|
Post by colliemaid on Jun 20, 2012 18:17:06 GMT
we had a garden a bit smaller than that in portsmouth ,i put a lot of work into it and it was lovely ,i love plants ,lilies ,penstemon , love in a mist ,acers and fushias some of my favourites ,i also had 3 full size allotments in the days before it became fashionable ,grew all our veg and soft fruit with plenty to give away ,here things take ages to get going ,i've planted tons of roses ,none left ,must admit the goats haven't helped with that one ,the gooseberry bush is starting to fruit after 8 years and the rubarb is starting to fruit ,we do have a good wind break ,those pics are great ,might go and get some lupins,are those foxgloves in the photo ,my soil is changing in stucture with work ,we face south on a slope ,soil is peat ,with sandstone at 9 inches to 2 feet at the very front that part is very wet as all the water drains to there from the hill,today i planted some blocking 14 comfry ,that garden in the uists is beautiful might look really closely and see what i can nick it's going to look lovely when it's matured
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2012 21:50:15 GMT
Suz, the garden was mature when I left - worked at it for over 20 years.... peat and fairly deep in places. I made some bad choices early on and then planted lots of willow and fuchsia cuttings, usually through carpet as a mulch plus rooted rosa rugosa as hedges - they all made a good windbreak. The large leaved escallonia is also good and very hardy up there....smaller leaved ones not so. Yes foxgloves, [also growing wild in the old walls] lupins before the trees got going, though the slugs loved them! and large oriental poppies. Blackcurrants also did well though not gooseberries.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2012 21:27:21 GMT
Today Joyce's Joy [shrub rose] opened and next to it is an Iceberg climber both cheap bare roots off ebay so very pleased.
|
|
|
Post by jackladd on Jun 28, 2012 17:13:16 GMT
it's surprising how quickly a garden changes from being 'bare' to looking really full of colour. Your roses look lovely Joyce, hope the greenfly is keeping off them. I'd never thought to go looking for roses on ebay! Have you bought any other plants off there?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2012 18:11:08 GMT
Fairy liquid for the greenfly plus some ants seem to be helping. I've bought quite a few plants off ebay, mostly very good. There's a nursery in Cumbria advertising shrubs, who quotes for postage for whatever you buy. The plants are small in 9cm pots, they arrive well packed and all so far have taken off beautifully. I was going to short cut garden by having some bigger stuff, but considering the cold and then dry and now wet spells smaller has probably been better. Morrisons have had some good stuff in too, if I don't pay too much I don't worry so much!! Clematis at £1.79 and one already flowered, [below] others in bud and all growing OK. Attachments:
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2012 10:14:25 GMT
The border beginning to take shape, taken evening Aug 9th. I only cut enough grass away to plant latest acquisition so less need to weed bare soil Annoys the hell out of OH that there usually isn't a 'neat edge' though I do explain it is still growing ;D Most of the canes are to discourage the dogs Attachments:
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2012 21:05:08 GMT
Joyce's first plums
|
|
|
Post by jackladd on Aug 26, 2012 19:57:22 GMT
Joyce's first plums Well done. Hope the wasps or other predators (2 legged even!) get them. Are you going to eat them raw or have you plans for the plums?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2012 21:41:28 GMT
Well done. Hope the wasps or other predators (2 legged even!) get them. Are you going to eat them raw or have you plans for the plums? So far so good, one I took off as it started a leak, not sure if it's OK inside or not, but nearly ready to eat. Another fell into me 'and me lord Raw food preferably as there's not really enough for jam! I haven't decided yet whether to plant the dwarf tree in the garden or keep it confined.
|
|
|
Post by rgsp on Aug 28, 2012 21:12:39 GMT
Well done. Hope the wasps or other predators (2 legged even!) get them. Are you going to eat them raw or have you plans for the plums? So far so good, one I took off as it started a leak, not sure if it's OK inside or not, but nearly ready to eat. Another fell into me 'and me lord Raw food preferably as there's not really enough for jam! I haven't decided yet whether to plant the dwarf tree in the garden or keep it confined. There isn't a totally satisfactory dwarfing rootstock for plums: St Julien A is perfectly good, but only semi-dwarfing. "Pixie" is almost dwarfing, but you still need very careful pruning to keep trees on it less than 3 metres, plus trees on it tend to be very short lived - 8 years would be doing well. I would keep whatever you have in a pot, and accept that it will probably only live for 4 or 5 years. Maybe you'll be lucky and it'll last longer, but the bonsai effect of the pot will keep it small enough for your garden, and it should fruit well while it lasts. I would think hard about growing Victoria as a cordon in the soil on St Julien A: pruning has to be done very carefully, but it's only the one tree, and you can keep it to less than 2.5 metres tall canted at 45 degrees. Don't try cordons with Marjories seedlings or Czars: they don't like it, and will most likely go gummy within 5 years. I haven't tried them myself, but damsons are supposed to cordon well, and my father did very well with Cambridge gage cordons.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2012 9:43:38 GMT
Thankyou for the info and tips, Rgsp. The tree is on a "Pixie" rootstock and I was told by the gardener who looked after Mum's garden and orchard that it wasn't possible to dwarf a Victoria plum - so he was half right! Bonsai-effect of a pot sounds the best bet. The plums are lovely but all ripening very close together
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2013 11:01:49 GMT
First pressie, second flowering Yesterday's plants were a darkish pink Kaffir lily [Fenland Daybreak] and a very white Christmas Rose - it is named, but can't remember [- duh Christmas Carol] - plus an almost-single darkish pink Camellia [Freedom Bell] - I chose that in bud, though others were in flower. Attachments:
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2013 17:08:27 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2013 15:31:19 GMT
A bit of recycling - moved the lobelia up a notch and un-used dog bed now in use I love the cascading lobelia as it hides a multitude of sins gaps. The plugs [J.Parkers] are well rooted and more generous with number of plants in each than some I bought last year from T&M.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2013 17:14:06 GMT
Must be spring in the air today as I've planted some seeds - sweet peas, calendulas, and bronze fennel - and chucked some sprouting ones in the sprouter
|
|