A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!

[MaudantWit]

Join us for ongoing gardening chat in the MN potting shed. Blow the cobwebs off a deckchair, help yourself to a glass of elderberry champagne and tell us about your garden.

Excellemt FP, really glad it arrived.

I have strawberry plants but nowhere to put them for now. Was contemplating chucking them in grobags.

Make that grow bags as they aren't babies ! One of my cheapy plants is out. Papaver Garden Gnome down to £1. Surgery was performed to remove all the spent flowers and there were some remaining buds which came out the next day.

And what was even better is I introduced my friend to the joy of perennials, especially those that are heavily reduced. She said she had assumed they were dead.

My raspberries have grown into a metre square raspberry thicket. Picking from the middle is going to be interesting. I have staked the corners and put string around to contain them in an upright position. I only planted canes last year; I swear there's 30 this year. Also Autumn fruiting canes so they were cut right back.

Wynken, I will collect knautia seeds for you when they're ready and let you know.

Ours are in a row so picking is fine. But they are not-so-slowly trying to creep out and colonise the entire garden. I remember last year they get a bit bent with fruits. Hmm. Better find some sticks or something to tie them to then...

Our single blackberry plant is cohabiting with sprawling nasturtium. The nasturtium won't overwhelm it, will it? Does anything overwhelm blackberry?

We're trying to grow a virginia creeper over the shed. Unfortunately the shed is metal so it's struggling to cling on though it's nearly reached the roof - I am not a gardening expert, but I wonder if it will be OK once it reaches the roof and will then grow over it. Because it's on a concrete base we can't put a trellis up for it, the plant is about a foot away from the shed and is leaning up against it.
Also on the subject of climbers, the clematis which has done nothing for 5 years has gone mad this year and now fills two trellises and I've noticed tonight that it has taken advantage of the overhanging cherry tree from next door and is now rambling through their tree. Will it harm their tree? They are not interested in gardening, they have just moved in with a young baby but I don't want it damaging their tree.

Oh goodness those raspberries look tall ppeat - is that what they do then? (Raspberry novice here) Thats probably why people grow them in the ground not in a raised trough. Well mine are going to get bent trained and thats that, otherwise the only beings to reach the fruit will be the birds.

Good point about reaching the centre of a thicket, blackpudding I will give this thought when on my terrible commute

Sorry, they were lordcoppers raspberry pictures, I must reread that book, I was thinking about foreign correspondents when watching 'news at 10' the other day and remembering Mark Austen reporting from some sandbagged unit a few years ago, now anchoring from home.

Blimey I wish my raspberries looked like that! They were old when we moved here so have disappeared now. I've just bought ONE raspberry plant which seems happy ATM.

I had a look right round the garden this morning and got all excited thinking my self seeded hazelnut trees (that are used as hedging) were actually growing nuts! But no at closer inspection they were 'growing' ,they were stuck to the leaves,smallish round,white insect nests ! There were little maggots in them I don't quite know what to do with them. I don't spray btw. Any ideas?

Hello all,
I rarely post, but come hear often to see what the 'experts' (you guys are so knowledgeable!) are up to... I hope you can answer my question...
This year my dark pink peonies did fantastically, and brought me huge joy. My pale pink/white ones however produced big buds, which then rotted! I was deeply upset. Has anyone any idea what happened, and if there is anything I should do to prevent this?
And another question... my hollyhock leaves are all covered in spots and drying out and dieing. What is going on?? Anyone else have this?
thanks!
tadpolefeet

funny Our raspberries looked like they've died for a couple of years, and then suddenly one year they just took off. Not sure what happened, but we have raspberries now and we are not asking too many questions.

tadpole Hello! I'm afraid I can't answer any questions. I only know a tiny little bit about what I've planted ...

Well tadpole I DO know that my hollyhocks are only successful if they self seed (if I see them round the garden I leave them well alone) they LOVE sun though. (the ones facing due west outside our garden are the happiest ).

The peonies haven't been at all happy in my garden, I think they need very rich soil (you're lucky with those dark pink ones ) but if it's any consolation I bought some pink ones that were in bud in a moment of self indulgence from my fave florist and they never opened!

Thank you Bertha, much appreciated.

Tadpole I have never grown Hollyhocks but have read they get rust. Have a Google of Hollyhock rust. I can't get buds on my Peonies so am totall out of my depth with them I'm afraid.

We could really really do with some rain here....

Forgot earlier. Please could someone identify this pink stuff please ? Not the best photo, apologies.

I think I am going to have to admit to a problem I have. I can't stop buying plants from the reduced section from the garden centre down the road. I only went for coffee and came back with a Veronica Tissington white, another papaver garden gnome, lychnis Jenny, a lewisia and a argue argyranthemum. I've split the veronica into 4 and had to perform some surgery on the rest but they all look good as new and we're decent sized pots.

My Wilko's dahlias are now coming through and I go to sleep dreaming of lupins as am trying to get them in (watch me whinge that the slugs have eaten them)

Enjoying reading the thread! A bit out of action myself, due to morning sickness argh! Am almost 12 wks now! Can't believe it.

So glad to hear Rhubarbcat is home and back on mouse-duty! Castlecat is in the bad books. He knocked my windowsill greenhouse down and all my forget-me-not seedlings went splat...... Only had the energy to scrape them off the floor with my hands and plonk them back into the cells haphazardly so I predict carnage. And they were doing so well. Maybe I'll pot on over the weekend... they are ready...

My Princess Anne and Sceptrd Isle are blooming beautifully! Still waiting for Claire Austen. Definitely need more roses for next year! Maybe Eglantyne, Gentle Hermione, Brother Cadfael and Winchester Cathedral... I love big blowsy romantic roses!

Wynken your purchases sound absolutely lovely!

Adding Ballerina to my ever-growing rose list...

I have just planted a Brother Cadfael, waiting with excitement because it has two or three buds already. A very healthy looking rose with lots of top growth.

It was £6 cheaper at the garden centre than on David Austin's website, and no delivery charge of course.

wynken I am envious, your garden centre seems to have bargains! Mine only has gone-over bulbs in pots and plants with almost no sign of life at all. Homebase occasionally has better offerings on the Shelf of Doom.

O yes I think having lots of lovely roses is a great pleasure even if they do only bloom for a short time but they make the garden seem like a corner of paradise in that time (well, OK, black spot, wilted bud ridden paradise, but hey!) I haven't any room for more roses now and have the ones I need and want, all are scented, but if buying for someone else I might search for a late summer blooming rose, and next year out the front I must find room for a Rosa Gallica Officinalis and somewhere in mum's garden I will plant a Rosa Mundi.
wynken your purchases sound great!
castelough I was wondering how you were feeling.

wynken could it be an Allium? Mine haven't all flowered yet, I have the same Geranium as you, do you know what it's called?

Had to google the papaver garden gnome lovely, if I lived near your nursery I'd have the same problem

On the subject of Rhaspberries all mine are in flower/fruit despite being early, summer and Autumn fruiting varieties

castle sorry about the sickness hopefully will get better soon

tadpole I've got hollyhocks in pots grown from seed, no rust they all look healthy, are you watering them?

I cut the Deutzia to the ground, hopefully haven't killed it but took a cutting first. The yellow loosestrife is back and looks stunning but needs something to grow with it, any ideas?

My poundland bulbs are coming up unfortunately I planted the ones I wanted to ditch -oxalis, and must have chucked the bottlebrush ones gah!

The roses in the gardens in Giverney are very fragrant mossy roses : they are not in Monet's garden, but in the grounds of the old cafes and studios in the village, and date from that time in the mid 1800's onwards when the place was frequented by painters.

deep purple or deep maroon with yellow loosestrife:

salvias?

verbena bonariensis is purple and has a complementary structure to the loosestrife but the tone is slightly different?

rosa munstead wood- brilliant deep burgundy but the roots may compete

sanguisorba?

I like all of those suggestions funny, I've got Vb seeds, so will try those next year. I've actually got 2 salvias grown from seed and planted elsewhere I'm going to put them back in a pot and try them in amongst the loosestrife. Thankyou.

Sorry Geoff, had a little giggle at you throwing out the wrong bulbs. Sort of thing I'd do...

Visited a farm shop with a PYO today for work. I have been gorging myself on strawberries ever since. Really must figure out how to grow strawberries successfully. Also did a big garden centre for work this week (tough job sometimes), they had the biggest agapanthus in pots I think I've ever seen. So wanted some of those.

I can't grow strawberries either, I don't think there are any PYO in my area, I remember it being very trendy in the 70s have fond memories of picking pounds and pounds with my mum, to make jam and fill the chest freezer. I'm actually hankering for a chest freezer to help with the glut. My mum is now a huge fan of ready done veg from M&S, and never makes jam!

Oh traviata I'll be waiting on your photos! Great price! Maybe it's because they have to be imported but the best price I've seen for DA roses in the garden centres here is €20 and only ever a choice of 4-5 varieties. I can order them for on average €15 online, less if I bulk buy. The postage brings up the price nearer to €20 but choice is unlimited!

Our strawberries are from runners given to us by a friend. They sat there looking dead for about a year, and then suddenly perked up after winter (completely unprotected - some of them have even been mistakenly pulled up and hastily put back ). Now they seem to be taking over as well.