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.

[Rhubarbgarden]

I've never seen QVC, but many moons ago I used to get the train in to work past the QVC building, and you could see their little garden where they obviously film their gardening bits. I used to idly wonder if they employed actual gardeners and if I could get a job there. I think I shall have to start watching it if the bargains are as good as you say.

I am currently sitting gazing out of the hotel room window at the rain over Edinburgh's rooftops while waiting for my nails to dry, and feeling faintly anxious and frustrated about all the gardening I won't be doing over the next couple of weeks. Wedding this afternoon then straight off on hols. I am plotting a visit to the Rothschild villa garden while we are in France. And dh is uncharacteristically keen to revisit a beautiful coastal garden we once strolled around near Cannes, so will try to get that on the agenda too.

[RakeABedOfTyneFilth]

GAAAAHHHH. wrote long message and lost it. In short, not gardening today. Maybe tomorrow but also taking boy to a fair which may include plant stalls (genuinely don't know).

GW researcher ... unmask yourself! I was going to write to them last year and say we were a virtual gardening club of people who mostly hadn't met each other IRL and would they like to feature us somehow. But I bottled it.

[funnyperson]

rakeabed lexi I love this thread and its predecessors and I love Gardener's World but I'm not sure if I want to be featured. I'm sure someone lurks because of all the changes over Monty's jumper earlier on in the year, and the way I see it, we are a bit like a 'focus' group so thats why they might respond to what is on here.
The thing is it would be so embarrassing if (work) people knew I was interested in gardening.

[funnyperson]

Oh dear-that sounds awful- but you know, it is so nice to be able to discuss planting and compost and flowers and so forth in detail.

[ComeIntoTheGardenMaud]

Do you really think people from GW lurk on here? Eek!

[onefewernow]

I have been to the market in town and come home with a viburnum juddii in flower. It couldnt be helped.

It smells heavenly.

apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=5493

I take it qvc is a TV programme. I like GW too, but I keep missing the wretched thing. Give me anyone other than Alan T.

[onefewernow]

Rhubarb, I hope your holiday goes well. I would be interested to hear about your Cannes garden, as I am near there in August.

[cantspel]

Qvc is more than a tv program. It is a whole channel for 24 hour shopping. It is not all gardening either. They sell just about anything you can think of but my favorites are the gardening and bedding.

[Blackpuddingbertha]

Shopping channels scare me!

I've uploaded some pictures of the bluebells at the end of my garden (and just over the garden fence). They are beautiful and make me smile even on a gloomy day like today. I was out pulling nettles from our bit of wood so they don't get swamped and the blueness made me happy.

Set up the bean arch and put it in front of the gate while DH was out so I've posted a pic of that too and will post another once it's fully grown. I do hope it works, the idea came from a garden centre I had to visit for work and the one they had growing was just amazing.

[MousyMouse]

yes, there is something about the colour blue that makes me smile.
have also loads of bluebells. and also this blue tree (already forgotten the name ) which has just started to flower, some forget-me-nots, and other blue/purple flowers I don't know the name of.

have just been on a walk in between showers for the dc to let off steam. were given a bunch of purple lilac twigs when we stood there for ages admiring them. lovely scent!

[onefewernow]

Great arch!

[ComeIntoTheGardenMaud]

Lovely photos, Bertha.

Viburnum juddii is a new one on me (I have bodnantense, tinus and opulis). It looks lovely and viburnums always seem to smell gorgeous.

My Ebay agapanthus has just arrived. I am impressed - decent sized, healthy plant.

[HumphreyCobbler]

The arch looks brilliant. The tree looks amazing too!

Just got an email for Peter Nyssan saying that about half of their spring green tulip deliveries are wrong due to a mix up by the growers Lots of disgruntled customers all over the country. They are offering a refund of the correct tulip bulbs. So now I have to decide if it is worth replanting, given that there are daffs in the pots as well.

[funnyperson]

Thats interesting. I have spring green tulips but I have no idea if they are the wrong colour because I planted them late and they only just have buds on.
Are they offering you replacement bulbs or plants?

[digerd]

I had a Viburnum Burkwoodi, which had large dense balls of perfumed flowed in April. It was semi-evergreen. I loved it, but had to move.

Then I bought a Viburnum Tinus - evergreen, small leaves, slight perfume in winter to spring, and put it in a pot, where it lasted 6 years and then died as not meant to be in a pot. Wouldn't have bloomed these last winters we've had, anyway

[HumphreyCobbler]

replacement bulbs in the autumn. I feel quite sorry for them, it will cost them a fortune. I assumed we were an isolated case.

[onefewernow]

viburnum judii is worth looking up. It only grows a metre or 4 ft and it smells really really lovely. If you visit a garden centre right now, look out for it- you will see it in flower. It puts daphne odora and even jasmine to shame!

[MousyMouse]

just watched the gardening abc-letter r

now am worried about my poundland roses. they didn't (still don't) look as juicy as the ones planted by monty...

and the rhubarb part was all about commercial growers, not about my leafless snails bitten thing.

[MousyMouse]

and no amount of staring helps them grow faster...

[funnyperson]

The thing is, mouseymouse did you use mycorrhizal fungi when you planted your roses into a deepish hole backfilled with organic compost?
Following this, did you prune your roses in March and give them a top dressing of compost twice a year? If not, this could explain their failure to thrive. My roses were always struggling leggy things till I saw Monty plant one, and then I changed my rather minimalist practice, and am at the stage when I take successful rose cuttings, which is really very extraordinary and satisfying.

[funnyperson]

I read today that strawberries are good companion plants for rhubarb, and dock weeds are bad ones. This is interesting. I may move my rhubarb to a bigger pot or raised receptacle, and plant the strawberries next to it.
www.rhubarb-central.com/companion-gardening.html

[MousyMouse]

I only planted the roses a couple of weeks ago. no fungus, nice deep hole, some horsemanure (not fresh) and a mix of compost/earth.
hope their roots are growing nicely, the pack said 4-6 weeks until first leaves show so all is not lost.

[onefewernow]

Mousy maybe snip an inch off the ends? Sometimes starts them into life.

Funnyperson, wow! Cuttings!

[sandripples]

Hello, I don't usually come onto this thread, but maybe I should! (If you'll have me of course)

I enjoy gardening although find it frustrating as I work full time and when its wet at the week-end (like today, grr) its difficult to do much.

Anyway, I wanted to ask if your gardens are slow to get going this year? I live in the North-West and apart from last week-end which was a wonderful weather anomolay, its still so cold and I think everything's behind. I'm growing stuff in my (chilly) greenhouse, but don't think I'll be able to put the tomatoes into the grow-bags for a few weeks yet - they're so small!

[LadyMud]

I'm also in the North West, sandripples. Yes, everything seems to be late this year . . . but since that includes my hayfever, I'm not complaining