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 some aliums in the autumn. Sadly I have found more than one uprooted by squirrels/rats and nibbled on the lawn .

They're from the onion family aren't they Bramshott? Your squirrels have good taste!

Hope sick child recovering Rhubarb.

First of the crocuses I planted last year in front lawn are out

He's much better today thanks. Just a tummy bug. Back to nursery tomorrow, hurrah.

Please everyone keep your fingers crossed that the rain forecast for tomorrow morning is only drizzle not proper rain - I may finally, finally, be able to work on the showstopper bed.

I tottered tentatively into the garden today. it was surprisingly mild.

So I tidied up a bed and half another. The garden is always threatening to revert back to an oak and bramble wood, there is always debris on the lawn and in the beds. The hoe came in useful.

I trained one of the fruit trees to an espalier and the other to a fan shape with twine and hazel sticks and pruned them as taught to me by the orchard place in Kent. Lets hope there's blossom on them this spring, which will mean fruit in the autumn. There are a couple of branches coming out of the base of the apple tree, could be suitable for the stepover: I will try training them at the weekend. It will need a combination of posts and wire. I'm not entirely sure if it will be time well spent as squirrels will almost certainely eat step over apples.

Various bulbs are poking through but only snowdrops and hellebores are flowering here as yet. Some of my allliums are in flower beds, others are in pots, not showing through yet! I've planted the ones in beds near roses as they are said to deter greenfly. Neapolitana and Everest are in the white border and the blue and purple ones opposite. Spherencephalon have gone in the front garden and await pennesetum, rubra and gladioli byzantium to set them off

Nice alliteration FP, I like the sound of tentative tottering. I do that over the deck as it gets slippery.

That sounds like a lovely planting combination, funny. Good work on the fruit tree training.

That does indeed sound lovely.

My back and hips seem to be on strike and so tottering is very much the theme of the day here.

::decrepit::

I don't know about rain, I heard there's going to be icy weather in your neck of the woods and the New York storms are coming over here OMG

Yes, a friend of mine is currently stranded in New York and we usually get their weather as it crosses the Atlantic. I wish I had bought the snowboots I was admiring online a little while ago.

Thanks sugarplum ! On bad days I dodder ditheringly, and on really bad days just watch the telly!
rhubarb its the combination from Hampton court : I posted a photo of it on one of the other threads
I'm not planting all the plants, just a little group
Here is the plant list for The One Show Garden at The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2014

Stipa gigantea
Stipa arundinacea
Deschampsia cespitosa
Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum'
Lavendula angustifolia 'Hidcote'
Rosemarinus officinalis
Santolina 'Edward Bowles'
Agapanthus albidus
Euphorbia seguieriana nicociana
Allium sphaerocephalon 'Drumstick'
Echinacea 'Fatal Attraction'
Echinacea 'White Swan'
Phlox paniculata 'Dusterlohe'
Sedum 'Jose Aubergine'
Aconitum 'Stainless Steel'
Actaea 'James Compton

I'm hoping the snow will thin out as it tries to cross the pond.

I would love a pond but am afraid of attracting snakes into the garden.

There are two kinds of snakes in Victoria, fairly venomous and extremely venomous. Okaaay.

On the weekend I went to wetlands where I actually heard pobblebonk frogs saying "pobblebonk"

I meant the Atlantic ocean.
snakessss..........waaahhhhhelp
can you record the frog sound and post it as an mp3?

Yes funny I'm not at all keen on sssssnnnakes. I'd prefer a mouse any time. The frogs sound great echt The snakes not .

The stipa are grasses aren't they ? I'm going to try to plant my ex chicken garden with them and lilies, I'm thinking about one curved path through it wish me luck.

Anyone got ideas for a west facing 75ft square piece of land surrounded by stone caves that are blocked by not very lovely grey bricks. ? The earth is acid topped and alkali underneath

Yy to frog recording, I remember how excited I was when our resident bedroom Lizard in Thailand said "Gecko"!

ppeat sorry no idea about the planting but what about painting the wall or covering it with mirrors to reflect whatever you plant there?

The stipa gigantea was on the last 'show me your garden' I really like it. In fact I'm getting lots of ideas from that program.

Ive turned the dining room into a potting shed and sown sweet peas into toilet rolls -Sarah raven Venetian mix, a large blue variety and a dwarf pink variety because I didn't read the packet they might work with the roses in the front garden. I've also sown sweet pepper as they take so long.

Rain and gales here today. So I buggered off in a sulk to Architectural Plants to spend the voucher I got for my birthday, last summer. I nearly came home with an Edgeworthia Chrysantha, but then realised that it would be an exceptionally stupid time to buy one with snow possibly on the way, so I came home empty handed, and will go back in March.

The nursery is moving shortly to a new site, so I also wanted to go and sort of say goodbye; I've found that place so inspirational over the past few years. I fear that a new shiny purpose built rather than evolved site will just not be the same.

I like snakes. I'm not sure I'd feel enthusiastic about encouraging highly venomous ones into my garden though.

Ppeat I will mull over your quandary.

Thanks Geoff but I actually find mirrors and suchlike weird bits of metal and concrete in gardens a bit annoying; though an old fashioned repro 'distressed' 'greek style' statue would be ok to give the eye a focal point, I always think 'would that still look nice after it's had a few years of rain and bird poo all over it?' .

Give me a good old fashioned green climber (I'm thinking of honeysuckle or clematis montana or both !).

I haven't heard of Edgeworthia chrysantha Rhubarb What are they?

My new garden is going to have to be easy maintenance I really don't need it, I blame dh and his 'slash and burn' mentality. I had a little chat with him about it

I'm quite the opposite, ppeatfruit, and like a lot bit of statuary and objets in the garden. When I finally get my shed, I'm thinking of putting a mirror on one end of it to do the fake perspective thing.

I don't have many shrubs, and most of what I have are viburnum, but my colleague with whom I used to swap gardening chat had lots of shrubs named after the doughty Victorians (I think) who had collected them - Edgeworthia, Grevillea and Fothergilla major and some others whose names I've forgotten.

Cool thread' not sure I'll be welcome though, all my garden needs is a shopping trolley to finish it off!

Everyone is welcome, gohaze!

We've probably all had times when the garden's had to be neglected for other things. I'm sure a shopping trolley could make an attractive post-undustrial planter.

Welcome!

ppeatfruit do you mean you have acid soil on top of the caves and alkaline soil at their base- at the mouth of the caves? Or do you mean the soil is acid on top and if you dig down it is alkaline?

If the former then you have a very exciting garden even without caves because on top you can grow camellias azaleas rhodedendrons magnolias alliums anemones aquilegias and jasmine and a whole lot of other stuff: type in 'acid' and 'award of garden merit' in the rhs plantfinder and over 800 plants come up!

Underneath is interesting because I guess its either damp and shady or dry and shady. Ferns are the obvious, but rhs also yields solanum glasvenin and rosa bleu magenta as possible climbers.

rhubarb I heard great thinga about that nursery

Do you think they will have a bargain sell off before they move?

I don't think snow is forecast for the south. But I'm delaying any planting till this cold patch is over.

So what objects do you all have?

I have
venus de milo painted chartwell green
roman boy in toga
pelican
fairy with bird water bowl
tiny little tin gnome.
buddha head

Hello gohaze. My garden is very neglected in reality. I'm all talk and little actual action. For now, anyway.

Funny, they are having a big sell off right now actually, it's one reason I went. Just till the end of this week though.

I have no objets. I am not a garden objets person. However, I do enjoy and appreciate them in other people's gardens.