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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

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MmePoppySeedDefage · 12/10/2023 01:57

As am I. Another pansy/viola fan here. I've often wondered why some years they take off beautifully after planting and others they sulk.

Has anyone any tips for how to keep non-fuchsias over winter? I often lose them in the spring - maybe I cut them back too soon. I bought a plug of an orange one with bronze leaves this spring - like Thalia but not that variety and it's great - it's grown huge - tall and wide and floriferous and fits a corner in our north facing porch beautifully. I want to keep it for next year.

Seaitoverthere · 12/10/2023 03:33

I haven’t had time to get in the garden properly as have just moved and am lost in a mountain of boxes. Last weekend 4 trailer loads of garden stuff came round and there’s still at least 2 more to come. I have about 500 bulbs to go in and was very happy to see pink nerines with dark stems in flower.

Need to sort front door pots. I have them, they are quite big and will have standard holly trees in which were cheap last January. I just need something to go underneath, possibly cyclamen as local farm shop has loads and somewhere there are some iris reticula in a box that could go in.

Treated myself to a Hydropod do have cuttings to pot up. Hopefully will have a couple of Lady of the Lake roses, a clematis Early Sensation and a Smoke Bush along with a few hydrangea, fuschia, penstemon and honeysuckle from first couple of batches so feel that long term it will be worth the initial outlay. I’ve struggled with clematis cuttings before so particularly pleased with that one.

catwithflowers · 12/10/2023 08:41

About six weeks ago I ordered some Veronicastrum which have just been delivered, nicely timed for the first frosts 🥶 ❄️. It's 1 degreee here according to Alexa and the cars were iced over!! I'll be very lucky if these plants survive!!!

GertrudeJekyllAndHyde · 12/10/2023 09:12

Tell me more about the Hydropod, Seaitoverthere! How much space does it take up? Where are you keeping it? I’m trying to master the art of cuttings. I’ve managed to produce some nice hydrangeas and fuchsias, but the salvia cuttings failed.

MereDintofPandiculation · 12/10/2023 11:09

And I have a decent harvest of quinces on the tree, and have picked my prized, beloved one-and-only pear. My neighbour was bemoaning his single pear compared with me treeful … the reason being, of course, that my tree is a quince.

what do you do with your bumper crop? I’ve enough quince jelly and membrillo from last year to see us through till next year’s harvest, so I have a whole harvest of quince available for experimentation. So far I’ve had them stewed, with yogurt, and have added them to a venison casserole.

MereDintofPandiculation · 12/10/2023 11:11

I think violas are chic if they’re a named variety, and not a mixed pack from the garden centre Grin

Does anyone else have the experience that slugs go for pansies but not for violas?

MereDintofPandiculation · 12/10/2023 11:13

@MmePoppySeedDefage What are “non-Fuchsias”?

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · 12/10/2023 11:33

I'm assuming a missing 'hardy'.

MmePoppySeedDefage · 12/10/2023 20:36

Correct - non-hardy fuchsias. All thought welcome.

Regarding quinces, I love this dish by Yotam, though I just slice up the quince - life is definitely too short to stuff a quince:

lorriegrahamblog.com/stuffed-quince-recipe-from-ottolenghis-book-jerusalem/

And this is a delicious pudding:

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/nov/29/nigel-slater-recipes-quince#:~:text=4%20tbsp%20maple%20syrup&text=Peel%20and%20halve%20the%20quinces,at%20180C%2Fgas%20mark%205.

MereDintofPandiculation · 12/10/2023 20:37

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · 12/10/2023 11:33

I'm assuming a missing 'hardy'.

I was thinking that and then forgot that people do overwinter Fuchsias rather than just buy fresh each year

MereDintofPandiculation · 12/10/2023 20:41

Thanks, @MmePoppySeedDefage , that’s given me some ideas

InMySpareTime · 12/10/2023 20:42

@MereDintofPandiculation fruit leather, or crystallised quince could work and would use up quite a few fruits

MereDintofPandiculation · 12/10/2023 21:39

InMySpareTime · 12/10/2023 20:42

@MereDintofPandiculation fruit leather, or crystallised quince could work and would use up quite a few fruits

Thanks ... though I'm not sure I should be eating too much crystallised quince! Quince leather I suppose can be thought of as a lower sugar version of quince paste (membrillo/marmelada) but I've got a huge stock of that.

GertrudeJekyllAndHyde · 12/10/2023 21:53

People do indeed overwinter non-hardy fuchsias and pelargoniums - I do it by putting them in terracotta pots on the office windowsill - hugely wasteful, otherwise.

Seaitoverthere · 13/10/2023 07:49

@GertrudeJekyllAndHyde I got the smallest one which is still quite big but you can double up in each slot so can do 40. I went for the basic one, no lights or heater as felt that would eat too much electricity. The basic one is just the cost of running a pump. It sits on the kitchen window sill.

I have a salvia in the garden so will try a few cuttings and let you know if I have any success. Really I need to get potting things up but am still unpacking kitchen boxes 🙄

MmePoppySeedDefage · 13/10/2023 08:48

Thanks Gertrude. Do they like lots of winter sun/little water like with pelargoniums?

Think I'll bring in most of my patio plants this weekend as it looks like the temperature will fall to 4 deg C overnight next week.

viques · 13/10/2023 09:15

Haven’t been doing much gardening lately as a small but essential surgery meant I wasn’t allowed to raise my arm above shoulder height or carry heavy stuff, but all healed now, so am back to it just as that lovely autumn warmth came and went.

I noticed the other week that my little plastic greenhouse was doing what plastic does and quietly disintegrating. I made plans to go in strong and wrestle with gorilla tape, but then had a brainwave. Checked my old old emails, found the one where I bought the greenhouse, and lo and behold, they had covers and happy day, they were slightly reduced! Have checked the forecast and Sunday looks like the day to do it. Wish me luck, I may be gone some time and I apologise in advance for the bad language.

I have been saving the sheepswool packaging that the cats frozen food comes in and am thinking of using that to provide a bit of extra protection to things that I think need tlc, though thinking back the only things I lost in there last year were a very young , reduced bargain banana and a much prized aonium. Everything else eventually came back . The man who I bought my replacement aonium from said they had lost a lot too, so I felt a bit better.

I haven’t planted any new bulbs this year, but am feeling the urge, just a few……..

MereDintofPandiculation · 13/10/2023 10:06

GertrudeJekyllAndHyde · 12/10/2023 21:53

People do indeed overwinter non-hardy fuchsias and pelargoniums - I do it by putting them in terracotta pots on the office windowsill - hugely wasteful, otherwise.

Yes I know, I was just having a blank moment

GertrudeJekyllAndHyde · 15/10/2023 17:02

Spurred on by reports of first frosts in some parts of the country (although much farther north than here), I’ve brought my more precious pelargoniums indoors. I’ve also dug out the unloved plants that were on my hit list, and shuffled a few things around. I’m quite pleased with the result.

GertrudeJekyllAndHyde · 15/10/2023 17:05

Viques - I’d been meaning to say that, as long as you can find the replacement covers, the frame of a plastic greenhouse will last through two or three covers before it succumbs to rust and old age.

viques · 15/10/2023 18:14

GertrudeJekyllAndHyde · 15/10/2023 17:05

Viques - I’d been meaning to say that, as long as you can find the replacement covers, the frame of a plastic greenhouse will last through two or three covers before it succumbs to rust and old age.

I think I am on about my third mini greenhouse, usually I find I can’t remember where I got it from so buying replacement covers doesn’t work, but I got lucky this time! The new cover is on and my tender babies are tucked up inside . I have also evicted a number of chancer snails who thought they were in for an easy ride this winter.

I have always kept the shelves from my old mini greenhouses, very useful for keeping unwanted visitors from digging where I don’t want digging to happen.

GertrudeJekyllAndHyde · 15/10/2023 18:50

Yes, the annoying thing in my experience is that the replacement covers aren’t a standard size and shape, so don’t always fit without a great deal of pushing and shoving.

SuddenlyOld · 16/10/2023 09:34

We've moved into our new home now and the garden is huge. Does anyone know what this tree is? Some leaves are asymmetric so I'm thinking elm of some sort. Looks like it's been pollarded. I have a huge silver birch which is one of my favourite trees. I'll probably need a tree surgeon at some point lol. I'm still unpacking so the garden will have to wait a while longer for exploring 😁

What have you done in the garden today? Part 3
What have you done in the garden today? Part 3
InMySpareTime · 16/10/2023 09:42

@SuddenlyOld looks like a cherry, but no idea whether it's an eating cherry or a blossom one. You'll know by spring/summer.

catwithflowers · 16/10/2023 10:24

We have had a couple of nights of hard frost and all our dahlias are done for this year ☹️. Such a shame as we've had some lovely sunny days but the nights have been around 0-1 degree ❄️

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