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 !

yes my japanese anemone looks fabulous. even though it had been ruffeled by the wind the last couple of days. it just keeps flowering.

I transplanted my Japanese anemones several years ago and it has taken them a long time to recover, but they are looking good now.

My Japanese anemones aren't flowering yet. Whereas a friend of mine bought hers in flower and they are looking brilliant.
Monty does a lot of ripping out of stuff. It is in his books too so I don't just think it is to provide action for tv. It could be a man thing, though I think its also true that all gardeners get that hacking-back, ripping-out, digging-up urge. Incidentally I like the brown outfit and new braces (did anyone else notice last week?)

I know its been raining, but its also rather mild: great gardening weather. As usual I am running late and am going to carry on planting this weekend. I'm fighting a terrible urge to go to Wisley and buy the plant stock in their shop

Castleough how is your bank? Did you plant any roses along it in the end? Or any gentians?

Anyway I have to garden this weekend because the front garden is looking sadly underplanted and is in need of

bulbs: snowdrops crocuses chinodoxia fritillaries tulips
early spring:wallflowers primroses
late spring: roses generous gardener or gertrude jekyll both are in pots waiting, grasses, lavender, purple sage, hyssop, tarragon, valerian

may june: buddlea, grasses, gladioli byzantium, allium ceerencephalon, pennesetum, thalictrum album

august sept: grasses, japanese anemones autumn crocus

winter: dogwood and grasses

Do you think I;ll get it all in?

dogwood is in there already.

It is a wonderful day outside with clear blue autumnal sky. I have been raking leaves, and the lawn looks like a Japanese garden, with swirls in the grass, and 6 neat little piles of leaves, a pile in the centre of each swirl.

My plan for the front is too cottagy. I will think again.

We can't see the tower from the kitchen window so that tells me there is a thick mist\fog . I like the sound of your artful piles of leaves funny.

Squeaky ref. elderberries. I wouldn't use them if the road is very busy. But they're dead easy, just pick the ripe ones (not rotten though) it doesn't matter if a few are greenish that helps to set the jam or syrup you make. I make a sort of cold\sore throat treatment syrup with fructose.

I like your plan funny

I've been raking leaves too although we have a Hoover thing I actually think its easier to just rake and sweep.

I'm just back from Christmas world the garden centre with 2 kinds of sweet pea seeds - purple and red. I was given plants this year and they have flowered their socks off, I must have more next year!

I've decided to get rid of the pheasant berry at the front of the house and replace with rosa felicia, rosa de rescht, and rosa tuscany - highly scented and will hopefully waft along the path to the front door. I'm also about to buy 3 Acanthus mollis for the shady border where there are already ferns and digitalis and unidentified shrubs lastly a mme Alfred Carriere because you all tell me it is wonderful although I'm not sure where to put it!

Yes Geoff What's wrong with a broom? I often think that in the house too instead of hoovering. But we do have tiled floors downstairs.

They start Christmas early those Garden Centres. Then french are much less keen to start so early we've got the pumpkin festivals, Halloween and Remembrance first .

Oh yes I've put acanthus and ferns and digitalis in the shade. With cyclamen and up the wall behind is clematis avalanche, broughton star and rose new dawn.
I'm thinking to plant more foxgloves though.In theory the digitalis should self seed. I practice I cut the seed heads off -and loose them

They didn't self seed in our garden they were that pretty pale yellow and I miss them Maybe they're from a new variety 'grafted' or something. I'm going to put Acanthus in my dappled shade bed that needs something with presence and to take attention from the weeds .

Sorry I was talking about the digitalis of course.

My digitalis self seeded in a paving crack then got nurtured in pots, and are now sizeable plants. I haven't got cyclamen and almost bought large bulbs but figured it is probably too late.

I must confess to secretly liking the whole Christmas thing, Halloween was also prominent with a mahoosive inflatable cat. If it hadn't been £70 I might have bought it for comedy value

I LOVE Christmas but not before mid November!!!!

Lucky you I'll have to watch out for self seeded digi. in weird places then!

Lovely afternoon after very wet morning. I've been planting daffodil bulbs. So far held off on the tulips.

Went to see friend's garden progress. She is doing brilliantly and even more of the structure is appearing as well as a decent size space round one size. She made the decision to remove a very large shrub at end of patio which opens up view of garden from the French doors .

We were speculating as to whether the cherry tree is ornamental or edible. Are the ornamental ones generally denser and flatter growing than the edible varieties or is there no difference ?

Yes the ornamental ones are often smaller than the edible ones too. You can tell by the blossom in spring best though .

I've got a large maroon leafed tree that has 'cherries' though not edible (the birds like them) with lovely pink blossom though so there are many different types!

Roll on Spring then ! Given that there are other fruit trees I think there's a fair chance .

Think I have found some forget me not seedlings and am planning to put around the tulips when I plant them having seen that Sarah Raven puts them together.

I've got two cherry trees which I thought were ornamental. Then this year one of them produced lots of lovely tasty cherries.

Ppeat it could be your cherry is a Prunus Pissardii, which is a plum, and the fruits are edible (though best cooked). Rhubarb how delightful to get cherries like that.

I have come across this very interesting article by Monty about flowering cherries:

www.dailymail.co.uk/home/gardening/article-1257231/MONTY-DON-Spring-blooms-just-starter-seasons-main-course--riot-flowering-cherry-trees.html

Although recently back from the land of the cherry blossom enthusiasts, I haven't hacked through my photos to have anything to show.

A check in the garden on returning shows broad beans, chard and rocket going mad. The lemon tree, grown against the garage wall has responded to TLC and has put out masses of leaves: apparently fewer leaves = no lemons, so we'll see. I'm glad it's perking up, as I was on a website that recommended taking a chainsaw to sulky citrus. The bi-grafted satsuma from the sad plants unit is covered in blossom, and the grevillea superb has bloomed, having only been planted about 8 weeks ago.

The advanced banksia integrifolia we planted for screening has taken well, so we're now contemplating two more advanced trees to give us privacy and cool the house now our NDN's tea-trees have gone. We'll go for the banksia previously mentioned, and banksia serrata. We've already got one further down the side of the house, but we can't see it much, it's truly a gift for the birdies, and has grown five flower cones. Both kinds of banksia can grow big, but respond very well to smaller spaces, and take a chop like a good 'un.

Yes interesting Bear I've just looked it up and it's prunus cerasifera 'Nigra' because the 'Pissardii' has white blossoms. Maybe I should try the fruits! . Who do I sue if I get ill????!!!!!

Cherry trees are so lovely.
I have been looking up fan training and so forth after watching Carol's cordon trained trees being planted on Gardeners World.
It has solved a question I have been thinking about with respect to the fruit trees in my own little garden which are not trained against any wall but still need a structure.
So, decisions made:
The lidl plum stick will be trained into a double u
The apple stepover will continue as a stepover for the time being
The other apple will be trained into a fan.
The cherry Amanogawa will be its own shape (vertical) for the moment.

Veronica and some bulbs got planted yesterday before it poured.

Or do you think I should train all the fruit trees into a u shape for consistency

That's good ppeat. As I mentioned on the previous thread I bought some cherry plums once from a NT garden and made the best jam ever from them. It looks as though they are too sour to eat raw, but are great for cooking.

I attach a photo of the three beautiful, perfect and enormous quinces I got off my tree. There was a fourth that has started rotting, so isn't as photogenic. They also smell fabulous and need to keep ripening off the tree for about 4 weeks, so the kitchen will smell gorgeous for a while yet. Then I'll make the second best jam from them.