…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.

I have a lemon balm plant that is steadily taking over the herb bed but I never do anything with it. Soup sounds like a good idea (and I might replace the plant with golden lemon balm, just for the look of it).

I remember that I made sorbet with it once. It was nice, but nothing compared to the rose geranium one so I didn't do it again. There is a huge lemonbalm growing in the cottage borders, no idea how that got so big without our noticing.

my mother used to make a sort of lemon balm jelly using sago starch and honey. funny texture but delicious.

Humphrey, I have 'over-wintered' borage about to flower too.

Humphrey your mint buckets sound really lovely! So many varieties! I would never have thought of putting lemon balm into a soup...hmmm, food for thought!

I like the sound of your buckets too, Humph.

I have spent the afternoon pondering pergolas and where to put one. And cursing the builders of the garage, who constructed it skew-whiff to the geometry of the house and garden so it is royally mucking up my formal lines. Dh says I can't demolish it and rebuild it straight. He just doesn't understand...

For fans of zinc buckets, I noticed yesterday that Lidl were selling rather nice-looking lavender plants in buckets. I meant to go and inspect one, to check whether there drainage holes, but got distracted.

Rhubarb, that is rather annoying.

I am trying desperately not to go into our local lidl! You are all so tempting but I must plant out what I have and do lavender cuttings etc.

I tried to find a nice pot with a wide rim without a hole in the bottom to plant out the growing lotus plants. it needs to be able to hold water. No success so far.

I understand about symmetry, totally. I have thought about it since visiting Pompeii because the Italian town houses in ancient Pompeii had symmetrical gardens however small they were, and were very calming to be in as a result.
I decided not to go for total symmetry in the end, mainly because my lawn edges and paths are not neat enough, and I think they should be in symmetrical gardens.

My clematis (jingle bells, wisley cream, marjorie, montana, helsingborg etc) arent flowering yet but the plants have survived the winter so far! I'm really really hoping the north face wont put them off flowering.

I like tin buckets. Its exciting hearing about the garden knowing it is going to be open to the public.

Our house not in any way symmetrical. It doesn't have tidy edges either!

Goodness, I can't get over the fact that we are opening it Seems so presumptuous.

I had a couple of Ammi Majus from seed that transplanted ok but planted a packet so that wasn't a very good result. Also have had baby clematis munched before they get a chance to grow. Was inspecting the garden today and seem to have killed two more which were decent sizes, however the rest seem to have survived.

Our house is in a strange position on the plot last year was the first year of flowers in the 'back garden' which is L shaped. One side was shaded by a huge conifer and housed mainly children's toys. Work has started on a couple of new beds (bring lazy and not digging myself), including a nice curved one. I get to do the nice bit of planting it up, hence all the cuttings that have been going on.

DH is not a gardener. But when I met him he did ownLoquat plant he had grown from seed and a tub of mint. The Loquat is out in the garden and doing brilliantly . The mint got peed on by the cats and did not fare well thereafter. DH was not impressed....

Our house is supposed to be symmetrical. It looks symmetrical. Dh, in fact, was quite adamant when we were house shopping that he wanted a symmetrical one. He thinks he has one. BUT, when measured, it proves not to be. So although it cries out for a formal, symmetrical, garden (at least near the house), I am tying myself in knots trying to find the right lines for paths and borders.

I diverted myself today designing a starburst parterre while ds napped.

That is actually a total pain, can see what you mean. Is DH accepting the evidence of the tape measure ?

a starburst parterre sounds heavenly

I think the fact that it poses as a symmetrical house is good enough for him. He is no perfectionist.

I love the fact your dh had grown a Locquat plant from seed, Wynken. I doubt mine even knows what a Locquat is. He has occasionally been known to get enthusiastic about plants though; usually invasive vigorous ones. "Value for money."

There are some wonderful sites with downloadable patterns for knot gardens and parterres, and some will even send the hedging and a pattern which can be traced direct onto the ground. I remember trawling through them in an aspergerish way a while ago when thinking of replacing the shabby mossy lawn in the middle of the garden with a knot garden. I decided against in the end due to doubts about my ability to maintain the required straight lines and box hedging.
The local horticultural society allottment has a herb garden edged with box (not quite a knot) thus demonstrating that it is possible for mortals with greener fingers to create such a thing.

I'm surprised too if I'm honest! He said the fruit came from his friend's parent's house and kind of implied that it had grown in their garden. But I thought they didn't tend to fruit over here. I must ask him. He's not really into plants but very good at listening to my ramblings and buys good plant presents.

He isn't great at identifying plants and there was an incident the other year with him picking the wrong chillis for his curry, which was funny for everyone other than him

They will fruit in this country given a long hot summer. Fabulous trees, regardless.

Arf at the curry 'incident'.

No idea what a Loquat is: had to google it! I'm worrying about the lotuses as the leaves arent unfurling.

knot garden designs
boxknot.com/buyonline/index.php?cPath=22

I have just quizzed him - it's from a fruit from a tree in their conservatory . Our poor plant is shoved in a hole in some paving right by a big hedge so doesn't have the best conditions but looks healthy on it .

Loquats, starburst parterres and knot gardens...! I love the way this thread meanders along so beautifully! Have no idea what any of the above look like...off to google them!

I finally got the second climbing rose planted at the stable. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill! I had the bright idea to take the bottom out of two wooden planters to make a 'raised pot' for the roses. DH thought they might otherwise end up underneath a wheelbarrow or trampled. But one side of the door was at a higher level than the other so I had to hack and hack until both planters were at an even height. And at that point I noticed that they weren't placed symmetrically !!!! Even though I had thought I had measured! Argh! They now look lovely, but nobody could guess how much trouble it took to achieve!

The geranium bed is my next project....I am giving myself all of next week to dig a little each day. Already started, it is hard work!

i have a Mystery Seed pot, I think it may be a baby hardenberghia violacea!... I had a harebrained idea to grow one from seed last year, totally failed to get them to germinate on the windowsill. so I abandoned the pot in my propagator and totally ignored it for 3 months... and found a shoot in there a few weeks ago, relocated it back to the windowsill and now there is another one next to it! i,m not sure if it is that, but will be trying to find out... I confess I gave up and bought one, so if they do grow I will have three and will try to work out where to put em!....