and tidied today. My Bleeding hearts are about to flower.
Scattered some poppy seeds about too.
Warm and sunny here, sorry!

Argh. There's still no sign of my bleeding hearts.

::anxious::

I've been weeding - it's a bit of a never ending battle. The bindweed is everywhere, I've pulled up 3 wheelbarrows full today!

My bleeding heart is nowhere near flowering. My bachelor's buttons have flower buds though

I did liberate my ladies mantle and some little aquilegias from the weed forest today.

Has everyone planted their potatoes?

My potatoes are in an egg box and won't be planted out yet (too cold)

Saw some lovely dogs tooth violets today at RHS garden - but didn't manage to get out into ours - too busy rehearsals and concert

I have sort-of planted potatoes in a potato bag, but because I was running out of compost have had to plant them too closely, so will have to lift some out gently once I've restocked on compost.

I have planted some dog's tooth violets in the Brownies' garden, which I'm hoping will be a vision of loveliness in a few weeks' time.