Osteospermumsnet.com - flutter your foliage, pick your produce, shake your seed packets and bring your blooms to the Spring Show

[Lexilicious]

Welcome to the gardening quiche :)

Earlier malarkey was here

All welcome whether you are a Sackville-West or a Dimmock, an Oudolf or a Swift. Whether you dream of digging or dig for dreams.

Fair weather or foul, we've got disco lights in the potting shed and fairy lights on the terrace. Bring gin, wine just doesn't cut it round here.

Yes, Humphrey and Bertha, it's really grim. And then I have no choice but to put this grot into my wheelie bin. Ugh ugh ugh.

I do love alchemilla mollis and hope you won't be disappointed, Humphrey.

I bought some red wallflower seeds yesterday, inspired (aren't we all) by Monty. And I still have my Apricot Beauty foxgloves to sow. None of my in-situ sowing of sweet peas has appeared yet. Will it ever? Sigh.

I know it - it is a beautiful plant. I am looking forward to it. I now need a recommendation for a medium height euphorbia that will go with the geraniums and alchemill mollis not so subtle??

None of my sowings of sweet peas came up either Maud.

My sweet peas which are still in root trainers are looking quite good, but I had hoped for something from the direct sowing. They probably rotted.

What colours are the geraniums? I bought one of these at the RHS Show. It is lovely and would look lovely next to the alchemilla and blue/purple geraniums but maybe not pink.

This is lovely but, again, might clash with pink geraniums

This is also lovely

I like all of those, especially the first two. Amazing plants.

The geraniums are white, pink, deep pink and blue. I have a few of each colour. Hopefully next year they will have grown big enough to hide the dying tulips.

Thanks.

I love euphorbias. There are dozens (probably hundreds) more varieties to look at yet! ::wink:: I've had all of those three at different times, but Dixter (bought quite expensively at a chi-chi plant fair) was murdered by the people who replaced next door's fence and the polychroma just died, which surprised me because I thought euphorbias were tough as old boots.

Congratulations, Kimmi.

I've spent a lovely day pottering in the garden, planting my gladioli, weeding, digging & pruning. I love my garden so much, it's one of the few places I feel peaceful.

Yes, the one thing that deters me from moving house is losing the lovely garden I've made from scratch. There have been times, looking back, where I think I would have been on antidepressants without it.

I've just received my Crocus order.Does anyone else find it really difficult to get into the packaging?.There is so much sellotape and cardboard that i blunted 2 pairs of scissors opening it.Also the 'blue' rose has lots of spent buds on it.Am i right in expecting perfection?[and deadheading].
Yes,me too Maud and Grockle.I also use it as a means of escaping the noise of the dc's and dh.My youngest dd is the only one who likes gardening and she just likes picking flowers[the biggest and blowsiest[sp] the better].

I love that second Euphorbia you've linked Maud. That would go beautifully near my dark heucheras, my Midwinter Fire and hypericum...

Best take both trolleys to Hampton Court Palace...!

Teta - What I hated about Crocus packaging is that they had used parcel tape to stick the roses to the bottom of tall, narrow boxes that were about 3 ft high. I had to use a Stanley knife to extricate them and was then left with a ton of cardboard to dispose of.

::considers setting up Choice Plants- A-Gogo, an online plant-finding service for the discerning customer::

David Austen packaging is perfection, as is Spalding bulbs.

I have been deadheading roses today, it has been nearly hot enough to do a Mrs Marple and wear a hat! June is so lovely when it is warm.

Clematis Polish Spirit is growing really really well in the spot which did not suit Viticella Abundance. No buds as yet though.

The Abundance is surviving but not really thriving in its new spot. I am wondering what I can do to help it along, I don't want to dig it up again or prune it again as it has developed new shoots which are climbing up the supports, but do you think I should dig in more compost or give it liquid feed or something?

I have planted some gorgeous pinks 'raspberry parfait' in a container with deep purple petunias and lilies.

Choice plants sounds great, Maud- I would like plants for the discerning ..ahem..beginner. Like that nice website on clematis for beginners.

Miss Marple. Sorry.

Perhaps you need a trug, too (a wooden one, not the upmarket plastic bucket)?

nice trug
www.amazon.co.uk/Burgon-Ball-Traditional-Wooden-Trug/dp/B004NTRC2S/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1340130518&sr=8-5
my christmas list is full of gardening related stuff.

I have a wooden one :)

Oh yes. That is exactly what I want for wafting elegantly around the garden in a sprigged muslin dress and straw bonnet.

I just waft elegantly around the garden with an old fence paint pot as i would rather spend the £18 on extra plants.
i do have a growing list of power tools i still want for the garden and i would love one of those water butts that look like a honey pot.

www.crocus.co.uk/product/_/italianate-water-butt/classid.2000003959/

I just dragged the dc's to the garden centre this evening.Though I did have to bribe them with a Macdonalds.Managed to find a pot of morning glory and a climbing miniature pale pink rose that I'm going to pot it together [just for the summer] so the Ipomoea can be supported by the rose.Also in my haul were 3 rose scented pelargoniums that smell like turkish delight.Can you believe they don't stock the fungal rootgrow[ the staff had never heard of it-thought it was hormone rooting powder].
I've already planted the Crocus haul,plus rootgrow.The Paeony i ordered [Bowl of Beauty] is still in flower and beautiful.So often the plants ordered online are disappointingly immature,but the Rose and Paeony and geraniums were fully mature and flowering.But i do agree with you over the packaging Maud.I now have 3 massive boxes,plus a ball of tape for recycling.

Teta - If it was a garden centre of a certain sort yes B&Q I mean you then I can well believe that they might have staff who don't know what rootgrow is!

My Bowl of Beauty is nowhere near flowering. ::envious::

Worryingly it was Dobbies Maud.They should really know what they're doing,but they are worse than useless.However i do live in a fairly rural county [where it is forever the 1950's]and a bit[a lot] behind the times.

My trug was part of a set of three, they look the part but aren't particularly sturdy hence being cheap though manage fine for the veg/fruit so far. Dh got me them for Xmas last year.

I want a trug!

I nipped to my sisters this morning and her front garden was all weedy and overgrown so I went to B&Q the garden centre and bought some dianthus & a few reduced begonias, lobelia and a fuscia then went back and weeded, swept and planted. I hope she's not miffed & doesn't see it as me interfering and being judgy. She's had a rough time recently and has been decorating and making the inside of the house nice - I hoped a pretty front garden might make her smile [worries]

Grockle - I am sure (or at least I would fervently hope) that your sharer will see that as the kind and generous gesture that it is. Far better than a bouquet (however lovely) if she is feeling down.

Sister. Bally auto-correct.

I think that is a lovely thing to do Grockle.

We had a camp fire in the orchard and cooked sausages. It was heaven. The DC adored it, and DH swears he is never ever using a barbeque again.