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...

Thank you for the kind thoughts. I feel sad because friends are so rare really and this was someone I have known nearly all my life. I cannot go to the funeral as it is during the week and less than 6 weeks notice and too far away- one would have to take the whole day off work. I am trying not to mind too much as I had a chance to say goodbye when visiting and playing friendly games of scrabble a few times this year.
Btw I disagree with Monty's comments in GW magazine about online forums.

What gardening books would anyone recommend for Christmas?
My wish iist so far is
fire pit
octagonal greenhouse
OK those arent books....
Beth Chatto's Gravel Garden
Christopher Lloyd's Succession planting for Adventurous Gardeners.

I was thinking about biting myself the Carol Klein one about propagating (grow your own garden?) with the money mum usually gives me, and have asked DH for new pretty wellies and gloves (any recommendations welcome!).

But what I'd really like us a greenhouse...

I'd avoid 'biting' yourself if I was you NotAnother

Not really a gardening book but I am enjoying dipping into a Language of Flowers book I bought a few months ago. Pretty pictures and a bit of potted sentimental history about the flowers. It's cheerful reading.

Sorry about your friend funny :(
Lovely and sunny here on the Isle Of Wight. I've had a productive morning raking up leaves in the front.

Bought the hyacinths in from the garage, only one has come up so maybe it was too cold, they're now in the hall.

nappy I'd really like a greenhouse too!

So sorry for your loss funnyperson.

Just had a catch up. You are all busier than I have been. One nice thing is that our orchard is now a designated wildlife zone for Gwent Wildlife Trust. This makes us eligible for a grant, much to DH's delight. We may be able to sort out the drainage as this is impacting on the trees at the bottom and are also planning a restock with more pears, quince, medlar and mulberry.

Yes, one day I am definitely going to bite my own greenhouse

Your wildlife friendly orchard sounds lovely humph. I really noticed an increase in wildlife in my garden this year with just a few more flowers (butterflies on cosmos & bees on wallflower mostly). It's amazing what a big difference a little bit of planting makes.

Sorry to hear of your loss, funnyperson but good you got say a goodbye in a friendly, fun way.

How splendid to here about your designated wildlife orchard, Humphrey.

Sooo, I planted some oca tubers at the beginning of winter, lifted them and replanted all the little tubers in the veggie patch. I now have the job of telling DH he shouldn't have planted tomatoes so near.:o

Bok choy has sprinted away, and shows signs of flowering, so we'll have to eat that soon.

Thank you all. I am fine now.
The orchard sounds brilliant, Humphrey There is going to be wonderful blossom in spring and lots of jam making potential in the Autumn .

Hi there.
I did absolutely nothing in the garden for a while. apart from sometimes chasing the fox and the cats like a madwoma.

roses: should I expect some growth from the bare roots that I planted a couple of weeks ago? already now (well a few weeks after planting) or in the spring?

so sorry to hear about your friend funny

Sorry about your friend FP. On the Christmas front I would like a trug as have decided the allotment is staying. I know the plastic ones are functional but I feel the need to wander around with a nice wooden one.

That's great news about the grant Humph.

Bertha I think the Oca can stay a bit longer . The tubers grow of a bit after the foliage has been damaged by the frost. I had a look at mine today nd think it needs a bit longer. From memory I dug mine up in the New Year first time I did them. Real Seeds have a good bit on their website re storage. If they are in the dark they do that long thin white root thing that spuds do. Mine end up the greenhouse over winter usually. They are also like spuds in that you always miss some and they sprout again in the spring. Where you don't want them or by the tomatoes in Echt's case !

Mous I haven't done bare root roses but would guess you won't see growth till the spring. The others will know.

There was a big manure delivery at the allotment the weekend so went today to get some. Got fed up at 4 barrow loads and have stiff shoulders.

Thanks Wynken, DH wants some on Christmas Day so will be leaving a few in until then. I looked at the real seed site (which looks familiar and I think I ordered this year's tubers from them, the orange ones as they'd run out of the red). So I keep them cool in a paper bag and if they start to sprout I put them somewhere light until ready to plant. I think I can manage that. .

Fruit tree order for the orchard arrived today. Victoria plum, two varieties of greengage, mulberry, nectarine and peach. I haven't planned where they are going yet and have got a busy weekend ahead already without tree planting to factor in - eek!

trees sound fab Rhubarb. Which varieties of greengage have you got? A friend gave dd a Victoria plum as a welcome to the world present. She is five now and the tree is doing really well. We were discussing mulberry trees earlier, I want one just so that I can dance around it.

Old Greengage and Transparent Gage. We shall be dancing round our mulberry too

Lovely idea to buy someone a plum tree as a welcome to the world present.

I have mulberry envy rhubarb - they are such special fruit.

DH is in the garden clearing leaves with the leaf blower wearing a head torch.

I'm sitting by the fire considering if it's too early to open the wine.

This seems like a good idea although I haven't tried it out yet

www.greenplantswap.co.uk/

Mulberry bush sounds fab. Can't even remember when I last had a greengage. I have two sticks bought very cheaply from lidl 2 years ago which remain alive in the ground and are in leaf and beginning to branch, and which were originally meant to be a plum tree and a pear tree but I suspect are years from fruiting, and I don't know what variety they are.

Love the idea of giving and planting trees for newborn children. I have done it for birthdays. What pear trees have you all got?

Have given the children's father the espaliered red devil apple tree for birthday+Christmas.

I like raking leaves, I find it quite restful and love the smell of autumn when I'm doing it. Round about here are lots of cotoneaster berries and the birds sit on the branches and nibble gently in between trills, it is very pastoral.

More bulb planting this weekend after I've bought some grit. I've nearly packed every inch of my shady back garden now, will have to move onto planting in mums and dads garden on the grounds that house will go to DS eventually

Hello, can I join in please?

I love the outdoors and the garden, we moved nine months ago and inherited a "turf and patio" garden with one border being a well established hedge (we live in a newish build on an older house's back plot). I managed to fit in a couple of raised beds (previous house had a 15ft square veggie plot, sniff) but it's a smallish garden. There's nothing at the sides to speak of so DH and I are planning to put up trellissing so we can grow climbers and fruit things without annoying the neighbours by putting stuff up "their" fence... I think my garden can be small but interesting if you see what I mean....any suggestions for good fruit trees that will be happy being trained up a structure? I was thinking about maybe a trained cherry and then a freestanding dwarf pear or apple? I've heard you can get "family" fruit trees that have two or three types of fruit on them! Anyone tried those or are they a gimmick?

Welcome aethelfleda (very Norse!) It is a problem that, when neighbours wont let you grow stuff up 'their' fence, and you have to put up trellis with posts, because there is the issue of the lower part of the fence on your side and what to grow in the gap beneath your trellis.

I haven't got the answer but I do recommend the espaliered or fanned apple trees that you can get from Brogdale. I thought they were pricey but looking at other websites I see they are actually quite reasonable. The red devil apple is mean to be a small apple good for children to eat. They do pears and cherries as well but I dont know if they do 3 in 1 trees.

Thanks funnyperson, I'm getting five panels of this which is full length trellis, we put the posts in today so when it gets delivered I should just be able to screw in the panels to the posts...Hopefully!

So far I have a winter flowering Jasmine, and two pots of raspberry cane to put up, they had hydrangeas on clearance so I've three of them to put in as well.

I'm going to look at the options for dwarf fruit trees (cheers for the link!) as well as fan type ones and espaliers, it's bot something I've done before but sounds fun to try!

Does anyone have experience of growing chard under cloches? I tried to get some Swiss Chard going earlier this year but it didn't take. Have three cloches but do I need to start the seed inside when it's this nippy?

Hi Aethel. In my experience chard is very hardy and cold weather doesn't do anything bad to it but it doesn't grow much in the winter. I would start them off inside until quite well established then put them out under cloches and see what happens. They may just do nothing then spring into action when it gets warmer.

Off outside to dig stuff up for Sunday lunch. Oca, Jerusalem artichokes and pumpkin on the menu today. Tempted to dig up a parsnip or two as well but may be overdoing it on the roast veg front.

Hi Aethel. I have had similar experience to Bertha with the chard. Mine sat under the snow one year , looked knackered then new growth came in the spring and it went to seed.

Tickets now out for the RHS shows. I'm off to Chelsea having had such a lovely day last year.

Am liking the sound of Bertha's lunch. I'm tempted do have some Oca today and I need tostart making inroads into the squah mountain into greenhouse. And the 9 remaining marrows. Took one to Mum's yesterday and the Carer said 'lovely, what do I do with it?' refrained from saying I don't care, I just need them out of my greenhouse and said soup politely. She looked underwhelmed I felt.

I have been cooking quite a lot of pumpkin/squash recently.
FOr example: cut little squash in 1-2 in pieces with skin and seeds intact. Wash. Crush and saute garlic with vegetable oil. Add in pumpkin; Cook till seeds are crunchy and brown. Add in cherry tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, bay, rosemary, salt, pepper, cook for a bit longer, add in washed tinned red kidney beans and cook for a bit longer. Eat with wild rice.