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

I love your pond kit

Whilst Dh was gravelling the back garden I snuck round the front and had a massive prune of the rampant shrubs, I'm so fed up of having a south facing garden which is in the shade. Lord knows how many dump runs I'll have to do!

Does anyone know what the flowering shrub is? I'm beginning to realise that our garden was very much loved and possibly managed by a pro,before it got left to its own devises for years. It seems that as one thing is over another is blooming, most shrubs are heavily scented.

The third picture is our driftwood bench, I think it's a bit of Ryde Pier apparently some came free in the recent storms. I'd like to have lots of lavender around it, currently seedlings in the greenhouse.

the flowering one looks like a kind of hydrangena. but others might know better.

the pond looks good stuff will grow around/in it in no time at all.

The shrub looks like some kind of daphne. Most of the ones I remember from the UK bloom in late winter/early spring.

Some lovely pictures Could the shrub be some kind of Viburnum?

That sucks that Knotweed isn't notifiable, don't Know where I got that idea from then. I too have been out weeding on the basis of better check what is lurking out there.

After my efforts I was sitting and admiring my newly uncovered astrantia and Carnations foliage when a blackbird hopped down and starting picking grubs out of the soil about 6 feet away.

Had a lovely couple of days away and I was admiring a lovely very natural looking planting scheme just outside the Dr Who Experiene. All fenced off and some wooden seating being installed. The time that had gone into the planting was clearly lost on DH who made some comment about it being lucky the plants had self weeded there. I had visions of the poor designer with head in hands hearing that !

If the designer wanted it to look natural s/he obviously succeeded! I did my pots today, and still have lots of plants left over. Oh dear.

PS could your shrub be a Deutzia:

www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/95265/Deutzia-x-hybrida-Mont-Rose/Details

We have one that I think may be Mont Rose, and it is just covered with bees at the moment. I love watching them: there are so many different types when you look closely (260 species of solitary bee in UK I learned today!)

Yes I think Daphne-it is very scented. Not hydrangea.
Pruning those shrubs to get a nice shape back again without killing them off is going to take a bit of skill!
Loving the pond shape upthread.
I wish I had the technology to sow you my alliums and irises and astrantia and stuff.
The roses I bought after rhubarb and I went to Sissinghurst last June are beginning to bloom. I've put them in large terracotta pots out front for their first year as it is south facing. Nuits de young is a gorgeous deep scented maroon and looks fab next to a pale rhodedendron yakushimanum in its pot. Rosa magenta looks like a victorian picture postcard with its antique rose pink and perfect flower shape. The Olympic roses probably need repotting but are coming into bloom and look a bit weird because of their very compact blooms.
Mum decimated her front border, which looked a bit like a trench when I went round today, and as its the main thing which dad looks out at from his bed, this necessitated a visit to the garden centre. I felt a bit silly walking round with mum in tow, commenting on the ridiculously high prices, but went down the Titchmarsh route and came away with lots of white plants at dad's request: white delphiniums, cosmos, petunias, marguerite daisies; marigolds (3 different colours; orange, yellow and red/gold) at mums request, lobelia, pink petunias (mum) pink dianthus, and very nice other pink plants I dont know the name of. We then had fun deciding where in the border to place everything, without it looking too much like that pub in Campden Hill on Gardeners World yesterday, and with some attempt to provide flow and continuity, and avoiding the one lobelia one marigold edging which mum was brought up on but which would be hopeless with dads poor eyesight. So yet again we went for the Titchmarsh design method and planted everything in blocks of threes and fives.
I nobly planted everything whilst keeping an eye on mum who brought out in succession: blunt edging shears (x2), blunt secateurs, 3 garden forks and a leaky bucket.
Dad enjoyed watching us from his window, and as it was a lovely day I enjoyed myself thoroughly. If I had the technology I would post a picture. It looks really fine and I plan to fill the gaps with borage which I shall sow to make the whole planting slightly more on trend.

It is Deutzia mont -rose! Many thanks. Full of bees too!

Great work at your mums funny, plants sound fab, I've got Petunias that Dh sowed without making note of the colour, I hope they are white!

Don't worry Funny I haven't killed them, one shrub is a deciduous tree/shrub that floweres all winter, the other was long overdue a trim - Forsythia. I really want to get a cottagey border going, now there is more light this feels achievable.

According to an article in the Guardian we should be not so fussy about weeds? I've decided I quite like Herb Robert and have stopped pulling it up!

I had an enlightening moment yesterday. DM had parked their motor home on our drive overnight which meant reversing out in my normal fashion was tricky. So I turned around and drove out forwards. I have been missing out on 50% of appreciation of the long bed that borders the drive, and my 'naturalised' woodland bit by the front gate. When I reverse out I just don't see it. I shall be turning around more often. Shall be expecting 50% more garden happiness

Well, it's the first day of winter here, after the warmest, driest autumn ever In The Southern Hemisphere, Since Records Were Kept.

In my bit of Victoria, we've had good rain too, so no grumbles, and still warm enough to plant. Lots of confused plants, though.
Speaking of the rain, that's what it's doing all day, so I'll container plant those hyacinth and tulips I meant to do ages ago, but forgot because they're in the beer fridge in the garage. Just as well, as they'd be tearing away in this warmth.

I'm also going to go for a climbing rose up the side of the house, in a container, where the possums can't get at it.

I do love your posts Echt: they give such a different perspective!

Glad you have tracked down your shrub poggle. I had never come across Deutzia Mont Rose until we moved in here and found ours, and I don't understand why it's not better known: lovely branching habit, gorgeous flowers over a long period, happy in part shade, and (best of all?), covered with bees when the flowers get going. I hadn't noticed it was fragrant so shall risk the wrath of a bee, and have a sniff later.

Loving the sound of your tussle with your Mum funny. My Dad's idea of gardening was strict bedding, lots of clashing colour, strictly pruned hybrid teas and lots of bare soil, so I feel your pain. We moved to a house with a lovely traditional English country garden when I was 11, and Dad tried to impose his sort of order on it. I dread to think what lovely plants he pulled out in his quest for neatness.

The view from my allotment this glorious morning. Been here since 6 :)

Bearleigh you are spot on: mum is the sort who thinks Rudbeckia are weeds and prunes everything to death, including a wonderful border of lavender Munstead Wood one year which had grown just over one of the gravel paths so that one brushed past it when walking, which mum thought was untidy.

The acanthus mollis doesnt like it under the oak tree and is developing wrinkled leaves so I dug it up and potted it up this morning and have put Lexi's pink astilbe, still in its pot, at the base of the thriving clematis broughton star there. When deciding whether plants will thrive in a tricky dappled shade spot I leave them in their pot for a couple of weeks and see if they continue to grow before planting them out. This has saved a few plant lives.
Plenty of flowers on the raspberries! I have found quite a good cloche thingy online to put over the veg trough for when there are fruit.

Echt I too love your posts!

That is dedication up at 6 am at the allotment! It looks great. I've just given mine up and am having a go in the back garden. Hopefully my neighbours son can persuade her reduce the height of the conifers which will give me an area for raised beds.

At the moment I have a new bed at one end of the garden which is going to be veg and flowers mixed together. Going great guns is a Calendula from my allotment which I hope will self seed so I have them for years to come as I had loads up there. I found the seed packs I got last year in Wye Vale sale and put lots in the other day. If all goes to plan there will be a sunflower and chive hedge at the front. One of the two Mme Carriere flowers is now out and my sweet peas are finally starting to climb their support. The bargain David Austin roses are coming on ok and look like I might get a few flowers so far plus lettuce seedlings have do far survived the slugs.

Can I just say how much I love the fact Echt has a beer fridge and keep bulbs in it plus that Bertha is now getting 50% more garden pleasure!

My Dad is a bedding plant gardener. He did say last year he was finding it hard work now and looking to put in more perennials but I don't think he's made much progress on this. Mum is currently paranoid and delusional and hopefully going for respite to another home as her paranoia has ramped up even higher following an assault by another resident. I'm hoping she will settle and we can get her one of the rooms with a balcony ad she has always wanted one. Then she could have some of her pots back with her. She refuses to have anything where she is now as she says people will steal them. I'm finding pottering in the garden hugely therapeutic during this ongoing saga of her deterioration. I wish I could get DH into it a bit to distract him from his Dad's deterioration. He has just gone to inspect the chilli plants which is good.

this is a shrub that I cut back very hard in winter and now for the first time has flowers. the bees love it!

That looks lovely. There seem to be loads of bees here again this year continuing the colour scheme, here's a Pascali rose.

Lovely shrub mous (another Deutzia?) and lovely rose Wynken. It looks more like an English rose than a hybrid tea that D Austin website says Pascali is.

I am joining in by posting a pic of Princess Alexandra of Kent that (?who?) at last has flowers, two years after planting. She nearly died, and at one time only had two leaves. But what flowers she has -they are peachy around the edge, and more deep pink towards the middle.

Bearleigh & Wynken - amazing roses, I can almost smell them, from those photos.

Kits - great pond.

I'm v jealous of those of you with astrantia, i still haven't managed to get my seeds from Lexi to germinate. I'm considering putting them back into the fridge again.

Not much gardening going on here this weekend, as I had to rush to complete a job application and we went to a family fun day at our local park this afternoon. I picked up a baby hosta for 50p which came with a free unidentifiable plant (on the left of the hosta below, any ideas?). DH and I did spend a couple of hours relaxing in the garden with a couple of beers.

We found out in friday we have been granted panning permission for our rear extension (hurrah!). This has led to much discussion about what we should do with our patio and path (as we'll need to redo most of this). I had made a previous design which was all about curves - curvy lawn, curvy flower beds, curvy path. However, we realised we saw very few curves at Chelsea and are wondering if our design is a bit naff? DH has come up with an alternative, based on the telegraph garden, which has straight paths alongside the borders and numerous box balls. Did I mention we've been on the beers?

My first campanula blue cup flowers have opened and, like everything else in my garden, they seem to be purple (bad pic below). Beautiful, but I am amazed at how I seem to have subconsciously created an entirely purple garden.

Nann It looks a bit like Agapanthus. Do you know what the plant you have with the yellow flower is, only I have the same plant.
I also have campanulas which have formed quite a big clump, I suppose I'll be able to divide them?

A funny story - on the way out I remarked to Dh that I thought the Wisteria cutting had taken. A long sigh from the back dd1 protesting that I can't go any where without talking about gardening and before that it was houses. She preferred when it was houses and she hates houses. Dh sticks up for me saying gardening to mummy is like Beanie boos (collect able soft toys) are to them. They then start saying well we have to move this Beanie he looks all wrong next to that Beanie. I guess you had to be there 'twas very funny.

Lovely roses! I am a bit disappointed in my Nuits de Young rose, which is hot pink rather than the deep red I was expecting (and was depicted on the label).

My daughter is similarly bemused by my fascination with plants and gardens, pogglebonk.

wynken, do hope the balcony works out for your mum. for you, it sounds so hard.

The purple garden sounds amazing. I wouldn't worry about a few curves if that is what suits the plot NotAnotherNewNappy. But straight lines are good too

We have gravel!!!! It makes everything look sooo much nicer. Even though it is still really dirty and covered in a kind of tangerine coloured dust The first thing I did when it arrived was wash a bit under the tap, just to check the colour. We only needed 30 tonnes in the end rather than sixty, as the original quarry said we would need to lay it twice as deep as we ended up doing. It is fine. We do need a massive rain shower or two to clean it off though.

Debutante out on the rose walk, along with Constance Spry and Mme Alfred. I had to pull out four oriental poppies that had some kind of fungal rot , they were too close together I think. I am hoping the beautiful cerise pink one will be saved though, fingers crossed.

Planted all the plants Maud gave me

I have been missing too long! Off to catch up on all the chat I have missed! All well here, apart from the wildflower bank. I will have to post a photo. It is more like a thistle bank.....

hello Castle - lovely to see you! When I planted wildflowers there was nothing much showing at this point in the year, the first flowers showed up at the end of June. Don't lose hope

Poggle - It came with the house but I think it's St. John's wort. It looks like an ugly stick all winter, but fills out and has beautiful yellow flowers in late summer. RHS link

If its agapanthus then I'm gutted I didn't buy more!

I grew the campanula from plugs last year to fill the awkward shady border. Its Good to know i may be able to divide them. Typically, this side is doing much better and looks more mature and cottagey than the sunny border (stares hard at sickly peonies refusing to grow).

Humph - what kind of gravel did you get? I want tons of gravel all around my veg boxes, enough to put a deckchair on it and feel like I'm on my own beach

Here's some purple... solanium, bowles mauve wallflower and purple sensation allium, clashing beautifully with the yellow (and purple) aquilegia. I don't know how it happened, the colour scheme was meant to be pink, white and blue.

I like all the rose pics! Nann your border looks nice too.

It is the most glorious June for some years for flowers-every garden round here is blooming like a picture book!

Maud my 'Nuits de Young' is deepest darkest maroon: who was your supplier? I would be tempted to send it back.

castle what are you going to do about the thistles? I had 2 growing in a pot with a label which said 'white delphiniums' on so wasn't pleased, can't think how you must be feeling.

I spent ages fiddling about clearing up and weeding today and generally rescuing and nurturing plants.

'Sally Holmes' rose: the one I bought at Hampton court with maud is flowering in a shady corner, with large velvety white flowers, and also a lilium martagon album in a very shady corner- brilliant surprise as it has overwintered in the ground at that spot so I am hoping it will spread there.