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...

Hello, can I (re) join? I posted a little last year but we were in a short term rented house so did no real gardening (combined with a washout summer!). We have bought now so I am eagerly awaiting spring so see what the garden holds. As such, I haven't any grand plans for this year. The house needs a fair bit of work and I just want to hold back and see what comes up. One thing I am going to do is convert the veg patch. The previous owners had a proper 'grandad' veg patch - straight rows of onions, cabbages, potatoes and leeks, which I haven't the time or enthusiasm to maintain. I put a seed order in for colourful, easy flowers the DCs can grow and pick - sweet peas, cornflowers, sunflowers, aquelegia, cosmos, so hoping for a riot of colour there in summer. Love hearing about all your gardens.

Oh no! Didn't realise GW was on last night - can I get it online or something does anyone know please?

Has anyone sown any seeds in their greenhouses yet? I have a plastic lean-to thingy and am fighting the urge to sow various veg.

And my Poundland Peonies (Sarah Bernhardt) are sprouting! Fingers crossed they'll survive the forecasted cold spell

Hi Molly - welcome back

Rhihaf, I've just sown some leeks and onions to go in my plastic greenhouse. Didn't quite get time today to put said greenhouse up so have cosied them up tonight under a cloche. Will get on to building the greenhouse tomorrow. I have also sown cosmos, sweet peas, chocolate mint and something else which has slipped my mind into trays to grow indoors for a bit.

DH has put the frame in for the gravelled area that will take the arbour. I think he was making the planters too but got distracted by the rugby. Arbour arrives on Monday though it may take us a while to get around to putting it together...

GW will be on I-player if you missed it. I agree with funny about the jumpers although I think a big cable knit jumper would be a good addition to my gardening attire. Did anyone else feel a bit shocked at the £700 snowdrop!

I watched GW on iPlayer yesterday and agree about the jumpers and shocker of an expensive snowdrop. Looking forward to the focus on introduced plants that have changed our gardening. We could do one in Australia: introduced plants that are regarded as weeds outside the garden - agapanthus, monbretia, hawthorn, arum lilies, verbena bonariensis. :o

I'm only jealous because we have nothing like this show here. "Gardening Australia" is almost entirely veggie focussed, and the fact that it's about gardening a continent rather than a country means it has to cover a lot of ground,as it were.

I was very taken to see that MD had planted wallflowers, and this took me back to buying huge bunches of the bare-rooted plants, their feet clagged with mud and held together by elastic bands. And their stunning perfume in the spring. The wallflowers here are not the same, a perennial with small flowers, and lacking the intense scent of the UK variety.

Back at the ranch it has rained since the downpours around St.Valentine's Day, and the day on day of 28 -30 degrees is most unseasonal, resulting in very hot nights. However, the shed is down and the useful wood put aside.

I loved the brick path. Wish we had some of those.

That should be not rained. If only it would. 32 today, so I'm off to water the veggies and the beds that weren't on yesterday's rota.

The lawn will have to look after itself.

Yes I'd like a brick path to lead down the bog garden to the chicken run. I may be lucky and get a few concrete slabs sunk in the grass...

How funny to think of Arum lilies as weeds, love having updates about what you're up to Echt .

Found GW very soothing, knitwear aside. Joe's cottage garden bed bit was well timed as I've recently stripped out a bed. He had Japanese Anenomes in his plan so I've transplanted some from the back garden and grabbed 3 purple sensation Alliums yesterday. They were marked as 75p each so was grabbing a fair few when the lady behind the till said they'd been marked up incorrectly and were £1.75 each so sheepishly put some back.

Spent time splitting more primroses as trying to establish on a small bed on a raised bank under leylandi. I empty compost from pots there and over the years things are now growing.

I loved the brick path and Monty's writing shed. Imagine going down there amongst the wild flowers he's growing there this summer, how inspiring would that be.

Anyone got snow at the moment ?

Well I got in the mood this morning by donning (ahem) an ancient slouchy jumper and I potted on the sweetpeas and put them out into a very sheltered area near the house which never gets the frost.
Close observation of Monty and Carol on GW last year means that the technique of lifting up young seedlings and dibbing the soil in the new compost and transferring whilst saying 'there, it will never know it has moved' in Klein tones, followed by smoothing gently with grubby fingers has been imprinted on the memory and therefore is easy to imitate.
DS, who is visiting for mothers day , was highly amused. The social order though has been maintained (batty mother, dynamic son) and that is what matters.
My germination method has been highly successful. This involves cutting the lid of an egg box, putting the lid underneath to provide shield from water for the windowsill, filling lightly with compost, sowing 2 seeds per compartment and watering lightly, followed by enclosing in a file plastic (99p per 100 from Tesco) and placing on the windowsill. Delphiniums and cosmos Purity (seeds left over from last year) are now germinating and today I have sowed mini pumpkin seeds from a mini pumpkin I liked the look of and have saved for the purpose.
No snow here but chilly and windy.

Yes to bare root wall flowers in bunches at Columbia Road market. Years ago. I wonder if that still happens.

Poor DH. He is going to have to put the downy birch in tomorrow and it is going to be minus 2!. He is a bit gutted as the nursery told him to dig the holes 2' deep which was about a foot too deep now we have the trees.

I am jealous of your germination success funnyperson, my sweet peas germinated but obviously didn't get enough light so are really leggy. Don't think they will be up to much.

Next time I go to Columbia Road I'll keep a look out for you, funnyperson!

Today I have officially re-inaugurated my garden for the 2013 season. The snowdrops are everywhere, first daffodils have opened and what I think are anemones are about to flower. I have tidied up masses of twiggy and leafy debris and planted summer bulbs and lots of onions that I should have remembered before they started sprouting in their bags. Also sowed various beans in trays.

Resolutions for this year:

• always label seed trays with plant and date, I always think I'll remember and never do
• read plant instructions properly rather than just chucking them in and hoping they'll survive
• plant veg out much later to reduce the chances of slug heartbreak
• kill more slugs earlier and more frequently.

Anyone else?

Mooncup I havent been to Columbia Rd in decades- echts comment took me back to a wallflower purchase I made there for a previous garden in my yoof.
Humph I do think your DH is admirable. Planting all those birch trees in this chill takes gumption. Without wishing to sound sexist it sounds like he will need apple crumble and mulled wine or similar when he's finished! Dont be jealous of the little sweet peas yet- they have a long way to go!

The Feb planted tulip bulbs are showing shoots! Nowhere near as advanced as those which have been in the ground since last year, but ....growing.

Bertha - chocolate mint sounds gorgeous, will Google that later.
Funnyperson - my cosmos are purity, I saw them in a border at a national trust property last year and they were gorgeous. I'm also trying a packet of the 39p ones from Aldi but they are a dwarf variety and so I suspect they wont be as good for cut flowers.
I had today promised as gardening time for mothers day but then woke to an inch of snow - mothers day now postponed till another suitable weekend.

A most happy Mother's Day to all our lady gardeners.

We are all mothers of our gardens. Hang on...that strayed into ladygarden territory. You know what I mean. :o

Hi all, found your postings and have never really been a gardener although do like it to look nice. I attempted to grow veggies two years ago in pots, as easy to maintain and don't have room for borders due to chldren toys etc. anyway i did have a small plastic green house and small cold frame. I did have some luck but on returning from our holidays we had to live in temporary accomidation for a year as we had a water leak which destroyed the ouse ( another story). So never really discovered what worked and didnt do anything last year as wasn't at home. Therefore rather than aimlessley planting things into trays etc and hoping they work wondered if you could give some advice as to what veggies can be planted now ( if any) as my maturing years are giving me the enthusiasm to want to plant ( who'd have guessed it). Also to keen that i encourage dd's to assist as they maybe encouraged to eat more veggies . No longer have greenhouse or coldframe as they bit the dust when we had to move out. Any advice re these as well as havent a huge area for them. We have a very sunny garden as well.

Hi Purple! How many pots are you planning on having? Things like courgettes, tomatoes and potatoes do well in pots but probably not yet. Some beans also do well in pots, I'm growing my runners in tubs this year. Fruit and herbs too plus salad leaves. I'll be starting most things off later this month and April when the weather eventually warms up a bit.

My raspberry canes arrived today, not sure when I'm going to get them planted though. How long can I keep them with the roots wrapped in plastic anyone? Am I going to kill them if they have to wait a few days?

Arbour also arrived today, flat packed on a pallet. That is definitely going to have to wait a while! Although I have put in a request to DH that it's up for Easter weekend...

I swear the chickens were shivering today; so cold.

It is FREEZING. DH broke the ice on the geese water first thing and then had to do it again at 10. He spent all day planting the trees, bless him, and got all but two done. They look fab .

Are the canes just roots wrapped in plastic? If they don't have any soil I would heel them in somewhere and water until you are ready to plant.

good luck with your vegetables Mrs Purple.

Thanks Black and Humphrey. I have two deep potato bags which did work last time and also about 4 or 5 deep pots and about 4 or 5 long planters (not so deep but ideal for herbs and the like). Last time I grew potatos and peas (which the kids loved). I tried with peppers and tomatoes but they did work sadly we had to desert house and they were wasted. DH remembers courgettes working but again wasted. Strawberries were a no go as didn't work. am loving this photo for herbs pinterest.com/pin/207869339020477711
what do you all think?

sorry I can't access that photo. Herbs are lovely to grow and often do better in pots

not sure how to post photos but basically it is a wooden palette on its side attached to a wall with herbs growing through the cracks. Very rustic but also very practical. anyone know how I post photos?

I like the herb pallet, good use of space and nice bit of recycling. Not sure about the picture thing, sorry .

This year I'm not growing courgettes and beans at the allotment as I'm fed up of pictures of my children posing holding huge marrows. So courgettes and beans are going in Autopots at home. Cutting a grow bag in half and standing each half on it's end is an easy way to grow things. Have a go at an outdoor cucumber, Marketmore or similar, easier to grow than I realised. Worth having another go with strawberries, maybe in growbags.

My bare root gooseberry pushes went in on Sunday in the nick of time. Agree with Humph about heeling the raspberry canes in.

When is the first garden club baby due to arrive Humph ?

You are making me feel very negligent. I still haven't sown any of my seeds.

And Humph's DH is positively heroic, planting trees in such cold!

Ooh never thought about cutting grow bag in half and standing on ends. Like the idea of that. Suppose could buy small bags of compost and use to plany things in as well?

Yes, I find that growbags work best that way - otherwise they are so shallow (unless you invest in those bottomless pots from the catalogues) that they require vast amounts of watering. Old compost sacks work well, too. I have grown spuds in them before.