Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

[SugarPlumTree]

Potting shed thread for those who enjoy talking about gardens and plants. Plenty of garden chairs and the wood burner lit now there is a chill in the air, please join us !

Thanks both!! I have really enjoyed reading the thread so far. Lots of quinces and compost!

I really need to get my compost bin built. We've got builders in who said they'd do it (there's some ground levelling to do) but they haven't.

I love my compost.

Started with a tiny chic beehive job, but it wasn't big enough and dried out too easily so we got an ugly big dalek and used the small bin for leaf mold. Have now got a second dalek so I have one with finished compost and one on the go... given the tiny size of my garden I really need to stop there!!

Welcome Light tripper. I'm always very impressed people can even think about their gardens when they have babies.

I'm also waiting for a dry spell for tulip bulbs and regretting not having just done it earlier. Benchmark always gets good reviews on here I think ? We did the whole taking out wall and blocking doors in thing witb our kitchen. The builder got us a Howden kitchen that was very cheap for a fair few units looking back. DS was 2 so over 8 years ago. It still looks ok and hasn't really dated (a friend put in similar recently) but it isn't very good quality.

Bertha, really glad you are well enough to do some gardening. I have a lovely book on the go on flower farming with lots of lovely flowers that remind me of summer. I want to try some roses for cutting so am going to move a couple that aren't doing well and get new ones in Jan in the Wyevale sale. My Aldi ones are doing ok in their pots which is encouraging. Plus I have a load of Pinks cuttings on my window sill from some fliwers I had which hopefully will root.

Welcome lighttripper I'm very impressed at your garden planning.

I have two compost bins like funny wooden slats that you can't easily get to the bottom. I was very excited to find crumbly compost spilling through the cracks onto the rhubarb. I need to find the time to dig out the top to get to it.

I fear I may have overdone the Echium Pininana, now everything is dieing back they are getting big and there are 15 of them still I'm sure I'll loose some especially if we have another very wet winter.

I'm loving all the kitchen talk, the kitchen is next on our list and involves bashing down a wall.

Yes, the kitchen talk is very exciting. Ours needs redoing but is some way down the list. We have fairly cheap and nasty units, put in by the cowboy developers who renovated our house, and not enough of them. As an interim measure, we will be getting a new oven at Christmas.

I bought a baby echium pininana at a recent apple day event, probably spurred on unconsciously by all the talk of them here. It seems to be doing well so far. I may have mentioned that my friend along the road has ripped out her main bed in the front garden in order to fill it with echiums. It's going to look fantastic.

I've just had my first potter in the garden for a long while. I didn't do much because the beds are still sodden and I can't do heavy lifting, but I mulched the box hedge with some spent compost that was going manky in a plastic trug and moved some fuchsias into the plastic greenhouse. I should probably put the echium in there, too.

You can never have too many Echium pininana Geoff! Look at Ventnor botanic garden and how splendid that is! Maud your neighbour's front garden sounds like it will be wonderful. My Echiums (that Geoff gave me - thank you!) are doing well and I've tucked them behind a low wall to protect them from cold winter winds. Maud I would definitely pop yours into your pop up greenhouse if a frost is forecast.

Welcome Light! Your garden sounds lovely. There are a lot of us on here despairing about trying to garden with babies/toddlers around so you'll find plenty of kindred spirits on that score!

Yes, I have a few more things that I want to tuck up in my (probably not very) cosy greenhouse.

I dream of having a greenhouse!! one day

Mine is only a plastic one from Robert Dyas - I bought some tender plants which I'm keen to keep and on a cost/benefit analysis I reckoned the greenhouse was cheaper than replacing the plants. I just have to hope it doesn't blow away over winter.

Rhubarb one day is going to have a beautiful greenhouse (just like Monty's or possibly even nicer) and then I'm going to go and live in it.

Hahahahaha my pipe dream greenhouse drifts further from becoming reality every day! But one day, one day, yes we can all go and live in it

Or set up a gardening commune with a mega-greenhouse? We could have a wing each

The Botanics are my inspiration rhubarb it's just as well I'm nowhere near any of the other lovely gardens or goodness knows what I'd be trying to cram in

I had a wee potter today a respite from the rain and quite warm. The only things in our green house are Dh's Cacti seedlings which are doing well. I'll leave him to pot them on though!

I've noticed one half of the garden is extremely soggy the other is ok possibly due to the willow tree.

My hellebores haven't grown at all and on close inspection covered in dead green fly. I've moved them to a less shady spot -dappled as opposed to complete shade, fingers crossed.

You've reminded me that I have some hellbores that are still in their cell tray since they arrived from Hayloft, possibly two years ago. I must plant them soon. For shame.

I am going now to take advantage of T&M's offer of six periwinkles for £1.99. ::Can't resist a bargain emoticon:: I need a white one and reckon I can easily find spaces for the rest.

It may be some way off, Rhubarb, but your greenhouse will be a thing of unutterable loveliness when it does arrive. I do hope it will be big enough to house the commune!

Ooooh hellebores. Do you chop down the big old, little brown here and there leaves at any stage ? I've inherited a fab patch of them which I've not touched in the year and three months we've been here. The display in the spring was great but I can't believe the same leaves should be there a year later. There's no sign of new growth beneath (in the way there is with geraniums if you see what I mean)..

Yes, you should chop off the tatty old hellebore leaves, to make space for the new growth. I usually do it when I can see the new leaves emerging.

The RHS website (the font of all knowledge) says that the old leaves should be removed in late winter/early spring as the flower buds emerge, as this aids pollination and helps prevents black spot disease.

I do chop off any that are obviously old and tatty: which is probably not all the old leaves as I am not that careful!!

Well, the RHS advice is probably a counsel of perfection! I noticed one plant today that I'd obviously missed altogether.

Thank you - I guess I'll leave the leaves over the winter then and remove in the spring when flowers show up. The cat will be relieved as he likes finding mice amongst the leaves - its a great 3 metre by 1 metre area of hellebores, possibly need spacing and thinning now but great en
masse.

That sounds lovely. I've got two clumps of hellebores, but not on that scale. I live in hope of them self-seeding.

Hello Can anyone identify this shrub/ tree I've inherited in my flowerbed? From memory it kept its leaves through the mild SE winter last year.

Someone told me it's a type of Acer but it doesn't have the same maple shaped leaves as my other acers.

It's in a sheltered NE facing bed. I love its shape and gorgeous pink tinged leaves. The flower stems had clusters of tiny white budded flowers in the summer (not very noticable). Only a few have become hard green berries. The rest of the flower stems have turned brown/ black with tiny 'bobbles' where the flowers were. The leaves are the main attraction

I wait to be told it's something terribly obvious! My googling has not unearthed anything

Another photo!

I can't see very clearly as I'm on my phone, but could it be nandina domestica?