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.

spotted nettles and catmint today. I dont really have gaps you see
Also, astonishingly,
Shoots on the sticks (aka fruit trees) from Lidl
Germinating cornflower seeds
Shoots on the bare root roses
Day lilies coming up
Flower buds on the paeonies

We went to a lovely NGS garden with lots of topiary and now I am minded to attempt one of those cheat's topiary chickens of ivy grown over wire.

Lexi - I hadn't thought of peonies but (as has been said) they are tough as long as they are not planted too deep. When we moved here, the garden had been neglected for years and ground elder had choked off everything apart from an ancient peony and some hemerocallis.

So, today I placed my parents' trees around a field which they want to become an arboretum. It is about a hockey pitch in size, but a south facing slope, and they had five pines (of which one Wollemi), five chestnuts (of which four Indian), and four or five other deciduous trees. They have been growing in pots for a few years but will now be let loose in lovely red Devon loam. I just need to do some research on whether we should treat them to any compost and what amount of area to clear around them for grass suppression, and then tomorrow we'll soak their roots and plant them.

It's been one of the few times I've ever done anything like a plan, and the added bizarre feeling of having to get the actual 'clients' to approve it. (only my folks though, it's not like I was being paid or anything!)

An arboretum? How fabulous!

An arboretum in a Devon field sounds amazing lexi. Those pines will smell divine.
What about a monkey puzzle tree and a tulip tree?
I googled Indian horse chestnut and found this
herbs-treatandtaste.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/indian-chestnut-tree-medicinal-benefits.html
At my daughter's old school they had drifts of snowdrops under the chestnut trees. Beautiful.
Its nice involving parents with decisions like that. My dad is excited about the Magnolia tree I bought him and is stomping all round his garden on his sticks deciding where I should plant it.

Well my mum would like a magnolia, certainly. I have never heard of a tulip tree - will investigate. I don't think they'll be constantly buying trees to add to it, so what we put in now is probably almost the final layout, with maybe a couple of spaces left. I have two more pines to give them which I grew from seed - in fact almost all these trees have been grown from seed or tiny saplings collected possibly slightly illegally from interesting places around the world. Close to the house will be dug out into a sort of amphitheatre (combination of Monty's Italian Gardens on tv and Bunny Guinness book on Family Gardens as influences!) and I'm pressing for the tiers to be 'fenced' with step-over cordoned dwarf fruit trees. At the bottom of the 'theatre' will be an outside dining/BBQ area.

And tomorrow I go back to my suburban "large postage stamp". Sigh. But it's mine at least.

I've been thinking of getting some step-over fruit trees - possibly pear, as dd has taken a fancy to pears - to finish off my new planting. Does anyone have experience of step-overs? Are they as good (ie low maintenance and fruitful) as they look?)

We had a stepover pear- was very fruitful and covered in blossom.

Usual pruning routine which was very easy to carry out because it was so low!

Anyone sucessfully grown a small ballerina type cherry? DS wants one desperatly...

The arboretum does sound beautiful Lexi. We visit Bedgebury Pinetum/Kew which have lots of lovely conifers- love the smell in summer. I'd like more conifers but have to work out how to fit them in.

I am happy because a sugar maple my dad bought back from his (now deceased) mums garden in Canada has survived being moved from his garden to ours and is now putting out little red leaves.

That's good to know, sinisterduck. I've been feeling a little guilty about how much I've spent on the garden this year but this would be food for the family.

Maples are lovely.

I was given Alys Fowler's The Edible Garden yesterday. Highly recommend it - there's lots of info in there and she has a few pages of colour combinations of flowers/veg to grow. There are some lovely recipes too for jams and biscuits and soups. Lovely photos too!

Am away from my garden at present sadly; I'll be back in a few days and I'm just keeping everything crossed that someone has watered my seedlings as they said they would. I'll be so sad if they're all dead!

I too am away from home and worried that my seedlings will be weak and spindly by the time I get home. To my shame, it was only when watching Lovely Monty ::genuflects:: recently that I realised that they should be planted up to their necks when potting-on and that may be their salvation.

Been far too wet to get into the garden today (apart from a quick trip to pick a handful of rocket for my sandwich and to shore up some broad beans that blew over in the wind).

However - exciting news - I think I may have finally worn down persuaded DH into letting me have chickens! Haven't had the final go-ahead yet but he has been looking at coops today so it's promising . So I'm off to the chicken keepers topic to get some much-needed advice before he changes his mind!

Wow! I am hoping that one day our allotments will allow chickens. If I understood a recent radio programme correctly, chickens are supposed to be permitted on allotments, but they are not on ours (which are legendary in allotment circles, apparently, for the number of niggardly rules).

There has to be an actual by-law to not allow poultry. If there's no by-law they can't just make up the rules.

In my town certain groups of allotments are allowed and others not. Think it's due to those in the middle of residential areas and those that are on the edge. We are allowed but don't have tie at the moment.

Does that apply even to allotments on non- council land, Laurie? The radio programme certainly left me with the impression that if it was an allotment then one could have chickens on it. Trouble is, our landlord is wealthy and influential and I doubt anyone will want to rock the boat.

Think the allotment act only applies to council ones I'm afraid. Private landlords can make up any old rules.

As I thought!

Been away over Easter so catching up with all the latest developments. We were staying in a lovely cottage with a stunning garden, it's given me lots of inspiration. We now want to make a smallish pergola , although I'm not sure if that's entirely practical.
My seedlings seem to have survived although I'm not sure what to do next. When can sweet peas seedlings be planted out? Do they need hardening off if germinated inside?
DD very sweetly gave me some sunflower seeds for Easter so I'm looking forward to planting those out with her.

I got a free packet of seeds with GW this month Freezing and it says the sweet peas have to be hardened off. Mine are about 4/5 centimetres high after about 2 weeks but very thin so I think they need to be indoor quite a bit longer.

Please help me. I keep buying plants & seeds and anything that is a bargain. Despite the fact I've 2 full greenhouses and the allotment isn't ready ( or going to be ready for big crops this year).
I've even ordered flowers cos they were 1p

Anyone know some good breathing exercises? I've arrived home from holiday to find the fence down one side of our garden completely removed and all my trellised climbers lying on top of my borders. I need to be talked down from a great height right now...

Also, DH very cleverly closed the curtains of our back room where I had very carefully put all of the seedlings in one place to have sun. They have been fighting to reach a velux for a week.

GAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

To be fair, the fencing contractors have been as careful as they can when de-climbering the old fence but, let's face it, they're council fencing contractors. There's a reason they don't work at Kew.

The materials for the one they're putting up look good though. Feather-edge, according to mrs neighbour. And apparently it will be finished today.

Pours and offers spare plants ( no climbers sorry)