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 planted a few seeds on the kitchen window will two weeks ago and there's no sign of action (melon, tomato, peppers). I thought by now I'd see something... Maybe it's too cold ?

If you haven't got a propagater stick a plastic bag over them didireallysaythat my peppers are up -they are slow to germinate.

Yes good advice Geoff or you could take off the bottom of a plastic bottle, to put over them, that works well outside as well to guard against slug,snail type things eating you new plants.

The clematis pruning advice is good but too late for me: I had this nice idea of growing 3 types of clem (for each season) up a cart wheel that's stuck in the ground (wheel side up). Also with wisteria and now it's impossible to sort out which one is which to prune, not helped by the clem that is trying to take over the garden Also 2 of the clematii are too delicate and have SOTMC

evening all
squeeky not sue i'm ahead as much as just plain inpatient. I love spring so much I just cant wait to get gowing with the garden ..but not always with good results!

my ferns have arrived ...obviously nothing to actually see of them yet. WIll possibly need to wait a bit though to plant our as back garden is still just soooo soggy...
also got some stipia gigantea for front garden whoch will hopefully go in at wk/end.
No sign of my snow drops yet though...hopefully they will arrive any day...

Advice received and acted on. The plant tray is now in a bread bag on a windowsill above a radiator. I was going to set a few seeds off in the green house but I'd like to see something germinator in the warmer indoors first.

hyper where did you get your ferns from ? I'm thinking about ferns but having read a little it seems like they are a little sensitive on planting so I was going to wait until it's warmer plus I'd dug out of the more periwinkle and ivy which is the bane of my life...

Anyone here near Chichester and fond of peonies? I've just seen on a Twitter that there is a Peony Society shindig on Sunday.

My local library offers an online magazine service though which users can download a selection of magazines as they are published.

It's actually really good ( the selection is limited but not bad, and does include Hello, so no-one need know I read it).

Anyway one of the magazines in Martha Stewart Living which I read because it's constant earnest search for domestic perfection is hilarious. It does sometimes have some good articles though and this month'so mentioned a plant I have never seen or heard of - False Solomons Seal. This 5' variety looks wonderful and the article I found it in is interesting because of what it says about plants in UK:

lindacochran.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/maianthemum-oleraceum.html

Oh not to model it's advice then Bearleigh? I always eat with the best silver candelabras on the dining table even when dh is away !!!! [grin

Heh! When I was at university I stayed with a family in America. J, wife and mother was a lovely woman and constantly making stuff, that I suspect may have been out of MS Living, or similar - plaques to put up in your kitchen, or bathroom, macramé mats, and so on. She took me to craft shops where the stock was fantastic. The house was immaculate and each of her sons' rooms had a theme - Jay's had duck decoys, Brad's had boats, that sort of thing. The kids hated it IIRC, but then they were early teenagers.

That sounds annoying ! There's something so smug about MS I was pleased that her pride got punctured (I'm not usually mean) !!

Smug is absolutely it. The funniest bit of MS living is MS (ie the superwoman)'s personal monthly diary - so "Saturday 5 March - fly to St Barts. Wednesday 9 March - have curtains steam cleaned" and so on. Worth flicking through at the newsagents.

I've just been cleaning out one of my summerhouses (!!!!) to transform it from cobwebby former artist's studio to Reading House. Windows are now pristine so you can see every weed from them
When we moved in the garden was overgrown so it was very private - it's a bit exposed now but hopefully it will soon grow up again. If not I could plant some evergreen shrubs in strategic places.

I've just been cleaning out one of my summerhouses ...

The images that conjures up are all so beautiful!

::completes the picture with images of straw hats, floaty dresses, trug baskets and perfectly-sharp secateurs::

Ha ha! In reality it was all empty fly cases, cobwebs and dead wasps

Ooh it's almost March!
It's time I got myself out and about pottering with you lot. I've missed you all!
Hopefully the weather will improve soon...

Hello Castlough how are you and baby?

I went to an ngs open garden with lots of hellebores.
All the beds were immaculately mulched with rotted manure and compost. It was lovely as there were loads of hellebores in the flower beds and the local church bells were ringing-very pleasant, with apple and parsnip soup to consume as well!

Anyway I bought a deep red Hellebore 'Anna Pavord' and hovered for ages over a beautiful pale ivory anemone one but resisted as it cost £12.

On the way home just to be contrary I decided the best way to plant my hellebores would be to put all the pale ones together with snowdrops under the tree in a 'spring bed' .

This left no room in the plan for Anna Pavord who apparently likes sun. Typical.

Why is everyone talking about M and S magazine? Am I missing much?

Sorry Funny It was about Martha Stewart's magazine .

I like the idea of a spring bed.

At last my little traditional crocuses are flowering tentatively in the garden, among the grass to the left of the gates. I will post a pic when everything's out in it.

Well it's March folks Pinch punch and all that!! !!

Ooh yes, pinch punch and Cymru am byth!

How are you and your gorgeous squishy baby, Castle?

Too much of my garden is a spring bed. It's its best season and fades as the year goes on. I am trying gradually to rectify that.

This afternoon I'm planning to move an apple tree (a minaret, and therefore not the Herculean task that it sounds!)

morning all
didi ferns were from Crocus. I was really ordering some stipa for the front garden but I got distarcted browsing ferns for the back (shadier and soggier) and some accidentally fell into my basket!
They are in the greenhouse at the moment and I agree it is probably a bit early to plant them out just yet...

I have managed to plant out my grasses today in the bottom border of the front garden.I need a bit of height towards the back so hoping these will do the job. The crocuses coming through there are looking v pretty too.

My in the green snowdrops haven't arrived yet which is disappointing as I thought I might get them in today....

I think I may need another trip to the local nursery tomorrow!.....

would quite like a [snowdrop] and [crocus] too LOL!

My lovely neighbour has just given me some waterlilies and a marsh marigold. I am going to transform my tin bath dipping tank (which doesn't work very well as a dipping tank) into a pond.

Oh Maud what a lovely idea! I would looooove water lilies but it never occurred to me that they could be planted anywhere other than in a pond.... Ooh!

Thanks for the welcome back...dd is 7 weeks old today. I will post some pics on the FB page...

I'm far from sure it will work, Castle - my neighbour says they like to be in a metre of water and the only lily ponds I have ever examined closely (Giverny) do look very deep. But nothing ventured, nothing gained and I'll be giving it a go as soon as I've scrubbed out the tin bath.

I just moved the apple tree - I was surprised at the size of the root on such a small tree and it took a lot of huffing and puffing - but have had to come indoors as now we have lightning and squally rain.

Good to 'see' you again Castle, and congratulations on dd. I'm impressed you're even thinking about gardens at this stage!

I must look out for NGS gardens - I tend to forget about them at this time of year.

I got thoroughly dirty in the garden today - organising my bags of leaf mould and then getting the ripe compost out of the older bin, and heaving the contents of the current bin into that one. What I learned: Spanish bluebells do not rot: they grow horrid pale shoots, which happily makes them easy to identify.

I also sorted through my seeds, throwing away things that have never worked for me - Tithonia, for example - it has never been anything but scraggy over 3 years.