What have you done in the garden today? Part 7

[Jimmyneutronsforehead]

Continuation thread from MereDint's previous threads.

I have a couple of geums already (they are red, can’t recall their names) but now feel I need more 😁I am far too suggestible when it comes to plants.

Fortunately, we have a very good plant stall on our market so I shall wait until they come back in the spring and then indulge my geum needs!

Oh that’s lovely! I am sorely tempted. That would look nice in the bit at the front of the house, where I’m pulling out the buddleia stumps.

I haven’t done anything in the garden in ages. I did re-pot all my orchids yesterday, they’ve been a bit neglected. All Phalaenopsis (M&S / B&Q / supermarket standard ones) that I’ve received for birthdays and mother’s days etc.

I have a massive raised bed in the back garden, which I’d like to grow veg in, but what veg? The ones I use most of are ones that would grow in a greenhouse, which I don’t have. The raised bed is also covered in weeds and quite stony. Weeding isn’t a problem, assuming we actually have some dry days at some point. It’s the thought of sieving the whole lot to get the stones out that’s putting me off.

@TeamToeBeans what about a potager arrangement in your raised bed? I’d have strawberries, mixed salad greens because they cost a fortune and are easy and pretty, carrots for the gorgeous ferny foliage, and the joy of pulling them, then some height with French beans , growing on prunings or rustic poles, oh and garlic or leek for the different shape. Only the carrots mind stones. I’d also chuck a packet of hardy annual seeds in, marigolds, nigella or cosmos, but that’s why my garden is generally a chaotic mess and why, despite spending hours in my vegetable patch, the only edibles we manage to eat are strawberries lettuce and tomatoes. Full of insect life and flowers and looks pretty though.

@Zebracat I love that idea! I do already have strawberries in pots, so they could go in, and I think I have a packet of wildflower seeds too. In fact I might have seeds for most of what you’ve described. Some are quite old now, but there’s no harm in throwing them in and seeing what happens. I shall dig them out and see what there is.

Has anybody had success growing strawberries in gutters?

I keep seeing videos of them, and as they're the most consumed fruit in our house I am determined to get it right, but I just think that they can't possibly survive a frost with so little root protection.

And they're not cheap either these days! I remember when you used to be able to buy the bare roots for 10-50p a piece and now it seems like only June bearing strawberries are around the 50p each bracket, any earlies or ever bearing strawberries are a lot more. Don't get me started on the cost of them at the garden centre for the seedlings or potted runners.

I think strawberries survive frost better than wet, I’ve not tried the drain pipe thing though.
@TeamToeBeans , carrot seeds need to be fresh, but anything else may well work. I think a diamond pattern would work well

I think I'm going to give it a go. We've got beds for strawberries but it's just not enough!

I need enough for a small pick your own farm. 1 resident child who is strawberry mad and 4 frequent visitors that are strawberry mad.

The 4 children who come to visit seem to have this disconnect between nature and food though and often perceive the food grown in the garden as dirty. Happy to pop on to farmer so and sos though and get down on all 4s and eat straight off the plant like little wild rats. I can't make it make sense.

I sorted through the aged seed stash, and there were no carrots, but thanks for that information @Zebracat. There was lettuce and rocket, and there was indeed a packet of wildflower seeds. I got a magazine today that had various seeds with it, including carrots. I definitely want leeks though and I don’t have those so I’ll get some tomorrow. I think we’re forecast a pretty wet weekend, but I will enjoy reading my magazine and planning my veg bed.

@TeamToeBeans . It sounds a perfect little project . Take pics( and share them), please.

I will! Here’s the “Before” pic. Very weedy.

Any suggestions as to disguising that awful prison-grey colour? (Other than hiding it with plants?) There’s a lot of fence, it’s on three sides of the garden, plus the shed and another smaller shed. I’d be ok with painting over it, but it’s so dark and drab, I don’t know if it would show through.

Gosh it’s big, great space. How much sun does it get ?

I don’t mind the prison grey, it’s a good foil for plants. Dark green would disappear the fencing, might be good . You’ve got room there for some raspberries, altho they can get a bit messy, but that might just be mine. I might add some bay sage, rosemary and lavender for some evergreen structure. It’s lovely that it slopes down to the front, you’ll get a nice patchwork effect.

I need to remember to buy strawberries. DD loves the tiny wild ones and I promised her I would. They're £2.50 for a pot and I'll get discount, so I shall push the boat out. Has anyone grown them in those pots with lots of holes that you're meant to use? I like the idea but wonder if they're actually practical.

Annoyingly, my mum has them growing like weeds all down her very dry driveway.

I think this will be the year that we need to do something about our lawn.

Our first daffodil is out but has been flattened by the relentless rain.

We have a small patch, it’s the base of an old greenhouse where I’ve done exactly as the potager suggestion up thread including the wildflowers and it’s worked well. I’ll try and find some photos. The last year I’ve been treating it as a dumping ground for old bulbs, emptying pots and plants I have no home for. I’m try and find some photos.

Cough cough stepover apples cough cough.

If it were my garden though I'd not oppose those artificial lattices that you can stretch over lengthways and have some climbers growing up them, or even the fake flower ones if simply covering it up is what you want to do. Even fairy lights. Leaves some of the Grey poking through but adds a bit of something. Depends on how desperate you are to get it covered up as fast as possible.

It finally stopped raining for long enough to plant my new cherry tree! Actually didn’t take long at all once we started (small bare root tree with a shallow rootball, so the hole only needed to be about the size of a pan).

It's certainly chucking it down here. We are planning a trip to one of the fancier garden centres tomorrow for an afternoon tea and to peruse tomato seeds. I suspect I will still end up ordering the rapunzels at 6 seeds for £6. Bought 2 packs last year and had 100% germination but felt short changed as one packet only had 5 seeds in.

I've also not seen cupcake cosmos seeds in any garden centres for a few years either but I really want some. I've seen the cups and saucers cosmos which will do if I can't find the cupcake ones but I'm hoping that they'll have them in the overpriced seed section tomorrow.

That’s a terrible price for tomato seeds, Jimmy. Are they hybrids? Cant you save some for next year? I say this although I bought mine from the Real Seed Company, for that reason, and still forgot to save any, although I saw a mouldy tomato in the corner of the greenhouse. Would the seeds still work? I weeded a bed and planted some elephant garlic. I know it s a bit late, but it had started sprouting in the fridge. I’ll sow my sweet peas tomorrow if there’s a dry spell. I had to wade through a flood to get up to the veg patch.

They are hybrids. Flavour wise theyre not the most flavourful tomatoes, but they are well beyond even store bought vine tomatoes. It was steep but for 100% germination and most plants providing fruit and eventually getting their characteristically long trusses, eventually being the key word because those first trusses of 4-6 were disappointing, did mean that I think for £1 per plant it was worth it. I couldn't seed save them as they'd not grow true to the parent plant if I did.

They're also very fickle. They're not blight resistant and they're supposed to be grown in a green house, which I don't have. The ones I grew didn't get blight but they are in a well sheltered spot. I can't say I'd have the same success if we have a particularly wet summer and my success was really down to luck.

Thanks for the input re: prison grey fencing. I was thinking probably covering it with climbers might be the way to go.

I suppose my feelings about the colour are influenced by the fact that it’s my ex all over - his wardrobe entirely consisted of shades of mud. He was a proper fun-sponge. I can tolerate it for the time being, but I would like to change it at some point. It’s not top priority though, I can leave it a while and let the sun fade it a bit.

@BestIsWest looks like lots of drainage will help your patchy lawn. Exactly the same happened with ours, exposed soil and poor growth. Sharp sand, thin sprinkles of top soilmand drainage holes did help it recover but it took several years.

@TeamToeBeans You've got a nice sized plot to work with there.

I would use a dark green external wood paint, like Cuprinol. It covers a multitude of sins, protects the wood and it's a nice backdrop that doesn't dominate whatever you decide to grow up it. I love the fact it's a solid colour instead of the patchiness you get after several years of exposure to the elements. It will definitely completely cover the current colour on your fence panels. Sorry about the ugly URL

www.amazon.co.uk/Cuprinol-Fence-Woodland-Green-CUPLMFCWG6L/dp/B07DF6SB2T/ref=asc_df_B07DF6SB2T?mcid=8adbc7905e573171a69a0f2346cbd663&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697273156046&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3443148982192724176&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9189478&hvtargid=pla-697391154360&psc=1&hvocijid=3443148982192724176-B07DF6SB2T-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1

Went to the garden centre, got a plant pot full of onion sets for £4, bargain. No tomato variety that I particularly cared for, no radish seeds, no cupcake or cups and saucers cosmos seeds either. Did have some really nice lunch though at their restaurant and a stomp through the mud to see their ducks, so every cloud and all that.

They also had climbing hydrangeas, really well established for a tenner each, and it was really tempting. Before I go back, does anyone know if they require significant heavy pruning or can I just leave them to do their thing?

I find climbing hydrangeas quite easy - eventually they get big but they're not a pain to prune at all.

I have also just got back from the nursery; I've got some lovely things for the garden I'm doing tomorrow, and a very, very silly fluffy salix (mount adso), mainly for the small children of one of my clients. I know it is right on the border with naff, but I think it will be fun.

I've also got digitalis 'pam's choice'. If anyone has had it and knows how it compares with ordinary 'dalmation white' for vigour/self-seeding, I would love to know.