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 !

The sun came out as we came out of school with DS who is happy and not upset, which is all I really care about to be honest. I felt bad about how poorly prepared he was as he had only done one timed paper and a quick look through some techniques for the other three. We are in the fortunate situation of being out of catchment for the Grammar which is in a different LEA and our catchment school having a new Head and going all out to stop the Grammar taking all the higher ability pupils. A fair few who would have taken the 11 plus in the past weren't there today. And if DS does happen to have passed we'd have to go and look as we haven't looked round yet the decide. My friend's nephew came out of the other Grammar ' s test last week and sobbed uncontrollably for 2 hours last week and I just didn't want that scenario for DS so all well here now

Sounds like you have an awful lot to contend with Bearleigh. I hope Mr Bearleigh improves very soon and you do get a bit of a chance to relax and recharge your batteries very soon.

I will definitely take advantage of the DIY sheds in future. The cordyline made us laugh though. It was basically a pot of soil for 10p !

Nigel reminds me of Shep and Petra too. He is lovely and never seems to get in the way unlike my dog who occasionally actively hinders my gardening.

That sounds like a good outcome, Sugarplumtree. He's given it a go so he won't think 'what if?', but without the stress and months of cramming. If he passes, he passes, but if not he hasn't overinvested in it.

Exactly - fingers crossed for SugarPlumTwig.

That's what I figure, thanks and if he hadn't gone today I wouldn't have any asters in my front garden so result !

I've found in times of stress I always turn to the garden, really therapeutic.

Glad he came out happy SugarPlum.

I am rather concerned about Nigel. I like Nigel. He is so much better behaved than BerthaDog who just digs holes and steals plant pots.

Still not up to doing anything in the garden but I did manage to bundle up the dead conservatory plants and force ask DH nicely to take them outside. They are now on the patio and I will probably have to look at them for the next two weeks before DH gets round to getting them into the compost for me. I hate being unable to do anything . I am cross and grumpy.

Fluffs out a warm rug and tucks in Maud, Bertha and funny - ah that's better >

Oh Bring and buy plant sales are wonderful Maud They don't have proper ones here.

Ref. woodburners I lit ours when DD2 was here 2 weeks ago and the bleedin' room nearly filled with smoke (i think something is blocking the chimney ) lucky that dh was away working. I had filled it with dry rolled up newspapers candle wax, lighters etc. which i normally do and it usually works well; though dh doesn't approve. We need a sweep to have a look down . It's not easy because of course the actual chimney is lined now.

You lot need energy givers!! I take the fr. equivalent of kelp which is good, and echinacea, plus massage your outer leg at the knee point (that's the chi point which gives you life force!!! it works!!).

I love golden retrievers (I think Nigel is one) they're the sweetest natured and most intelligent dogs I 've ever looked after .

Sorry to hear you're still out of action Bertha. Could you get DH to bring in some compost, pots, seeds etc, sit at the table then plant stuff for next year to germinate in conservatory ?

We lit our wood burner yesterday, the dog was in heaven. It felt cold here this morning and was under 17 degrees in the house so temperature dropping but a lovely crisp day.

In the magazine I was reading there's a lady who grows dahlias in Hampshire who leaves them in the ground all year. Once foliage blackened by frost she cuts it back then makes what she calls a duvet from a layer of dry chopped leaves then compost.

In the spring she peeps duvet back, puts down fertiliser and slug pellets (optional I guess) then puts duvet back over. I might give that a go as have a load of dry leaves on lawn and compost in the bins plus can't be bothered to dig them up.

Sugar I'm going to leave my one successful dahlia in the ground (when I plant it!).

Out of interest do you plan your planting using colour or not? I ask because I'm clearing my front rockery and am receiving mixed messages from various media about colours.

Ppeat! I vaguely plan colours. Did this year with the border I look put on from kitchen. Veg patch anything goes as is s mix of flowers and veg. Next year I have plans for a little tropical style bit which will be stronger colours.

However there is a large element of using plants I find cheaply so bits where things are just talked in together. I have little bits of garden all round the house so you don't see what colour is round the corner.

If totally objective the borders where I have thought about it a bit do look better and are lasting longer with colour.

I don't know if you read about Geoff Hamilton and his gardens, in his cottage garden he just puts things in when he gets them and they look lovely ( I sort of aim at a cottagey feel to mine ).

I'm over thinking it I know but I've got flowers in pots that need planting soon and I'm not hurrying ATM.

that was lovely!hands round [beverage]

What goes with what is worth thinking about: flower and foliage. Colour and structure. I like variety.

Thanks for the and funny they were nice Dh has just cooked a lovely roast lunch and they followed it well!

Well I've done it! Just the rest of the lavender edging to go; it's a bit annoying because there's a large slab of flattened stone that I hadn't noticed before, it was covered by the sage bush , so there'll be a gap in me lavender edging that I'll put some alyssum in. Oh and I've majored on pinks and mauves. Echincacea, Alstromeria, penstemon, are pink and michaelmas daisies with the lavender. All thanks to you lot I'll call it the MN gardeners area!

Well done, ppeatfruit! I am quite anal keen on colour-theming in the garden, although there are a few places where the colour scheme goes awry because things have not been the promised colour or I have squeezed in one of my plant sale bargains.

Thanks maud We'll have to wait for next summer to get the full effect but I HOPE it'll look lovely

hrmph just typed something really long. it translates into: we have figs.

Well done on the figs, mausmaus. I have figs the size of walnuts, so I assume I won't be making figgy rolls any time soon.

We had a lovely time at an apple fair this afternoon and, until it got too dark, I have been continuing to cut back all the climbers on one fence that have shot past the fence and invaded the shrubs in front. I have filled two garden waste bags with the results but (sadly) have cut the flowers off the clematis cirrhosa in the process. I hope the radical prune will encourage it to produce more flowers at eye level rather than in the stratosphere next year.

Now I just need to dress my wounds from the rose thorns ...

Garden looking lovely today in the autumn sun.
A big patch of tall, large, white daisy type flowers has appeared. Don't know what they are though.

I want to pick some Chinese lanterns to put in my empty fireplaces - does anyone know if I can do it now they're ripe, or do I have to wait for the stems to die and dry out as well?

The general advice for drying flowers is to pick them while they're still fresh, tie them in a bunch and then dry them upside down. Have you got a shed/outbuilding/utility room in which you could dry them? I have always thought that one of the best things about a Victorian-style airer would be hanging herbs and flowers on it to dry.

well, we had the figs for pud tonight, just cut in half topped with butter and a sprinkle of seasalt.
amazingly even dh and dc liked it.

have done some pruning and tidying up today, invluding cutting back the mouldy hydraenga. I hope it forgives me, it looks a bit sad now.

however the russian wine makes up for it with the most glorious red foliage.