Potting shed summer party

[Blackpuddingbertha]

Following on from the Blooming into Flaming June thread and all others before it.

The potting shed is open for summer. Elderflower wine aplenty and room for all. Monty will be along later...

Good evening

Poor dd2 knocked out an adult front tooth yesterday, it's been put back in by a lovely emergency dentist but has put paid to further surfing. The upside was we were able to visit the lost gardens of Heligan today.

www.cornwall-online.co.uk/attractions/lostgardensofheligan/Welcome.html

I could have bought so much but it wouldn't fit in the car, so settled for seeds and a very small gunnera.

I have been PMing people for seeds this morning. I feel a bit cheeky , please do let me know if you'd like me to send you a stamped self addressed envelope!

We are away this week, I am enjoying the flora & fauna of the south east coast (mainly seaweed & palms). I am not too worried about my garden, my pots are over and everything else is hardy enough to survive. I am looking forward to planting spring bulbs. God knows, I have ordered enough of the buggers.

Cosmos seeds on their way to you NANN.

I have loads more cosmos, plus marigold and aguilegia seeds if there are any takers.

Maud I love spring bulbs and when i am buying i think oh a few more would look lovely in the tubs/back bed/front garden. Then i get home and add them to the pile i already have bought and think maybe i should just avoid the gardening section of wilkos.

I want to make a trip to poundland as their website shows they are stocking woodland bulbs this year and i really want to add some interest to the woodland are of my garden and this could be a cheap way to do it.

More extreme nesting here at Casa Filth on the first day of proper maternity leave. Just power-trimmed the pyracantha hedge as far as I could stretch (am not silly enough to go up a ladder at 40+1 pregnant!). Quite hard holding a heavy (old) black and decker thing overhead!! Having a bit of a breather then out for round two - mowing the clippings on the lawn which will be slightly tricky because we only have a suburban-spec Flymo. Then a bath to get all the hedge dust off me. I think I disturbed some snoozing moths, oops.

I will try to post the astrantia seeds this week, just need to figure out who's who between here and FB, and who I need an address for. probably best to PM me!

Bloody wasps and slugs have multiplied here too. And there is something seriously wrong with my main water butt - entirely empty even after that biblical rain at the weekend. I've had a little furtle in the gutter and I think it is clogged with moss. The secondary water butt off the shed is full/fillable but stinks to high heaven, I think because it is in full sun.

TyneFilth - I managed to get my waters to break at 40+10 by raking stuff up on the lawn. Can highly recommend it.

Wasps every where at the moment. Went out for afternoon tea (birthday treat shameless birthday plug ) and at one point we had 6 on one jammy knife.

Happy birthday Bertha

Mousy I love that rose. It's very similar to one of my own favourites; Blue for You.

Bumbez - Heligan, how heavenly. And yay for your new Gunnera.

Clearly this is the week to go on holiday; we just got back from a few days in North Yorkshire. Didn't manage to get to Harlow Carr sadly. We did visit Harewood House but spent the whole time in the adventure playground and bird garden, so no chance to check out the gardens. Boo.

My own garden is getting away from me again, . Just nine months to go till I've got one at school and one at nursery. Nine months. Counting down, counting down in the hope that then finally I may be able to get some gardening done.

Happy birthday Bertha!

Happy birthday Bertha, thank you so much for the seeds

Rhubarb - DH asked me if I was going to go back to work FT when we finally have one at school and one at nursery (should be in the next 6 months). I was rather put out as I had intended to use the time to garden

happy birthday!

blue for you looks realy nice.
I am now looking at some german catalogues and am firing off emails if they would deliver to the uk.
or I could ask my mother to order it for me and to send it.

Thank you everyone, have some

Happy Birthday and many happy returns of the day bertha sorry I have been in no social networking land
I have therefore been looking at spring bulb catalogues and there are tulips and other bulbs I think I will buy- ballerina perhaps. Perhaps a fringed purply one. Perhaps a white triumph one or spring green again (in hope) Sarah Ravens catalogue says she put her tulips in November time.

Happy birthday from me too, Bertha!

Happy Birthday from me too bertha I'm still in Cornwall but home tomorrow and DH is going to help me in the garden next week :)

We've been in our house nearly a year and I remember it was seriously lacking in spring colour so will be hoping to plant lots of bulbs too!

Joining in with the seed sharing I may possibly have some Echium pininana seeds. I noticed one very small one in a pot before we came away laden with seeds, I hope I'm not too late. We successfully grew a couple at the last house that were quite big but didn't survive 2010 snow.

I'll take some Bumbez please if you manage to collect any.

I spent two hours weeding and tidying the long bed today. Still struggling with the shadier end of it, I think the over hanging trees affect it as well as the dry shade thing being awkward. Nothin thrives there and I have huge gaps.

I then spent an hour in the veg plot and cleared out the pea bed and all the bolted chard and spinach. The bed is now prepped for kale to go in.

Nice day, but my back hurts now.

Belated Happy Birthday to bertha.

I wanted to get the grass cut and clear out the hanging baskets ready for winter planting but fell down the stairs this morning and hurt my back. No real damage done just some bruising but it did put pay to my afternoon gardening.

Ouch, Cantspel. Hope your back recovers soon.

Ooh oooh! Echium pininana - big favourite! Yes please Bumbez. I grew them in London, fingers crossed they'll survive here too.

Sorry to hear about your back Cantspel.

Thankyou Just a bit stiff and bruised today so hopefully back in the garden this weekend.

More bulbs arrived this morning. This time it was some pink charm dafs which will look lovely around the magnolia i planted in the front bed.

Yes please to echium seeds if there are plenty to go round. I missed the chance to buy a baby echium for 50p at an
open garden. I'd love one in the front garden, which I want to make jungly.

I'm going to Great Dixter tomorrow. Squee.

Great Dixter will be really interesting to see at this time of year. Tell us all about it when you get back, maud- what is in flower, what works well with what and so forth (and if you got any seeds just by chance)
Echium- yes please if the blue sort- if any going!
Havent watched Monty and the team yet as too busy.
Will be doing cuttings tomorrow hopefully.

Lucky Maud. Yes have a lovely time and do tell us all about it.

I missed GW last night too as dh wanted to watch football

Very late happy birthday to bertha.

The last day of winter got in at the post at 24 today - so dry this week I'll have to water before I mulch the semi-tropical bed. To add to my woes, the warmth brought out every mozzie to bite me through my tights. Application of the thumbnail works, though.

Today we went on a trip to the Yarra Ranges and picked up some v. cheap natives to try out.

In the garden, the gully grevillea is blooming. In the veggie patch a purple sprouting broccoli has finally bloomed, having taken over the entire bed for 5 months. Won't be growing that fecker again.

Tomorrow, the first day of spring, and National Wattle Day, is also Father's Day, so I'll have to rush out and buy the card and pressie. I'm desperate to finesse this as the Hass avocado I bought for FD last year has little flower buds, and so may fruit. Yay!

I have missed gw, but nearly on the way back now so will catch up tomorrow morning with a cuppa.
have eaten myself through my parent's garden (we were house sitting) and have decided to try growing kohlrabi next year. they were huge and very tender. we had them raw with dips, breaded + fried, steamed, as coleslaw... and most importantly the dc loved them. also lots of courgettes, white marrows, carrots, chillies, tomatoes (favourite one 'green zebra').
and lots of flowers in bloom that I don't know the names of.