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

[echt]

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 no! We're in a Lidl desert here so I'm not acquainted with their plants

The Aldi selection I mentioned were in 9cm pots (x6) in a carrier so a decent size. I've bought the four packs of geraniums too.

I'm in the SE so most stuff catches up quickly. I'm never super organised so nothing goes in the ground early

Thanks MrsBert I wondered if it was them. They are very good.

Wisley was lovely Maud. They've been doing a lot of work there recently including putting up a wisteria tunnel that will be good this year and really lovely in 5 years.

And they've no longer got the Lego, so you can get parked in other than the overflow car park if you arrive after 11.00...

Hello - may I join you all?

We're (touch wood) hoping to move house fairly soon. At the moment we've only a small garden which I've enjoyed growing lots of stuff in (loads of trial and error tbh), but if/when we move, we should have a pretty big south facing garden which at the moment has a patchy lawn, some raised beds at the back, and no borders or plants to speak of! At all!! I'm quite excited but also scared at the prospect of starting completely from scratch.

Planning to take some cuttings from my current garden, as I have some "sentimental" plants there that people have given me, etc. Including a passion flower which itself was grown from a cutting from my lovely neighbour. So I'm hoping they'll successfully root and grow in our new place.

I have a few ideas of what I want, but haven't planned too much for fear of jinxing the whole move (our last buyer dropped out, so we are a bit cautious this time...)

echt I enjoyed your posts about the Melbourne seasons. We've just come back from NZ where my MIL is a very keen gardener, and they've had a really hot summer there. I love seeing all the different plants she has (although some are the same as we grow in the UK, which is a bit weird when you think of how far away it is from here, but also really nice!).

Hello everyone! Lovely to see gardening fever in full flow! I was desperately hoping to make use of my rare child free time to garden this weekend but the weather is against me. So I've ordered some acrylic sheets to replace the broken ones and make me feel less worried about when I move the trampoline nearer it. I managed to avoid buying plug plants in my local garden centre this week as I want to buy the plants from the local independent centre that supply the boxes for my local pub as their displays are stunning.

Maud I'm hoping to cut my sambuca back this year once I cut back the clematis freckles that has completely overgrown it.

At least the weather means I get to catch up with Gardeners’ world and eat chocolate in peace and quiet

Hello all. Managed to fight our way up the garden through the wind to see how everything is coming on. My lupins are exploding! The peony is now very visible. Some very lovely primula are sending up flowerheads. The primroses up top are really in full flower now. Many many mystery things sprouting.

God I love spring! So much excitement!

An unseasonably hot start to autumn; a string of 26+days with no rain. The cool nights help, though. Having said that, it's warm enough for the cicadas to kick off as I write.

Rosemary has bloomed magnificently, to the joy of the bees and the burning interest of the six month-old echtdog who sits bolt upright next the the bush. I try to distract him....

Nerines and autumn crocus are on the way, and may survive as the above-mentioned pooch appears to have left off biting flowers off the stem. A late and glorious burst of gardenias fills the front garden with scent.

Echt you describe your garden so beautifully!

My DH has a big birthday this year and has eventually decided that he likes the idea of a barbecue which is great as I like a deadline to work towards. The main things we need to do are

remove some storage things of my husbands,
clear the area where the trampoline is being moved to,
repair the lawn where things have sat too long,
tidy and sort the patio
and fill the borders with colour.

It's in June so that should help! We are also going to sort gazebos just in case! These jobs don't sound like much but if you could see how bad they are you would know I have a lot to do!

squeakyheart, your reference to the trampoline made me smile as so many of my contemporaries are removing theres now the children are grown-up. Life stages.

It's cooling now in Melbourne, with some sporadic and very welcome rain. I employed some muscular types to take out three large clumping bamboos from a narrow bed. It turns out the bamboo was holding up the fence, so I went round to my NDN and we sniggered at the fence and made arrangements for a new one. Fences in Victoria are all jointly owned by NDNs. This hasn't been a problem so far.

I wish DH and I had known how adaptable so many native trees are for narrow beds; none of the watering after a year's TLC, behave themselves and provide flowers for birds. Unlike bamboo. But we were gagging for cover from being over looked. Meh. Lesson learned.

As soon as the autumn is well-advanced, I'll plant some indigenous tress, closely. Indigenous means native to the area where I live, whereas native can mean native to anywhere in this wide brown land.

Hello again. I at last feel I’ve got my gardening mojo back and have been pottering in the garden. Hoping for a plant-buying binge at the weekend, too!

Hello, Maud. So good to see you again. Sitting here I've heard banging at the window and see a currawong has been having pop at my goldfish. I recently moved a huge pot of aspidistras that sheltered their barrel from full sun, and now they're exposed.

Currawongs are very elegant and have a striking call, but are horrid chick-eating gits.

We might go to Wisley today!

Now I need to look up currawongs! The sun is finally out here - it was a very grey day yesterday when I ventured to the RHS spring show - so I envy MrsBert going to Wisley.

I have Wisley envy. Though every substantial Victorian town has a botanical gardens, there is nothing that matches the big stuff in the UK: Sissinghurst, Kew.

Wisley was glorious. As per. Finally got a proper wander down the river walk and through the arboretum bit. Very lovely!

Although the building works are a massive eyesore.

I’ve never got as far as the river walk! Last time we went with a disabled relative with us, we did get a tour on the buggy around the newly-constructed gardens.

Well ,I've googled and I see that there are pied currawongs and presumably all black ones .

They're not exactly cute are they ?

I think I would find the fauna and general insect ,small mammals a " challenge" if I lived where you do Echt .

I'm currently trying to recover from helping ( standing in the doorway ) while 2 humane mouse traps have been emptied by my brave son.

I haven't been to Wisley for a month or so but I really don't like the new visitor centre. It seems very bland, like a Travellodge, and doesn't reflect local vernacular architecture with the pale brick and slate roof. It really clashes with the old house. I wouldn't be looking for a pastiche of that but they could have done something that complemented it.

Oh dear. That’s sad to hear, especially as they have been banging the drum for the new visitor centre for so long (countless mentions in the magazine, for example). Not sure when I’ll next go to Wisley ...

Go and see what you think Maud. I still lurve the garden itself. And the cakes are good, as is the mulligatawny soup.

Oh, I will, but I’ll wait until the school holidays are over!

I've been lazy/not well organised this year so bought some cosmos, antirrhinum and Californian poppy plugs from Sarah Raven, rather than growing from seed as I usually do.

I potted them on yesterday. They are nice and plump, and better than mine would have been as I don't have a permanent greenhouse.

Hello. Can I play??

We are in our third year in a new build so I’ve not done anything to the garden except now the grass and have a patio laid.

I’ve planted a few things at the front and am particularly pleased with my show of white and deep red tulips right now.

Well, it is TIME! I’ve saved my Christmas and birthday money for 2 years and am determined to ‘make a garden’ this year.

The plot at the back is quite small, south facing and backs into a large park. Currently it is ‘death by fence’ as it has 6ft wooden fence all round.

I’m on leave this week (supposedly supporting gcse revision). Today, I’ve top dressed the sad front lawn and tidied the edge under the sitting room window. I’ve also laid out the hosepipe where I want beds digging.

I’m excited for the lushness to ensue (but have to order a skip for the turf and put a lot of hard work in first)!

I may be back with numpty questions as time goes on.

Ta

Any advice on what to do with the fugly manhole cover at the front greatfully received .

Oops not checked in for ages! Hello crickyblimey your garden looks like. Great blank canvas hope you've managed to start. I'd put a slab with a plant in a pot on top of the manhole cover as removable, have recently found out that my neighbours built their rockery on top of theirs! We have three, one on the driveway collapsed a couple of years ago so had to be rebuilt, another is in the back garden in the patio and the third is in the middle of the front lawn and sticks up on one side and I keep catching the lawnmower on it!

Not really done much gardening as busy and slightly lazy! Have one border that looks ok and hope to put bedding into some pots and baskets next week to add some colour ( am trying for small goals)!

Today (school holidays)I've been trying to simplify my garden, not to have a million pots, but fewer, bigger ones. To this end I culled five massively overgrown crucifix orchids, but not before removing keikis that had already flowered to grow new plants that'll continue flowering. I now have it down to three pots, one orange, one coral, one magenta.

Here's what they look like:
www.bambooland.com.au/epidendrum-ibaguense-crucifix-orchid-orange

The great thing about them is they flower all year round, need barely any care, only to be moved out of afternoon sun if it gets to 40.