Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May: Alternative potting shed thread

[funnyperson]

On the grounds that potting sheds should admit those of all cultures here is an alternative potting shed thread. Probably makeshift and not as posh as the other one. Definitely subversive and open to gardeners of all capabilities.

I had to look that up, Bearleigh. It looks rather good.

Ooh - delphiniums! I used to have some lovely ones but they died (lasted about 5 yes though). Ditto lupins. I must get some more. Maybe I will plan a visit to the nursery (which is more of a trek, rather than the very close garden centre) at the weekend. I have managed to amass £70 in garden vouchers from birthday and Christmas presents from my in laws !

Should I be Chelsea chopping my hardy geraniums?? I have never done it before but am quite tempted...

I'm going to Chelsea chop a geranium phaeum, but that's because its flowers are already tatty and I hope to get a second flush. I don't really have any of the other plants that are often recommended for the CC.

shovetheholly That's how every apprentice used to learn, it didn't matter in what walk of life. It was called "sitting by Nellie". Forgive me remembering my sociology A level . But I reckon that's the best way to learn. It inspires one to pick up a book or go on line.

What I meant to say was that maybe not this particular thread, it moves so fast, but on this site beginners are able to ask any questions they want about gardening.

That story about the garden centre with no basic stuff just M.M. posters was very funny Rhubarb esp. the bit where the manager winced; he was obviously embarrassed by the owner\buyer with no taste!!

That also reminds me about trying to buy a washing line for the garden in Jardiland . They did understand me, but amid loads of brightly coloured wellingtons in every size imaginable, silk and plastic flowers,etc etc NO washing lines

Blackpudding You must be good at growing things from seed. I suppose if you had them in pots you could control the slugs and stake them more easily,by starting them covered in plastic bottles. I love to look at them but have never had the guts to grow them.

ppeat - I didn't know that! It is a good way to learn.

I Chelsea chopped my summer flowering geraniums last year for the first time. It did delay flowering by a few weeks, but it also stopped them flopping everywhere. I will definitely do it again this year.

Ditto for sedum, where it made the flowers quite a bit smaller.

V amused by the MM posters and Alsatians. Ours has a tendency towards alarmingly realistic but slightly-larger-than-life size sleeping cats, which always catch me out when I glimpse them from the corner of my eye.

We have another so-called garden centre near us - actually I suppose you'd call it a nursery -which is an independent and completely eccentric. It's hidden away down a lane and pretty much all the stock for sale is riddled with weeds just like most of my own garden, though sold for normal prices. I haven't bought much from there because I can't help feeling reluctant, despite the fact that they have some lovely and unusual plants.

What is great is that they do tea and cake and on a nice day you can sit outside watching the action on their many bird feeders in blissful silence. The cafe bit is very well used but I can't believe they sell many plants.

I got some wonderful plants for my birthday 4 years ago from 'Usual & Unusual Plants' near Lewes. It was gloriously ramshackle, and there were little weeds in the pots that the large and eccentric lady pulled out, but they were lovely plants.

I am perplexed. This is the first year that my geraniums Johnson's Blue in the window boxes have flowered and it's just become evident that they're not the same plant. How irritating!

That sounds like a wonderful nursery, Bearleigh. Our former NDNs used to wax lyrical about Architectural Plants.

Mind you Halsall I get caught out if I notice anything black sitting on a chair ( I tend to think it's Millie the black and white cat, who's doing well now, the stitches are out and she's attacking the freeloading stray with enthusiasm !). I like the sound of that eccentric garden centre.

Like Bearleigh I don't mind a few weeds in my pots at least it means they don't spray everything in sight. Because of course they never employ enough staff to weed by hand.

There isn't a 'dracocephalum' in my reference book. !.

I braved the weather (it's been fine but with occasional sprinkles of rain) and took a chance on a trip to Chenies Manor. It's absolutely beautiful and I'm now . Here are a few pics...

I think we should start a thread of 'Most bizarre and ugly things on sale for gardens'. The worst things I have seen recently: an obelisk with a massive silver crown on top (Aldi, though, does that count?), and a big plastic model of Bigfoot to put in your garden tree (the endlessly entertaining Skymall. They also do a lifesize statue of an angry alligator).

Maud - oh no! That is really, really annoying! Are they even close relations?

Halsall - Oooh, great shots! That archway is really effective. Is that clematis armandii growing up it?

That is indeed beautiful, Halsall. Shovetheholly's photographic contribution, not so much.

I have just bought a stonking great osteospermum from Lidl the German garden centre for a measly £3.69. It is actually three plants in a pot, which I may separate. These could be my new obsession after geraniums and heucheras.

I came to this thread as a relative newbie and have learnt so much.

Lovely pictures halsall I especially like the walkway.

I've spent the afternoon, weeding, mowing and planting out the cosmos. I have lots of self seeded Aquilegia in various colours -white tinged with purple, purple tinged with yellow, purple and one that looks completely different and that I didn't plant. Will switch to phone and load pictures.

I'm continually learning from this thread. I luffs it.

::group hug emoticon::

I luffs it too, .

Pictures of Echium pininana, the bees are enjoying them plus Aquilegia.

I just looked up Usual and Unusual Plants but sadly they no longer open to visitors. Architectural Plants is my favourite nursery of all. They've recently moved and I haven't been to their new site yet.

Lovely photos of Chenies Manor, Halsall. Another one to add to the list of gardens to visit.

Great photos from Geoff too! One of my Echiums is almost flowering.

I went to the wholesalers today. The client's plants didn't fill my car so that was carte blanche to sneak in stuff for me. I got some johnsons blue for under the Woollerton Old Halls, some more Allium karataviense to add the ones from Chelsea last year that are now flowering and looking great, clematis Freckles, and finally I was unable to stop myself squawking with delight when I saw they had Sinocalycanthusra Hartlage Wine, so one of those had to come home too.

Oops.

I have echium envy now - mine seems to be refusing to grow, whereas my neighbour's are like triffids. That's a gorgeous aquilegia, too.

How lovely to have a wholesaler near to hand. I had to look up sinocalywotsit. It's a magnificent beast!

Yes, it was a clematis armandii, shove. I highly recommend a visit if anyone's nearby. The alliums were spectacular, especially - some consolation for missing the tulips. It was great to see so many wonderful planting combinations, I came away with lots of ideas. I now have Turkish sage, Persicaria and Ligularia 'Rocket' on my shopping list.

Anyway, I came home and managed to get to grips with a few of my growbags, so now I have 7 tomato plants in situ in the greenhouse (I usually cut them in half and just plant one in each, upended, so they have a good deep run). Quite a lot more to go, and I'm guilty of letting them get very leggy indeed, but I'll finish doing the rest at the weekend.

It did make me feel slightly better to see 5 or 6 gardeners hard at work at Chenies Manor, I'm trying to console myself with the thought that there's only so much a single averagely-busy person can do...

The wholesalers is actually a fifty minute drive away Maud. Which actually is just as well, or I'd be bankrupt.

Forgot to say how lovely to hear that Millie cat is doing so well!

Tragically, my experience of city living and incessant gridlock means that I would class fifty minutes' journey as near to hand!

halsall I for the first time last year grew my tomatoes in 10 litre flower buckets that you can get free from supermarkets. I just used manure and multipurpose compost - they did really well and I think worked out cheaper than grow bags, plus they took up less room.

I had to look it up too sinucalywhatsit lovely plant

Not all my Echiums will flower, which I'm pleased about as I didn't sow any this year. They can sometimes take 3 years apparently.

I'm not worrying about my echium flowering yet, I'm just fretting that my neighbour's are monsters while mine is still a puny little thing!

My experience of wholesale nurseries & growerr (from work) has taught me that all plants headed for sale start with weeds, dead leaves and scruffy bits. Then there are people employed to pot up & pack them for delivery to the customer or retail premise who pull out all the weeds, trim off the dead bits and titivate the tops of the pots by bunging on a shallow layer of new compost. Now I know that I am much less discerning about what the pot looks like as I know that even the smart looking ones were looking a lot less smart not so long ago.

::welcomes Bertha to the hugathon::

Does it count, even if we arent SNP/Plaid Cymru or Green party leaders?