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

maud I think you must have a healthy specimen of acanthus mollis or else its in a good spot because mine just isn't thriving. It is in a relatively dry shady spot do you think I should water it more and feed it or will it do better if ignored? Or do you think I should dig up the young plant and replant elsewhere? In that patch I am trying to grow digitalis alba too. There was one spire last year and this year on the advice of someone upthread I trimmed off the flowering spire which was probably a mistake as now I am worried I will get no flowers and no seeds for next year. A neighbour has the most splendid lump of digitalis alba all in flower looking very elegant and lightening up a shady spot.
rhubarb that is a wonderful thing to create a garden and to inspire others too. Was this your orange and green planting?
humph I am coming to your open day!
I weeded at the edges and at the back of the borders.
I am ill and the nice thing is DS has come to look after me: just the sight of him makes me feel better!

My acanthus was one of many plants my parents dug up and gave me when I started this garden. I suspect they don't like being dry - mine is quite prone to powdery mildew and I think that is usually a sign of needing more water.

How lovely that your son has come to minister to you. He sounds like a fine young man.

maud hayloft purchase complete - I bought the Geranium collection, purple sensation Allium bulbs (to save on postage) and 6 Hellebore plants for £6. There were some free plants in my basket but I took too long and they disappeared.

Rhubarb you are so talented, that garden sounds lovely please post pictures. I do hope the 20 bags of poo make a big difference to our garden!

funny sorry that you are ill, but glad you are being looked after.

I've sowed black pansies for the winter plus forget-me-nots and planted out the pound land bulbs.

I've finally got round to making Elder flower Champagne, the whole house smells of Elderflower. Fingers crossed it works.
.

Thank you maud yes he is a kind person.
Oh yes my acanthus has some powdery mildew- I will water it then!

funnyperson, are you really?

Well I thought I would give moral support and swell the numbers actually its because I would love to see you and your garden!

wow!
BRILLIANT

are you coming to visit your friends in wales too?

rhubarb please do put some pictures of that garden up. I would love to see it. It must be amazing to see something you designed going strong like that.

Did you see the new competition for a main drag garden at Chelsea? Do you fancy that at all?

We're going to need another new thread. This one didn't last long.

Volunteers?

Rhubarb, I would love to see the garden too.

Very excited, I have my first bloom on my Starlight Express rose! I've been waiting for ages for this.

Geoff I was wondering who you were!

Humph I would love to be coming to visit your garden! Maybe next time! Am sure you must be very excited and busy preparing!

Funny hope you feel better soon.

of Maud and Geoff shopping! I'm sworn off for a while...

Rhubarb do post photos of your clients' garden!

Had an exhausting day with my pupils on their school tour to a local Farmyard. Much fun was had! The timed 'human sheepdog' trials proved the favourite activity of the day! I had garden envy at the wonderful veg garden and a huge polytunnel! Think a polytunnel could be very useful...though not as pretty as a greenhouse. Has anybody got a pollytunnel?

All well here. A little tired! Aiming to transplant the rest of the geraniums onto the bank over the weekend. The first lot look like they may flower very soon. Still nothing in bloom here except my strawberries!!! Hoping for a Sceptrd Isle rose over the weekend...

Bearleigh what about delphiniums if you are looking for blue?
Maud if you can't manage forget-me-nots then my 60 or so seedlings are doomed...!
NANN I will have to check out your photos on the laptop, just on phone app...
Karaoke I will have to google Starlight Express rose!
Bertha you're right, the thread is almost full! What a lovely thread it has been though . I'm claiming babybrain on the new thread naming... anybody else?

I haven't done the shopping yet, Castle, as I'm waiting for the money-off voucher I earned by pointing Geoff towards that site. In fact, it occurred to me last night that if anyone else was interested in getting £5 off at Hayloft we could all recommend plants to each other in a big, happy circle!

I'd been meaning to say, Rhubarb, how gratifying it must be to go back to the garden you designed and find it in good shape. My friend here who is a designer says the most dispiriting thing is being asked to go back to a garden she has designed and planted, only to find that the owners have not touched it in the intervening period and it has gone to rack and ruin.

I acquired two huge pots tonight, so one will go on the patio with the pear tree in it and the other will add to the overcrowded densely-planted pot garden in front of the house.

Any suggestions for under planting the pear? I thought perhaps alpine strawberries. I want permanent planting and nothing too vigorous.

Oh and polytunnels. I don't have one (if only) but a couple of friends do. What I have gleaned from them is that on very windy, exposed sites the polythene can get ripped to shreds.

I have never actually sought to cultivate forget-me-nots and they have usually self-seeded all over the place. This year, though, I had only two little clumps so I have been shaking the pulled-out plants over the borders, hoping to spread the seeds.

Thread title ... I had been pondering

A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!

I like it Maud.
Who is it by?

How poetic our thread titles are!

It's by Thomas Edward Brown. I have only ever really known the opening line. I have never worked out how to do links from my phone, but the whole poem is online.

I have thought of a title for an Autumn thread from John Keats' poem To Autumn. The first line of that is lovely.
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Bit ahead of myself, sorry .

Will look that up Maud!

Oh yes, that would be perfect in a few months' time.

Ooh it IS a nice poem. Short and sweet. Makes me think of Humph's garden with the 'fringed pool' ....

Do it Maud.... the end is nigh here!

Shall I? Ok then. Here goes ...

Done! And I get to make the final post here, mwah ha ha!