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!

tunip there is a revolving summer house at Shaw's Corner, near Ayot St Laurence, which is still in working order. Over the years someone has decided to paint it black, which isn't so nice as when I first saw it as a young 'un and it was in lighter colours.

Although I have no idea how to upload pictures from the Nokia, they are still on the phone, and on the way home from work today I was looking through all the garden pictures, and was struck by how much the cherry Amanagowa has grown this year in my garden, and also by the beautiful Oxford College gardens, and the Hampton Court show gardens. there are some lovely pictures of humphrey's rose walk in full bloom, and her ducks!

I'm still short of dahlias, salvias, pink phlox, allium caerulothingy, white agapanthus, deschampsia, tulips etc none of which I have had the time to order in.

I really do like my day job, however I must say I don't seem to be getting enough gardening time atm. The summer is so wonderful because the daylight stretches out. When the evenings begin to draw in, I hardly see the garden. I rush outside with a cup of tea when I get home, just to get the chance to sit in the fading light, me on the swing seat, DS in the adirondack rocking chair and DD on the Lloyd Loom chair and we tell each other what has happened with our day, and the actual gardening just has to wait for the weekend.

Ah you inspired me to have a look at the photos of our rosewalk funnyperson! It is my best memory of the day, meeting you and having a proper chat about gardening. My friend heard us talking and said she has never heard me so animated .

Your evening chats with your children in your garden sound lovely.

Tunip at revolving summerhouse! It would be so brilliant to get it working again..

But that's exactly what gardens are for funny.

Saw a marvellous pair of stone lions on a set of farm gates today. Nearly took a photo of them for this thread but wasn't sure how I was going to explain why I was taking the photo!

Blackpudding You thought someone might think you were a spy!

Ref. hollyhocks they're weeds! If you think about where they like to be, try and create those conditions! Not in the middle of the motorway obviously

If anyone would like hollyhock seeds I have saved bagfuls from mine - I started with one mall hollyhock and they have self set in the front garden. I think this shows how awful the soil is!

one small hollyhock obviously ( I am currently looking at two which are over 7' tall)

Camper van, how easy is it to harvest the seeds? I'd like to try and save some from mine.

I knew GBS wrote in a summerhouse, I didn't know it revolved! That's so funny.

This lunchtime I have been planting my tulips, crown imperials and alliums in the front garden. The latter two are on my list of 'stuff I have tried and failed to grow' so I'm not holding out much hope for them, but the tulips will probably be ok.

I'm sure you could have photographed the lions, Bertha!

i've been wondering whether its ok to photograph peoples front gardens locally and absteined as I'm not sure.

Here is a picture of Shaw's revolving summer house (off the internet) which as you see someone has thought looks better in black

I do very much like the sound of revolving summerhouses. As I was reading your post FP I was thinking how lovely it is that you all sit out in the garden. I was delighted to have a group of Twister playing teens in mine recently.

Sounds like you have all been busy. We have quite frankly had a couple of weeks of total nightmare with the elderly patents having crises at the same time and haven't had much time for the garden.

However both are more sorted with their care and I am hopeful of a bit of peace on that front for a but. Mum is moving yet again at the end of the year. I was scrabbling through a building site this week looking at a new Dementia Home. It's got a big garden and it's going to have a woodland walk and a veg patch the school next door will tend with the residents . Also a coffee shop, the village Christmas tree and the aim is to get the community and residents mixing and breakdown the stigma of Dementia. I'm actually excited about it and can't wait to see it all develop and am really looking forward to next summer visiting Mum there.

Neighbour was at it again this afternoon trying to cur a tree down which would have left us with a gap where we'd be exposed to the road. Friends saw what he has done today and we're really shocked. I'm still smiling through gritted teeth in the interest of good neighbourly relations.

My friend exchanged on a house today after weeks of waiting. She's more excited about her garden than the house, can't wait to see it. Apparently it is very overgrown and has a greenhouse and fruit trees. Thought I'd get her a seed tin with some seed packets in to get her started.

What do people do with banana skins and rose bushes- do you chop them up then dig them in ?

Maybe the summerhouse was black in Shaw's day? That's the only reason I can think of. Daft colour for external paintwork otherwise - it'll absorb the sun faster and blister more quickly.

Sorry to hear you've had trouble with your parents, Sugarplum. The dementia home sounds great. I love the idea of the school and the residents tending the veg patch together. I bet lots of the elderly residents will know a lot about gardening and will be able to pass that on to the kids.

I think photographing into people's actual gardens without permission would be a little intrusive, but the gates are fair game.

Campervan, can I ask what colour your hollyhocks are? I'm tempted to just toss some seeds about on the rough ground outside my front gate to see if they'll take there. I'm trying to encourage valerian to become weeds out there too.

Here is a summer house (octagonal) company that offer a revolving base

Yes it is nice that we sit in the garden. And chat even!
sugarplum I do empathise. The whole elderly parent thing is like having children only not as rewarding and not as well (certainly in our case) thought through financially or in terms of time and energy spent. My own elderly parents are stable and comfortable at present and finances are sorted, but we are all crossing fingers it stays that way for a few months as everyone needs a few months of guilt-free peace and ....well...rest on that front.
Next spring, finances permitting, I'm building a ramp to their garden and those wheelchair friendly paths as on GW will be laid down. They will also be getting a Lutyens bench. Dad will sit out in the wheelchair and mum and I will sit on the Lutyens (eau de nil) bench.

www.gardenaffairs.co.uk/our-ranges/summerhouses/scotts-collection/baltimore-2m-revolving-base

How easy is it to harvest the seeds? I'd like to try and save some from mine.

I collect the 'seed pods' when they are dry and beginning to open (before they scatter all over the garden)

Can I ask what colour your hollyhocks are?

Individual plants are pink, deep red, peach - a real mixture.

I have been AWOL in Classics all week, snorting and chortling and neglecting this thread, sorry.

A revolving summer house! How wonderful.

I loved funny's list. I have a walled orchard, but I would love the rest.

The orchard is causing me trouble at the moment; I strimmed the long grass a couple of weeks ago, left it a few days for the seeds to drop as per RHS instructions, raked it up and trundled it down steps and slopes and across three lawns to the compost heap right at the other end of the garden. Then I tried to mow it, but even with the blades on the highest setting it can't cope; the grass is still too long. Curses. I have had no choice but to begin the whole process again, strimming it shorter this time. My enthusiasm for long grass in orchards is waning now.

Tunip be careful of those snowberry bushes! Feral beasts. I have spent the past two years trying to eradicate the evil stuff and it still keeps coming back from the dead to haunt me.

Rhubarb, have you tried going at it a few inches at a time, so the side of the mower just clips a little bit with each pass? That's what has worked best for me this year when the mower can't cope. It's slow but still quicker than strimming.

I don't like the snowberrys but my mum said she'd always wanted one, so... . It's funny what you think of as a weed and what you want to keep. I was chuffed to get rid of the hypericum calycinum in the front garden that had taken over the borders and was swallowing the lawn, but I keep seeing it in front gardens where it is clearly meant to be. Also she was suggesting I put in geraniums in the front (cranesbill not pelargonium) but the back is overrun with them so I was all 'Noooooo!'

Oh, I forgot to add - my pelargonium cuttings in water on the windowsill have rooted, just like Ppeatfruit said they would!

I am impressed.

Sugarplum ref. banana skins, I just laid mine around the bases of the roses bushes,added some mulch on top of them, I also make sure to use rain water on them because the soil is very alkali in our garden.

Tunip Congratulations re. the pelargoniums! I'll have to take my own advice soon with my regals which were expensive and I love them!

Tunip yes I think it's over-familiarity makes something feel like a weed, isn't it? Our garden in London was overrun with alstroemerias, golden rod, hollyhocks and Asters when we moved in, all completely feral. I pulled them all up. Now I'm thinking of planting hollyhocks and Asters!

I did try mowing an inch at a time, it worked-ish but felt sooo slow. No raking up though; so maybe I should revisit that.

If you just cut them right back (too late now I know)! Rhubarb i'm thinking alstro. here, they make nice little humps and grow back better the next season, (though with this heat mine have started to grow again [shock ) do they need staking though? I've just planted mine in a sunnier spot and they seem happy.

Oh that was in our old garden - I don't have them here. I'm still not really a fan tbh. I think some varieties need staking, some don't, and it depends on how rich the soil is.

I just asked ds (age 2) what he wants to do this morning. He said "garden centre!"

Hah! Indoctrination.