When the hounds of spring are on winter's traces…...

[echt]

I realise it's later in the UK, but couldn't wait to start a new thread. If another title had been agreed, just tell me and I'll have this removed.

Other than that, seek out those deckchairs from the shed, check them for spiders and get nattering about the spring's promise.

I've just spent a jolly hour pruning roses and tidying up things like dead crocosmia stems that weren't attractive or structural or good for the birds. I noticed lots of new growth on some of the clematis but have left them unpruned for the time being, just in case it does snow later in the week. I also managed not to prune the iPod cable this time.

The winter box is now in flower and smelling lovely (unlike the fox poo hidden in the long grass, on which I inadvertently trod. Yuk).

Welcome to all new posters! We are very interested in detail here so please do describe your gardens.

I am going to sow cosmos, sweet peas and try hollyhocks again in the spring. I will also look into phlomis. Phlomis will be my passport to 'real' gardening as I had never heard of it before.

I think I'll carry on plugging seasonal and ground gaps this year. Next year I might move things so as to get a 'design' . Apart from a white border and a woodland border and a coloured border and tall things at the back I have no real design, but looking round Chelsea and Hampton Court and watching the telly has made me rethink.

I'll not prune the clematis in case of snow then

I'm shattered during the week. Get back too late to even watch a gardening programme.

Phlomis is fab, funnyperson. I have had some since the very beginnings of the garden here, because it (or was, when my mother was doing it) a flower arranger's plant and so she had loads of that and similar things to donate when I was first planting the garden. I left it alone when I was doing the pruning just now, as even the empty seedheads look good.

I wasn't very consistent about not pruning things in case of frost, as you can see. The roses will have to take their chances (and I did pull some obviously dead bits off the clematis).

I think I may have said this before but I heartily recommend my mum's wisteria man. I think everyone with wisteria should have a wisteria man. I don't have wisteria as DH is resistant to things climbing up the house. I have a secret plan to grow a freestanding one which never actually comes to anything.

I had to google phlomis and then realised I have some seed from one somewhere that I collected when passing a patch once as it's a great architectural plant when gone over. Then I realised it's yellow and yellow is not allowed in the long bed and I have yet to develop the yellow/orange/red bed that DH has no idea that I am wanting elsewhere in the garden.

Blowing hard here tonight. Tonight I am glad I do not have a greenhouse.

Yellow is not really allowed in the bed where I have my phlomis, but somehow I have managed to overlook it. I'm thinking of giving up the colour scheming.

::radical::

we are in 2 minds (dh and I) about the wisteria.
I want to cut it back so it flowers but dh want's it to cover the fence as otherwise we overlook neighbours kitchen quite a bit.
--it's neighbour's plant but we take full advantage of it.

wisteria basic: you need to take/buy a plant from cuttings from one that is already flowering or it might take years before you get flowers.

Blowing hard here too. As I don't have my own greenhouse to worry about I'm worrying about my client's greenhouse, which is currently sheltering the plants for the showstopper border. It already had a couple of panes missing.

We were out at 9pm tonight trying to save the side fence which is wobbling horribly in the gale. It's now tied up to two temporary stakes which the neighbour helped us bash in. Fingers crossed it survives the night.

Hello new people.

Gah! It's blowing hard here too. In the recent bad weather I've been worrying about the plastic greenhouses and forgetting about the fence, which must be more vulnerable with a panel missing. As long as it collapses on next door's garden and not mine, it might not even be such a bad thing if it collapses, as it might force the issue of when to get it replaced.

I hope everyone's gardens are intact this morning.it was quite windy here but we have effectively a shelter belt from high hedging and trees as we are on a hill and a different level to our neighbour do need high boundaries to prevent overlooking.

Calendula easy from seed amd once you have them they tend to self seed so all you need to do in future years is transplant seedlings. Same for Nigella. I am lazy and can't be bothered with trays some of the time so have sown things like sweet peas direct. Sometimes I cut a plastic bottle in half and put it on top to act as mini cloche and I. Attempt to limit slug damage.

I'm going to inspect my winter box today. Sympathy on fox poo Maudant, my dog loves to roll in it, horrible hound.

We seem to have escaped okay, although a big old horse chestnut down the road has come down. I was glad I'd spent the time cutting back the shrubs and sticking a few extra nails in the fence! Our garden is quite windy (exposed at the back) and one of the buddleias has a tendency to rock in its position and dig a big hole around the roots..

Will try to post garden detail over the weekend if you're really interested!

Hi bram and hyper and everyone else too.

Love the poem, definitely wish I had more time to read poetry but too addicted to thrillers

I tend to fit in gardening every now and then when I don't feel guilty about everything I need to do in the house architrave still not finished or the call of the sunshine is too great. The garden is not even close to being child friendly yet so need to keep an eye on DD which makes it difficult especially as she is nearly walking.

Have just realised that the planting of tulips and increased squirrel activity is not a good thing but ever hopeful

Went to castle Howard on Sunday and nearly lost the pram a couple of times due to strong winds and the walled garden was shut. They did have a sale on seeds so bought some then came home to organise all my seeds to find I have three packs of pea seeds, three beans, two sweet corn, and loads of sunflowers but no cosmos or chard. Must make an effort to be more organised in future.

DH is starting to talk about getting the garage base laid soon, so fingers crossed for good weather!

Oh I love Castle Howard, Squeaky. Lovely roses. Not this time of year though, obvs! Think I can feel a Yorkshire trip coming on this summer. I'd like to revisit Harlow Carr and Lotherton Hall.

Our fence survived the night but it is going to need to be replaced. Damn.

Sadly, I went to Castle Howard before I got the gardening bug. For me, it will always be Brideshead.

Our garden survived, few branches down, one of which may have surprised the chickens, but all ok otherwise. House is leaking again mind, so that was £6000 well spent last year filling in all the cracks

Talking of Castles, she's not been on this thread yet, do we think there is maybe a baby Castlet?

I've always wanted to be on a gardening thread but never quite got round to it.
My garden is in London and only 60ft - east facing and very muddy at this time of year especially at the bottom of the strange crooked slope that makes our lawn. It desperately needs levelling in some form but I am strangely attached to the bumps and craters in the lawn and feel guilty at thought of digging up all the grass and starting again. There is a bomb shelter under our lawn which does not improve matters. But it looks nice from the kitchen window.

In the meantime I also "need" a good quality greenhouse as I have two enormous rose scented geraniums which struggled through last year indoors in a dim utility room but what with all the other geraniums and pot plants surely it would be worth getting one???[I know it is not actually cost effective as it is so cheap to buy new bedding but I just long for one to potter in??? And to protect my poor plants from slugs and snails. Is that spoilt? I want one that won't blow away though as the alley is a windtunnel and the cheapy one we had 10 years ago just lifted off and fell over smashing all the pots inside..

I haven't planted any tulips this year what with one thing and another. What I want to do is tidy up the front and put more smart evergreens in it and sort out the dustbins/recycling boxes which are an ever present eyesore. And make it look a bit "elegant" and less raggedy. When I walk up the road I often admire other people's gardens so I suppose it is as much to give the passer-by's pleasure as myself. There are so many concrete driveways replacing gardens round here - it is very depressing. A neighbour has a garden with a red barked maple surrounded by box balls pale pin Japanese anenomes and that grassy plant with lilac blue bells in winter (cannot remember name) It always cheers me up. Another neighbour has a garden with giant bamboos and phormiums and skimmias. Quite a few gardens with olive trees and giant pittosporums too.

I was wondering how Castle was too, as she is on the other thread I'm on. Hope all is well and she is surviving the worldwind of a new baby? xxx

My mum is in harrogate so I love Harlow Carr including spending a fortune at the Betty's cafe there. Mum and I both worked at the one in the centre so it brings back memories. I visited lotherton years ago but mainly remember it as the place I crashed the car at, as it is on a steep curve

A yorkshire trip could be an excuse to break out the charabanc (sp) from an earlier thread!

Still eagerly awaiting baby castle, feeling very broody at present!

Hello, it is very windy here in south wales. The bathroom window is playing that chord again! Sorry to hear about the leaks bertha.

I am hoping to get a few plants growing around the pond this year. It has been lovely looking at it from the garden, it reflects the sky beautifully. Makes me glad DH won that argument, although he still hasn't built the fence.

I think baby Castlet is indeed here! I hope they are doing well.

A year ago I grew calendulas from seed - and they all came up different shades and flowered for about 6 months right through winter even..amazing. A lobelia seeded itself into my paving too (the sunniest south facing spot in the garden) that was very odd.
I grew potatoes in big potato sacks and I'm afraid it was a waste of time the second year - so much work for so little reward - just three meals worth of the most delicious potatoes - worth doing one year but not the second.
Raspberries were great though as they didn't seem to require any work whatsoever and just grew in the shade too!

DH and I both, several jobs ago, used to go to York and Harrogate for work. It was a rule that we had to bring back a box of fat rascals and other treats from Betty's.

I'm itching for news of BabyCastle, too.

worldwind sorry I mean whirlwind of a new baby - it looked right at the time must have been a Freudian slip of sorts

Mmmm, fat rascals...

I have seen a photo of little Castlet and she is gorgeous. I do hope Castle comes back to the thread once she's settled in to life with a small one.

Anyone see the Carol Klein conifers episode of Garden Revival? I thought she was very persuasive. The duck island was wonderful. I have a soft spot for unusual conifers; I think they have really suffered from being unfashionable for such a long time. Space is the problem, I suppose. But there is nowhere more lovely for a winter walk than a pinetum. The one at Wakehurst Place is glorious; I may have to take a trip over there before January is out while it's still free to park for 90 mins.

Oh and I was just chatting to someone who knows someone at Allwoods, the carnation people featured in the carnation episode. Apparently their website crashed with the volume of enquiries and orders the day after it was screened. So that's excellent news for British growers, if all the companies featured are experiencing the same surge in interest. Well done GBGR.

Following on from Rhubarb's baby photo comment I have been sleuth like and now also have seen baby Castlet and can confirm that she is indeed gorgeous!

I have just spent an hour weeding and cutting back and tidying the long bed and am now recovering on the sofa, there is so much poking up and loads of Nigella seedlings. I do hope the cold snap next week doesn't damage anything that has been fooled by the warmer weather.

That is wonderful wonderful news about baby Castle