The first rule of garden club is...!?!

[Lexilicious]

hoping Humph's Happy Osteospermumsnet chums will find this... la la la... I'm uite used to being betty no mates though...

Come on in and have a seat/kneeler/foam pad and a virtual , anyone who wants to idly chat about what they've been dreaming of planting, actually planting, buying without a care for having a place for it, propagating, harvesting, hacking and chopping...

I feel quite downcast by all the rain. I don't know when I'm going to be able to get into the garden to do some final bulb-planting and general gardening. The pumpkin lanterns left over from Halloween are beginning to rot.

Maud that made me think of the Simpsons episode where a house has a line pumpkins on the front, plainly left over from successive years, all slumped and rotten.:o

Praying for rain here, and spent the afternoon re-potting succulents. I turned 3 very leggy and bizarrely shaped aeoniums (the deep purple-black ones) into 19 new cuttings, all sitting in the sun, and with any luck they'll all strike.

Desperately need to pick up the leaves from the garden but it's just soooo wet. Grass will be dead underneath soon.

The broad beans I planted a couple of weeks ago are starting to poke out of the ground. No sign of the peas yet though.

Succulents are wonderful. Had a friend who had loads of different varieties in the conservatory.

I raked up all the leaves with my plastic headed rake and bagged them up yesterday morning before it rained, so this morning I looked out onto a green lawn amazingly.
If I can find a place to put the unsightly bags I will be turning the leaves into leaf mould. Feeling good even though the gorgeous clear watery blue sky this morning was only seen on the way into the hospital.

The ground is sodden. Absolutely sodden. It is vile. And still raining.

Well the biggest pig goes off tomorrow. We spent the afternoon constructing a walkway with bits of fence/gates etc to channel the pig into the trailer. I can't bring myself to look at it but I am working so don't have to take it thankfully.

is everything ok funnyperson?

will go look. offers or

Thank you.

The rain has arrived with a tremendous crash of thunder, shaking the house, and hammering on the tin roof. I won't have water the veggie patch then, just check the pots before going to work.

In the lull as the storm goes over - there's another one about an hour away - I can hear that poor lone male blackbird singing. Only one egg has hatched, and just as we'll as he's definitely on his own.

I bought two elephant's ears plants, the lush, rather jungly looking ones which appear to need dry shade/full sun/humid conditions. So that's OK. They were cheap so I'm going to give the dry shade in winter/ boiling sun in summer under the trees at the bottom of the garden. That'll teach them.:o

well hi all! I finally got into the garden for half an hour at the weekend just before the light went. Had to rake some leaves from the lawn (which now doesn't show any of the three bags of sand I distributed over it - must have been washed in or taken down by the worms, as wanted) and lash down my big plastic cloche (size of a cold frame) which had blown up to the house on Thursday and tapped at the window. I got quite a fright but it didn't smash in thankfully. I tied it to the growbeds and that worked for Saturday night's winds.

haven't planted any bulbs yet or done anything about my (one and only) dahlia. Also haven't divided the monarda that I think I promised one of you, nor the astilbe. my wire netting over the pond hasn't really been much use, and the whole patch looks a bit of a mess.

((())) funnyp.

Hi to you all. I have done pretty much nothing in the garden or allotment recently as been to busy with everything else. I did however buy tickets for Chelsea as I am fed up of saying I will go one day so took the plunge.

I haven't harvested my Oca yet so have that to look forward to. Weather turning much colder now so hopefully it will get frosted soon. Success of the year is my Dorset Naga which I've harvested 180 pods so far and still have 60 on the poor bedraggled aphid infested plant.

I'm officially retracting my last post. Checked on the broad bean seedlings today; all I have now is several neat rows of holes. Same in the pea patch. Mice sized holes.

I did however discover that the cauliflowers that I've been ignoring as they weren't doing anything seem to have developed heads suddenly. Small but beautifully formed. Will be harvesting those this week before they are discovered by any little beasties.

I have only just managed to squelch out into the garden to get rid of the rotting pumpkin lanterns. It is a swamp. Argh.

Can sympathise fully on the mouse size holes (mice definitely in my greenhouse) and the swamp.

Work sent me a new bit of equipment with someone to set it up which was a real treat. There's now an aquaponic system out there and I'm messing around with bacteria before being introducing fish. I'm wussing out the whole bash a trout on the head scenario and am going to have ornamentals.

The guy who set it up reckons it's addictive and after a summer of using it I'll want more. He has a 35 foot poly tunnel and has started producing chilli sauce which sounds lovely.

I'm having traumatic flashbacks to our short-lived adventure in goldfish keeping! It is very soothing watching them, though.

Oh don't Maud, I'm very scared of killing them ! Nearly forgot to add the bacteria today as it is. I've been assured that when it's going and the fish are in it is very easy. I'm slightly dubious about that

Ours were killed by a toddler who was heavy-handed with the fish food kindness, Wynken. I am not proud of this.

Does anyone here grow hippeastrum/amaryllis for Christmas? I have loads of bulbs to give away as gifts but am not sure how long to allow for them to develop a decent flower stem but not be past-it by the time I give them away. I don't want to start them into growth too soon. Any ideas?

I want to but despite all the windows, we don't have a bright enough spot. And BC can be very gloomy in the winter. So not worth it probably.

No advice I'm afraid. Just wanted to pop back on the thread.

Good to see you, JM.

I'm not sure you should be deterred by lack of light - this house is very dark and gloomy atmospheric and still hippeastrum seem to do OK. I must go and check on the one I'm growing for me.

Huh. Really? It says they need bright light.
Well. I may just go buy one and put it in the front hallway (south-facing window with mirror opposite window) and see what it does! :) ;) :)

article in December GW about high maintenance Christmas houseplants! (also just wanted to keep thread alive in my TIO page )

Yes, they are hopeless long term because they require a lot of faff over the summer, but they are fabulous in their few weeks of glroy!

TenTonTruck - Are you a name changer? (I think you are).

Yes Maud and I owe you books. Am in town on Thursday for a meeting, can meet you on the corner by your gaff any time between 12-1.15.