He who dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose

[Blackpuddingbertha]

New thread for the potting shed crowd using Rhubarb's rose suggestion and Squeaky's quote for the new title.

Spring is underway with promises of summer in our gardens big and small.

Elderberry wine for all

Hi! I get all my usernames from the great VW.

Home too late from work to do anything today so am in bed already (blush)

I got vine eyes the other day & plan to get the sunny wall ready for some climbers tomorrow.

I am quite unfit & did lots this weekend, didn't feel a thing till back to work today, then got up from the office chair and the stiffness had arrived - ouch!

hope you both feel better soon

I always think gardening must be good for the buttocks: that's where I ache anyway.

Am I wrong to resent all and any trips out during this week when I am on holiday and the sun is shining? I am hoping for a trip to A Nursery but apart from that I want to be in our garden either gardening, or sitting admiring the light on the plants, and hearing the birds singing. And reading gardening books.

I hear you, Bearleigh. I 'wasted' hours at a children's farm this morning that could have been usefully spent in my borders. Bottle feeding the baby orphan lambs helped, though.

Get well soon, achey people.

Hi on the bottom and cheesy!

My beloved DD was very happy and settled in the garden today so got lots of roses pruned and a border weeded. Unfortunately I was round at a friends so my garden is still the same! I can only hope she is the same tomorrow as I have plans (fingers crossed).

My friend is not a gardener but I am trying to educate her but one of the problems is that it is an established garden that has gone to ruin a little. So the roses were leggy and poorly so I was unsure how much to prune which made me wish GW would show how to rejuvenate a garden rather than all these redesign and start from scratch ones! Maybe include getting rid of rampant jasmine.

Not having studied the bottom of a pine cone, recently, is drilling a hole a possibility?

The eclipsed moon is rising. I wish I had camera good enough to capture what we can see through our bins.

Another plus is the firing up of the newly-installed wood burner - very nice, and with luck and practice we'll avoid smoke in the house. Couldn't have done it at better time, as though it's sunny in the day, the southerly winds are already rather searching.

Wood burner - lovely.

I have been lying awake pondering the fixing of pine cones. Just can't see how it can be possible to either drill them or hammer them. Glue must be the answer. But what sort?

I have just been offered an open-ended free source of composted manure.

For anyone interested, The Big Allotment Challenge is on on BBC2 at 8 tonight. I tried to get on this to compete, but never got past the first telephone conversation with the producer. I would have loved it. It's apparently in a beautiful walled garden near Oxford.

rhubarb there's a strong glue called no nails, or as Dh calls it, "fuck off nails" fabulous news re compost manure!

cunty thanks I'll look out for that.

I've had a busy couple of days in the garden, potted on lots of things, and planted out sunflowers, Borage, peas and some tumbling tomatoes. Dh has made a couple more raised beds, plus one deep planter out of old kitchen cupboard boards - he's a bugger for not throwing anything away!

Our large amount of wood for pergola and decking should arrive tomorrow.

Feeling slightly guilty that we aren't doing anything with the kids in the holidays, so we're taking them out now for pub tea. and I can't be arsed to cook

British gardens in time is on tonight BBC4 9pm - Stowe this week

(that and the allotment challenge, that's my evening sorted)

Just about to start watching the allotment/garden double bill. How exciting.

And how exciting too about limitless free composted manure. Will they deliver or will you have to go and get it, Rhubarb?

::dog in a manger attitude::

hello, i'm new to the gardening thread.

does anyone have a Cercis Forest Pansy? Is it in flower? I have a very old one and it barely has any buds when everything else in the garden is green. I'm worried it is poorly and might have to go. but it is the best plant in my garden.

Hello, Parietal.

I don't have a Cercis Forest Pansy but agree that they are beautiful.

::not very helpful::

Hello parietal what an interesting name for a tree. I don't have one but think it should probably be pruned like any other tree ie in the autumn.

I hoped I would make it through to Easter but succumbed to illness and pain today and retired to bed. Got up at 3 pm and blearily made it onto the swing seat in the garden.

I then had the most lovely 4 hours of rest alternating with staring vacantly at the borders pulling up the odd weed and noticing the flowers, alternating with gentle potting on of plants which have survived the winter (sanguisorba, anchusa, hepatica, verbascum, ferns, etc) and sowing cornflower and aquilegia seeds into seed trays.

Labels worked well as what I thought was cosmos purity turned out to be labelled fennel. I have loads of fennel plants. I haven't a clue where the cosmos purity has gone.

It is surprising how one actually gets more done with frequent rests and ice cream and staring at the blue blue spring sky than if one had powered through non stop getting tired and grumpy.

Hi Parietal. I don't have a Forest Pansy either, though I'm planning to plant one.

I have to collect the poo myself, Lush. I am going to have a very stinky car.

Bringing the little cat home tomorrow, woohoo!

Oh dear sorry to hear you are poorly, funny. But glad you had such a nice afternoon; it sounds sublime!

Sorry to hear you've been unwell, funny. Hope you'll feel stronger tomorrow.

Pity about the non-delivery of the rotted muck, Rhubarb, but I suppose one can't have everything.

I enjoyed the allotment programme but, forgive me, I am finding the Stowe programme a bit of a bore.

I liked the allotment program.
shows how much you can do on a tiny bit of land.
I sometimes ponder how much garden one would need to be nearly slf sufficient.
sorry, can't help about your plant.
hope you feel better soon funny

Thank you for the good wishes.
Stowe is a magical place to watch open air theatre in the summer, one of the nicest things to do, and children love running up and down its slopes.

But the whole grand landscape/Capability Brown thing is so far removed from my daily life that I cannot engage with it. I've never even remotely wanted to live in a stately home. Gardens which are too stately bore me.

Chris Beardshaw has another program on tonight 9pm BBC 4

Deep Down & Dirty: The Science of Soil, What lies beneath?

Get well soon funnyperson. It does sound a lovely afternoon.

I had a very productive hour or so whilst baby Cobbler had an unusually long nap. Potted on the cosmos purity, rescued some single black hollyhocks from my very own shelf of doom, moved things out of the greenhouse, sowed some more courgettes and some red leaved basil, watered everything PROPERLY (underwatering is my biggest greenhouse crime and I am resolved to address this), tidied out all the plants around the greenhouse and threw away some accumulated rubbish.

It is a beautiful day. The crab apple blossom is starting to come out. The pond is getting deeper, though I feel sorry for the poor geese as they are happily swimming about in it at the moment. When the fence goes up they won't get the chance again.

Wish you better Funny.

What do you think of these? They are meant to be English bluebells (T&M) - but I'm a bit concerned as they're neither bendy or blue.

Correction: the CB program on soil is tomorrow evening not tonight, I thought it was Thursday already!

is anyone going to the Malvern spring show?

ooh, I am sorely tempted nightshade. Am def off to Hampton Court.

Got 3 bags of medicines from the chemist today and so am on the mend.
The gardens round here are beginning to look absolutely gorgeous with all the spring plants and some summer ones in flower. Including osteospermum