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!

Can you see a picture of Rhubarb ' s house Maudant ? I can't see anything but habe found that happens on other threads.

With the camellia have you done the watering it really well for a good few weeks this time of year whilst it forms the new flower buds thing ? If not I'd try that this year then sadly give up unless the foliage serves a purpose.

I love Lady of Shallot but being a bit dozy I hadn't realised it was a climber. This thread is excellent, always lots of new plants to look up.

I ache in places today which is rather pathetic after 90 mins exercise.

Rhubarb What about taking a cutting from your lovely old pale yellow rose for the front of your house ? Or would that be too much pale yellow?

Oh Sugarplum it reminds me of one of my favourite books as a child The Secret Garden! Lovely!

Funnily enough, dear dear Monty was talking last night about giving camellias a good drink of rainwater, so maybe I'll grant one last reprieve.

Did you notice him flirting with us, when he asked whether he were man enough? How very saucy.

On the other place, I find these days that I get (or don't get) only selected bits from people's timelines, and can sometimes see today things that I couldn't yesterday. Very confusing.

And yes, this thread is an education as I look so many things up. Oh and I have accidentally sent off for 40 more tulip bulbs, thanks to a freebie in the Telegraph.

lady of shallott looks nice: I can't remember what colour your home was painted in the end rhubarb
maud there is only point watering the camellia if there are buds on it. Otherwise ditch it.

I do like Monty. I thought I detected pink lipstick to match the shirt as I was sitting very close to the telly last night.

I'm being influenced by all you clever gardeners to remove my very leggy sage (at the front of my rocky garden which I'm removing all the overgrown ivy and snow in summer from) and replace it with lavender and alstromere. The insects love the flowers but it only blooms for a couple of weeks in late spring) . There is a lovely delicate shrub with purplish smallish flowers and arching branches behind it on the tier above IFYSWIM I think it's called indigofera. That needs exposing.

I like M.D. wasn't he bought back by popular demand when the beeb (or him,I don't know) wanted to him go?

I've been out taking photos on my phone. Number 1 -Whatever this is, it smells gorgeous, any ideas ?

Number 2 -I've seen this before but don't know the name.

This is taking over the shed roof - number 3

Number 4 - large tree with strange fluffy bits on and close up of fluffy bits number 5 (I am so definitely an amateur gardener)

And finally number 6 is thd flowers on the mystery tree before they go fluffy

Is it a cotinus (smoke tree)?

Or psumach Tunip ? I THINK the first pic. is of myrtle ? Sugar

I think you're right re myrtle, Ppeatfruit.

Number 2 is I think pheasantberry/leycesteria.

Number 3 is of course a magic beanstalk and if you send your kids up it they will either get eaten by a giant or end up with a golden harp.

Oh dear. I can usually do better than this. No 2 is leycesteria formosa but I'm stumped on the others. The mystery tree doesn't look like my cotinus coggygria (which admittedly is still a baby, but has much more purply leaves) and I think the leaves would be different on a sumach.

::Panics and calls for Rhubarb::

Well you're all doing a lot better than me, thank you ! I was starting to doubt myself over some things like foxglove seedlings earlier. They are foxgloves and on her drive so I'm going to ask if she minds me nabbing a couple. Also there is something under the trees that is highly familiar and I think it's a very large hellebore but again doubting myself.

The mystery tree is pretty tall and right in the middle of the garden. Not letting DS near the beanstalk, he's good at getting into trouble !

When I was back taking photos earlier I was looking at the greenhouse. It's at the back of the garden and I think there's a little bit of trellis which makes a little entrance (currently full of loads of stuff) with a clematis growing up it. It is somewhere under here !

The mystery tree is I think a Cotinus, possibly C. Grace. Otherwise known as a smoke tree. Here is a picture of my C. Grace (although I am not totally convinced it is one, as the leaves aren't really bronze). I've also posted a pic of a gloriously shaggy dahlia I grew from seed, and which has been flowering for a month. It is a fabulous carmine red.

That is a great dahlia Bearleigh, love the colour. Were they easy to grow from seed ?

The fluffy bits on mystery tree are very distinctive and Google doesn't come up with any alternatives. It is very big now and I wonder if a combination of age, lack of care and pruning might mean it doesn't produce coloured foliage - bit like a Cornus needs cutting to get the red stems ?

It's very kind of you all to take the time, she'll be delighted to know what things are. She's really lovely (my partner in crime on Chelsea trips) and I think the Secret Garden has bern waiting for her- one of those things that is meant to be if that doesn't sound silly.

Meanwhile back here I've planted the grand total of about 10 spring bulbs.

It was the greenness of the leaves that made me pause - mine are very much purple/bronze - but having seen Bearleigh's example (and the very cotinus-like flowers) I'm now convinced.

I was surprised to see Monty planting tulips so early, but I suppose if one is doing that sort of layered planting one has to, for the sake of the daffs.

I went to the local garden centre today and rescued a large angelica from the half price shelf of doom. Dratted snails have eaten all my parsley and Japanese parsley, though.

When I left for hols, my tulips were just on the way out. Also no longer with us is NDN's lovely old tea tree that shaded our tropical bed and stopped us from being overlooked. It was falling onto our house so I suppose it had to go. They are not gardeners so despite lots of space I can 't see them re-planting. This means we're madly looking for tress that grow well in a narrow space on our side, as well some temporary screening, possibly a frame to grow some vineyard thing on to give us some shade.

All this will have to wait as I'm writing this from Japan, seemingly the home of cloud pruning.

weeps for the tea tree

Sorry about your parsley Maudant, how annoying. And Echt, how sad about the tea tree. Hope you are enjoying your holiday though, my DD will be very jealous as she is desperate to go there.

Just catching up on GW. Carol went to the grass place down the road, which I still haven't been to for ages.

NDN here had a eucalyptus tree cut down a few months ago, due to bottom of garden neighbours complaining about the shade! I quite liked it as it screened the modern houses but it may be why my lawn was always dead on that side of the garden, I understand they are quite thirsty!

I've acquired quite a few bulbs to plant now, Tulips from Aldi - although I'm also going to order some expensive ones. Daffs, snowdrops, and Alliums-purple sensation.

sugar your friend's house sounds delightful! I haven't a clue about any of the pictures apart from 2 as I was asking the same question here last year!

rhubarb your right about the rose of course, I just identified by what the flower looked like not habit so I guess it's a climber not a rambler. I would have picked a pink or white rose for your house to compliment the green door. I never worry about clashing colours.

maudant I did a bit of research on Camelias as I had non flowering ones - if they get too dry in the summer they don't flower - I've watered mine every day, one has buds the other has flowered.

Not strictly gardening news but I came home from work to find Dh has painted the ugly garage, what a difference!

It never fails to amaze me what a coat of paint can do Geoff. Glad it's looking better.

I've got a few more pictures I'm stuck on. Thank you so much for the rest, that's only the vine that's still a mystery. I'm really impressed with myrtle, can't get over the scent.

Number 7

Number 8