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 !

Thank you so much, that's it!

I've had a little read and the lack of berries sounds like a common issue, so I don't feel too bad

More plants (m/f) or a sunnier position could help. It's not being relocated - more plants might be the solution

I love this description: 'Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina) is planted near doorways in Japan so that when you wake from a nightmare, you can step outside and tell the shrub your dream so that no harm will follow'

Oh good! That description is delightful. Will you be telling it your dreams in future?

I rarely remember my dreams upon waking!

Should I awake from a nightmare in the small hours, halfway down the pitch-black garden is the last place you'd find me

There's a Nandina Domestica on my way to work (rhubarbgarden kindly identified it for me), and it cheers me every morning, it's so pretty. It has had lots of berries which have lasted all summer and through till now.

I don't have a Nandina domestica (though I've planted them in other people's gardens). I'm now tempted to put one in so that when the dcs wake me at 3am blithering on about nightmares I can send them outside to bother the shrub with it instead of me

Now I have a vision of Rhubarb saying "talk to the shrub, cos the face ain't listening"!

Mind you, at 3am I think I'd be burning it onto a CD rather than speaking!

I think everyone should have one!

Hello Strangers, Who fell for the Sarah Raven 70% off autumn bulbs today?

I was having a sh*t day at work, practically crying at my desk when the email came in... So I splurged on:

Tulips:
60 garnet, amethyst & amber
30 all the pinks
30 perch hill collection

66 new Allium collection
I only really wanted the 30 purple sensation you get with these. I planted the 100 allium from T&M mix last year, and only the 10 purple sensation were worth it.

Although, from experience of SR sales, I've no idea what will actually turn up in the post!

We are having our patio relaid in slate the first week of December so I'm hoping this will give me a kick up the bum to get out there and start planting. DH says no pots on new patio - as if! I've promised I'll at least get pot feet.

In other news.... We are extending our house in Jan and are prob going for a benchmarx kitchen. I have a plastic greenhouse I must put up to protect my penstemon and euphorbia cuttings. I forgot to plant any daffs again and all my roses are dying of black spot - even though my neighbour's are thriving.

Hello, NANN. I don't get emails from SR so haven't succumbed to those tulips and alliums - I have dozens of my own to plant already / but they do sound gorgeous. Your slate patio will be lovely. I'm very pleased with mine, a few niggles aside. Pot feet are essential, though, and remember not to drag things across the slate as it's not as forgiving as concrete!

And I'm sorry you had a rubbish day at work.

Hello nann no I didn't splurge though I do get her emails and her newsletters! I was actually having a giggle at the cashmere poncho thingy she was selling, perfect for gardening in! secretly I want one

Sounds like you bought well and sorry about your crap day.

My lounge is almost finished and I love the grey carpet. Dh has broken the ceiling rose trying to fit a chandelier unfortunately.

Thank you both. I've wirked in the same place 12 years, but it's a bit difficult lately so I'm furiously job hunting. A gardening poncho for £150 !!! SR makes me laugh, great quality stuff but who on earth can afford it full price???

Good splurge NANN.

That's a bugger about the ceiling rose Geoff. Is it fixable?

Finally today I was able to get digging in the manure into the showstopper bed. I clearly didn't rotavate it very well and it's full of roots, so it's going to be a major job getting it all dug in. I need the weather to stay dry this weekend so I can get over there and crack on.

Those blbs sond sure t give good display nest spring NANN! It would be nice to get some gardening done this weekend.
Kitchen plans are on hold until the car has passed its MOT. The garage is threatening a humungous bill In the mean time the kitchen designers are at the drawing board.
Sarah Raven's poncho looks fab but would one seriously garden in it? At that price? It looks like a hand wash only garment too!

Funny - at that price I'd like to get married In the poncho ;-) My latest job app asked for hobbies and I put 'garden design' to make me sound more sophisticated than just 'gardening' ;-) I hope I am proofing my apps better than my posts.

Yes, sorry about the spelling mistakes on my last post. good luck with your job apps nann It has been raining all night here. Soft quiet gentle English rain, and the ground will be soaked. Good for the plants already in the ground. I'll have to put on my old oversize untrendy gortex mac and just get those bulbs in the ground! A cashmere poncho just wold not do!

would

Cashmere gardening poncho indeed. Pshaw, just another reason not to take SR seriously.

The poncho has always struck me as a decorative garment but one with no practical use, so for gardening? Really? Pah! Of course, I'm simply jealous as we have a persistent clothes moth problem here and any cashmere garment would last 10 minutes.

We had wool moths last winter. You have my sympathies - I'd never encountered them before and it was a nasty shock.

Today I will mostly be sulking because I am rained off. I intend to sulk fully and wholeheartedly until it stops.

It's a constant battle against the moths. I must renew the sticky traps. I am resigned to a future of darning jumpers.

#thrifty

Moths are evil

We had food moths in our last flat, little buggers. On the bright side we now have loads of Tupperware

Oh yes. We've had pantry moths in the past, too, but got some (different) sticky traps from a French supermarket which saw them off. But our latest problem seems to be a mouse in the kitchen. Yuk, but (as you said) three cheers for Tupperware.