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

Gardeners World magazine came through the door: a bit overwhelming with larger than life flower pictures and loads of advertising. I'm trying a special offer on subscriptions but I'm not sure I'll renew it.
My borders are subtle, not so blowsy.

Monty's braces are very alluring. Especially with the way he says 'if Joe can use a hoe I can use a hoe' and throws off his jacket in a manly way.

So; all summer bulbs potted up today.
Have to finish doing the pyramids for the sweet peas tomorrow.
4 buds on the sacred lotus plant!

I hope the birds don't eat your seeds castle at least its late enough in the year they have lots of other stuff to eat.

I shall be saving GW magazine to read over the next few days. I agree that there is too much advertising in it (although I tend to think that of all gardening magazines, including the RHS's The Garden). There is also (sorry to sound snobbish) too much basic stuff aimed at novice gardeners that I have read too many times over the years, but that's the nature of the beast, I suppose. If it weren't for the pretty pictures and the 'free for postage' offers I would probably give up. I do think The Garden is a better magazine, though.

Sweet woodruff. Ack. My lawn is infested with the stuff and it's impossible to get rid of without liming. I didn't know it repelled moths though; that could be useful.

Well done, Castle. It will be worth all the hard work.

More faffing with my yew hedge today and yesterday. The stretch outside the front door. More lopping, snipping, ivy tugging out and mulching with pony poo. I also planted four baby yews in the gaps.

I am outed. My pony poo friend read this thread and recognised me. So - pony poo friend - if you are lurking again, jump in and join us! You know you want to!

And thanks for the poo this morning!

oh, maybe I should put it in pots then. it's not rampant in my parent's garden, but that might be because of all the ground elder and mint...

Eek at being outed, Rhubarb, but I look forward to welcoming your friend (hope she doesn't opt to call herself PonyPoo!)

I have sweet woodruff in the lawn too, but plan to leave it there as at the moment it's doing better than the grass. I guess it will smell lovely when it's eventually mown.

My ongoing task is trimming the box hedge. Monty did his a couple of weeks ago but it's taking me a long time as I don't have a good pair of shears so am doing it with the secateurs.

Sorry, no, it isn't sweet woodruff that's in my lawn. I just googled it and that's something totally different.

I took a sample of the stuff in my lawn to the RHS advice desk at Hampton Court last year, and I'm sure they said it was sweet woodruff. Hmm. I wonder what it is then.

I've identified it - it's field woodrush.

Ugh. If that's what I think it is, it's a bugger tricky to remove.

I have to scarify and lime it in the autumn apparently. I wonder if wood ash would do it.

Is it wrong to be quite excited that there is a weed that I don't have? Never seen any field woodrush in my garden. Yay!

Discovered that I have loads of Soloman's Seal in the wood. It seems to be competing with the ground elder quite nicely, so some good news there. It's just coming into flower. Not noticed it before this year so it must have taken off for some reason.

I'm very recognisable on here in this persona Rhubarb. I'm sure there are people who know me and just don't say (which is probably a good thing).

I love Solomon's Seal, love the way it comes up out of nothing and droops over. I haven't planted any in this garden, perhaps I will for next spring because it likes shade.
I'd like an illustrated guide to weeds. I don't really know my weeds. Except for brambles ivy celandine dandelions nettles and couchgrass I always hope they will be flowers and leave them till well grown before I realise they aren't and finally pull them up when I could have pulled them up earlier and sown flowers or herbs or something instead. Like those plants with long heart shaped leaves. Are they weeds? Like the plant which looks like dock leaves but isnt: what is it though? Like the tall one with spade shaped leaves and little white umbelliform flowers what is that?

It's a grey day here today - but I am kind of relieved as DH had us working v hard in the garden on Friday and yesterday.

I repainted the sweet pea frames (cuprinol sea grass) while he painted the shed. Weeded and mulched under the hedge and in flower bed in the front garden. Made up a new hanging basket (trailing violas). Spread lots of manure in the raised beds and planted potatoes. I washed down all my pots and took out all the dead winter pansies (bloody aphids got them).

I'm knackered. Garden looks lovely though.

I also bought a v strange looking mountain cornflower to go in my shady border and was delighted to discover my 2 hostas from Lidl have survived the winter.

Happy Easter everyone.

Funny - YY to the illustrated guide to weeds. Last year I thought my runner beans had really taken off, only to discover they'd been taken over by bind weed.

Happy Easter!

Solomon's Seal is beautiful, but mine just limps on sadly from year to year with only a couple of stems. It gets stripped by sawfly every year and I think that weakens the plant.

Some weed identification books on Amazon. Most appear out of print though so only second hand versions available. Maybe we should start our own one, I think between us we have them all!

I will take some pictures of the Solomon's Seal once it's fully in flower. I'm amazed I've not noticed it before this year, I have been hitting the brambles hard this year though so maybe it's just that I can see it better!

Some Solomon's Seal came up in the orchard last year. Love it. Haven't seen any this year.

NANN I like the sound of your sweet pea frames. I meant to grow some myself this year but haven't got round to sowing any yet. I think I've missed the boat now. Oh well, next year...

Up at 6.30 again, fifth Sunday morning in a row, to do the hedge work. I'm done now, almost, and quite done in too, come to that. My lopper arm is really aching. All that's left to do now is tidy up the top with the shears, and finish mulching. The cyclists, dog walkers and church goers were cheering me on this morning - "nearly there!"

I don't think I want to cut a hedge ever, ever again.

Happy Easter !

Castle great news that the seeds are here, I hope the birds stay away, I've only ever had birds eat my grass seed. Can't wait to see what it looks like when they flower!

Raining here, which I don't mind, every thing could do with a good water although Dh really wanted to carry on building. He thinks he'll get it finished tomorrow.

I'm pretty clueless about weeds too, if you know when they flower the site I linked to above is useful but time consuming to trawl through.

Wow Rhubarb that is impressive.

I love Solomon's Seal too: so elegant. My father's style of gardening owed much to Municipal Parks Departments; lots of bright bedding plants and hybrid tea roses. Then my parents bought a house with a lovely landscaped garden full of plants I still love including Solomons Seal. And fritillaries and phlox and crocosmia and more. It was a revelation.

Fabulous weather here. Sun baking everything! Haven't had a chance to sow wildflowers, and wondering if I should wait for some rain first....? The earth is so dry, and I can't imagine watering it with a watering can, and hose won't stretch far. And backpack sprayer is contaminated with weedkiller....

Enjoying the lovely weather at our local point-to-point races .

Has anybody got a Beauty of Bath apple tree? Would you recommend as an early?

I have one dwarf apple tree planted in a big pot from my apartment living days. I can't remember which variety it is, but it must be early as it has come into flower. And it hasn't had apples for years, but my local garden centre has Beauty of Bath coming into flower...would love apples this year but is BoB a good choice?

Sorry Castle I have no idea, gleaned from watching gardeners world though is that early cropping apples don't store as well. You could always share them with your pupils it's possible my neighbours have that kind -harvest in August and chuck most of them away. Never given me any so can't comment on taste.

My apple tree is just about to flower - it's a cooker ready September/October.

I don't know Castle. My parents used to have an early apple that sounds like the description - very early, with sometimes pink-stained flesh, which I always loved, as it had a very sharp yer perfumed taste, but I don't know if it is the exact variety.

I have just caught up with GW, and seen Monty's manly action with the pick axe for myself. I have dahlia envy. I potted up mine the same time as he did and have shoots on only one. Humph. And it is one I marked as " shrivelled" after his warning that you should only bother to plant plump tubers, but only one of mine wasn't a bit shrivelled, so I planted them anyway. So maybe it doesn't actually matter...

Hmmm I was thinking I could make apple juice with the surplus and freeze it...
No wastage allowed!
But if I am to invest in an early apple tree I wonder would that be a good one? There is also Discovery at the garden centre. I'd like an Irish Peach too.

My orchard plans have gone askew. Looks like we may be turning the earmarked site into a lungeing arena for working with horses. It's the perfect size 20x20m...
Which would mean I could choose a larger site for my orchard....hopefully!

Thanks Poggle and Bearleigh!

I have my first flower on a strawberry plant! And my forget-me-not seedlings are peeping up! Wisteria finally has green buds. It's going to live!

Must catch up with GW....

That sounds like a nice apple, Castle. A bit more unusual than Discovery. Fingers crossed you get your bigger orchard. I think I'm going to squeeze in a Pitmaston pineapple in the autumn.

Rain most of the day here after I came in from hedge cutting. Everything really needed a good soaking, I needed a bit of a rest and the kids needed less neglect more attention, so it was a good thing.