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

Those are just right Maud. Thanks.

oh dear rhubarb that is so sad.
pollution here is dreadful, the air feels really bad and the dc complain about itchy eyes and throat. apart from watering the lawn I haven't done anything in the garden.
cyanothus cuttings seem to have taken, one even has a flower. but the wisteria just has dried up.
any tips on taking cuttings? or should I resort to ordering a pot for my sister's new garden?

orange crown imperial fritillary are FABULOUS but I want the same shape in the border. I was thinking about where I could put some, but nowhere seems suitable.

Humph - they are a lovely shape and quite a reddish shade of orange.

Oh Rhubarb noooo.... .

Poor RhubarbPuss, and poor Rhubarb. Amazing to think there are oncologists for cats, and let's hope s/he can help.

Orange Brilliant tulips are rather lovely. Does anyone on this thread actually lift and store tulips, or do they do as I do and let them stay, and if they flower again that's great, and if they don't, plant some more?

I don't lift tulips. but buy 150 bulbs at lidl new in autumn and let the dc dig them in.
tbh quite a few come up again.

Oh no, poor Rhubarbs .

Sorry about the rhubarbcat.

All the talk of tulips makes me envious, as they don't do well in Victoria ( too warm), nor do you get the range. Or the price.

I'll get a bag of narcissi or King Alfred daffs, and that'll be it. I have to work with what I've got, which in this case will be clivia, and a bunch of orchids that bloom in late winter/early spring, and the ever-reliable bromeliads, as well as the crucifix orchids that flower prolifically all year round.

I should shut up and count my blessings, I know, but I miss the scented tulips I could buy in the UK, as well as wallflowers - not the same in Au or as perfumed as the UK kind.

The one year I lifted tulips, they didn't seem to fare any better, so now I don't. I always plant them in pits, as my clay soil isn't good for tulips, and when they get thin and weedy I empty the pot and start again.

Lax gardeners like me will be heartened to know that the tulips I planted in ::cough:: March are now sprouting away nicely. Of course, the real test will be whether they flower.

Poor rhubarbpuss.

I'm jealous of all those with tulips flowering. Mine have tight little buds, but nothing yet.

Today I've found that the unknown spindly dark tree in the corner is actually producing plum blossom, so that's a nice surprise. Probably too much to hope for some actually plums, but we'll see.

Sorry about your poor cat Rhubarb, I hope she's not in any pain.

Fab shopping list Frank, where did you order from?

Great pics Bertha - are your saxi's perennial? I just planted done tiny llidl ones, i presumed they were annuals but now hoping they will come back even bigger next year.

I have tulips!! Fancy pants frilly ones eith variagated petals - i wish i'd planted dond nice plain smooth ones to contrast with them. i intend leaving them in all year snd hoping they come up again.

Plus, DD1 got a gold certificate for her daff with no buds at the school flower show. Rock on!

Life is too short to lift a tulip.

rhubarb so sorry :(

welcome frank, loving the chat about pobblebonk frog! dds found a frog last week, we don't even have a pond they named him Geoff.

I'm thinking of a name change something a bit more gardeny and not dd1s made up word for a fart any suggestions?

how about pobblegeoff bumbez ?

we have no pond and toads in our garden judging from google earth afaik no one close by has got a pond so I wonder where they come from. I keep my ferns lush for them so they have a good place to hide.

We get frogs and toads and no ponds near us either. We seem to be on a frog 'highway' as loads of baby ones pass through the garden all going in the same direction. Some I think choose to stay around the veg plot as they clearly are too lazy to go where the others are going think it's a fabulous place to be.

DD1 & I made a miniature garden today for a school holiday project. So much fun. It's currently in the conservatory waiting for the grass to germinate. It has a pond (with fountain don't you know), gravel paths and a patio so far. Plans for more accessories once the lawn is up and then we need to plan the planting in the flower bed and the tiny little pots.

Tulip buds are swelling in this neck of the woods, I wouldn't say flowering yet. But the cherry blossoms and other flowering trees are magnificent in all the south facing gardens. The buddleia peacock is looking more like a gryphon due to leaves sprouting and I'm going to have to prune it further into shape!
I'm sorry about the cat Rhubarb. I had a cat once who the neighbours thought never got fed but in fact this cat got fed twice. When we moved we thought the cat would be happier in the same house and garden, so I left her with the neighbours but have missed her ever since. The cat was called 'Satya' which means 'truth' in sanskrit, so every evening I would call 'truth, truth' out the back door, and think myself very mystical and moral. Those were days of comparative youth, clearly.
I enjoyed Gardeners World today though think that Monty is looking fragile and making the best of loosing his box border.

Thank you all. Lovely to hear about Satya, funny, what a lovely name. Rhubarbcat is actually called Nutter, which started out as a descriptive but stuck as her name. We were only supposed to be fostering her, along with a whole herd of other kittens, but couldn't bear to hand her over when adopters were found.

My favourite orange tulip is Princess Irene, which always seems to glow. I absolutely love crown imperial fritillaries, but haven't had a lot of success with them. Here we have some splendid red and yellow lily flowered tulips out, which the dcs have to stroke while saying "oooh" as we walk past them.

I was thrilled that GW featured Trebah Garden. One of my absolute favourite gardens of all time. They have a Gunnera labyrinth there - magical.

I love the sound of the miniature garden, Bertha. And congratulations to NANN's daughter on her gold star.

I usually bang on about Princess Irene every year - it seems to be very happy in pots and the muted orange looks beautiful against weathered terracotta. I'm not so sure I would put it in a mixed planting, though. The tulip I'm looking forward to is Gavota, which will be very in your face striking.

I enjoyed GW but am still noncommittal about mop head hydrangeas.

Room for another one? Just spent the first proper afternoon working in the garden (it's colder up North)! I'm a fair weather gardener and prefer a bit of warmth when I'm working outside. So looking forward to spending the summer in the garden.

Hello Crafty, welcome. Tell us about your garden.

Welcome crafty!

I love Princess Irene too but find they only last a year, before I'm left with just one random bloom from the sole survivor (see various other tulips I have planted). I now treat them as annuals and still enjoy the Princess.

Have been browsing through the orchard section of Monty's Complete Gardener and for all you quince lovers - he says one of the most delicious ways to use a quince is to use a whole one to stuff a roasting chicken. A few raw quinces in a bowl will scent a room for ages as a pomander. So for those of you with young trees there are a couple of ideas for small yields!

And welcome Crafty!

Welcome from me too, Crafty! Tell us about your garden and your sewing.