"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." This month's discussion in the potting shed.

[MyNightWithMaud]

Grateful thanks to the magnificent Margaret Atwood (via A Mighty Girl) for the quote.

I have just come indoors after a delightful couple of hours' pottering in the garden. It's far warmer than yesterday and everything feels optimistic and vernal again, after yesterday's Arctic blast.

High point: Realising that most of last year's cuttings have taken. Given that I am useless with seeds this, I think, is my propagating future.

Low point: Realising that my newest fairy lights have already failed.

I still haven't got the hang of my i pad; the blossom is the best pic, I didn't mean to bore you with 2 pix of my hyacinths and gas bottle!!! . Sorry !

Lovely pics ppeat. I didn't even notice the gas bottle.

Thank you all for your concern over my aches! I finished the planting this morning. The Rhodis have such different leaf sizes, shapes and colours that it already looks lovely. I can't wait to see it when it all starts flowering.

That exotic seeds website is amazing.

My Zinnias are now in seed trays and Mr Amazon has just delivered me some melon seeds for me to sow - there are 4 seeds and apparently they can be grown outside (don't believe it for a second)
Rhododendrons sound amazing and that blossom is gorgeous!
Fingers crossed we have a productive year - I will see if I can match CallmeGoffs 3 Melons

teh gas bottle rather adds to the picturesque scene (seriously!!). beautiful blossom

the rhododendrons sound amazing. i recently moved one that a previous owner had planted in our alkaline soil in deep shade - it was looking deeply sorry for itself. it now has a new home in a container and already looks a little perkier

Quick question for all you mulching geniuses

You know Nespresso pods (one cup coffee pods)? They no longer recycle them in my area and ive got about 200.

Can I just chuck em round the plants at my allotment as coffee grounds are good for plants and they will just gradually leak out over time - or will there be a negative impact of the aluminium (!) containers getting wet?

I think it will be fine and they will be good for the plants and as a weed suppressant but I'm not sure.

Lovely blossom, Ppeat.

I wasn't really aware of rhododendrons growing up but dh spent his childhood building camps in them.

It would make a great camp for a family of pixies

Oh, big rambling Rhodis make fantastic dens. Happy memories of that from childhood too.

I'm not sure about the idea of aluminium coffee pods as a mulch. Apart from anything else, wouldn't they look a bit unattractive? But I don't really know what they look like tbh as we don't have a coffee machine.

We used to go to a house near Leeds when I was a child which was famous for its rhododendrons (Temple Newsam or Harewood House I think). Thing is I don't remember going when they were flowering: all I can recall is lots of big dark leaves, and being told they were rhododendrons. For many years I thought they were horrid.

I think Nespresso will arrange recycling:

Nespresso recycling

They do recycling but they've stopped doing it in my area after ten years

Yep they would look a bit unattractive in a garden but I'm just going to use them on the allotment Rhubarb

I don't know how they're made - can you extract the grounds for the allotment and put the aluminium bit in the normal recycling?

Unfortunately they're not allowed in our recycling - there's only a tablespoon of grounds in it so probably not worth the injuries of cutting in to them

It's like Christmas here as the DD's and I sort through all the lovely seed packets Maud sent us - thank you do much Maud!

I am meant to be painting this weekend, but I think we may have to sneak outside to start the sweet peas off. Is it too early to put them straight in the ground?

It's too early unless you're in Spain

Monty started his 2 weeks ago in the greenhouse and I did mine the next day in the conservatory - they are already shooting and my conservatory isn't heated.

Outside I can put them straight in the ground from seed at the end of April (South east)

Laurier if you click on that link I think Nespresso will send you a reply paid envelope to return them for free.

I take the grounds out of the tassimo pods but it is fiddly.

Today I planted the oca, sowed broad beans, peas, nasturtiums, sweetcorn & some cucumbers all for in the conservatory. My outdoor sown peas and broad beans are providing the veg plot mice with a lovely varied diet so I'm having to start some off inside.

I also set up some poles for the climbing purple beans and under sowed them with kohl rabi which should be fairly large before beans go in and should be edible size before beans take over (hopefully).

My sweet peas are going great guns in the conservatory, and I have delphiniums, zinnias, poppies & wildflower mix germinating nicely. And I baked a chocolate & Guinness cake this morning. Happy day.

Bearleigh - you can get the bag but the courier doesn't collect anymore - ive got 3 bags worth. No idea why they won't pick up, it's just here though - my sister is still getting hers picked up (but 400 miles away so can't drop them off to hers )

Bearleigh Temple Newsam is one of several places we played in rhododendron dens as kids! Happy memories. It's a wonderful place.

Bertha that does sound like a lovely day.

Meant to post this pic of the DD's fairy ring in its new Spring colours

Aw, that's so pretty!

I forgot to say, there is ground elder in the showstopper bed. When I was digging it over I removed shitloads of white rhizomy roots, and I was suspicious of them, so I was careful to remove every particle that I could. My suspicions are now confirmed as I checked up on the bed today to see how things are doing, and teeny little ground elders have popped up in a few places; most notably under the hedge along the back of the border. I have zapped them all and will be keeping a close eye now.

I have a ground elder farm. Send it all here Rhubarb. It will fit in nicely.

That said, it has not returned to the veg plot so my hours of soil sifting last year paid off. The wood however is carpeted; the main trick is keeping it out of the compost heap so I'll be spraying the weed fabric around it regularly this year. I will also undoubtedly spend many an hour pulling it up in key areas again in the hope that it won't swamp my bluebells.

I'm glad you and the DDs like the seeds, NANN. You have shamed me into making one last twith something bombproof. I may sow some cosmos over the weekend.

I loved the agapanthus on GW tonight. I am waiting to see whether the big pot of agapanthus which I thinned out last year (it had stopped flowering and I read this was probably due to overcrowding) will perform this year.

Oh and those naughty people at van Meuwen made me buy a cercis Forest Pansy for a fiver. Made me, I tell you.