…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.

Yy! Rather like detecting a certain whiff and encouraging child to 'go and give Daddy a cuddle' then doing a runner...

I think 45 mins with baby Cobbler is very good going indeed !

Snowdrops and this garden don't mix however the primroses love it and I think there's one about to flower soon. There was an old garden table at Mum's that her neighbour's friend has had and she's given me Hellebore seedlings in return.

Notanothernappy, I went to Chelsea for the first time last year with a friend and we loved it so are going again this year, can't wait.

My snowdrops are nowhere near flowrirng yet, but the viburnum tinus is looking lovely.

Worse news is that the end panel of the fence - which the neighbours have been stalling about replacing - has finally keeled over. Luckily it didn't take my gorgeous clematis montana with it.

saw the first crocus on a walk yesterday.

my df is coming for a visit soon. will use his help to get rid of a sickly bush (it's a kind of evergreen tropical thing with leaves similar to the fig leaf) at the back of the garden and put a rhubarb there.

I walked past a garden today where perennial cornflower was in flower. It is very mild here at the moment, although wet!

Same here Maud. Mum's roses look like the ar going to flower again soon. My first primrose is nearly out but the snowdrops aren't. Wonder if it will suddenly get cold ?

I do hope not, as lots of new growth is likely to get nipped. Some of my roses have buds that look as if they could open. Most strange!

It has definitely been one of the mildest winters for years so far. Just been reading my copy of GW (thanks to my Dad who bought me a subscription for Christmas) and now have itchy fingers.

Will try to satisfy them with potting up my box plants for which I have a cat topiary frame inspired by the Great British Garden revival.

I somehow missed nearly all the Great British Garden Revival. Is it worth a watch?

I have just finished my book for Friday's book group ::polishes halo:: so might relax with The Garden tonight.

Well done ! I did enjoy the series but think I missed a couple. Some were better than others I felt but there was something to resonate with everyone as they covered a lot of topics.

And thank you Maud. Thanks to a post you made last year there is now a waft of winter box when I walk in through the front door.

Yes, a waft of winter box is just what one needs on a grey and miserable day.

My winter box is sulking, and having read an instruction label at Nymans, I realise it's because the drainage is too poor where I planted it. So I shall have to move it. One day I will learn to research properly where to plant things!

Good morning

I watched a few of them but got sidetracked by The Bridge.

The one on lawns has convinced me to keep the small scrap of grass in the front even though its a pain to cut. I'm thinking of adding some camomile in it. It did make me sad though that a family favoured astro turf and one of the gardeners admitted he'd got rid of his lawn at home!

Nothing much occurring here a few crocuses have popped up but seem too small. I'm beginning to realise we need to do a lot to improve the soil before we plant much else.

A mimosa round the corner is looking lovely and I am hankering for one, though they get quite big.

The greenhouse is being delivered next week, we still haven't been able to dig the base due to the rain. Hopefully we'lll dh will get it done this weekend.

Bearleigh, is your winter box fairly new? They take a few years to settle in, in my experience, but once established are quite unfussy about soil and aspect.

I missed the programme on lawns, more's the pity, as I am a big advocate of them. When I was doing my garden design course I always put lawns in my designs, no matter how small, but I was in the minority. They appear to be deeply unfashionable at the moment. I'm still hankering after a chamomile lawn but it's well down the list of priorities, sadly, purely due to their cost.

Bumbez a nice alternative to a mimosa is Acacia pravissima, a close cousin. I believe they are smaller. You have to make sure you are buying a single stem one though, if you want a beautiful wafty tree, as they are often sold in shrub form.

This weather is driving me insane.

Pah! Just looked and the Great British Garden Revival is not available on iPlayer. Boo.

I agree, Rhubarb. This weather is really giving me the pip.

Don't forget a chair for the greenhouse Bumbez so you can sit and listen to the rain.

My lawn is rubbish but kind of green if you squint at it. Today was actually quite sunny and lovely to walk round looking at new green shoots. It was quite chilly though.

Can I just warn you all now, if my Mme Alfred Carriere does not bloom this year (year 3), I am gong to have a massive tantrum.

Oh and I have a flower on the pea plant in the Aquaponic system in the greenhouse .

I lave my lawn.
well, not the bit the fox has dug up, will need some work in the spring.
great for the dc to tumble about and open space for clothes airers and bbq's.

Rhubarb my winter box is a couple of years old. It hasn't grown a bit since I planted it.

I love lawns too, even my scrappy front one which is mostly a mud/dandelion mélange. I feel sad at the sight of modern small gardens which are all hard surfaces. They look very neat and smart, but for me, lack soul. I prefer softness, and Greenness if that is a word.

Hi there! Is it ok if I nip in for a bit of advice? I've just moved to a house with a fairly large (gulp) garden and I'm clueless. There are quite a few largeish shrubs - don't know what most of them are except for a couple of straggly holly bushes. The shrubs are a bit overgrown and kind of shapeless. Should I be pruning them any time soon? And when I say pruning I should explain that I don't know what that means other than chopping bits off. Any advice would be very welcome!

Hi Still there are others on this thread with a lot more horticultural knowledge than I, but having been in your position, I recommend finding a day-long or half day pruning course. If you are close to Wisley, they run excellent courses, including on pruning (and possibly other RHS gardens do, and my local FE college does too).

Thanks Rhubarb, having just googled that could work :)

I can't wait to sit out listening to the rain wynken.

Welcome stillstarving, I was in a similar predicament to you a year ago and am afraid we've botched some of the pruning. For example I've been admiring a prickly shrub round the corner from me smothered in yellow flowers and have realised I have actually got one, but due to my hacking, it only has one flower. Good advice from Bearleigh.

I wish I'd taken monthly photos of the garden as things come into bloom so I could remember what shrub did what, we lost a small plum tree because we forgot where it was in the undergrowth, it fell prey to Dh and the loppers.

I'm not very good with pruning but have learned the hard way to put the secatuers down and let them do their thing for a bit. Some if pruned now, won't flower as they flower on the previous year's wood and you want to be pruning after flowering (the unfortunate incident of the Weigela).

I think you need to work out what they are first then look up and see when they should be pruned.

Is that a Mahonia Bumbez with the yellow flowers ? We used to have one in our old house. I miss it but no space here for one really.

hasn't anyone done a photo yet?