The first rule of potting shed is YOU ALWAYS talk about potting shed. The thread continues.

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Here goes, and feeling bit cheeky as I didn't post much on the last one.

A fine autumn day here, with much seasonal clearing done. Now I come to think of it, is there ever a non-clearing season? :o

Oh, and any ideas for a Rosamundi rambling rose that has never flowered? I've cleared away all the competition, watered it plenty, not a single flower.

Shall I move it? Cut it back severely?

pickle - I was just debating "can I face Homebase" - after looking at that, maybe I can

never sure if worse on Saturday or Sunday.

How long have you had your Rosamundi, Pickle?

pickle - flower food? Also I would cut back severely, I was a bit "argh" when my mum first told me to do that but it seems to really work well.

I was going to plant some sweet peas for bedding but I was in the garden centre and the label said "plant 30cm apart". I haven't got that kind of space! I will have to read up on sweet peas, I thought multicoloured sweet peas would be nice. I don't think I've ever bought bedding plants that have to be planted so far apart.

Is there a bug that only eats blue flowers? My lovely chionodoxa blooms are being Munched, as is my 1 purple polyanthus, whilst the other colour polyanthuses next door are left alone.

Argh!

Thank you, food and a serious haircut it is. About three years old now. Right... Roll up my sleeves.
Actually, I'll do it another day. I've just put in about seven heathers, two azalea, twelve primula, five hellebore. I'm cold and achey! The ground has ancient stingy roots and lumps of coal and clinker from the old coal fires. Not very promising... Oh well.

Goldfish I think they are often planted in a foot wide circle, then they grow up a wigwam of bean poles. I bought a preplanted pot of them like this last year. They are greedy though, I think, need lots of water.

Pickle, I would check before you cut a newish rambler right back. My Banksii Lutea did not flower and I contacted them breeder. He said that it needed 3 years to put a good root system Down before it would make and flowers and not to prune. I an not an expert by any means bUt think had pruning ramblers only applies to very old ones.

Hello everyone and welcome to the newbies.

Biggest excitement at Casa Maud has been a radical prune of the apple trees, which has really opened them up (much like dear Monty did with his a few years ago).

Tomorrow, I'm going to plant one rose, shift another and generally potter about.

Hi, is there room in there for me? I'm lucky enough to have two gardens. One at holiday house and one at main house.
Main house one is new to us, although nearly 100 years old. It was empty; a large patio, long lawn, a pond and two boundaries of the dreaded Leyllandi, also a broken 10 panel fence!
So far we've cleared the back Leyllandi, dug a huge half moon bed around the pond. Planted climbers along the back and a few shrubs. When the new fence arrives we will make four raised, veg beds.
I love reading what everyone else is up to. Thanks.

Hello! I'm a new gardener but really want to get into it this year. I've started watching gardeners world so I'm going outside later to prune the buddlehia and roses as monty suggested. We've got a south facing wall in the back garden which has horrible spiky bushes in front of it so I'm planning to clear them, leaving space to plant pretty things! Any suggestions on plants to grow up the wall? And any tips for getting all the roots out from the bushes? Thanks everyone

With a south facing wall, I'd grow fruit - especially apricots (the ambrosia of the gods). Otherwise, roses, honeysuckle and clematis.

Although clematis like their heads in the sun, they like the roots shaded, so on a south facing wall l'd put some stones or half broken flower pot over the root area.

I have an apricot tree and it makes me very happy.
The apricots don't get enough sun for eating raw (not surprising in North Yorks!) but they are divine cooked and the jam tastes of summer.

I've got a great twisty gadget that gets roots up. It's a claw with a long Hadle so you can twist it like a rotavator. Still hard work, though.

I would love a fig if you have room. The leaves smell like summer to me.

My mum has a fig. Full of fruit at the moment - I think it takes two years a cycle.

Ooh, thank you for all the suggestions. Between us DH and I managed to get the bushes out today with the help of a pruning saw, fork and space. We didn't get all the roots - some were several feet long! But the stumps are out and all the roots are cut so hopefully that should do it...?

I like the idea of apricots. Are they difficult to grow? I am very much a novice and don't have a huge amount of time for the garden so need plants that look after themselves to an extent.

If I wanted to transfer bulbs from one pot to another, when would be the time to do that? I didn't put the dwarf tulips and daffodils in a deep enough pot. When they've died back, do I just trim the dead leaves and then transfer to a bigger pot? Also should I use all fresh compost or can I just lift them in the compost they are in and then pad it out with new?

Or is it totally not worth it and I should just buy new bulbs? They look really good but I've heard it said that bulbs often flower better the second year? They just need a deeper pot for support if you see what I mean.

My apricot tree grew well (even though not against a warm wall) and produced quite a lot of fruit until the year it was groaning with fruit - it had to be seen to be believed - and promptly died. So I still hanker after an apricot tree. I have a fig tree now, which is beautiful but second best.

Goldfishjane I usually get new bulbs every year. You could put the old ones in the ground when they finish, the daffodils will probably be fine next year but the tulips might not flower again.

I buy most of my bulbs from Wilko, they are very well priced and have always done well for me. If you fancy something more unusual, this company Avon bulbs has a gorgeous catalogue and their stuff is extremely good quality.

My tulips have surprised me by thriving - they are doing better in this, their third season, than either previous one. I always thought you were supposed to throw them away and get new ones.

I've always planted bulbs in the ground. Sometimes, mice and other beasties get them, but lots of them come back again and again. Usually the ones I'm not so keen on!

I plant my bulbs up for a spring display in pots, then when they have finished flowering, they go in the ground. They come back no problem, but gradually disappear after a few years, apart from one amazing clump of bright red ones - they have been doing well for over 12 years.
Goldfish - don't chop the leaves - let them die down - they are feeding the bulb for next year.

Thanks for all the information, mum seems to have the same bulbs flowering in her garden for years, I wonder why?

Countess, is that in pots?

Ooh traviata a new plant catalogue, thanks. I think

I quite fancy some cream coloured crocuses next year, but while I've seen them in catalogues, I've never seen them in anyone's garden...wonder why.

Fritillary coming up too, yay.

I think if the soil suits them and you don't have any pesky rodents eating them they will naturalise and spread. Think bluebell woods.
If it's a bit damp and clay they will rot in a cold wet year.

Mine get crowded out by shrubs, too.