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

Sorry Bertha I haven't a clue re Agriculture show, I haven't been to our local one for decades, it used to be a big deal and we got the day off as kids, not now though. Maybe some sort of container veggie planting to show peeps that they don't need much room to get growing?

is this a weed or not?

bees go wild for it so I leave it for now.

Fingers firmly crossed for Rosebud Castle. Pobble, my Pelargoniums are out after seeing my neighbour has turfed hers out.

Loved the Raworth's garden. Thought the cotoneaster by the step was very unusual. Chelsea this week, very much looking forward to it.

I've been painting my fake Adirondack rocking chair as it has a new home by my new new veg patch. Hope something grows so I can sit and talk to it.

I like the sound of an Adirondack rocking chair, fake or not.

Isn't that weed comfrey?

I can't see weed properly but at a squint does look like comfrey. That's your veg feed sorted though you'll need a peg for your nose at the stench of comfrey tea.

Chair very comfy. Good thing as the swing chair seat collapsed under DH earlier as we were enjoying a quiet cuppa. We think we might want an arbour to replace it.

oh good, so I can let it flower for the bees and then turn i into feed. will the smell deter foxes or attract them?
had a glorious day in the garden doing not much. more admiring the irises and buzzing bees.

Yes you can. Tip is to get some empty bottles, shove leaves in bottom and fill with water. Then when done you you decant easily without having to sieve the stuff which is an unpleasant experience.

oh great. was thinking how I can do it without getting too much of a smelly mess

How funny - ds's birthday here too today; party central in the potting shed! No vomit here, just a meltdown during pass the parcel and a fight over a present. The beautiful weather was an absolute gift; they were all playing hide and seek and rampaging behind hedges, and all in all it felt like a great garden for kids parties. I'm never, ever doing the mowing the morning of a party again though - far too big a job to do under pressure.

Lovely news about Rosebud Castle. Keeping everything crossed for you. Nutter is one week into her four weeks of radio. They tell me she is always looking for cuddles and coping with it very well. Miss her terribly.

I loved the Raworths' garden too. I liked the way they told the story of its evolution from building site through swing and Wendy house to knot garden perfection.

just a meltdown during pass the parcel and a fight over a present

Ah, the heady days of pre-schoolers' parties.

Hi there - may I duck in? I don't have a potting shed but I do my best with my little patch of land

Of course, kinkytoes. Anyone who wants to obsess chat about gardening is welcome here! Tell us about your garden.

Thank you for all the suggestions

Just caught up with GW. I too loved that garden.

I've got a large comfrey patch just over the fence, I've never quite had the courage to brew it but like the sound of doing it in plastic bottles. How long do you need to leave it for?

Quite a few hours in the garden today. Lots of stuff planted out. Veg plot and edible igloo starting to take shape. Tomorrow's project is a flower fairy ring for the DDs. Idea DD1 spotted in a book. I'll update you on the success or otherwise tomorrow. It apparently has to be under a tree so they can hang lanterns above it

I like the sound of a fairy flower ring, and the party sounds glorious rhubarb. There is nothing quite like the sound of little ones having fun, is there?

I got a bit carried away today and instead of just cutting off the browning flower heads of Euphorbia Wulfenii in the front garden, I seem to have dug it up. It was really too large for the bed, but I did love its acid green flower heads in March and April, and its presence. So I'll have to find a slightly smaller euphorbia, and the hunt will be fun. At least it's made a big space for me to put in the various annuals I have been nurturing,

This year for the first time ever I have got a (single) Californian poppy to germinate. They're meant to be really easy but they've never germinated for me. Ones I've seen in other gardens are neat and small with smallish flowers, but this one is a beautiful monster: 2ft tall with enormous golden orange flowers. The packet says 1ft. I love the green pointy bud covers that pop off looking like little green KuKluxKlan hats.

Walking into town today past lots of gardens, I noticed lots of Allium Purple Sensation, and that they seem to vary tremendously in size and colour, even within each garden. Mine have varied this year too: some are tall others short. Strange...

Thank you Maudantwit

Well, it's a small town garden. A patio, patch of lawn, flower beds covered with slate (to deter the cats!) I keep it organically and try to attract bees. I have an apple tree - one day I would love an orchard - which this year is finally aphid free! I have no idea how but not complaining.

I have tried to plant things which the slugs and snails won't eat, seems to be working after a lot of trial and error. Couple of things I'm pleased about atm - last year I planted hollyhocks, two each of pink and yellow. They didn't flower or do anything really and I thought they were all going to die. I lost two (same colour not sure which one) to the snails but this year the other two are really shooting up - can't wait to find out which colour, when they bloom.

Next success story is my honeysuckle, only two years old doing really well on a trellis on my back wall! It's gone a bit crazy actually and shooting up into the sky into nowhere. If anyone has any advice what to do about this I'd be grateful? They're too thick to bend back round, they'd just snap. Can they be cut?

Love reading about all your gardening exploits. It's a great time of year for it isn't it!

That sounds not unlike mine, kinkytoes, although I have (collapsing) fences rather than walls. I have several overgrown honeysuckles and keep meaning to research the whether and how of pruning - when I remember, I'll report back.

my honeysuckle is full of aphids/greenflies but also full of ladybird larvae. it tries t flower, but I think he bugs have stunted it. it's also overgrown with neighbours clematis which is hard to cut back. no clue about pruning is, but I think one of the first g/w episodes this year.

Ta-dah! As ever, the RHS has an advice page. One of mine will definitely be getting the renovation prune next year.

Hello, kinkytoes. Welcome to the potting shed, we'll budge up for you. :o

Well the teen party was a success, with only one vom incident, and that swiftly hosed down the drive. Someone still sat in a planter of beet seedlings, though.

After much sweeping, hosing and vacuuming, order has been restored, and I went looking for climbers to replace the ivy-leafed pelagoniums(a)?
that the possums neatly chew off as they hit the top of the fence. I have them in four separate places, so much to do.

Jasminum trachelospermum is looking to be a winner, and I'm looking at the trumpet vine - not the same as campsis - pyrostgeia venusta - also a bit of a thug.

Unexpectedly the two white justicia carnea I moved earlier this year have decided to flower - five months early. . I put it down the very warm weather we're having right now.

Salvia "Anthony Parker" has proved most successful, and much-loved by the nectar-eating wattle birds. It's bully, though, so will get the chop in late winter. The book says by a third, but I'll go for half.

Hello, long time lurker here but I am obsessed with gardening and thought I'd join in now. Here are a few pics of my garden, we're just in the process of building a wildlife pond.

I am really proud of it as 3 years ago half of it was old, knackered hardstanding as it used to be a pub car park and the rest of it was just tatty lawn with no plants.

We've grassed it all, made the huge flower beds at the back of the lawn, put loads of fruit trees in and are now doing the pond,

Hi, Kitsmummy. Your garden looks lovely - and huge! Whereabouts are you?

I'm glad your party went without serious mishap, Echt. It's always fascinating to hear about the very unusual (by UK standards) plants you grow.

Thanks Maud, we're in Somerset by The Levels, it's always fairly warm here (but no flooding here thankfully)

Welcome Kinkytoes and Kitsmummy: it's really nice to have new members. Kits your garden is looking lovely, and I have pond envy.

Hi Kinkytoes and Kitsmummy, great to have some more gardens to hear about. I used to live quite close to the Levels, amazing what you've achieved in that time. Re the Honeysuckle I don't dare click on the link because someone has chopped mine back very hard this year and I don't want to read that isn't what you are supposed to do! I have found it is very tough though and takes a good haircut.

I think the Comfrey tea takes about 3-4 weeks. We've got a small euphorbia who've is easy to propagate, happy to send some.

I seem to have white alliums appearing so must have planted a mixture last autumn. Hoping they come out soon as the border could so with the contact. It is the first proper year of having borders in the back garden and I love looking out of the kitchen door waiting for the kettle to boil.

Echt the idea of a teenage party scares me! Better out than in I guess. DD is 15 so guess this will be us in the not too distant future. Love hearing about gardening down under, possums as a pest is so different !

Hi Kits & Kinky.

I too have pond envy.

Fairy ring is now in and planted with lavender and dianthus that were self-seeded from the long bed and have sat in pots for a while as I wasn't sure what to do with them. Then we added some poppy seedlings and sowed some cosmos. Now just got to get the DDs to nurture it while it grows.