What have you done in the garden today? Part 7

[Jimmyneutronsforehead]

Continuation thread from MereDint's previous threads.

@Agapornis Not in the least! The garden had already been dug over by the landlord, but the summer has seen the return of the staghorn sumac, so I covered the main part of the garden with blue tarp to slow down its growth, and am digging up the roots bit by bit.

The back part of the garden under the oak trees is all still wild, barring a path that DC and I have carved with our feet to get to their den (wooden pallets). Lots of nettles, hemp-agrimony and butterfly-bush popping up, some irises and a giant elderberry bush.

I can’t think of anything worse than plastic grass. I was hoping to establish a clover lawn once the sumac has been dealt with.

I went to a garden centre today to meet up with friends for lunch, and on the way out I strolled through the houseplant section. Lying on the floor was a succulent leaf that someone must have knocked off a plant at some stage. It hitched a ride home with me. No idea what sort it is, I'll have to find out.

I really wanted a mind your own business lawn, so I planted some in shallow trays to take over the full tray, that I'd eventually lay down as turf, but it kept drying up faster than I could water it. When I put those trays on a tray with no holes to try and retain some water they died from soggy feet instead.

It's a shame really because I love the stuff.

I'm hopping to prune the wisteria today. It's gone a bit mad this summer and has even swamped the clematis armandii, which takes some doing.

I think I’ve overwatered my wisteria will it recover. The leaves have mostly gone yellow.. Help please.

I posted previously about honeysuckle looking like it had died, new growth has been appearing over the last few weeks and there are some flower buds showing, so will be interesting to see if they flower or die as the first lot did. Looking very untidy though with all the dead growth still there.

Now having problems with a fuschia in a pot, which I have had many years. One half of the plant has died. Any ideas why and does this mean the other half will die? Do I just cut off the dead half.

Is it in the ground or in a pot?

Ours is in a 70l pot, and mulched to trap water, and we hardly ever water it, the mulch does a good job of trapping rain water.

If it is in a pot I would empty it out and check to see if the roots are rotting and trim them down.

Chop all the yellowing leaves off.

@Jimmyneutronsforehead Oh I’d never heard of that, it looks lovely. A shame it wouldn’t take for you.

I’ve mowed the lawn, done some weeding and sown some more carrot and chive seeds. Minus the weeds (huge patches of what I think were fox and cubs) I now have empty ground to fill. Any suggestions as to what I can put here? It gets sun half the day but is under a big Fatsia japonica

I'd do similar with this as the wisteria I replied to.

Check the roots for causes, prune back the dead or dying parts, make sure it's not waterlogged and the soil is free draining. Also see if water is only penetrating a few cm in or whether it is able to retain moisture.

Fuschias in my very limited experience with them can also sometimes just die after a few years and aren't very long lived.

Ferns. Would give a lovely texture to that patch.

@Jimmyneutronsforeheadi hadn’t thought of ferns. I do have a few in the garden which have grown huge, so I’ll look into some smaller types. Good idea!

If you dont get many slugs some hostas would look good too or some tall lobelias

I put a new obelisk I've had in the garage for ages into the garden for a clematis to clamber up, hopefully. Watered all the pots and some of the garden plants with the watering can. trimmed up a few bits, deadheaded some roses and repotted chives and oregano into a larger container.

Yesterday I was at the plant stall at a local market and was pleased to see that all the dark browny colour leave dahlias were at the same stage as mine, flower heads but nothing actually opened. I have Bishop of Oxford and it takes ages to do anything. I have other dahlias out but this one is so s l o w!

I need to repot around four azaleas into larger containers, they have done so well this year, really put on lots of growth and they were beautiful one they flowered this year. I just have to find somewhere to put them once repotted.

I had a packet of free wildflower seeds from a NT place earlier in the year that I gaily flung around the garden and to my surprise, they have flowered. It appears to be field marigolds and great willowherb. They clash a bit colourwise but I never usually get any wildflowers to come to anything from seed.

All my plants clash colourwise. I just buy what makes me happy when I see it.

A few years ago I managed to get a really heavy bag of zinnia seeds off amazon. Couldn't tell you how many were in it, but now it says product unavailable and can only buy small packets of zinnia seeds. I'm gutted really because I just slung them everywhere and there were so many beautiful plants. I didn't save the seeds because I assumed wrongly that I'd be able just buy another huge bag of them.

Mowed and weeded, repotted a rose, fed the tomatoes, chillies, courgettes etc, painted an old plastic pot and potted my little musa basjoo into it. It’s been lovely.

Jimmyneutronsforehead, I have clashing colours in my garden, I love the riot of colour when I sit in my dining/sitting room and look out. I can see peach, scarlet red, pink, yellow, orange, blue, purple/white and cream. That's just one border.

One of my friends only buys pink or red colours which probably looks lovely but it's not for me. The wildflowers I have at the moment are next to each other and are yellow and pink, I didn't know what colour they would be but I rather like it.

I've been trying to work out how to get a bit more colour in my back garden - I've got some crocosmia lucifer I need to split out the front and that would work but they can be a bit thuggish. The gladioli are coming out....I'm starting to think though that's it's more of a spring garden....Lot of blossom.

The front garden is a riot and needs a stern talking to but didn't have time to do anything much this weekend....

DH loves clashing bright colours - reds, yellows and oranges. I try to be a bit more coordinated but it never works. I had a lovely pale pink and blue border a few years ago but the yellows and reds have crept in.

Nevertheless I have decided our new little border under the bay tree is going to be white with a little blue (nepeta, salvia and lavender).

I've got a neighbour that has the most stunning blue border of borage, nigella and lobelia, and I was absolutely captivated by it.

I would love to plan a monochrome border but the trouble is I walk into a garden centre I see a plant that I fall in love with and suddenly I have to find space for it somewhere.

Also if you'd have asked me what I thought of geraniums a few years ago I'd have said boring and I wouldn't be caught dead with them, but my local nursery has a greenhouse full of the most beautiful and interesting geraniums that I've suddenly developed a bit of a collection.

My late next door neighbour had a garden full of them, always looked stunning, he was out before the birds pruning them every day, so I feel like it's a nod to him in a way. Our new NDN just flagged over the entire garden.

His wife was called Marion and when she passed he started adding some maid Marion roses, and not a day after our new NDN took over she already had them in a skip under tonnes of earth they'd excavated out, I was absolutely gutted because I'd have loved to try and save one or two if I'd had known what was going to happen.

Well this is the problem @Jimmyneutronsforehead, I’m easily swayed by a new plant. And it is why I have about 80 pots on my patio. I’m developing a nice little jungly section inspired by the jungle garden thread but they will have to stay in pots as there’s no room!

I get that not everyone loves gardening or has the time for it - I didn’t myself for many years when I was commuting but it’s a shame when you see a lovely established garden paved over.

I absolutely love all of the shades and shapes and textures in your garden.

@Jimmyneutronsforehead One of my old landlords did this with a rose bush that a tenant had planted in memory of their dad. I appreciate the garden wasn’t theirs but he illegally gave her 8 weeks notice and then ripped the whole thing out from the roots, and threw it on a bonfire. Didn’t even offer her a clipping. I was gutted for her.

Mine died completely. I'm so sad about it as it was beautiful. I accepted it had gone yesterday and sawed it to about a foot from the ground.

Had a welcome rain this morning, everything was looking really sad yesterday. Still looking a bit sad really, but I think I'm ready for a garden reset. We go away for a week tomorrow and I'm looking forward to 6 week holidays being over so I can just muck in while DS is at school.