…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.

at edible hedge. What a good plan.

My favourite gardening book is The Magic Apple Tree by Susan Hill, not really a novel but I adore it. Her book about making a garden with Rory Stuart is also v good.

The edible hedge sounds lovely. I have a raspberry hedge along one bit of the garden, behind other hedging. It gets really high in the summer. Lots of lovely fruit.

We're doing our next wave of planting today, some annual climbers and flowers. Two trays of the indoor seeds, (including the 50 Sunflowers my LO is in charge of) are up, so can go into the greenhouse.

Enjoy the sun everyone.

Magnolias: specimen campbelii princess margaret (extravagent but sp offer on postage) and little ones: soulangeana leneii, grandiflora exmouth.
Not very innovative I know (hovered ages over black tulip and caerhays belle and still wonder if i should have got campbelii darjeeling!)

Am seriously considering a journey down to Caerhays to see them in boom!

NANN do open the envelope as Lexi put the most darling little seed packet inside. I put them in an egg box with compost and covered with a tesco plastic file pocket and watered gently to keep the compost damp but not soaking.

bloom I mean

Raspberry hedge sounds brilliant

I love the sound of the edible hedge, and am sad that sloes, like blackcurrants, only really grow in Tasmania - too hot in Melbourne.

Funnyperson's worm shopping reminds me that we thought all ours had been killed by the heat. There is nowhere in our garden that doesn't eventually get scalding sun in the summer and the lack of activity was perturbing, so off we went to buy exorbitantly-priced new worms. When DH dug out the heap to make some room, there they were, all retreated into the cooler centre of the composter. Bunnings took back the worms with good grace.

An excellent thing about the UK was that you never had to buy worms, just put in an open-bottomed composter and they would turn up in droves. Like Field of Dreams: if you build it, they will come. Not in our sandy soil, they won't.

An edible hedge -that's my type of hedge

I'm glad to see you back Echt, Dh is heading for Canberra in a few weeks with one day to spend in Melbourne, sadly I can't accompany him.

Have just been looking at Burncoose Magnolias thanks funny I'm tempted by the Grandiflora Exmouth as it flowers young maybe a Mother's Day pressie to myself!

I had a lovely day at Ventnor, popped into the Botanics and bought more seeds, including Echium, got home to find my own had germinated! Wandered down to Steephill Cove lots of painting and tidying going on ready for your visit Rhubarb

I'm quite tickled by the idea of returning worms to the worm shop. "Sorry, but it appears we don't actually need these..."

Yes me too! And actually just by the idea of buying worms from a shop, full stop.

Funny I would love to visit Caerhays too. Just a bit too far for a day trip, sadly. Your Magnolia choices look lovely. I keep being tempted by Black Tulip too, then I remind myself that I really want a traditional pale pink one. Then I just get overwhelmed by choice and put off the decision yet again.

Bumbez I'm so looking forward to Steephill Cove! Must book ferry.

I must admit, the parcel of worms when it arrived made me laugh. Whoever buys worms by post? Only a nutter. I haven't dared open it yet and hope the worms don't die in there as I can't really open it till the weekend.
Mother displayed admirable equinamity. Luckily I had prewarned her that her hedging plants and a packet of worms would be in the same delivery and the worms were for me and not to open them. Even more luckily, she remembered (She has Alzheimers) and kept the worm parcel by for me when I went to put in dad's eyedrops after work.
The worms are for the compost as although the heap is on bare soil in a nice slatted wooden container, last year's leaves are nowhere near composting and I don't think there are enough worms in the heap. I am a bit worried about disturbing the natural garden ecosystem though as I have no idea whether the worms sent are to be found in the wild in England or whether they are specially bred compost chewing monsters.

worms in the post!

Just back from the meeting for those opening their gardens for the NGS. Lots of v experienced gardeners, I felt very new and wet behind the ears. It was great to chat to them though. I was mortified that baby Cobbler needed feeding and made massive slurping noises all through the talk

Rhubarb - My uncle grows black tulips next to pale pink ones, they look amazing - very classy.

My gardening friend at work keeps promising to bring me some worms round but she never does. She's probably worried she'ld come across as a weirdo, but I really want some of her worms!

We used to have a wormery,it had a little tap you could turn to drain of liquid fertiliser. Accidentally left it at the last house.

The first lot of seeds are all up and I've had to pot on the Borage (I have loads of seeds if any one wants any).

Tried the watercress trick of seeing if supermarket stuff would root and it did. (gardeners world magazine) I'm going to try land cress which tastes the same, if I can locate a stockist of the seeds.

3 of the yuccas got planted out behind the greenhouse, I have to admit they look ok!

funny is it just that Oak leaves take ages to break down? We have loads of worms but the leaves I never got round to raking up are still leaves.

We too used to have a wormery, but after all the worms died for a second time, I decided I wasn't a fit person to be in charge of so many wormy lives and gave it to a local primary school.

My first lot of seeds are up too, and I am thrilled, as I always am. Despite Sarah's advice I may be sowing some more soon.

Does anyone grow nasturtiums in pots? I gathered two seeds from a lovely pale lemon one I saw when we were away on holiday, and want to give them the best chance. I know they produce more flowers if they are in poor soil, but don't want them to die, so it'll be a balancing act in terms of the growing medium. Any tips?

The forecast for the weekend is looking good here. We are going to one of my SIL on Sunday. It'll be nice to see everyone, but that's a lot of wasted gardening time...

look at my bare root roses from last november, they seem pretty strong!

I saw some beautiful Nasturtiums in hanging baskets last year so I am planning to do the same, having googled the advice is to sow straight where you want them or use peat pots. I guess if you use the normal seeding compost to get them going then use old compost or don't feed them they'd be ok?

I'm glad the weather is looking good for the weekend, I only have one night shift so who needs sleep!

look what just arrived

Ooh, lovely.

:: reaches for clothes peg ::

it is mulch, although rather steamy!

ooh I am having a very grumpy garden moment. Dh has come home and just got straight out there DOING stuff and I want to do that only I am always holding the baby, who will not be put down. I have 66 geraniums to pot on.

Small babies are great but they don't really mix with gardening. The only thing worse is trying to garden with a toddler

nah, gardening with a toddler is easy
but the mess, oh the mess.

I can see you have a busy weekend ahead!

Gah. Crossed posts.

Can you not swap with your dh, Humphrey, or is it definitely you that BabyCobbler wants?

Spring really does seem nearly here! How exciting hearing everyone's progress.

Had a most productive wknd, managed to plant 8 shrub roses in my borders and three wooden barrel pots, plus a scarlet climbing rose at the base of some steps onto the lawn. We are planninng on building a pergola at some point, so I'm thinking a perfumed tangle of roses, jasmine, clematis, honeysuckle....

Also dug up all my herbs from raised beds and transplanted to the nursery bed where my 2 new roses are. I have taken 120 cotoneaster horizontalis cuttings ready to plant up the slope that we are scraping clean of brambles soon and slopes down onto the raised beds.

I split all my chives plants and my arum lilies - planted individual sticks into the bank of our hedge... they havent' died yet. Anyone else familiar with arum lilies?

That edible hedge sounds fantastic! Sorry for such a long post . Fingers crossed GW has no sound issues tonight

Ah Monty....