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!

Hmm, yes, I hadn't really thought about it, but the zillion lobelia plugs that I grew on have not thrived, either. The ones I planted under the lemon tree have done well, but many of the others have shrivelled and died.

ppeatfruit, the tangerine tree I bought was a double grafted one but all its leaves were stiff, yellow and leathery. I put it in a pot it can stay in for a few years, in specialist citrus compost and quite a bit of sheep manure.

It's in the sunniest part of the garden and I watered it every other day. The leaves are definitely green now, though some way to go to be the deep green of citrus plants

I have self-seeded lobelia too - the deep blue, that I never grow myself (though I do like it)!

I mowed the lawn yesterday for the first time ever - I now realise how lucky I am that MrBearleigh usually does it. I think I'll buy him some long-handled shears for Christmas mind...

Spring is definitely here, as proven when I saw the first mosquito try to stab through my sturdy gardening corduroys as I lay on the bench, quaffing a beverage and reading Mr.Orton's diaries in the afternoon sun.

Out with the mozzie coils, suspended in metal burners. I love these, cheap as chips and such an exotic pong, as well as actually working.

Most of today has been getting the garden ready for summer and/or our approaching fortnight's holiday, when the precious garden will be left in the hands of the DD. It's about damage limitation. :o

Mr.Orton's diaries!!

I'll try again. I know he was bit rude, but Mr. Orton's diaries should pass.

There was a mention of Mr Orton and his imprisonment for defacing library books on the wireless, just a couple of days ago. A rediscovered play of his, "Fred and Madge", is opening soon.

Aaah thank you echt sheep manure and specialist citrus compost that's obviously the answer because your tangerines were as my lemon trees are now!!

I'm covered in bleedin' mozzie bites and I buy and use every natural anti insect spray, plug in, and ess. oil. you can get Though I bought citronella yesterday and it seems to be better.

I was brought up with those mosquito coils Echt. The smell of them takes me straight back to childhood.

I haven't watched GW yet. I am a little alarmed at all these reports of weeping.

Hello and welcome Frogbubbles.

Jealous of Echt's spring. I'm already looking forward to next spring when I will hopefully have more gardening time than I did this year. It is feeling decidedly autumnal now, despite the lovely weather this weekend. I have the urge to chop and tidy and get things neat for the winter.

The paint stripping is finally finished. Dh celebrated by taking the dcs up to London to the museums today. I celebrated by not going with them, and having a blissful uninterrupted day of gardening. I deadheaded lavender and roses, weeded, cut and raked up the long grass in the orchard, cut a couple of yew hedges I'd forgotten about, collected fallen apples for the compost, and mowed the lawn.

I'm watching GW right now.

We went to a gorgeous open garden today - two acres hidden behind a very grand house not far from here. Mostly lawn, shrubs and orchard but some lovely planting around the terrace and - perhaps best of all - a swimming pond.

I had a blissful gardening day today planting some more of the perennials which have been lurking in pots over the summer, and planting clematis , and deadheading, and painting the garden table, with lots of rest in between, after which DS (who had been building flat packed bookcases all afternoon) and I went to see the Matisse Cutouts at the Tate Modern: Matisse called the cutouts on his room wall his garden because he didn't get out much at 80 in his wheelchair.
I kept discovering more plants still in their pots in the flower beds though- I must really have been quite ill all summer- there are nearly 30 or so still to be planted! Still at least it is the right season for it. The only thing is I seem to have gone over the top with white vertical plants: lysimachia and veronicastrum and and physostigia virginiana, all of which have a similar habit.

I remember leaving some plants soo long in their pots that they just rooted into the earth underneath ! funny. Quite useful if you think about it!

I'm because my new planted clematis (it was happy for month or so) has just turned dark brown and died on me . I can't work out why.

More plants for me to google funny I love all of them, and wouldn't think it possible to have too many. Out of interest where do you tend to buy your plants?

The garden is calling me dds have finally gone back to school unfortunately the house is in dire straits and needs to take priority. I did manage to get rid of all the tomato plants, every last tomato had been turned into a mini beast hotel!

about your clematis.

Thanks Tunip I took a cutting from my honeysuckle and it's very happy next to the clem. so there's a bright side ! I want to cover an ugly "petit toit" that is now full in view since we had the terrace windbreak 'broken' fence removed.

This has been a year of fence removals.

Clematis are funny things, I find. Either they romp away at a mile a minute or they shrivel and die. There is no middle ground.

I have just been to Lidl and resisted the temptation to buy yet more bulbs.

Are bulbs good value for money in Lidl maud? I am being quite stern about my bulbs this year and have made a short list of desirables and am now at the stage of shopping around on price.

geoff I either buy plants at the shows (expensive option) or else, inspired by an open garden or show or rhs garden, or catalogue or website or book, and limited by my clay soil, northern aspect and shade, I make a wish list of plants, and then shop around online and in the local garden centres and supermarkets to get the cheapest price for said plants. This has the advantage of offering retail therapy without the expense of impulse buying. The shows are really the worst for impulse buying, For example at Hampton Court DD persuaded me to buy a magnificent Gloriosa Rothschildiniana in bloom for £15 in the sell off: however tubers of the same are available this Autumn at 3 for £5

There is huge variation in price for the same thing and some companies and nurseries will have sales or bargain shelves which are worth waiting for. Bulbs are a case in point. At Wisley show, alliums can be £5 a bulb, online they can be as little as 50 for a fiver.

I buy the 9 cm pots: plugs arent the greatest for me even if I pot them on quickly. 2 litre pots tend to be more expensive.

The only thing I will say is that when a plant is bought at a show you know exactly what colour foiiage and flower you are getting (and not all plants are the same), also generally you are getting a plant which has had a very good start in life and comes from excellent stock. The downside is they have probably been fed loads and been under glass and need acclimatising to the harsher conditions in your garden before planting out.

I bought a very nice blue salvia patens at Wisley when I went: it was not over the top value: £4.50 for a 1 litre pot.

Lidl does cheap fruit trees which take a while to fruit.

Some companies will only exhibit at the shows and so some plants are not readily available elsewhere: for example the little cornuses rhubarb got at Chelsea and white sedums.

cutteduppear sent me some hellebore seedlings and I got a brilliantly penstemon from humphrey and lexi and I plant swapped.

a brilliant red penstemon

The penstemon got planted yonks ago and clumped up nicely and has been flowering its socks off ever since! The thing is at Wisley the very same plant occupied a space 4 foot by 3 foot and this aspect of plant spread worries me slightly as my borders are not massive.

I don't remember exactly how much the bulbs were in Lidl but they usually work out at less than 25/30p a bulb, which is what I pay at the hort soc. They had smaller bags of named tulip varieties - I nearly succumbed to Yokohama - and then bigger nets that were only identified by colour. They also had various daffodils but for me, these days, it's all about the tulips.

I have just had a very satisfying hour in the garden. I planted up the latest mini-plugs to arrive (they are supposed to be for winter hanging baskets, but they are so tiny I very much doubt whether they'll amount to anything this year). And then, as instructed by Anna Pavord, I cut back all the mint and so my hands smell gorgeous!

Sorry to hear about your clematis, ppeat. I have had no luck with clematis either.

I buy my plants either online from quality nurseries like Burncoose and Hayloft, or if I need loads I make the trek to the wholesalers, where they are about 50% less than garden centre prices, but it's an hour's drive.

I've finished my planting plan for my north facing woodland border now, so I could really do with a wholesaler trip as I need 204 plants.

I have to resolve the small problem of zero spare cash first, though.