Gardening chat

[Procrastatron]

I find some areas of Mumsnet quite stressful at the moment due to strong opinions and covid related doom and gloom. Not the gardening section though.
I spend a lot of time daydreaming about my little, slightly wild, London garden and all the lovely things that are on order with various online nurseries or stashed on the decking for planting out soon. I’m definitely novice gardener and happily so and my criteria for plants are along the lines of hard to kill, colourful and weed suppression.

Right now I’m pondering where I should plant my verbena and how well my rose will respond to the cavalier pruning I have it at the weekend.
I’d love to hear what gardening related things other people are thinking about at the mo.

Oooh thanks @MrsBertBibby they look lovely!! And bee friendly too, which is my main requirement.
I was super happy earlier today to see a bee visiting my crocuses Summer is on the way!!!

On Friday, we had a massive hailstorm, with really big hailstones (easily the size of those horrid fat tinned peas). It came down so heavily that it looked as though we'd had 3" of snow for a little while.

While it was going on, there was the most enormous bee buzzing round my front garden, it was huge.

I've seen one several times since, I wish I knew if it was the same one or if there are lots of them about.

MreBertBibby, I’ll second the Linum. I’ve planted the scarlet version in long troughs with other annuals.
I once sowed them amongst silver leaved plants, the contrast was amazing.
I like the idea of the white and red variety. I’ll see if I can find some, thank you.

They are lovely, I am planning to get them in drifts among other stuff.

I have red seeds for this year too!

Excited here, just put an order in for two new evergreen clematis - armandii Apple Blossom & cartmanii Avalanche, a purple Passion flower, a Goldheart Ivy an a large Red Robin. Can’t wait!! We’ve also just sown perennial sunflower Lemon Queen and put toilet roll tubes in our sweet peas to give them stability for the next few weeks. Also stained our huge new planters their third and final coat and moved a buddleja.

Hello, may I join?

I've just spent a day in the garden doing some prep stuff for the year ahead. There's so much weeding to do but I'm going to take it slowly. I'm in Scotland so my growing year starts a bit later.

Today I've prepared my lovely new wooden planter DH got me for Christmas. Now I need to find plants to put in it. Is anyone able to direct me to a good website with info about plants that cope with strong winds?

I want to have maybe three little shrubs, some flowers that will spill over the sides and then some more upright pretty flowers. The planter is maybe 100x40cm.

Starting weeding the strawberry patch and repotting some plants. The patio is all clear and lovely.

I’ve planted strawberry plants last weekend and everything seeding well in mini greenhouse cosmos, marigolds, sweet peas, sunflowers, fingers crossed I have enough pots!! I’m awaiting shoots from the dahlia tubers too but I think another week or two yet.
Anyone growing potatoes? I haven’t done it for years but gonna give it a go and chit some potatoes tomorrow.

@DobbleDobble my dahlia tuber ha started sprouting but it’s living in the utility so that might have sped it up. To be honest I’m just relieved that I planted it the right way up.

Good news, my Sarah Raven dahlias arrived this morning.

Bad news, fox spotted sneaking under the decking. I will have to fox proof it somehow, I have had fox cub rampage for the last two years and it is someone else’s turn now.

I've just remembered I have some strawberry seeds in the back of the cupboard 😳 it says to sow Dec/Jan... presumably I am far too late now?

@Procrastatron I’m hoping they sprout! If nothing by next weekend I’ll bring them indoors to a windowsill.they are in one of those mini 4 tier greenhouses, it gets full sun when it’s out, I opened on weds when it was sunny and heat was radiating from it, so should be warm enough , but maybe a little too cold at night?

I've spent this afternoon digging out a section of lawn for our new border. It's not a very big garden but I'd like a deep border for cottage style planting. I hate the really heavy labour part of gardening but am so excited to get planting once it's complete!

My strawberry plants from last year are growing like mad, both in containers and in the ground.

I planted a sunflower today. Seemed timely as it's the first properly sunny day of the year.

I sowed spearmint seeds about 10 days ago, they're yet to germinate. They're the tiniest seeds I've ever (barely) seen, so not confident they'll actually sprout.

The goldfinches are back! I stopped feeding them last summer because we were plagued by starlings who made such a mess everywhere we ended up with rats. Put up a single feeder of sunflower seeds on Saturday and the clever goldfinch have found it. Such beautiful birds, with a lovely twittery call.

Dig my digging the raised bed yesterday (I’d forgotten how hard work it is!) and have some seeds in little tubs basking in the sunshine, but bringing them in at night for the time being. I’ve never had any luck growing from seed before, so I’ll see what happens. I’ve put chitted potatoes in bags and some in the raised bed, so we’ll see which do best. Also liberally scattered wildflower seeds - did this last year and not a single bugger sprouted but I’m persevering!

@viques I love feeding the sparrows, blue tits and robins in my forsythia bush, but have spotted a big rat feeding on the seed they spit out:-(
Also saw some blue tits checking out my bid box ( Mother’s Day gift) fingers crossed they like it.
Strawberries doing well, bleeding heart sprouting and the seedlings doing well.
Got the seed potatoes today so they’re on a windowsill now.ordered potato bags for them.
Sounds like spring has sprung for us all and we re all busy sowing and planting out.Great to read through all the posts.

I've planted sunflowers and radishes with the children today. I never seem to have much luck growing from seed but half of the fun is in the planting and watering (is what I'm telling myself.)

I'm also going to try scattering wildflower seeds and see what happens! @HermioneWeasley

[quote DobbleDobble]@viques I love feeding the sparrows, blue tits and robins in my forsythia bush, but have spotted a big rat feeding on the seed they spit out:-(
Also saw some blue tits checking out my bid box ( Mother’s Day gift) fingers crossed they like it.
Strawberries doing well, bleeding heart sprouting and the seedlings doing well.
Got the seed potatoes today so they’re on a windowsill now.ordered potato bags for them.
Sounds like spring has sprung for us all and we re all busy sowing and planting out.Great to read through all the posts.[/quote]
That is why I am limiting the amount of food I hang up to one feeder of sunflower seeds, I know the robins and pigeons will hoover up anything the sparrows, goldfinches and tits spill. I also put out a handful of mealworms on the ground in the morning, but they are eaten within minutes.

Good luck with the bird box, I hope they choose it as their des res. When I am feeling kind I unravel garden string into single fluffy strands and hang it up in a tassel for the little birds to pull apart for their nests. I used to put out the late cats groomed fur too, they went crazy for it.

@MrsBertBibby

Oooh if you have bare beds, may I suggest you sow linum grandiflora? I put seeds into a new bed last spring, around this time, and they were absolutely glorious. Flowered for months! Trying them in pots this year as my borders are too busy for direct sowing.

I really like those-they are so pretty! Can I ask if you have any tips for sowing them-did you sprinkle loads of seeds? Over how big an area? In rows or randomly? Cover with compost?

I’ve never sown seeds straight in the ground before with much success, so wondered if there were any tricks I was missing!

Thank you!

@Beebumble2 mine have just started to sprout too 😍. I also thought they had died over the winter. Isn't nature amazing!

I’ve just looked at a pot with a 1cm Hydrangea stick and it’s got two large leaves on it. As you say amazing!

I have just put up half of my latest attempt at keeping the dog off the garden. Waiting for more to arrive so I can complete it. If this finally works I'll be able to plant some bedding plants next week and get a bit more colour in there. I have some much-abused primula right now, and my tiny lilac trees - which have been crushed on many an occasion - are starting to bud. Keeping the large, hairy dog away is a must!

Sorry HowshouldIbehave lost the thread.

I just had my teen sprinkle a couple of arcs of seeds and pop some compost on top. Then we did some more after a few weeks.

The worst bit was not being sure which seedlings were the linum, as opposed to weeds, nut it became pretty clear pretty soon.

They really were that simple.

@MrsBertBibby

Sorry HowshouldIbehave lost the thread.

I just had my teen sprinkle a couple of arcs of seeds and pop some compost on top. Then we did some more after a few weeks.

The worst bit was not being sure which seedlings were the linum, as opposed to weeds, nut it became pretty clear pretty soon.

They really were that simple.

Brilliant-I shall give it a go, thank you? I’ve got a sunny side of the garden and a v shady side-do you think they’d do better on the sunny side?

I told my other half that Sarah Raven reckons salvias keep roses free of black spot.

Genius! Many salvias now en route for me!

I seriously need to get some plants in the ground, my waiting area is heaving.