Is there a lockdown gardening thread?

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

It can’t be just me who is not a regular gardener and who is wondering how on earth to get the garden into shape now I have spare time to do it, but nowhere to put bits of pruned bushes, mown grass and weeds. Not to mention no trips to the garden centre for anything, including compost and plants. My garden is too small for a compost bin. I already have to have the lawn mower in a plastic shed thing so dont want to add another unsightly thing like a compost bin into the mix.

I live in a a suburban semi with small front and back garden but LOTS to cut back. Our green bin collection is on hold. All my green garden bags are full and the local waste centre is closed. (I really thought it might stay open as I thought people mainly just sit in their cars in a queue, then get out and dump their waste without really getting close to anyone else.

I think, apart from anything, I’m just wondering what everyone is doing differently to normal than what they would normally do on an Easter bank holiday weekend. Which I’m guessing is visit the garden centre!

I'd desperate to get out and have a good weeding session but it hasn't rained here for a fortnight so my rubbish soil has set like concrete.
I started some spring pruning AKA hacking back the wilderness, but the garden looks no different apart from the huge pile of clippings in the corner.
We had building work done last year so the garden got neglected so i was so looking forward to sorting it out. We have lots of plans about planting up one new small bed beside the extension but need to order stuff

Don't hate hawthorns! They're awesome for wildlife.

If it's a hedge, leave it as there will be nesting birds in there.

If it's a bush, let it grow into a tree, prone underneath it as it grows to encourage the shape.

But it's an important native species, the blossom is lovely in spring and berries feed birds through autumn and winter.

Brambles have their importance too....but just not in the garden!! They're bastards to get rid of.

Our green bin is rammed. Collections are monthly here now so 2 weeks to go yet.

A Hawthorn IS lovely IF your garden is big enough of one.

Mine isn't. Its growing into a tree but it blocks out the neighbors light in their small garden so I have to prune it back every year.

I'm really short as well and have to get the ladder out. Ever fallen into a Hawthorn? Sodding hurts. It grows like a fucker and sends out thick branches in all directions! I only prune it once a year so the birds have the berries.

Have so many branches to cut up into small bits.. hopefully do that at weekend unless I lose the will to live.

Haven't seen the post person for 2 weeks now.... have seeds and raspberry canes in the post.... need them!!!

Also no sign of Marshalls sending my order even though did that over 3 weeks ago..

Meh.. all is meh :(

Collections are monthly here now so 2 weeks to go yet. Ours have been stopped altogether. And the tips are closed. Anything cut off or uprooted has to be disposed of on site. Nothing has been pruned this winter unless it really needs it! And I don't think much hedge cutting will be happening either.

Oh god so excited! My strawberry plants came today. have soaked and planted them out.

keep checking my seeds I planted out over bank hol weekend... I'm willing them to speed up and sprout.

Now just waiting for remaining seeds and raspberry canes drags sofa by front door to wait their arrival in case I miss posty or delivery person due to urge to nap

Hi all, what is everyone doing about summer bedding plants?

Should I order from an online company now? (I’m thinking delivery will be weeks) or should I wait to see if lockdown is lifted on the 7th May? (Doubtful) B&Q has click and collect (A five minute drive away?) but morally is it ok to buy some as I would think that non edible plants aren’t “essential?

I looked on the b & q website but the reviews for the plants during the lockdown weren’t good. People saying they were given a lot of the same type of plant and half were dead. I didn’t bother in the end. I did order a load of perennials from Hayloft (new to me) so will see what they’re like but I really don’t know what to do about bedding plants.

On the plus side our local mayor released a video tweet responding to a six year old asking when the green bin collections were going to start up again. Not the first question a 6 year old would have thought to ask the mayor I don’t think, but thanks to that parent who prompted it as the mayor said that a lot of their refuse collecting staff had been off sick or isolating with families hence only collecting proper refuse and normal recycling. But he said he expected the green waste collection to start up again very soon. I’m excited!

I have ordered a few plants from Secret Gardening Club. Also have an issue with garden waste not being collected and have a small garden so having to leave a lot of stuff

Garden waste collection isn't really affecting me - I don't have a garden waste bin anyway. Everything (except hawthorn clippings) goes on the compost heap which then is used as mulch, meaning I don't need to buy compost or fertiliser for anything in the garden (only for pot grown stuff).

For those of you waiting for a garden waste bin collection, if it doesn't start soon, you could try checking at the bottom of your bin - you might find you have a foot or so of compost in there.

We ran out of fence paint today so I tried to put in a click and collect for our nearest b&q. I waited patiently in the online queue, filled up my basket with paint, compost and begonia corms (as they were our of stock of bedding plants) got to checkout and everything I wanted was out of stock

Not sure why it let me fill up my basket!

So going to wait it out and hope lockdown ends for garden centres by the middle of May.

Me and DD planted our flower seeds today, and I had a good hack at some overgrown stuff at the back. Cleared absolutely loads and in the space of a week the garden is looking so much.

An absolute novice here but i’m really enjoying getting down and cleared. We have a huge raised bit under the kitchen window which is rammed full of weeds and i’m looking forward to getting stuck in and making it look nice.

Sounds good Linda, what seeds did you plant?

Can i join you please? We've got a fairly new garden and are just trying to get to grips with the heavy clay. It's a nightmare in summer, like trying to dig concrete! In the winter it holds all the water and digging produces sinkholes..joy oh joy!

One thing i'm glad we did is get a compost bin straight away. We had a fairly large one and the compost we got from it was like black gold! Full of little worms all high on the caffeine from the tea leaves! Pics here. We got two raised beds worth out of it but it did take 2.5 years to get this much.

@Wired4sound we planted nasturtiums and californian poppies, sweet peas, godetia & another one beginning with A that I can’t spell after three gins 😁😁

Linda

Was it Antirrhinum? (Snap dragons)

They sound lovely, I’m waiting for some nasturtium seeds through the post, they’ve been due ages and I’m itching to plant them.

Loverly compost booseysmom I’m well jel

@Wired4sound Aquilegias

Also have some Lobelia and wildflower seeds coming through the post but not sure where to put the wildflowers unless I pull up some paving stones at the back

I also like your compost, @BooseysMom

Wondering if I can squeeze a bin in somewhere. Not sure it could be hidden.

Oh oh please can I join? DH is an ex-gardener but refuses to answer any of my questions, he just looks bored and says "look it up", miserable sod. Won't give me any tips.

My main gardening woes are that my roses, which are in the ground in claggy clay soil, start off very vigorous and lush, but slowly decline with aphids, greenfly, black spot and leaf mould throughout the summer. I fed them last week when the new growth was established (had to use tomato feed this year as a mouse destroyed all my blood fish and bone), spray them with soapy water during the summer to dissuade the pests and treat a maximum of 3-4 times with Rose Clear or equivalent. But they never stay nice for long, it's a losing battle. Any ideas? They are both David Austin's, a Gertrude jekyll and an Iceberg.

I have two varieties of pieris in pots which both look awful (raggedy and gappy) - I'd prune to reshape them after flowering if only there were some growth to prune, but they are very poor really. I've ordered some ericaceous plant food, might that liven them up in case my aged compost has grown alkaline over time?

I'm desperate to order bedding for my pots and baskets but online orders have despatch dates of "May to end of July". I feel like I should be planting them up in May, is that a bit early? I was hoping for trailing impatiens, lobelia or maybe bacopa, and napeta this year. But it might end up being whatever crappy leftovers I can gather up from Morrisons. Asda currently have pink petunias (bush or trailing, who knows) and marigolds. That's it.

I found a local garden centre taking orders by email for collection, and I've asked for an order form. Let's see if it turns up...

Oh - I have a super shallow, very dry bed out front that everything dies in apart from weeds and the remnants of old alpines that I can't get rid of - even lavender gave up and died. I was thinking of planting some aubretia and campanula seeds out there with some compost (if I can find anything better than the Asda stuff which is stuffed with fluffy fibres) and chucking on a bag of big pebbles/rocks, see if that can make it look pretty. Have I missed an opportunity to plant seeds - shall I just get ready plants and suffer the cost...?

Sorry for piling in with multiple questions, all advice gratefully received...thanks

he just looks bored and says "look it up", miserable sod. He's giving himself problems, isn't he - every time you do something he wouldn't do, you can look at him patronisingly and say "best advice has moved on somewhat from your day, dear".

Roses - I would feed less (soft lush growth is going to be a magnet for pests), spray less, hold my nerve for a couple of years, and wait for predator populations to build up. A gardener I knew used to hang a bird feed next to anything aphid infested to lead the tits to the spot.
The leaf mould is presumably mildew, which may mean they're not getting enough water to their roots.

May may be a bit early depending on where you are. I used to reckon on 5th June for the latest frost, though I think that's improved over recent years.

Thanks for the advice on the roses Mere - duly noted! I've only ever fed them twice, once in spring once the growth is in, and then towards the end of summer when they're struggling. I'll leave them alone this year, although no doubt he'll withhold his oh-so-knowledgeable advice then smugly tell me I don't care for them properly when they look awful. I first planted them three years ago.

I've just checked our last predicted frost and it was the 2nd week of April! But we are way down on the South coast, in a little pocket of warmth.

@Wired4sound.. lol. Thanks! It did take 2.5 years to get this. The worms were well angry at being so rudely dug up though!! They were really wriggling about. maybe it's all the caffeine..we love tea in our house and about 40 bags worth a week go in there

@CurlyhairedAssassin.. Thank you. Ours isn't hidden but it's green so isn't that much of an eyesore. It's a new garden and we've got to plant it from scratch but on a low low budget which is a challenge in itself!

@MortyFide.. i've just moved a climbing rose which was against a north facing fence so got literally zero sun. I've moved it to the back so it gets the sun and it's doing better now. It's got greenfly on the new growth and tiny buds and i've been picking them off. It also had black spots and mildew so i've picked the infected leaves off. I put it down to damp and no sun. Uncle Tom's Plant Tonic is supposed to be good but i can't find it anywhere.
Good luck

If you're in London, then www.plantsavers.co.uk has been set up specifically to "rescue" plants from garden centres. I've ordered a batch (includes a bag of compost) so will report back on what it's like! Our local garden centre have also been doing both delivery and contactless collection for orders, so I can recommend checking to see what local places are offering. There are several others in our bit of SE London that are doing the same too. The advantage of Plantsavers for us is that we don't have a car, so lugging a bag of compost as well as plants home isn't our idea of fun. Normally we get the milkman to deliver it but they aren't doing that at the moment.

Mostly my lockdown gardening has been the usual Spring seeds stuff and a hell of a lot more lawn-weeding than I would normally do. Bluebells seem to love our garden, which is fine round the shrubs/edges but I'm less keen on them in the middle of the grass. They're a bugger to get rid of though, and I'm realising that we've neglected the lawn a bit in favour of other things so it's quite a lot of work to weed it. Still, it gets me outside and active.

How are you getting rid of stuff like that in your lawn @PenCreed?