Blooming into Flaming June

[Blackpuddingbertha]

Keeping the potting shed party going from the previous Rhubarb Society thread and all threads before it.

Please feel free to join in all gardeners, whether novice, professional or aspiring. Plenty of blackberry gin for all.

I've been to Knightshayes with my mum and DS today. Got there just about exactly opening time, only spent two hours there but will go again I'm sure. The kitchen garden was fabulous - they have a stall in the town market so produce a lot of seasonal veg, year round I think. It is a walled garden on a south facing slope, with carefully planted woodland around. When we went through the gate it was instantly about three degrees warmer, just the effect of the walls and shelter I think! The house was very nice but I think quite standard NT. On a less windy (i.e. warmer!) day I would walk all round the formal gardens but today, the plant centre was more tempting. Got a delicate little light blue phlox for my rockery and a black viola for no reason than it being pure black. And a load of other bargain alpines for my mum's rather more extensive rockery (six times the size of mine!)

What an amazing weekend for gardening! DH and i have been frantically swinging between getting everything done and making the most of the good weather to relax. My train comes into Victoria too and on more than one occasion last week I had to stop myself from snatching the golden ticket to Chelsea off a 40+ softly spoken white female heading for the show. I've never seen the appeal before but now I've got my own garden I'm desperate to go, how do you get tickets? I expect the demographic reflects the generation lucky enough to have their own gardens and time on their hands to enjoy them?

I'm so excited as our heirloom fence is being installed tomorrow. This should finally mean an end to our fox and bramble problem and mean I can get to grips with creating a gorgeous south facing border. There is already a lilac, quince and a hebe, plus I've got 6 peony trees and some sweet peas ready to go in. Happy days!

Yes, it has been a very good gardening day.
I planted some more rocket and mange tout in the vegetable trough.
I planted a big pot with the Wimbledon rose, phlox candy stripe, a deep dianthus deltoides and dill and chamomile for the front south facing patio.
Then I weeded a whole load of weeds out the back.
Then I planted out a lovely astrantia, some lilium martagon album, the cosmos purity grown from seed and a little white dodecathon near the Alfred Carriere rose.
Then I planted some salvia in front of the clematis abundance which is growing up rapidly.
I potted up the bare root tree peony rockii which had arrived on a two for one offer, remembering to put rhizomatous fungi on the roots.
I tied in the clematis montana which is growing up the ceanothus and is in bloom, and tied in the mangetout and sweet peas and watered everything in and then went round to my parents with some spare plants including the other tree peony, a clematis Dr Ruppel and a few dozen peacock orchid bulbs which are not actually orchids but a type of gladiolus. Mum and I had a happy hour weeding and planning what to tell the gardeners. We cut some flowers for dad in a vase: purple aquiliegia, yellow and rust wallflowers, bluebells and cornflowers.
Then I came back and broadcast some Flanders poppy seeds in the front garden to take the place of the bluebells when they fade. This seemed apt.
The garden is looking stunning out the front and back. I feel so lucky to have it and to be fit enough to see it and garden in it and sit in it. Hope you all had a good gardening day too! Have a lovely week.

Didn't get much gardening done today as i had to go buy the new mower. Ended up buying the Bosch Rotak 43 Ergo Handles Elec Rotary one in the end. Hope to get to try it out tomorrow.

Counldn't resist a quick look at the reduced plants in b&q and picked up a tray of pink margarita for 30p and a tray of white petunia for a £1

What's an heirloom fence Notanothernappy ? Glad you sorted your mower Cantspel. It always amazes me how much difference a good grass cut makes.

FP that sounds like a lovely gardening day. I was out in mine and no longer have a blue and purple shed. I actually thought it was green with a purple stripe but DD tells me it was blue and seeing as I have difficulty with blues and green I shall believe her. It was part of converting it to a playhouse for DS when he was little. It!/ now full of junk but a more pleasant cream colour, just needs another coat. All the plants are in except the magnolia and one trough that needs planting. Well I say that, there's lots in the greenhouse which need hardening off. Large conifer hopefully going next week.

Has anyone's Alfred Carriere got buds ? Mine went in last year, lots of growth but no sign of flowers yet.

Notanother to get Chelsea tickets, join the RHS and look out for the flyer in The Garden, the excellent monthly magazine that you get. You also get free entry to places like Wisley and lots of other benefits.

Thankyou Funnyperson!

please can I join in your thread, ive just spent the morning with a large pot of coffee reading about all your Chelsea adventures willing the rain here to go away!

I love Chelsea and would like to go back - perhaps next year, last time I went as an exhibitor '05 and came home with a silver medal (it was my first proper show garden! and very stressful)

having said that my garden isn't much to write home about, I moved here last year and it needs lots of work its very boring (narrow pointless bed around rectangular lawn) but hoping for some better weather so I can get to work on it.

Wow nightshade - a silver! At Chelsea!! Do tell us more.

Everyone has been very busy. The weather was fantastic here on Saturday and Sunday. All the cottage borders are coming into bloom. The alliums are amazing. I have started to cut flowers for the house, always something I enjoy doing.

Yes I'll second that wow for a silver at Chelsea! Please tell us about the experience and what your garden was like.

I had a full gardening bank holiday, it was great. I got the final quarter of dd's flower bed dug and prepared, and she scattered Godetia, Calendula and Morning Glory seeds on it. The other seed packets turned out to be empty; I'm not sure if that was a miscalculation on my part or toddler interference, never mind. What an epic of digging that was though. I'm buying/hiring a rotavator when I do the main borders.

Then it was into weeding overdrive mode. I filled a tonne bag. Still got four borders to go, but it's a start.

I've also decided that I need a Cornus controversa variegata (wedding cake tree). Not sure where I'm going to put it though.

Nightshade - do you have a vision in mind for your new garden? Will it be anything like what did at Chelsea?

Wynken - an "heirloom fence" is how I will always refer to the the plain old six ft high closed board panels now adorning my garden, as when I posted on here asking if the quote I'd got was reasonable, walkacrossthesand replied that depended on whether I wanted a fence or an heirloom! 6 of the 12 panels to go in the left hand side went in today before the rain turned the garden into a mud bath and the builders gave up. The right hand side is already done. DH painted the 4ft fence at the back with cuprinol Seagrass and tomorrow the builders are gong to top this with 2ft of trellis n the same material as the new fence, hopefully tying it all together.

I am slightly mortified as I/the builders have pissed off my neighbours so much they've taken the key to their side return back off us (we're terraced, they're on the end). I was here all day but unbeknownst to me my builders decided to ask their teenage daughters to supply them with a hose pipe and electricity instead. They also cut down their young cherry tree and trampled mud all over their decking . Plus they hacked down and spirited away several tons of brambles (hurrah!!), but nobody mentioned that...

Bearleigh - Join the RHS???! Wow, the very thought!

Hello all, welcome Nightshade - I'm joining the plea for more info on your Chelsea experience please!

Lovely, but busy, weekend here but I fitted in some pottering doing odd bits and pieces that needed doing in the garden. Some more stuff got planted out including the oca but that has gone under fleece to keep it cosy for a couple more weeks. Still can't believe the temperatures, it's mad!

I've discovered the reason why we have so many bees around - it would appear they are living under the house. Happy with that though as they're not bothering us and I much prefer bees to the usual wasps and hornets we get!

Welcome, Nightshade.

Not done any gardening today, but have done some garden visiting. For those who like zingy colour in their pots, I bring you ::fanfare:: aeonium Schwarzkopf, osteospermum Tresco Purple and orange wallflower, variety unknown.

all seedlings are out now, have a nice raised bed with tomatoes (beef-steak and santorini) sweetcorn, chilli, pumpkins.
but the snails have already found the sunflowers.
the roses are really doing well, have teeny weeny flowerbuds and I am really excited about them.
welcome nightshade

That sounds like a fabulous pot combo Maud. I love Aeonium Schwarzkopf.

Got the Forsythia cut back today in a slash and grab manoeuvre between childcare onslaughts. Is half term over yet? Please?

Does a little happy dance as i am getting a greenhouse for my birthday
My birthday is not until november but i can have it early. I cant buy anything too expensive as it is my mum who is paying but i am sure i will find something for the amount she is willing to spend. I will put it up myself so i dont want anything to complicated or hard to erect and i have to have polycarp as it will have to go near the oak trees .

I don't have a glass one catspel and it is fine. Works well and is very robust. I was paranoid about the dc crashing into a glass one on their bikes.

I love my greenhouse so much I may have already mentioned this a few times Everything is growing so well I have basil, coriander, poppies, crimson nasturtiums, rocket and mixed salad leaves, eight tomato plants, a cucumber, lots of pelargoniums ready to go in the tulip pots outside, tobacco seedlings, calendula, cornflowers, night scented stock and seedling lupins. Plus a few trays of cosmos purity.

The garden is looking lovely after the rain. I am pleased that all the geraniums and alchemilla mollis are now hiding the dying tulip foliage as per my plan. The rose walk is looking extremely healthy and full of buds. All the alliums are coming out properly and I have my first oriental poppy flower.

Sounds lovely Humphrey.

I cant wait to have a greenhouse again. last time i had one was 2 house moves back and i so miss it.
I want to take out one section of lawn and place it there with a couple of raised planters to the side of it. Then i will do all my bedding plants from seed and grow things like peppers, cucumber and a few salad leaves.
The raised planters will be for onions and radishes.

The lily garden has really taken off with loads of growth on the lily stems and the alliums i put in are flowering and the purple looks lush against the green of the lily stems.

thanks for the welcomes what would you like to know? I will share what I can without outing myself completely!

my new garden is (hopefully) going to have a true cottage garden feel to it - all breezy and billowy, it is the front garden and has just been left to lawn and dandelions until now - there is a young box hedge across the front which will be staying and a small plum tree and a clump of rhubarb id like to keep - the rest is going so ive effectively got a blank canvas. next door tried (badly and failed to put a hedge down the right hand side so im going to replace that with a beech to get a decent barrier going down that side. there is room for a bed in front of this along side the path - im thinking I might put some standard roses in along there.

in other news ive joined the allotment waiting list. im hopeing that the predicted 2year wait is massively over, as ideally I want to grow a lot of cut flowers for my wedding next year!!

Growing cut flowers for your wedding sounds fantastic nightshade, how exciting.

How nice that you have a box hedge already there.

What sort of flowers are you going to do for your wedding nightshade?

Sounds very exciting. Will you use them for table decorations?

I haven't made a comprehensive list yet, but cornflowers will feature heavily, ox-eye daisys, corn marigolds that sort of thing its a very informal church then church hall for hog roast and dancing so I don't want anything to uniform and formal. im hoping to do most of the flowers myself with the addition of dried barley ears to pad the flowers out.

I have just gone round the garden and taken note of all the wrong kind of aquilegia so that I can dig them up tomorrow. Anything pointing up or more than one colour is for the chop. The iris are looking very patchy, but the red lupins are out. They are next to a red leaved cherry tree, it is a particularly nice colour combination. One herb bed is looking much better than the other one, they have been treated exactly the same!

Heard a cuckoo going for it from the trees next door.

Just went down to put the chickens to bed and got distracted by a spot of weeding in the veg plot. Had to stop when I couldn't see the weeds any more!

Are we safe from frosts yet?