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'd been thinking that about the Yorkshire nature of the thread. But as with rhubarb I find it easier to grow stuff in't South. I wish Betty's would open in London though.

Morning all! (From Leeds )

I'm still working on my plan to populate a totally bare garden. In autumn I planted bulbs, shrubs and climbers. I've got lots of seeds on the go and waiting to be sown.
I've just out in an order to crocus which I'm excited about too. I've got some dry shade to fill, hence the geraniums which aren't super interesting! I'm going for a cittage garden feel. I hope.
Here's what I've ordered.
Lobelia 'Trailing Mixed'

Jasminum officinale 'Clotted Cream' (PBR)
(jasmine (syn. Devon Cream))

Geranium sanguineum 'Album'
(Bloody Cranesbill - Multibuy)

Campanula poscharskyana
(bellflower)

Veronicastrum virginicum f. roseum 'Pink Glow'
(culver's root)

Lythrum & Campanula 'Plant Combination'
(Lythrum & Campanula Plant Combination)

Lavatera × clementii 'Rosea'
(tree mallow (syn. L. olbia 'Rosea'))

Echinops ritro 'Veitch's Blue'
(globe thistle)

Erigeron karvinskianus
(Mexican fleabane)

Lonicera × purpusii 'Winter Beauty'
(winter honeysuckle)

Geranium phaeum 'Album'
(dusky cranesbill)

Vinca collection
(periwinkle collection)

Anemone × hybrida 'Honorine Jobert'
(Japanese anemone)

Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety'
(Balkan cranesbill)

Thalictrum 'Black Stockings'
(meadow rue)

Cistus × argenteus 'Silver Pink'
(rock rose)

Calamagrostis brachytricha
(Korean feather reed grass)

Diervilla sessilifolia 'Butterfly'
(bush honeysuckle)

My Grandfather was from Yorkshire, left his first wife and children and moved down here. My mum discovered she had a whole other family when he died!

More potting shed babies how lovely :)

I've had a couple of productive days, pricked out my Pepper seedlings, sown tomatoes, cucamelons, courgettes, and cape gooseberry. I've also potted the Dahlia Bulbs which all seemed to have survived the winter. The Sarah Raven ones from last year are 3x bigger than the ones I've bought this year!

I'm planning to start planting out Perenials that I grew from seed today. Munstead wood lavender, Hollyhocks, and Delphiniums. I also need to get the 20 Hayloft Geraneum collection in the ground.

That planting list sounds lovely, RoganJosh. I've got quite. Few if them in my garden (which was also totally bare when I started) but you've reminded me that the campanulas disappeared several years ago. I must get more.

I must also rack my brains to think of a stronger claim to Yorkshire fame, it seems!

Like the sounds of your planting list RoganJosh - anemones are lovely.

I'm in Yorkshire. Now then.

Love your planting list, RoganJosh. Lots of lovely things on there. How long will it take till it looks good, do you think?

Anyone else looking forward to a lovely weekend of gardening this w/e? The forecast is looking nice where I am. I've had a mad week promoting my book and I am emotionally exhausted by watching sales rankings and desperate to just go outside and do some lovely weeding and pulling up of the nettles that are just starting off.

Welcome to the newbies and their bumps!! Can i join as an honorary Yorks person? My Auntie in law was a Doncs. woman with their family there, who we see at funerals . I like it there, but the traffic is .

Your book, Countess? Are you able to drop even the tiniest hint (by PM if you like) so we can bump sales for you?

I am very much looking forward to a weekend of gardening. I'll be buying supplies on Saturday and planting, weeding, cutting back and mulching on Sunday, all being well. I'll also be writing a very measured and reasonable note to my NDN about the fence, the next panel of which is on the point of collapse.

Thanks for asking, Maud - there's a special MN topic called The Plughole in 'other subjects' where we're allowed to plug books so I've put a thread on there.

It's a Young Adult historical adventure. However, since this is the gardening thread, I can mention that I DID do lots of research on the history of gardens and what plants were around in 1536. There's a mention of snowdrops, which were just arriving from the Continent, but since my heroine has a BIL who's a merchant who trades with Holland I decided that was ok. And there's a scene in a formal rose garden in a castle that I tried very hard to get right.

(By the way, is anyone else on here fascinated by garden history? One of the few things that was wrong with Wolf Hall was they were strolling past what were obviously much later herbaceous borders.)

I will go and look for that plug!

I am very interested in garden history, but my knowledge (such as it is) is confined to the Arts and Crafts movement onwards. I'd like to know more.

I agree that there was something not right about the Wolf Hall gardens.

This is a lovely friendly thread - thank you for the welcome, I am so pleased to have found you. I have delusions of gardening whilst the little one naps al fresco but whether that's realistic we will find out ! All tips gratefully received! No need to apologise for the geraniums Rogan Josh they are some of the mainstays of my garden - so pretty and old-fashioned and so tolerant of everything our local climate can throw at them.

Yes, it is. Lovely gardeners talking about lovely plants. (And I'm always pleased to find another fan of hardy geraniums. I was reminded recently of the Margery Fish quote about if in doubt, plant a geranium).

Ref. nettles Countess I must remember to pull them up and use the tops in soup; they're full of goodness! (with gloves of course!) I also make my nettle plant feed with them .

BTW have you read the book The Morville Hours ? I recommend it for lovers of gardening history.

Maud I tried growing Johnson's blue geranium (I''m a lover of blue in every aspect of my life!) to no avail which is odd because herb robert LOVES this garden too much

Agree lovely list rogan we cross posted as I am slow to type

On the subject of Geraneums, I've just been bunging mine in gaps and under Roses a but quite a few are in a sunny border, would they be better in the shade, does anyone know?

Off to investigate the plug hole !

I REALLY want some Johnson's Blue. My back garden is utterly overgrown with dull pink geraniums, to the point of being very boring, and I'd like some more variety, and also I'd like some blue ones for the front garden because I've got a blue and white theme going on there in an attempt at sophistication

Nettle plant feed, YES! Someone suggested that last autumn and I'd completely forgotten it!

Not allowed by dh to make him nettle soup because I made some once that was vile. Apparently different varieties of nettles taste different! (I did a lovely nettle quiche once from a Roman recipe so I know they CAN be nice.)

Lovely plant list Rogan.

I can't believe how many Yorkshire folk are on this thread! I always thought it was very SEcentric, so it just shows.

Your book sounds great, Countess, how exciting! I was tutting at Wolf Hall too. Historic dramas so rarely get the gardens right, even when they go to great pains with costume and other details. It's quite funny really. I can understand why though; there are very few authentic gardens from those sort of eras, and it would be very difficult to create one in the timescale of filming. The plastic Wisteria on Indian Summers is another one currently making my eyes itch.

I do love garden history. I have done a couple of short courses and really enjoyed them. Some years ago I wanted to do the very well regarded Garden History Masters at Birkbeck, but could not justify the time or expense for something purely indulgent. Isn't it funny how when you are young and single you can do all sorts of indulgent stuff, despite generally earning less, then once embroiled in family life it becomes impossible to justify. I learnt to fly when I was twenty five just for the hell of it. It cost pretty much every penny I earned but that didn't matter because no one cared; it was my decision.

I love it too Rhubarb Though imagine how difficult it would be to try to create an "authentic" historic garden for tv or film . The designer would have to justify every plant, when they were discovered etc. the Romans brought a lot of plants that we consider 'english' now.

Blimey you can fly . Do you remember the 'Gardens from the Air' (sorry I may've got the title wrong!) TV programme? Combining 2 of your loves!

Countess I just added washed nettle tops to vegetable soup for lunch ; it was lovely but dh had steak and tomatoes!

Thanks everyone who commented on my plant list. Seeds coming on/about to be planted are

Sweet peas
Asters
Cosmos
Nigella
Aquilegia
Verbena
Hollyhocks
Lupins
Stocks
Astrantia
Poppies
Ammi magus

I've got a clump of lillies coming up and about 20% of my other 250 bulbs . No idea what happened there.

So, to answer Countess I'm hoping it will look a lot better this year and that the annuals will cover some spots while the perennials get going.

I'll post before and after pics if it looks half decent.

Roganjosh may I offer you some advice about hollyhocks, if that's ok? Mine have self seeded in the sunniest, least rich parts of the garden (including the verge outside where they are happiest) .

I didn't plant them , they were here 10 year ago, so of course there could be better varieties now.

Your book sounds great Countess! Garden history is fascinating. Our local park is what remains of the Backhouse and Sons nursery and I'm lucky enough to work at an archive with lots of interesting horticultural records. May have a little dig around once I go back to work

How do the nettles taste? I've had nettle tea before (but not fresh). My eventual aim is to have most of the back garden as edible/medicinal plants but not sure how realistic that is!

Thanks, Chouette!

I love the idea of an edible/medicinal garden. It gives you quite a lot to play with, anyway.

My idea is that rather than doing a whole garden historically, it would be fun to have individual beds for different periods.

I'm going to look out for The Morville Hours - it sounds fascinating.

CountessIt's by katherine Swift and that's exactly what she does at Morville (has different beds). I'd love to go and visit it.

Chouette Snap !! I'm nearly there actually, I'm really into herbals and collect essential oils, I do try to grow my own (but am spoilt because our nearest town has a herbalist who dries and makes them up for you if you want). Nettles taste a bit like the green of swiss chard, they're nice BUT you have to pick them as soon as they've grown, now!!

One thing I'd really like to grow is dye plants like woad and try to dye some wool, since I do spinning a bit.

we have no idea what flavour this bump is and feel free to suggest names :smile:

ive managed to get the tomato seed sown in the propagator today and spent 10 minutes clearing the cold frame of old pots and bits I had stacked and dumped in there. The weather looks good this weekend so we are planning on heading to the allotment to get some jobs done. This year we have given the children their own 'plot' 3m x2m each in which they can grow/do what they want.......DD9 is growing flowers apparently, she has been trawling the seed catalogues and making lists and is desperate for lots of sweetpeas. DS5 however wants to grow a dinosaur jungle -all ideas for this one welcome!!

Don't forget GW is back tonight