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.

Pulls up chair and settles in with morning cuppa. Hello, steppemum.

I've seen nettles occasionally here in Melbourne, but they don't seem very prevalent. Only in rural hedges and near farms. I wish I could say the same about flaming oxalis, which thrives in winter, and is about to flower all over my lawn. It's very rainy and cold this morning; DH took the dog down to the sea for a swim, but they were back pretty sharpish.

The sweet peas are racing away, thunbergia still flowering. Day lilies are winter-flowering here too. Annoying as the rain means I'm not in the garden to see them. I'll potter about a bit and do some weeding after DH has made the brekkie and we've listened to the News Quiz. I'll catch up on GW this arvo. It's the season for seed catalogues and I'm eyeing the exotic stuff in the Diggers' Club catalogue. I quite fancy the Miracle Tree moringaoleifera.

I thought GW was particularly lovely tonight. And even Monty seems to have Gatsby Jazz Age fever, with the Scott Joplin soundtrack to what to do this week.

(passes glass for a pimms)

(doesn't let on that glass in pint sized )

did some hoeing today, never hoed before! Spent the winter digging rubble out of my (potential) veg bed and all the digging has disturb about 5 million weed seeds, which are blooming

want to go out and plant things, but we are busy all weekend

Sorry. Forgot to say hello and welcome to steppemum and happyreindeer.

::drinks dregs of the Pimms::

Yes, I thought the Scott Joplin soundtrack very nice, didn't realise it is a Gatsby reference, I have R Redford and co in my mind when I hear that.
Maud I've left the Cerinthe to make plugs with good root systems before planting out, they havent grown any more leggy this week and are branching out.

Well, I'm just assuming it's a Gatsby reference or, at least, if not a deliberate reference, picking up the current mood. Robert Redford as Gatsby was my first crush.

My cerinthe seedlings have just got their first proper leaves.

I hope my newly sown Cerinthe seed make it into seedlings. It was this thread that made me order them.

Just had first cuppa of the morning accompanied by GW and agree it was lovel, my foot was tapping to the music. Rachel visiting Keukenhof with her Mum bought a tear to my eye, and I'm gutted we didn't make it there last year. Must sort my timings out one year, I think even my not interested in gardening DC's would like it.

Felt guilty about my poor new clematis who doesn't have a massive hole with lots of compost, first job of the day will be to chuck water on it. Feel inspired to go chucking more white poppy seed around as not many of the White Linen seeds have germinated.

The primroses have died back in the front and usually the rhoderdendron and choisya take over for colour but someone hacked them back so badly they have no flowers. I bought a tray of yellow viola and put a few in but they didn't look good. Moved them to under the tress in the back where I recently put the Hosta Undulata from plant sale and they blended in really well.

Anyone else getting excited about their roses ? My two David Austens have lots of buds forming and I can't wait for them to get started. Mme Alfred Carriere has lots of new growth and I'm hopeful for flowers this year. Plus there's a random climbing rose in the front tag has never done much, just a couple of flowers each year as it was never trained properly. I've taken it in hand and bent the long side branch over and am getting some laterals or whatever they are called off it so hopeful it will do better this year.

Yes, I thought the picture of the 9 year old Rachel at Keukenhopf was inspirational, encouraging to take one's own young along, and loved that her mother was in the programme! I've never been to Keukenhopf as I've thought it too contrived, but as all gardens are contrived, I now see that is a silly thought and agree, I will try and go next year too!!(or even last minute late May Bank holiday if I have the energy)

oh, yes. my one mature rose has made a massive groth spurt in the last couple of weeks and many new buds are showing.

Everything is on the verge of flowering. It is a lovely morning.

Thank-you for the comments about things being late to start growing in other parts of the country everyone. Its cold here in NW again today - drat!

However I am hedging my bets (!). Have got some tomato plants indorrs for the time being, some out in the cold greenhouse.

Have got courgette plants doing pretty well in the greenhouse, also cucumbers and beans though all look in need of some warmth to get them boosted up . This is my last w/e before I go away for a week so will have to leave them for a while now - don#t feel they're really ready to go into the grow-bags as I like them to be robust before I put them there. So will wait 2 weeks. Ho hum.

Thank you for the nice replies. Had a secret smile when someone said they dug up nettles wearing marigolds.For a mad moment I though they meant the flower!

I have planted a rhubarb (champagne) in new small new shady border, as well as a pyracantha, a quince, ferns, bergenia, astrantia, a viburnum juddii and some blue geraniums.

The smaller things all came from my last garden, and gave been miserable in pots for a year now.

It's lovely to have a new border which I have made myself, finally.

The back part of the garden is on a hill, only 50 x 15/ 10 , ie narrowing from 15 wise at the front to 10 at the back. It has a bloody red acer smack in the middle of it, but I don't want to get rid of it, as it is the only plant there was originally, so it is at least mature at 10-12 ft.

On the other hand, I would never have chosen such a red- purple tree in such a small space, and in the middle of it. It is just SO dominant.

If any of you have an artists eye, I would be really grateful for suggestions to detract from it.

Ps I think it is acer trompenberg. I would link if I knew how on a phone.

This one?

Hmm. Much depends on the setting/context of course, but I think I might try to break up the mass of colour by growing something through it. Over the last couple of years I have planted a clematis through just about every shrub in the garden, but with 10-12ft you could use a rose too.

Oh hi Maud. Thanks.

It isn't quite like that. If toy look at google images it is more red than black. It looks exactly the same as one in our local garden centre with that name.

Growing something through it might be nice. It is talk but it still looks delicate- maybe it's the leaves.

In thinking if growing something offset from it but which detracts from it, if you see what I mean. Eg large round leaves or a large round shape. But what colour? Green or grey or what?

Jeez spelling! On iPhone

A most productive day. DH and I drove to a farmers' market in a tiny goldfields town. The drive was wonderful; clear cold blue skies and dazzling sunshine. The goldtowns often have deciduous trees, planted by the first European settlers, so the autumn display was lovely.

I bought 6 divisions of agapanthus for $2 each, and have planted these round the tree (some kind of native pine) on our nature strip. They are virtually indestructible, being drought proof and loving poor soil - lots of that I can tell you. :o

The other good buy was 5 clivia divisions at $3. They won't flower this year, but will fill up a shady bed.

DH bought runner bean seedlings which will be ready for harvest in spring. These are new for us here and have gone straight into the veggie patch.

What about something like a Fatsia Japonica Onefewernow ? We went to an Acer nursery yesterday and fought a couple of little ones. They had a tray of hostas out which made a nice contrast to the Acer foliage a well and I think the darker red trees looked best when contrasted with a fresh green one.

I love that Echt has Autumn leaves whilst we have spring blossom. That market sounds like a bargain. It was pressure wash the deck and reflect on how I wish we could have afforded a raised patio day here yesterday.

Or choisya Aztec Pearl not Sundance, I hate Sundance?

That's lovely Maud, never seen that before. Much prefer that to the foliage on my Choisya. I think that would look look lovely next to a red acer.

The battle against the ground elder is underway. The stuff in the front bed is browning around the edges and looking a bit sorry for its self.
The nasty stuff in the garden that is trying to use my agapanthus as a shield is being had weeded out (hopefully) but i will probably be picking bits of it out for the next 10 years.
I have another large patch of it at the back of the garden under the cherry tree that will be sprayed when the weather is better.

Been pottering doing odd bits and pieces in the veg plot and around the garden generally this weekend. I have taken an old tin bath off my mother's hands ( it was in her shed) and planted the mint in it. It looks fabulous, I'm going to try very hard to keep the mint alive this time. Bath is about the size you'd need to dunk a toddler in so it's fairly roomy but not vast. Currently placed at the shady end of the veg plot as I think my previous mint location on the patio was too sunny.

Yes, Wynken, it's got lovely foliage and (compared to fatsia, which has many good qualities) the bonus of scent too.

Just heading out to pot on some dill/fennel/ammi majus seedlings. I may start the chemical warfare against the ground elder and (horror) a newly-discovered patch of bindweed tomorrow.

Hello everyone, sounds like Spring has really sprung!

Spent the morning pretending I was in 'The Secret Garden', as our next family project is the abandoned garden of the house next door... we unearthed so many gems, it was a joy!

From the back door (kitchen) a path runs down a short but steep slope, with a raised red brick bed to the left, full of ground elder and grape hyacinths; there is a gorgeous white lilac at the back, against a brick wall that runs down the left hand side of the garden, and a clematis has grown up through it.
After the raised bed (about 4 x 2m) is a greenhouse against aforementioned wall, with a nectarine tree, previously choked with brambles, but valiantly still growing lots of little fruits! It's been abandoned for the last 20 yrs, so very impressive!
In front of the greenhouse, next to the path, is another 1 x 3m raised bed with mainly weeds in it, and a glorious old rose that is still putting out fresh shoots .
To the right of the path is a low brick wall that edges a small lawn (about 6 x 4m) that backs onto the house.

We also felled a lime tree that was waaay taller than the house and was blocking out all the light and views.

Sorry for such a long post but it was so exciting, it was like finding buried treasure!