Tickle the earth with a hoe, and she will laugh with a harvest

[Rhubarbgarden]

Potting shed chat for all those interested in wittering on about gardens and sharing the love of plants. Plenty of dusty old deck chairs to sit on and sloe gin to warm the cockles; join us!

[echt]

on the new job, rhubarb.

[SugarPlumTree]

If we can't find the Winnie the Pooh one what about an Autumn quote ? I just had a look and rather liked ' Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower '

[Blackpuddingbertha]

Can't believe we've filled this one so quickly. Have I been sleeping? The Winnie the Pooh quote was, 'Weeds are flowers too once you get to know them' or something similar, would need to check. I'm sure someone can come up with a more erudite title though.

[MaudantWit]

Didn't someone have a quote from (I think) Winnie the Pooh?

[funnyperson]

Has anyone thought of a title for the next thread?

[funnyperson]

oh dear I'm hopelessly behind with the thread. congrats on the job rhubarb

[funnyperson]

My friendly robin is fine, ppeatfruit! It was rhubarb's robin who died. Are your hoopoes those birds with long beaks?

DD came back from the gym and planted a clematis.

hattie welcome! You've planted an impressive number of bulbs! Looking forward to the spring pictures!

sugarplum I'm hopeless at garden design. You need the advice of someone with imagination.

[HumphreyCobbler]

Brilliant Rhubarb!

[Bearleigh]

That's great news rhubarb: congratulations!

[Callmegeoff]

Me too rhubarb

[MaudantWit]

Congratulations from me too, Rhubarb!

[Rhubarbgarden]

Thanks!

Those are all quite quick growers though, relatively, so it shouldn't take too long.

[SugarPlumTree]

Congratulations Rhubarb, great news !

Evergreens it is then, thanks. The oleander, pyracantha and random viburnum tinus bits I have around. Will take ages to get tall enough but that's life.

[TunipTheUnconquerable]

Congratulations, RhubarbGarden!

[Rhubarbgarden]

I got the design and maintenance job by the way, so I had a little celebratory with a friend this morning in between the bulb planting.

[Rhubarbgarden]

SugarPlum good work on the fence area. I'd stick with evergreens in front of the fence if I was you, to keep that corner looking green. You could then always plant something more interesting and seasonal in front of them.

[Rhubarbgarden]

Hello Hattie. Well done on the bulb planting. I have just planted 30 pheasant eye narcissi in the tree circles around the new fruit trees in the orchard. The old trees have daffs round them already, so it looked a bit odd last spring when the old ones were encircled by prettiness but the new ones weren't. Remedied now. I also weeded and edged the tree circles, and topped them up with new bark chips. Much tidier in there now.

Osmanthus is lovely. Scented evergreens are always useful.

[Callmegeoff]

Arf at Japanese toilets.

On the subject of scented plants a few of my neighbours have evergreen hedges that produce heavily scented white flowers in the spring and red berries later on. Any clues?

[SugarPlumTree]

Well I managed to throw away my bag of chopped banana skins yesterday by accident. DH has however obligingly eaten one so I chopped it and took it out before I could lose it 3 roses in poor soil now have banana skins and good layer of compost on top plus drink of rainwater. I'll work my way round the rest as more bananas consumed!

I've got a bin and a half of fairly decent compost so should be able to mulch well this autumn.

[ppeatfruit]

They really work because as you now I've had trouble with roses and the one I transplanted from a too shady area to a sunny one has done really well with a normal mulch and banana skins underneath it. I put a whole rotten one by another rose and it's perked up too. I am also feeding it every week with my nettle\rainwater feed and only watering with rainwater. That seems to help a lot because the earth here is too alkali for roses by rights.

[echt]

I'm interested in the whole banana mulch stuff. Right now ours go into a wormery/ compost thingy. Every six months the staghorn and elk horn ferns get banana skin to keep them ticking over.

[SugarPlumTree]

Yes Geoff. It was going brown in bits to be fair but he took it on himself to chop it down one afternoon when we were out. I can't cope with an argument so am sucking it up and have set myself a challenge of doing it for as little money as possible. Spend so far is £4 as had loads of compost and some wood.

Can't be doing with having to have 2 so callicarpa is out of running. Japanese quince is more a shrub I think. I have Geisha Girl but it doesn't like where it is so could move.

Echt at municipal deodorant! Osmanthus fragrens came up as a possibility when I was trying to track down what was making the scent in my friend's garden but it wasn't that. Elaeagnus Ebbingei packs a punch too (which is what I coukd smell) . I'd like to smell the Osmanthus as a comparison.

DH and I sat outside in T shirts yesterday evening and had wafts of what I think might have been the sweet peas coming over.

[echt]

They very nearly do say hello. One place I went to, the lid rose regally as I entered.:o

[ppeatfruit]

Sorry yes welcome Hattie.
I remember someone going on about osmanthus on GQT echt . Blimey I get freaked out by those automatic flushing loos let alone ones that light up and say 'hello' (i made that up ! it's only a matter of time though )

[echt]

Hello Hattie, and welcome.

While out and about here in a Japan, DH and I noticed an overpoweringly sweet, cloying smell, like a cross between the doors opening at Lush, and the body spray favoured by early teen girls. Very peachy. So strange we thought it was municipal deodorant; not too bizarre in a land where the toilet knows you're there, and the bowl lights up in anticipation.

No flowers in sight but we eventually tracked it down to hedge of osmanthus fragrans. Even with very few blooms it saturates the air.

It's very popular here, grown as a hedge and can be shaped easily as a tree of about 3 metres. Without doubt it's the most pervasive flower pong I've ever encountered. I've got used to it and will pursue a specimen when I get back to Melbs.