…if winter comes, can Spring be far behind? 2014 beckons us...

[echt]

Okay, so the height of summer is yet to scorch the nethers of those in this wide brown land of Orstrylia, but welcome to the MNettie gardeners of the world. Prop up your sagging fences, evict the rats from your decking, and find a use for that poinsettia.

we have two kinds of clematis in our garden - those we put in when we just dug a hole and bunged it in, which are all thriving, and those which we planted properly when we found out how to do it, which mostly died! Particularly annoying on the rose walk when we put in about twenty, fully two thirds of which simply disappeared.

Oh blimey that's not good odds. Must admit I've never had huge success with clematis.

Clematis are temperamental things, I think. That said, the Jackmanii that grows through rose New Dawn and up the apple tree is already romping away.

good morning.
hope the night wasn't too bad for you all.
our garden looks fine, not too much debris, will tidy up a bit later. had first planned to do some digging and planting, but can't be arsed in the wind and rain.

Glorious morning here in Ireland. Sunny and calm - after a week of crazy weather: hail storms, snow, frost, flooding, tornado force winds and rain, rain, rain!

Off to inspect the damage!

I know the feeling mous. I was going to do some pruning in the orchard, but I don't fancy going up a ladder in this weather.

Maud I like the sound of your New Dawn/jackmannii combo.

Yes, the Jackmanii/R New Dawn combo works very well indeed, in terms both of colour and matched vigour.

We just had a lovely walk around Great Dixter, admiring the hellebores and millions of snowdrops in the sunshine. Then within an hour we were being soaked and stung in a hail shower. Ah well.

I thought it was just me who had problems with clematis just disappearing! I put it down to buying £1.89 ones from Morrisons and not hardening them off properly - though recently I have had more success with them, as I repot them and grow them in a bit before I plant out. The price has gone up mind:£2.00 now. But they are an amazing bargain when they succeed, as most of the ones I have from there have AGM. Must feed them tomorrow along with the roses and peonies...

Morrisons also have some (very) little fruit bushes at the moment. I got a Tayberry, and was tempted by a red gooseberry. They had a wide selection, & all seemed good varieties. I already have a Tayberry, but like the berries very much and grow them up fences so they don't take up much room.

I was delighted to see that a scrubby elder tree at the bottom of the garden has been partially uprooted by last night's storm, so we will have to have it removed. I had left it as it gave some height where there was no other, but it was a bit pathetic. I shall have fun planning what to plant in its place. Some sort of fruit tree I think -any recommendations?

Yes, I'm trying that approach now, Bearleigh. I think I lost some of my clematis because they just weren't big enough and tough enough to cope with our cold wet clay soil (even with lots of improvement around the planting hole).

Here in Melbourne, some rain has arrived, a grateful, mithering persistent rain, though we'd need a week of it to make real difference.

DH was up on a big ladder to clear the gutters. The resulting mulch of dead leaves and possum shit has gone straight into the composter. I've chopped up a humungous rock orchid - dendrobium speciosum - to make six smaller plants.

An experiment with hydrangeas has proved to be disappointing, and, despite their alleged druggy attributes, they're for the chop.

Much plotting with DH for the autumn planting: we intend to put in three new native shrub/trees to screen and attract birds. The cannas and crepe myrtle have disappointed yet again, so out they go.

And breathe.

So, much needed rain for Echt, and much needed sun for us today!

I got the orchard pruning finished apart from the gooseberry. The ancestral rhubarb has started showing signs of life, which is great.

Dd has been nagging to plant some flower seeds for the last three days, so I dragged out the heated propagater from the nether reaches of the garage, and we sowed some Aquilegia canadensis and some Digitalis parviflora 'Milk Chocolate'. The Digitalis was for dd and we did that in a mini propagater for the kitchen windowsill. She kept complaining she was cold and the compost was too dirty no child of mine which was annoying.

The Aquilegia is a bit faffy. It needs six weeks of 18 degrees then six weeks of cold, then repeat until germination.

Ooh, that does sound a bit of a faff, Rhubarb, although I can see it will be worth it. I can only be doing with the sort of seed that you sow, water and then come back to check on in a fortnight.

At Great Dixter I bought seeds of bupleurum (I do love my umbellifers) and Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate (persicaria something or other), although as the latter had zero germination last year I'm none too hopeful. Then again, anything this year as to be an improvement.

I love the ancestral rhubarb. We have ancestral primroses, originally from DH's grandmother and have spread through gardens in about six different counties.

Sowed more broad beans, ammi magus, cornflower polka dot and some euphorbia type plant I can't remember the name of. I could do with a heated propagater I think. Have cleared out the windowsill in the kitchen instead, but will have to put in the greenhouse as soon as they germinate. Planted a bishop of oxford dahlia and sorted out the purple salvia cuttings from the pineapple sage cuttings (by scent alone, they look exactly the same, I should have labelled). Had a good look at the cottage borders, they are my next job. Not looking too bad except for a million oriental poppy plants grown up from the bits of root I left in the ground when removing the big plant. There is a rogue lemon verbena that is MASSIVE, have no idea how that got there. The gravel path at the bottom is a mass of forget me nots.

Was pleased to see the tenby daffs I put in the orchard when I first moved here. It was my first planting in this garden , they have started to spread and look v naturalised.

Glad you got some rain Echt!

I have some ancestral lamium, which I have to dig up every year because it is far too vigorous. No wonder dear mater had loads of it to give away.

That is very impressive seed-sowing, Humphrey. To me it feels too early to be sowing seeds, which is why I always sow too late and things don't thrive. I must mend my ways.

Tbh Maud that's generally my kind of seed sowing too, but I promised a friend I would grow these for her regret it now.

I love Persicaria. I will definitely be including it in The Grand Plan.

It is panic sowing due to garden opening Maud. I am planning to sow again in a couple of weeks and again etc

That aquilegia is stunning.

You must remind us of your opening date, Humphrey. We could hire a OsteospermumsNet charabanc.

Goodness, that would be exciting. I love your use of the word charabanc too!

That's a busy day Humph! Count me in for the charabanc.

Ooh yes to the charabanc!

I love the acquilegia canadensis, and the Kiss me...

My big news is that I am at last the proud possessor of a Daphne Odora Aureomarginata. I got one years ago from my FiL which died (most things I planted in those days died...), and I do love all Daphne's, but especially that one with the faint gold line round the leaves. Today at a local nursery, where I also got some seed potatoes, they had a lovely one, in flower, for sale. Not cheap of course, but neither was the one that pegged it, and at least it's big enough to be in flower, and I will give it lots of love. Hopefully the use of Mycorrhizal fungi will help it settle in, as the books say they don't like to be moved...

My daphne odora aureomarginata has a virus which makes its leaves crinkly, but I can accept that because of its gorgeous scent.

Charabanc is one of my favourite words.

it makes me think of the trip to the seaside in Cider With Rosie

that is lovely

Oh yes, Cider With Rosie.

And the daphne is lovely, but my garden designer friend, who diagnosed the virus, says that they're very prone to them.

Lots of chatting here! And lots of lovely-sounding plants for me to look up! Well done to everyone sowing seeds!

Humph are you opening your garden to the public? Wow! I'm so impressed! Love the sound of your daffodil filled orchard!

Love reading about the ancestral plants! I would never have thought about bringing primrose into the garden from somewhere else! Was it difficult Humph? We have the most beautiful wild primroses filling our lanes each year. I haven't seen any as nice anywhere else or in a garden centre. I wonder would it be hard to transfer a little into my garden....mind you, it's probably illegal (I live within a national park) but it is so prolific. It isn't a rare plant....hmmm. Must look it up!

Maud 'kiss me over the garden gate' looks lovely. I googled it! It also said that the seeds should be frozen for a week before planting them! Did you try that?!

Aldi have advertised a great selection of garden plants for Thursday. I might chance a few. For €1.49 they have 16 types of perennial bulbs (I never knew lupine could be grown from bulbs!) and 17 kinds of summer flowering perrenial bulbs too...worth a look anyway!