Rhubarb Appreciation Society

[Blackpuddingbertha]

Going with Rhihaf's thread name suggestion, following on from the first rule of gardening club is thread.

Pull up your kneeling pads, crack open the elderberry wine and the blackberry gin and come and join us. No real experience or gardening know-how needed.

Cutting edge Maud geddit?

I and my class at school were just totally influenced by 'Silent Spring'
To this day I won't use weedkiller, and my neighbours think I am weird (Iam, of course) but my school mates are the same, and use Ecover washing up liquid.

My wine's not virtual

Sometimes think my garden might be though...

This spring has been a virtual gardening spring more than any other.

Funnyperson your front garden sounds lovely . Never grown buddleia as it seems such a beast! Am currently trying to figure out what to do with an ancient fig bush I have. It needs a prune but not sure how....

Pruning figs

apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=106#section2

Gladstone bag references upthread.

I pruned my gig tree last year for the first time and it's a much better shape for it. One of my gardening pals who opens for the NGS has. Fig tree which grows up the side of the house.

Argh. Fig tree, obviously, although a gig tree might be entertaining.

Thanks for that. Though I like the idea of a gig tree better. Wouldn't need much upkeep then would it?!

DH has gone off to dig up another weeping pear from a friends garden. She doesn't want them but we do

I'm really impressed with your DH, he is a real doer. weeping pears are one of my favourite trees, though I'm never clear whether they provide edible fruit. The structure and silvery leaves and blossom are very pleasing to the eye.

DH does love his garden. It is nice we both like it so much.

These weeping pears have been very heavily pruned into a mushroom shape. Not sure if we will keep that going yet, it looks brilliant in winter but I love the way they look unpruned too

The weather here has been most autumnal, at least at the start: mornings misty and chilly, but 25-7 by mid-day so a bit weird.

I took 17 cuttings from verbena bonariensis, the first time I've ever been able to do this as they tend die of heat before they can produce the side stems to cut. We shall see how they get on, though there have been quite a few seedlings, too.

I gave up on advanced trees for my flowering gum as all the outlets are either wholesale only, or didn't return my call. Anyway, I now have a 70 cm corymbia ficifolia Wild Sunset from the Oz equivalent of B&Q. Much preparation of the soil needed as it must be simultaneously prepped yet starved as so many Oz plants loathe fertiliser so a suitably thin soil is required.

The blossoms are beginning to show on the trees in Manchester. I can feel some colour coming on :)

I have a fig tree, mine is about 8ft tall but i cant take the credit for growing it as it was already in the garden when we bought the house. We get loads of figs but before they rippen the seagulls get them all.

We also have a pair of magpies nesting in a tree at the back of the garden. I have hung a bird feeder nearby for them and hopefully we should see a few babies leave the safety of the nest this spring.

I've no idea what a weeping pear is... must look it up! I had a nice morning today with DH doing the digging for me, it's just a bit more enjoyable gardening when you're doing it as a team! Even DS was making a good job of helping today. We moved a rhubarb to make space for a fruit tree (not yet chosen, needs to be a slim upright form). Planted three more strawberry plants in the same patch as about six I think have survived in the ground over winter. I made the frame for the plastic/net protection over my veggies with canes and 'figo' connectors. Couldn't find my sheeting so will have to buy some tomorrow, as well as compost.

We did a more major move as well, swopped my square metre and a half of culinary herbs over to a Marshalls 'gro-bed' temporarily until I build a herb rockery or a pile of pots or something. In place of the herbs (they were close to the house, which would be good if we weren't north facing) we put my cornus 'midwinter fire' and three hellebores. Now, from my dining table I get to look at a scented 2.5m bed (along the side of the decking) of mature-ish sarcococca and lavender, thornless blackberry and honeysuckle on the fence, with loads of really sunshine-yellow crocuses underneath, then the dogwood, the hellebores on the front edge of the deck (white, one without flowers yet which will probably be white, and a smaller deep purple one), er, and the washing line. I need to do something about my naff whirlygig.

Now I am paying for my nice morning by sitting in a screamarama style soft play centre in Essex... We are visiting PILs for tonight but it means we get to visit Hyde Hall tomorrow so I am happy.

I love weeping pears. I put one in my brother's garden when I designed a border for him and it looks great. I shall definitely get one for here when I get to planting stage. There is a beautiful weeping pear tunnel at Bury Court in Hampshire. Tightly clipped and stunning contrast to the Piet Oudolf prairie planting.

I haven't done any gardening today. Very frustrating in the beautiful sunshine; but I did at least sit outside in the orchard this afternoon while the kids ran and crawled around, and I finally got a washing line up. That's been on my to do list since we moved in, but as this has been about the first day when there would be any point hanging out, there hasn't been much urgency. We got a retractable one Lexy - much less of an eyesore than a whirligig.

We finally got the estimate from the architect today for the house renovations. It's about twice our budget. Yikes. The Alitex greenhouse becomes an even more distant dream...

Beautiful day today. Reached the giddy heights of 10C! All I did though was pot on the solanums and clematis from yesterday's shop and put the roof back on the veg plot.

It's been nice here too. I have potted up my baby penstemons but haven't had much gardening time as we spent most of the day at our spring show - the official start of the gardening year!

How was the show, Maud? Lovely day for it.

It was lovely, but a bit sparse. There were no tulips on show, for example, because nobody has got tulips in flower yet - last year there were lots. But the sight of jugs of hellebores and narcissus always cheers my heart!

It is nice that the show went ahead.

I did gardening jobs today rather than planting: gently painted preservative on the wood fences and swept the patio; that sort of thing.

Then I sat with a cup of coffee, looking at the ...erm....structure of the garden (flowers not being in abundance). Roses are shooting, but the tulips really have a way to go. I also inspected the bamboo nodes and they aren't quite as green and full of promise as the ones in Wadebridge so I'm wondering whether I've been watering the bamboo enough.

I discovered I have a West facing wall, (yes, I know, it took me long enough!) and tomorrow I will plant up some clematis alpina, and my Munstead Wood rose near that section, and put a fig in the pot vacated by the rose.

My irises have something wrong with them- this week the leaves have gone yellow at the tips and a bit curly. I'm not sure whether its because they are too cold or if they have a disease.

What was the show maud?
Sounds like everyone has had a good day. I managed to weed three borders am amazed as I was watched, patiently,by my DD who is 5 months- start them young, I say!
Glorious day and I am at my happiest knee deep in a muddy border
Now kicking back with a glass of wine

The show was our garden society's spring show. The triumph of optimism over adversity! And I won a prize!

Should have said that I don't grow irises because the garden isn't sunny enough, so can't diagnose iris disease (if that's what it is). But it sounds as if funnyperson has had a productive day. I still covet the Munstead Wood rose, every time I see it in the David Austin ad.