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...

You're welcome. I've been trying to remember the name of the green manure that's actually very pretty. I think it's phalaris. I haven't watched GW yet - is that what darling Monty used?

it wasn't the delectable Monty who was doing it and the article didn't specify which species was being used. but I've just ordered some rye grass green manure, as I think that that was the one that Monty was using last year!

Oh yes. Monty is delectable very informative, isn't he?

Welcome, MyAngels.

Yesterday saw the planting of the grapevine, now a length of rebar is needed to allow it to climb to the roof of the carport. I'm going to paint the walls and door of the garage at the end of the drive the same colours as they are on the garden side: google Majorelle Gardens in Marrakesh for an idea of the turquoise and deep blue I'll be using.

The odd thing is, this part of the yard is so utilitarian, it's taken us ages to see it should look as beautiful as possible whenever we use it. We spent ages doing up the other side of the house, again, rarely used, but we saw it should look good, in this case full of small native trees to attract birds and cool the house.

I heard a blackbird calling last night, a beautiful sound.

Welcome everyone! This thread is definitely for all to post in- especially, (I think), if you tell what plants you grow in your garden! It is always really nice hearing about other people's gardens and garden woes and garden pleasures.
I looked up green manure twolemons!
www.greenmanure.co.uk/seeds/winter-mix-green-manure-seeds/
which can apparently, among other things, be a mixture of rye, mustard and clover. The clover fixes the nitrogen and smothers weeds, the rye helps release the nitrate. Fenugreek makes a good green manure apparently as do buckwheat, alfafa, blue lupins, and phacelia, what Maud said.
I think I will sow some green manure in my veg trough just to see. I'm so cautious I think I will leave flowers in the flower beds this year. I have sown forgetmenots everywhere. One spring the forgetmenots came up all round the garden in every nook and cranny and it was the most lovely sight- I have never forgotton it.
I have loads of planting and seed posting to do today.
So, baby next week ! I hope it all goes well and look forward to news!
Lexi, if you are reading this, still sending lots of good wishes for your new baby!
Monty is wonderful, even in the rain, though I kept thinking he might catch a cold, and Carol improves with age too.
The whole Piet Oudolph thing is something I have been trying to get my head round. A bit like the Beth Chatto thing. In a small English semi-urban garden, prairie planting may not be the thing, but the principles of low maintenance and transparent planting really appeal.

I still haven't bought a cold frame. I am torn between a 4x2 upright cedar and polycarb cold frame, a 6' hexagonal green house and a 6' geodesic dome.
Frosts come late here so I've time to decide.

Here is an interesting Oudolph vignette.

'The cloister garden - enclosed by the main gallery building - is interesting as an example of small-scale Oudolf, given that his work is often criticised for its lack of application in domestic gardens. The planned matrix provides food for thought, with an underblanket of the molinia grass 'Moorhexe’ and islands of Sesleria autumnalis punctured by bursts of Clematis heracleifolia 'China Purple’, Euphorbia griffithii 'Dixter’, the astrantia 'Venice’, Actaea 'Brunette’ and Deschampsia cespitosa 'Goldtau’. Perhaps it’s a matter of: do try this at home.'

hi everyone -waves to myangels -
finally harvested the pumpkin, it is stored in a big bucket on top of plenty of newspapers. not sure if it would last till halloween, though. it's looking lovely and orange. it's a 'cinderella' anyone know if they are good for cooking?
have bought loads of bulbs, tulips and hyacinths. pack says they can be planted out now but would it be ok to wait? when would be the best time?

Mousy wait till November to plant the tulips. I think you're ok to go ahead with the hyacinths though.

We spent the weekend in Dorset. Visited two gardens; Kingston Lacy and Compton Acres. The former had a harvest festival on and was showing off its kitchen gardens, together with apple bobbing, conker championships, guess the weight of the pig etc. lots of pigs there, in fact. I badly want a pig. A kune kune to live in the orchard. Dh is having none of it though.

The highlight of the gardens there was the fernery. Beautifully done in a woody dell, with twisty turny paths and pretty corners, and lots of stone seating where I would have liked to have sat and mused, and enjoyed the atmosphere. Not possible with small children in tow of course.

Compton Acres is an early twentieth century garden, and felt very modern in comparison. Beautiful planting in the woodland areas with some fabulously big-leaved rhododendrons - sinogrande and falconeri which I may have to copy in my north facing border. Excellent plant shop there too. And cakes.

That sounds lovely, Rhubarb. Sadly, when I went to Kingston Lacy it was before I got obsessed by into gardening.

Rhubarb can you just turn up with an incredibly cute piglet? Your DH will fall in love and you will get your pig

My cuttings have all taken. I love taking cuttings, propagating plants is my favourite garden activity.

What is your favourite?

Hi all

Thanks for the lovely welcome - haven't been able to reply sooner as my mum came to visit which meant - babysitter - which meant - gardening! Well actually, in my case, more ripping stuff out (a campanula gone bonkers which had slowly been taking over my middle terrace). Feel better, but now have a hole I need to fill and I get scared of planting - what if I get it wrong? I'm am torn between being cross with the old lady who let the garden get so overgrown (when I'm hacking out a box hedge along a (nasty concrete) path which had grown up to my chest), and loving her for her plant choices (and taking the credit when people stop and complement me on the wisteria, lilac and spring bulbs in the front garden..!)

I haven't watched Monty yet (saved from Friday till tonight when DH is out at badminton club ) - looking forward to it...he's my favourite too.

Am loving hearing about the gardens you visit - I spent yesterday in one of those smashing soft play barns, ao am green with .

More digging out ugly/overgrown stuff planned for this afternoon - honestly, its all I do. But then I really will plant something, honest I will (please send me some courage - the stuff will grow, won't it?)

Humph he is immune to that kind of tactic. I need to have solid arguments to counter his objections and then just keep banging on to wear him down. I suspect I'll be in with a better chance after we've renovated and done the garden, and got the small one into preschool, so that I can claim to have more time.

Or I could just get dd on side and get her to bat her eyelashes and beg him - he is putty in her hands

My favourite gardening activity is hard pruning. And edging. I love a good hour's meticulous edging

One thing I have learned in the last five years is that if you get it wrong, just pull it out and move it. Or do it again.

One of the first things we did was make a big lawn with a three foot border all round the edge. It looked rubbish and we have now got a much smaller circular lawn with a deep border. This autumn we are going to shift all the plants around in the cottage border so that we have better height arrangements as there are a great many plants in exactly the wrong places. It is all a process and you don't have to get it right the first time. Dh wants to move the shrubs we have put down in the irregular beds as some of those are in the wrong place, we dug up the willows we had planted along the top path......the list goes on

Funnyperson" The whole Piet Oudolph thing is something I have been trying to get my head round. A bit like the Beth Chatto thing. In a small English semi-urban garden, prairie planting may not be the thing, but the principles of low maintenance and transparent planting really appeal"

YY to this. So interesting. We have made the MOST labour intensive garden...perhaps we should have thought about this a little more during the planning? Still, food for thought for any future development.

Sorry, had that up for ages without posting it.

Rhubarb, what about if you ate the pigs? Would that help to convince him? We have the costings somewhere about for the amount of top quality organic meat we get when we rear pigs to eat ourselves, it does work out cheaper (although not cheap, just in terms of buying organic meat). Then you could keep a couple of breeding sows as pets

Hard edging is satisfying, makes such a difference to the look.

Pigs are much much less work than children

We had a couple of pigs when I was little kept in by an electric fence, I used to get my younger sister to touch it to see if it was on won't they destroy all the grass in the orchard rhubarb?

I've noticed my ferns have lots of spores, I have 2 varieties but I don't know what they are called. If anyone would like some do pm me.

It depends on the pigs - ours are kune crossed with wild boar but they are the least destructive pigs ever.

Oh he'd be totally up for it if they were for eating. But there is no way I could handle that.

Yes kune kune don't dig up the grass apparently, unlike other breeds. They are impossibly endearing.

We were fine about this, apart from the fact that we now have two pigs that were too cute to eat

My nephew once asked ds if we had any pigs yet and his reply was "No. We made them dead, chopped them up and turned them into sausages".

Harsh but true

I went out just now to buy some violas to spruce up the window boxes and seem accidentally to have acquired a rosa rugosa from the half price shelf of doom, too.

I am loving all this talk of livestock.

These accidentally acquired plants are great. I love the way they just fling themselves into my basket

It's because they're winsome orphans, looking at us with a beseeching please won't you take us home and love us look!