…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.

Hi have really enjoyed reading this thread and wondered if there was room for one more to join in? am complete newbie to MN

Haven't managed much in the garden yet as have a seven week old, but am trying! Humphrey I am in awe of your ability to get anything done!

neighbours have a 'pride of england' which is lovely.
my longterm plan is to go yellow and blue, so am now looking for a very yellow rose to go with my blue and yellow/pink ones.

Hello Squeakyheart. You're very welcome - the more gardening obsessives the better!

the new growth on my roses is green, my neighbours bright red. is that because of the kind of rose? or am I doing something wrong different?

Waves to Squeaky .

I am so impressed with everyone's ability to companion plant! I am just at the stage of getting familiar with different roses but wouldn't have even dreamed of planting anything with them!!! Wow!

funny I hadn't thought of that! Will email the boss man today to see if he will send me some gentian seed cos that would be amazing!!! Thanks so much for the clever idea!!!!

Welcome Squeaky! I am impressed that you are even thinking of the garden with a 7-week old.

Rhubarb as regards roses, I love Teasing Georgia which is a lovely warm apricotty yellow, with an old-rose sort of look. Also Spirit of Freedom, which is beautiful soft pink with similarly full flowers. Both D Austin.

I also recommend looking in that Sarah Raven book as SR summarises V S-W's favourites and why.

I am planning a trip to Sissinghurst this Sunday partly to look at the way they tie the roses to encourage flowering as described by SR.

Welcome squeaky :)

Rhubarb you are indeed talented those borders sound wonderful. I still can't get my head round planting schemes either.

I've just joined Pinterst, and pinned one thing - someone is following me

I could do with some rose advise myself - I keep looking at the David Austin website and too much choice. I think I'd like a few climbers to brighten up the front, maybe climb up an Elm tree. I like the look of wedding day, Mme Alfred Carrier, Generous Gardener, ballerina, I can afford 3 I think.

Oh Rhubarb, those rose borders sound wonderful. I can really see them in my head.

I can never decide on my favourite rose, it changes according to the one I am looking at. One thing I do regret is including two noisette roses in the rose walk as the fade SO badly. One spot of rain or cold and they all ball and go brown. They are Blush noisette and Belle Vichysoisse.

Those are all nice roses Bumbez. I particularly love Mme ALfred, that rose just keeps giving. Have you ever thought about Frances Lester if you like single roses? That is a gorgeous one. I quite fancy getting a Ballerina too.

Our orchard work continues . It is a v old orchard Castle, it has been there at least since 1840 but probably much longer than that. There are several old cherry trees and lots of apples as it was a cider orchard. We have recently discovered that the house and farm were left in someone's will in 1643 in order to maintain a free school in the district, so there is an awful lot of information in existence for such humble house. The drainage work will help gain access to the whole thing, which is a bit boggy atm, and we will have a largish pond at the far end when the work is finished. DH won that argument We have trees to go in soon too - quince, medlar, another eating apple (can't remember which one).

Oh Humph that sounds delightful! I am so enthused about orchards at the moment and learning about the different varieties. What varieties of eating apple do you plan on having?

I have a 20x20m area for mine, but am hoping I can manage a bit more onto that as it adjoins a 40acre meadow.... It is a roundish shape with a low stone wall around it, and the back wall has been knocked in places. Am hoping DH will let me knock the remaining back wall, extend back a bit further and post and rail across the back with a proper gate to bring in a mower. Currently there is just an old, narrow rusting but ornate pedestrian gate.

I think 8 or 9 trees might be pushing it, but the more I read the more I would love to add more varieties of trees and if I could extend it....I'd be very happy! Argh! Why isn't what I have ever enough for me!

Anyway, I am leaving Project Orchard til the Autumn... plenty to do at the moment.

I am also a fan of Ballerina and must look up the others Bumbez .

I love this rose talk. Rhubarb you have some fabulous ideas. Bumbez I have Ballerina and Mme Alfred Carriere. Humph, you are rubbing it in about Mme Carriere as mine has been in 2 years and not stated giving yet !!!

How great to plant orchards and have such a lovely history to your house. Humph. Our house is built on what was the orchard of our next door but one's neighbour. No fruit trees when we came but I have in recent years put in two apples, two cherries and a mirabelke plum.

I'm up to my eyes in solicitors with the nursery purchase. Spoke to the Landlord about the lease yesterday and told her our plans. She expressed surprise when I said about opening to the public and said I'd better speak to planning. The sale details stated opening times so I was a bit surprised.

My solicitor advised me to go to Planning. They didn't want to see me but asked me to email so will have to wait for their answer. Have a horrible feeling there isn't permission which will need a huge rethink about whether to continue as summer opening to the public is a big part of the plan. Flipping annoying.

castle some nurseries sell double variety trees, often even to order. would that be something?
I hope to replace the fig tree with either quince or double variety (maybe even apple/pear). can't convince dh as means getting professionals in to remove root and all.

How wonderful to have all that history, and to have orchards. There seem to have been old orchards scattered all over our town and both in this house and the last one we have two remnant trees. But the apples are large and tasteless, and the trees large and horribly productive. I wish I could wave a wand and have better varieties -hey ho.

I do agree your ideas sound fabulous rhubarb.

Thank you everyone, you flatter me! I think the best way to learn about planting combinations is just to visit gardens at every opportunity and take note of what works. Historic gardens, Chelsea gardens, NGS gardens, municipal planting even. I take lots of photos, and try to visit the same places at different times of year.

Some great rose suggestions, thank you. Mrs Oakley Fisher will definitely be joining my copper border, I'd forgotten how lovely she is.

Humph how wonderful to have lots of history for your house! I would love to know more about ours. I've found out bits and pieces, but it's just snippets really.

Castle, orchards are wonderful. It's so much fun planning which varieties to plant.

Sorry to hear you've hit glitches with the nursery plan, Wynken. I hope you can resolve them.

Welcome, squeaky

Autumn is well under way, a delightful season here, with the cool evenings balanced out by mid-20s days. Some very welcome rains have perked everything up and had the good effect of making the hopeless cases easy to spot and remove.

We're busy tidying/binning up the polystyrene boxes we use as veggie planters on the drive down the side of the house. Next year we're going for a more complex arrangement involving broccoli boxes, sailcloth, gravel and plastic pipes. If you google "self watering veggie boxes" it'll turn up.

Native trees we planted in the border of the side drive have taken off. Grevillea "Ned Kelly" blooms all year round, and I hope the Hakea laurina blooms this winter. A callistemon will kick in in spring. All are planted to attract nectar-feeding birds.

The veggie bed proper has new seedling beets, rocket, various lettuce and bok choy all doing well, now that we've worked out how to keep our cat at bay - lots and lots of satay skewers, since you ask. In the veggie bed, not the cat.:o

Blimey you had me worried for your cat for a minute there, Echt! Your plants sound fabulous, I love Grevillea and Callistemon.

Sorry forgot to say Hello to Squeaky!

ah well, if the cat's not careful it will get skewered.
I will have to think about cats when I plant the veg bed. it's were the cats jump over the wall between the gardens.

my hydrangenas are looking great, thanks to the pruning advice further up.

I loved the daffodil man on GW. I'm going to try to remember to buy daffs from him in the autumn. The rock garden was wonderful too - I have a huge soft spot for rock gardens - and made me think of Castle gardening in the Burren.

Tonight's GW was perfection I thought. I don't like daffodils that look overbred (pink bits? ugh!) but some of them were lovely. Even the allotment full of dahlias looked fun.

I'm listening to the birdsong in the morning light. Heaven. Looking forward to this weekend so much.
Welcome squeaky!
yy loved the rock garden on Gardeners World and Carol and Monty and Joe were in fine form.

Thank you all for making me feel so welcome, even from down under!

Still haven't made it in to the garden but have managed to catch up on GW other then last nights. They are so short but great for timing during a feed

Am going rose shopping for my mum for mothers day so will be looking for some of the lovely ones mentioned above.

As you have noticed, squeakyheart, roses are something of an obsession a theme on this thread.

I have just had a very satisfying potter in the garden. I repotted the camellia that is on the sick list and also trimmed its roots, as suggested here. Fingers crossed it perks up now.

I also planted some polyanthus Black Lace that I bought by mail order and then forgot about. Considering they have been sitting in their little plastic bubble pack for about 3 weeks, they are surprisingly healthy. They look very jaunty planted at the front of the bed.

there is just something special about roses, can't quite get my finger on it.
there is one rose which is not quite getting going, it was full of aphids.
I treated those with washing up liquid and gave it a feed. hope it gets off the ground.

don't quite know what kind it is, lable said 'pride of britain' but can't find it online, flowers a rich pinkish red (it was 1£ on the b&q shelf of doom last year).

thread's nearly full, we need a new one for our spring gardens!

Yes, when I began the garden I thought I didn't want roses because they weren't cool, but then we bought two and they did well, then I acquired some more and now I love them. And, as Monty so wisely pointed out last night, you need to go with what works in your garden conditions and roses work here.

I couldn't get any food for my camellia this afternoon so may need to go to the garden centre and inspect the shelf of doom while I'm there.

Maud, I love roses so am happy to share the obsession theme (it's Dd's name).

I bought a miniature rose "mother's day" and a floribunda "sexy rexy" despite their names as they look lovely and are fragrant and my mum has lots of HT's. my neighbour is replacing the hedge with a fence so will be looking for climbers later on.

Managed to do some weeding as have an ongoing battle with a plant I didn't know so left to see what it would do. Run riot is the answer! I think I have finally identified it as a nutsedge/nut grass, anyone any experience with this?