"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)

That sounds like my lawn! It's still really squidgy after the winter too.

Purple I had a phormium that took over the front garden! I dug it all up in the end, but Burncoose Nurseries suggests taking offsets, so not dividing as such:
www.burncoose.co.uk/site/page.cfm?page_ref=how_to_care_for_phormiums

I should have done this before it got too big, and kept on replacing when it was getting too big.

RHS says you can divide them, and I found this which gives more information: www.fernwood-nursery.co.uk/phormium/2phcultiv.htm.
So it looks like it's worth a go. If it's very big, I'd recommend taking offsets first as they are hard to deal with when enormous.

My lemon verbenas are still alive! I was afraid I'd put the one in the pot out too early, and feared for the one in the ground as we had a sharp frost a few weeks ago - but we have shoots, so all is well. I've dug up the tarragon I planted out 3 weeks ago, as it's looking like it's shivering, and popped it back in the greenhouse.

Another good thing about the Winston Churchill daffodils (that I mentioned last weekend) is that they come into flower in stages - so I still have some stems in bud, while others have gone over- so I have another vase by the bed this weekend, smelling fabulous.

I don't know what my lawn is but there isn't a lot of grass I don't think! Just watched GW and as the owner of a most dastardly hound, was to see what happened to Monty's seed packet. Then went off to cut my sage back as instructed.

All the daffodils are gone so having some that flower in stages sounds lovely and definitely one for next year, it's plant sale time of year here so met a friend at one for coffee yesterday and of course failed to come out empty handed.

Thanks for that searabbit. I found videos on YouTube about pruning them so I've cut it back quite a lot. I'll have a look at your links too. I don't especially want more of them so I might just try to keep it well pruned!
I also need to cut back my sage. Have done lots of weeding today.

Hello everyone

Isn't it COLD? All the plants are in stasis here in south wales.

Mulching has been done, the garden is looking most unusually tidy for this time of year. I have been pulling out lots of plants for a friend's new garden, it is amazing what I can glean for free. Planted out tomatoes in the greenhouse, for the first time I have bought plants as I am not what you can ahead of the game this year.

Need to get the sweet peas into the garden but it is sooooo cold. The sunflowers I put out earlier are looking appalling.

It's snowing

snow, hail, sleet and very windy here in East Yorkshire. Even went down to 2.3º at lunchtime
My greenhouse is absolutely bursting at the seams with seedlings.
But the amelanchier is looking lovely, against the bright yellow bursting buds of my Acer Drummondii, and the pear tree is just on flower burst. They don't seem to notice :)

It's freezing isn't it?
My tulips are looking lovely. I bought some reduced gladioli and dahlia bulbs today. Only 6 of each, have never planted either before - anything I should know?

It snowed here today too. Poor little plants. I arrived home from work to find some fuchsias had arrived through the post and I needed to pot them on. So I popped into the garage and froze while potting.

Purple I've never grown gladdies, but have grown dahlias. Which varieties do you have?

A few things that I now know about dahlias and wish I'd known from the start:

Slugs love dahlias and dahlias love warmth, so if you plant them now, they may take ages to start growing and/or Gastropoda will nibble them. I grow mine on in pots in my collapsible plastic greenhouse until they are big enough to plant out, and it's warm enough. I use a few slug pellets until they are established.
I've just discovered you need to pinch them out when they are growing to make them bushy.
You keep picking the flowers, or deadheading - and then flowers just keep on coming.
A pointy 'bud' is a spent head, a round one is a bud about to flower
If they are tall varieties they need support.
They like sun, food & water, and are gorgeous.

purple I .planted poundland Gladioli a couple of years ago. I bunged them in very deep and they've come back reliably every year. If you have clay soil it's worth putting some grit down for drainage. I love Dahlias only thing to add is don't overwater before they sprout. I rotted a couple last year. Which ones did you get?

humprhrey I'm going to buy tomato plants too. I did sow seeds in the green house though I'm not expecting them to come up its too cold. Cucumber have germinated though.

It even snowed here on the Island, much to dc's delight.

We had snow here yesterday, too.

Although I've officially given up on seeds, I just opened an old GW magazine and found some cosmos seeds, so perhaps I'll give them a go. It's very heartening to hear about what everyone else is doing, especially Humph's gleaning!

Sorry to butt in. Cosmos is impossible to get wrong BTW, even I can grow it and that's saying something in my northerly climate!

I wanted to ask a question. Been growing 100 verbena bon. From plug plants and they're down approx 7 inches high. Went to the garden centre yesterday and noticed theirs were shorter but much much bushier. Is there something I can do to achieve this? Also trying to remember what it is you do with sweetpea to pinch them or something?

Thanks!

The side shoots should develop gone - but if you're worried, I know some people pinch out the tops.

I leave mine to stand for as long as possible over winter. They then self-seed everywhere. I've found that removing the seedheads when they look dead actually means I don't get the tremendous benefit of the prolific self-seeding!

Thanks for all the dahlia advice. All it says on the box is "dahlia cactus mixed". I think they might be better in the front garden as its much sunnier, drier and less slug infested than the back!

The cosmos seeds that I 'liberated' from a dead head in our local park.....have germinated!!!! So excited LOL.

Exciting pizza - can you remember what they were like? I have a variety of liberated seeds from last year - lots of different nasturtiums in particular.

My Verbena Bon has mildew - is it last year's shoots that I need to cut back? (but not too much or the slugs wil nibble it if past experience is anything too go by). I only seem able to grow it when next door's self seeds - mine don't self seed. Humph.

SeaRabbit I think they were cosmos, I'd put the seeds in a brown paper bag and scrawled 'brown cosmos type things' on it.

So glad I'm not the only one to 'liberate' a seedhead sometimes!

I am starting to think whether I need to do a post-Chelsea chop this year. I realise things will soon catch up if the weather does warm up, but they are so behind at the moment that I wonder if delaying it another 7-10 days might be useful. Thoughts?

Searabbit - I just chop down all of mine!

Dh has a large collection of liberated seeds, he doesn't write what they are though

I've bought a kiwi plant from lidl this morning, apparently it's extremely hardy. Has anyone grown one successfully ?

geoff my ex has left me 2 fine specimens of kiwi plant ( he has no room in HER one bed city centre flat).
He grew them from seeds from an Asda kiwi!! They are spectacular and only 3 or 4 years old. They've been kept in the cold (not frost free) greenhouse but have yet to flower.

Well Chelsea is another month away so plants may grow before then

My geranium phaeum for example is already flowering so will need chopping back by the end of May

But the rest is very behind: The hosta leaves are yet to unfurl!

Blissfully happy potting on seedlings today : cosmos, salvia patens, violas

Sowed some more : chives and summer savoury and borage.

No apple blossom yet

Kiwi update: I went up to the greenhouse wearing my glasses (old gimmer) and the kiwi has tiny flower buds on it!!

pizza that's good news, I wonder if you'll get fruit . I've been reading up on them and apparently you need a male and a female plant , but some varieties are self fertile. I hope mine is.

Can someone please explain to me why snooker is more important than Gardeners World ?

Very short GW Monty clip for this week
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03s96bn