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

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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.

3 months! There may be hope for my ungerminated Bael seeds then.

Well, the packet did say germination was a bit tricky for them: it advocated soaking the seeds befre planting, then shock-fridging them for 48 hours and putting in a warm place... I was tempted by the £2--£3 for a packet price rather than £15 for a grown plant! I will get them a bit bigger if I can then plant them out: I think the leaf shape is right, it's always hard to be sure when it's the first time of growing from tiny...

I'm just back from Tesco, browsed the exotics on the off chance they had loquats - they didn't. 8 Dahlias fell in my trolley though

Had to google Hardenberghia violacea- very pretty.

I hit Lidl today and came back with 12 lupins and 12 delphiniums! plus a watering can,a small pressure sprayer and a flexi tub It is very dangerous to be paid on Thursdays.....

I also bought a rake in the farm supply shop and 5L of roundup in preparation for planting the bank with wildflowers...I rang the wildflower company and the man was particularly insistent that I spray weedkiller. He said the seeds were a precious commodity and he wasn't selling them to anyone who wasn't going to prep the area correctly!!! I even have to submit photographs!!! But I'll have support for the first three years, on how to get the wildflower area to it's best! So that's one decision made! I'm still quite daunted though!!!

But thank you again to everyone for all the lovely ideas offered for the bank. I'll have plenty of places to try them all out .

I'm a bit at the weedkiller.
won't that kill the seeds as well? sorry, I'm very clueless when it comes to such things.

mousmous my thoughts exactly

No, apparently it will kill any residual weeds that might compete with the wildflowers. I bought Roundup and apparently it is safe to sow the seeds 24 hrs later . I hate having to spray weedkiller, especially when I can't see any sign of weeds!

Monty mentioned something about suppressing weeds when he sowed his wildflower mixture. Apparently there is some plant or other which you should include in the mixture to suppress the weeds. I forget what now.

Thanks funny, I'm sure it is probably in the mix! There are heaps of different mixes for different habitats. I had no choice in my mix, he is selling me the one suitable for where I live! Who would have thought it would be so restricted?! But it seems to be a very thorough set-up, all the same.
The company is called Design By Nature www.irishwildflowers.ie if anyone feels like looking it up! Oceans of literature regarding the sowing of wildflower areas on the website!

I have just read the instructions on the weed killer. It only works on weeds that have grown a few green leaves so I will only have to spray the parts of the bank where bits of grass are growing. The wildflower man said to hold off another week or two to see what weeds emerge and then spray only those.
So I actually don't imagine I will have to spray too much weedkiller after all.

Yellow rattle isn't it? It deals with the grass IIRC and leaves the wild flowers to flourish. Very clever.

I have just received some pelargonium cuttings from a company called Fibrex. It doesn't sound like it runs a nursery - to my mind it makes disc brake liners or maybe sells curtain fabric. Anyway...

They arrived in a sturdy and neat long cardboard box, nestling in shredded paper, each lovingly and beautifully wrapped in a small piece of Daily Telegrapgh which was secured by an elastic band. It was a pleasure to receive them and the economical yet elegant way they were packed was a pleasure. Nice sturdy plants too.

I was worried I would have to spray the bare soil along the entire bank. Phew! Very glad to be spared that work. the thought of that almost put me off the idea of wildflowers altogether!

They sounds lovely Bearleigh!

I have some veg seeds that I definitely won't be sowing that need to be planted this year. If I bundle them together who would like them?
Mostly varieties of lettuce, but also a cauliflower I think...will check tomorrow exactly what they are...

Ha! It is the 'Esker' mix I will be getting - 49 types of flower, including yellow rattle!

Very excited about the wildflower bank Castle. We will need pictures

Yes, it sounds brilliant Castle. We had to use weedkiller on our garden before planting it up, we would have been YEARS getting rid of what was there. There would have been no garden at all.

The digging and drainage work started in the orchard today. Finally, it has been dry enough to gain access. V excited.

Humph tell us more about the orchard! I love hearing about orchards!!! Are you planting a new one? Or is it an improvement to an existing one?!

Sounds wonderful and very professional Castle. Don't worry about using Roundup - it is so harmless it can be used in certified organic gardens. Just to be on the safe side though, use it at a time when bees aren't around - evening is good.

I'm planning my rose borders. One will be peachy coppery tones - Rosa Hot Chocolate, Summer Song and Emma Hamilton. Underplanting to include black foliage plants like Anthriscus 'Raven's Wing', ophiopogon etc, and maybe some blues and/or limes. Second will be vintagey lilacs and dark pinks - Rosa Blue For You, Munstead Wood, underplanting to include pale pink perennial geraniums and Allium christophii. Can't decide on the third. Tell me your favourite roses!

I think I need to start using Pinterest to plan planting combinations. Anyone else do that? It was DH's idea, rather randomly.

I haven't got to grips with Pinterest.

As for roses, I am very pleased with Darcey Bussell and Versicolor.

Rhubarb the three I ordered from DA were Sceptred Isle, Princess Anne and Claire Austen for three very different colours, but I would like to add Eglantyne, Brother Cadfael, Jude the Obscure, Winchester Cathedral, Benjamin Britten, Lady of Shallott, Alan Titchmarsh and Queen of Sweden among others!

Rhubarb pinterest is a fab way to save and search for photos and fab ideas for the garden! I love it! You can have separate 'boards' to sort them on (Rose garden, orchard, water features, greenhouse, potting shed, potager, patio, hens etc etc) and you can access them from any computer at any time, as opposed to saving images on your home computer.
Then one of the best things is that if you discover a beautiful pic, you can click into the person who 'pinned' it's whole board and see their other finds and ideas. If you think they are like-minded you can 'follow' them and when they save new photos to their board they will also appear on your home page. You can also click into the source (website etc) that each photo came from. So you could pin photos of your work, which could lead to increased traffic to your website.

You will love it!

Castleough the wild flower bank does sound perfect-that Irish site looks just the job! Do you think they would add in extra gentian seeds for you to sow with the mix? I love the blue of gentian flowers and I read that up near the Burren is one of the few places in the world where they will still grow wild.

Rhubarb those rose mixed borders sound a m a z i n g. Demonstrates exactly what I mean about you having talent.

Anyway my roses at front are in the following pots

rosa blu magenta with allium christophii

wimbledon with applemint and fennel

coopers burmese with alliums everest

mrs oakley fisher with agapanthus

generous gardener with the buddleia (peacock coming on nicely) tulips nerines etc

nuits de young with lilium regale

victory with rosemary

You have made me think again about what to add in with mrs oakley fisher perhaps I should put in a darker purple agapanthus with her with some ravenswing.