"in the midst of winter, I found there was within me, an invincible summer" Potting shed chat continues here

[funnyperson]

So as agreed (by 2 other people!) I have started this thread for spring gardeners follwing on from the previous thread : Welcome one and all. experts and novices alike and draw up your chairs and join in discussion on all things garden related (and even not garden related)

Oh Echt ((((((Hugs )))))) from me too.

Thank you both.

Gardeningly and symbolically, it has pissed down all day today. So good for the garden (and bogging weeds).

Yes, bogging weeds. We'll be thinking of you. Come back here any time you want to rant or let off steam.

What Maud said.

Thirded.

Sending you much sympathy echt ((hugs))

And having read the thread, am thinking how nice it was that you went on those long drives with him to garden places and all sorts and told us about them and how clearly it came across that he was a great companion to you. More
visit me if you come over here.

Hampton court pictures

Regents Park Delphiniums

Lovely pictures FP. Just what I needed to see as I am now officially gardening idiot of the year. I've had the builder move 20 barrows of soil from drive way excavation to back garden, forgetting that is the one part if the garden that has bindweed. So I've just spread chopped bindweed room all over my garden.

I foresee a future involving a lot of sieving. What a flipping idiot I am.

echt I'm so sorry for your loss

Oh no sugar plum. I have now lots of bindweed because Dh tipped aload of infested soil all over the beds.

I've also been an idiot, my weedar is rubbish I gleefully retrieved what I thought was a fushia seedling. Potted it a couple of weeks ago intending to give it to a friend. Thankfully it flowered before i gave it away its rosebay willow herb

I haven't done any gardening for ages, everything growing well especially the bogging weeds.

Dds guinea pig died last week, she's nicked one of my raised beds for him and announced that everything planted there must be golden. She's chosen the most garish yellow flowers which I must plant.

Oh no at the bindweed. On the plus side, if you're into chemical control glyphosate has been reprieved for a bit. I must get into our bindweed infested bed and do something with it.

Geoff could you only be able to obtain more toned-down versions of the plants she's chosen? I really hate garish yellows in plants, so for a while hated all yellow in summer gardens then I woke up to the fact that there are a lot of nice shadesof yellow around.

searabbit nice thought but I've already bought them. Tbh I think next year she'll have forgotten all about him and I can go back to my purple/silver combo.

I might have to resort to it if it is bad I think. Hopefully not all the barrow loads were affected (25). I can't face sieving the lot but am trying to get as much out as I can. What an utterly, completely stupid thing to have done. They buried a load of plants too so am trying to rescue them.

Yellow, white and silver this year maybe Geoff? Your DD sounds very sweet and I'm sorry about her Guinea pig .

This year I discovered that frothy yellow is lovely with purples and maroons

The Hampton Court flower show tv programme yesterday was outstanding. Having seen the stands in the marquee I thought the photography, presenters and music were delightful
They certainely made some of the gardens look larger than life but even so I was very grateful to be shown a lot of the gardens without getting tired legs.
Rachel de Thame was nice but I really think she doesnt need to wear yet another long frumpy coatigon in July. Perhaps she has undiagnosed hypothyroidism (serious comment, not being bitchy) so feels cold.

Sometimes I enjoy getting rid of bindweed: gently untying weed from flower stems and digging up at the roots as much as possible. Sometimes I'm all thumbs and impatient and end up breaking the stem of the host rose or whatever

A big thank you to the Potting Shed Posse:

The flowers arrived late in the day, so less light for the photo, but amazingly for florist flowers, the roses actually have a fragrance that strikes through my stonking cold, the first in two years.

Oh, Echt, I'm so glad they arrived safely and are decent flowers. The internet is a wondrous thing, but when ordering from across the globe you can't really see what you're going to get.

Much love.

Monday tomorrow. It's been nice sitting in the garden as Annabelle is in flower and the roses are still blooming . Hydrangeas always make me think of France and summer holidays. Our local horticultural society had a summer show . I didn't enter anything but here are some wonderful gooseberries

Echt sending you virtual tea with cloves and cardamom and honey and a soft blanket

Another one sending my thoughts to echt

I went to Hampton Court on Friday, my first experience of such a thing. My friend and I decided not to bother forking out a fiver for the souvenir programme and map, thinking we could find our own way round. But watching some of the programmes later I realised we must have missed a whole chunk! As there were show gardens we definitely didn't see, and a butterfly house. Oh dear.

On the bright side, we really enjoyed everything we did see, and we spent a long time browsing in the flower marquee and choosing plants to take home, not to mention stopping for tea and cake, so I don't feel we would have had a much better day if we had been intent on seeing every single thing.

Funnyperson, I wonder if you are referring to the garden I am thinking of, with creamy yellow and maroon. I can't check which one it was as I don't have a souvenir guide book(!) but from memory it was a kind of city garden with pale stone and water, and a table and chairs. I thought the colours were lovely together.

I just wanted to share a small joy with you. My DD moved recently, and before that happened we dug up a lovely standard bay tree by her front door so she could take it with her. It was sat in a pot for quite a while, and it looked as if it had died . Total brown crinkly leaves.. I decided to re- pot it , feed it and carefully ignore it , leaving it by my own bay tree in a pot. It has new shoots! I love plants, they try so hard not to give up

bookbook that's lovely . Sadly my Acer I neglected to water so all it's new leaves fell off, is definitely dead.

That's lovely about the bay tree
Do you think the little tree grew better because it was near the bigger tree? I have a notion that plants communicate with each other ir at any rate are changed depend ending on which plants they are with and therefore they need time for example to get used to s new garden or being next to different plants and this can sometimes be very good for them
I know there are scientific studies showing that root systems emit chemicals which affect surrounding plants when in the soil but my notion is that the flowers and leaves also communicate and therefore companionship applies to plants in pots too.
I know I am barmy ....but look at the little bay standard!

I find my plants to be good companions to me, a human
When I am in the garden I dont just feel that I am in a green and flowery haven but I also feel I am with my plant friends.