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Source: (consider it) Thread: Heaven: The green blade re-riseth (gardening thread anew)
Corpus cani

Ship's Anachronism
# 1663

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I hope I've not merely overlooked the old Gardening Thread...

Questionthe first:
So Mr Craddock the gardener has made a good start to excavating the aboreal mass that used to be a mixed bed and I can start some planting.

I'd forgotten (sensitive man's way of saying "didn't know") that annuals would be so bothersome. I realised that there would be the faff of replacing them every year, but all the seed packets ramble on about growing the plants in trays indoors / in the greenhouse, then planting them out.

Obviously, hardy annuals don't mind direct sowing, but would it really be naive of me just to sow the seeds directly in the beds and expect something to grow? (The bed in question is along the east wall of a south facing garden. It's well-composted and fairly sheltered, although the expanse of lawn in front of it does mean it can catch some hefty gusts if the wind is very strong. It's shaded until mid-morning gets the strongest of the sun for the rest of the day - or it does in the summer when we have any sun!)

Question the second:
I "had forgotten," too, that hardy perennials grown from seed don't flower in their first year. Or can anybody recommend a HP that will? I don't want to wait two years for flowers - [Frown] - might not be here by then!)

Question the third:
I'm told that walled gardens tend to be a teensy bit warmer. Is this an old wives' tale? I can see that it might act as a pocket to trap a little heat (although maybe the size of the garden would undo that) but, judging by the frost on thelawn, it also acts as a jacket for keeping in the cold! Can I expect my leeks to grow ready-frozen or ready-cooked?

Corpus
(Hoe in hand...)

(was: The green blade riseth (gardening thread anew))
(reverted to more Heavenly English [Roll Eyes] )

[ 02. March 2011, 20:31: Message edited by: Belisarius ]

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Bishop Lord Corpus Cani the Tremulous of Buzzing St Helens.

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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528

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It would be naive to direct sow if you have hungry birds. Or even squirrels. [Eek!] At least in my experience! But you might be luckier.

As for walls, a wall in the right place adds heat and moves the season forward a couple of weeks; one in the wrong place does just the opposite. Basically, you want to plant in front of a wall (not too close now, not in the area that never gets rain!) that faces the sun during the growing season--south, or possibly east or west. (Unless you live in Midwestern Hell where the sun will literally BAKE anything that is too close to the wall during our hot summers.)

Planting right in front of a north-facing wall (I mean on the north side) is asking for trouble unless you're growing something that likes shade (caladiums) and/or cold, like salad greens (prefer the cool).

Of course, the further you get from the wall, the less any of this matters.

Also, walls on a slope (Like my backyard) tend to trap cold air as it flows down the hill. So planting anything on the uphill side of a wall (or house) means that it will be growing in a little cold pocket. Good for some plans, too frosty for most. When we planted a sweet cherry tree (which is very, very borderline in our area) we took care to plant it on a hillside with nothing below it, so that all the cold air would flow down and away from it, and it would hopefully survive. So far, so good!

One last thing about walls. Walls tend to have concrete footings, and concrete has a tendency to turn the surrounding soil alkaline. So don't plant an acid loving plant (like an azalea) right up against a concrete-footed wall. It will be mad at you. Find something that likes alkali (ornamental grasses?), or is at least neutral (most plants).

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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!

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Carex
Shipmate
# 9643

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quote:
Originally posted by Corpus cani:

I'd forgotten (sensitive man's way of saying "didn't know") that annuals would be so bothersome.

One of our favourite shirts says, "Friends don't let friends buy annuals."

quote:

Obviously, hardy annuals don't mind direct sowing, but would it really be naive of me just to sow the seeds directly in the beds and expect something to grow?

This will depend a lot on how hardy the plant is, and what the weather is likely to be in your area at the time the plants are sprouting. Perhaps you can give us some specifics of what you have in mind?

We have a number of plants that reseed themselves in the garden, but mostly we have hardy perennials. Our columbine, for example, have been coming back regularly for 10 years.

But starting seeds indoors or in a hothouse will improve both the reliability adn the rate of survival.

A layer of window screening over the seeds will help keep predators away. (We have had to cover our seeds even in the hothouse to keep the mice from eating them.)

quote:

Question the second:
I "had forgotten," too, that hardy perennials grown from seed don't flower in their first year.

This is not true of all perennials - we have a hardy Datura that comes up from seed and blooms the first year, and I know there are many others. What sort of things are you interested in? (I don't have the list to mind, but can find the info.)
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Corpus cani

Ship's Anachronism
# 1663

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Carex,

Sound advice - I'm not sure about the Datura though! It looks nice but sounds a tad dangerous with small boys and a dog around!

However, Google is my friend and, once I had decided what to ask, it confirmed your advice that there are plenty of perennials that will flower in the first season. Thanks.

The annual question was more concerned with less hardy annuals - the hardies all say they can be planted directly, but so many of my favourites turn out to be non-hardy annuals! [Frown] I'm guessing the answer is not to sow directly until one is sure the frost is over and to cover the seedlings to avoid birdicide?

That ties in with the walled-garden question. Mine is pretty flat: if anything, there's a slight drop away from my walls. Maybe walled-gardens keep the heat, but it seems to me that when my garden becomes frosty, it stays frosty longer. Ergo - follow the frost-avoidance advice above! I suspect, Lamb Chopped, that my walls were built before concrete existed - but older lime-mortar will presumably still be a problem. Shall remember not to plant too close to the wall!

Thanks for your help - shall doubtless need more counsel later!

Corpus

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Bishop Lord Corpus Cani the Tremulous of Buzzing St Helens.

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Carex
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# 9643

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quote:
Originally posted by Corpus cani:
I'm guessing the answer is not to sow directly until one is sure the frost is over

We have this problem with tomatoes, capsicum and melons in the vegetable garden: we can't plant them out until late May due to the danger of frost, and that doesn't give them enough time to develop from seed. Starting such plants indoors (or in a hothouse) means that they are already a good size when we put them out.

Actually the problem is more than just the outside air temperature, but also the soil temperature. The micro-organisms that break down the nutrients in the soil aren't active below about 13C. When the soil temperature is below this the plants won't thrive even if their tops are protected from freezing.

In fact, this could be some of the difference you see in a walled area - if the soil is shaded for part of the day, it won't warm up as fast in the Spring as some that gets full sun. (That is in addition to the walled garden holding the cold night air.) Raised beds full of organic material will warm up faster than dirt at ground level.

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Amos

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# 44

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Corpus, could you post a list of the annuals you like and were hoping to grow?

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At the end of the day we face our Maker alongside Jesus--ken

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Corpus cani

Ship's Anachronism
# 1663

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quote:
Originally posted by Amos:
Corpus, could you post a list of the annuals you like and were hoping to grow?

Fuschia, Lobelia, Petunia, Salvia (Flare), Stock (Heaven Scent) spring to mind - and hopefully to life!

Cc

[ 03. February 2006, 06:21: Message edited by: Corpus cani ]

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Bishop Lord Corpus Cani the Tremulous of Buzzing St Helens.

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babybear
Bear faced and cheeky with it
# 34

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You could choose some hardy perenials that will form the skeleton of your garden, and then use bulbs and annuals to bring change and colour.

The structural plants you choose now could be used to bring some height into the garden. It is amasing how much bigger a garden will look if there are different heights of plants.

Many years ago some telly gardener said to go along to the garden centre once a month and see what is looking good. His reasoning was that this way you would have something loking good in your garden all year round.

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Carex
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# 9643

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quote:
Originally posted by Corpus cani:
Fuschia, Lobelia, Petunia, Salvia (Flare), Stock (Heaven Scent) spring to mind - and hopefully to life!

Fuschia is a shrub, and we've had hardy varieties growing outside for 10 years. They die back to the roots when it gets down to -10C, but grow back quickly once it warms up in the Spring. Varieties that are not hardy in your area are best grown in a pot so they can be brought indoors during the winter. I wouldn't consider it as an annual. They are easier to propagate from cuttings than by planting seeds.
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Corpus cani

Ship's Anachronism
# 1663

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quote:
Originally posted by Carex:
Fuschia is a shrub... I wouldn't consider it as an annual. They are easier to propagate from cuttings than by planting seeds.

Well that's what I thought until I bought the seeds. Maybe that's the key. The packet clearly says "half hardy annual - sow under cover." However, it also says (I've just noticed) "specially bred for containers / bedding."

Fuchsia for bedding? New to me, but then you already know how ignorant I am in these matters! I shall put out a call for cuttings from a decent shrub-type fuchsia. Bound to be a better bet!

Thanks Carex.

Corpus

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Bishop Lord Corpus Cani the Tremulous of Buzzing St Helens.

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Carex
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Well, there are many different types of fuchsia these days, and plant breeders are always coming up with something new. So it is quite possible that they have developed a "half hardy annual" version, whatever that might be. But with all such new things you have to use the information provided by the vendor.

Most of the fuchsia sold for hanging baskets, and those bred for large, showy flowers or foliage, tend not to be hardy. But have a look around Trumpton for established bushes that have survived there.

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babybear
Bear faced and cheeky with it
# 34

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In North Wales my fuschias died back every year and looked totally dead until after April. Just as I was convinced they were dead a little sliver of green would appear. The plants would never reach more than about 50cm high.

My Mum (in Scotland) would take heel cuttings each year grow them on for planting in the spring. It was the only way she could ensure that she had fuschias the following year. Sometimes her plants outside would survive, but mostly they died.

Here on the Isle of Man we have fuschia bushes that are over 2m tall. There are fuschia everywhere!

Look around and see how fuschias are around you. Do they die off completely, do they die back, or are they big bushes?

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nickel
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I don't see fuschias at all here [Frown] , they don't appreciate Virginia's heat & humidity. They are lovely in pictures, though.
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Poppy

Ship's dancing cat
# 2000

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quote:
Originally posted by Corpus cani:
quote:
Originally posted by Amos:
Corpus, could you post a list of the annuals you like and were hoping to grow?

Fuschia, Lobelia, Petunia, Salvia (Flare), Stock (Heaven Scent) spring to mind - and hopefully to life!

Cc

What effect are you after Corpus because you have mixed two styles of plants? All of your choices except the Salvia are pastels in the white, pink, pale blue range. The red of the Salvia doesn't blend with these plants. Also everything is fairly short.

There are three main types of fuchsia; bush, hanging and hardy. The hardy ones will die back over winter and come back the next year. The bush and hanging ones are tender and snuff it if left outside. Within the later two categories you get singles and doubles and very double ones. I think the singles look better in a mixed border but that is just my opinion.

If you want fuchsias then go to the garden centre and get mini plants which are available from now until about May. Get the bush types and pot them up and let them mature on a window sill until the frosts have finished. Lobelia as seed is more trouble than it is worth as it will dampen off if you so much as look at it the wrong way. Allysum has much the same effect and can be sown directly in to the ground. Stock can be sown straight into the garden as well. I've never grown petunias from seed so I don't know if they are tricky. What you can do is get some pots of ready germinated seedlings from the garden centre and prick them out into individual cells of compost and then plant them out into your garden later.

For height you could use Cosmos or Cornflowers or train some sweet peas up a wigwam of canes. Alternatively use the wall and put a selection of small flowered clemetis on there to provide a back drop. If the site is windy then delphiniums and foxgloves will spend most of their time flat on their faces. I'm very fond of penstemons, which are half hardy perenials, and there are lots in the garden centres. The taller ones are quite bushy and seen to stand up to the wind better than traditional cottage garden plants.

The other way of creating height and a focal point in the annual border is to put a pot in the middle with some plants in it. A nice polished blue pot will set off the foliage and paler flowers of your selected plants really well.

If you want a bit of a contrast use a spikey plant like a phormium or a cordyline to off set the drifts of annuals. I'm rather partial to the bronze foliage varieties and they work very well with the pastels of the plants you like.

If you want to use Salvias remember that the slugs adore them. The unforgiving colour doesn't blend well with much else but looks stunning in a tropical type border with white nicotiana, Dahlia 'Bishop of Landaff' and some hostas. You could add in some of the amazing thalia fuchsias which have long red flowers and go very well with this red/green/white/bronze colour scheme.

Apologies for the spelling, I'm not close to any gardening books right now.

[ 04. February 2006, 14:57: Message edited by: Poppy ]

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At the still point of the turning world - there the dance is...

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Amos

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# 44

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I agree with Poppy, except I've found hardy fuschias to be hardier than she indicates: I've had one (and this on a hillside in Lancs.) grow into a bush about 3 feet high. It doesn't die back at all, and I have to keep it pruned if I want to enjoy my view.

Tall cosmos are lovely. They can be grown fairly easily from seed. Nicotiniana sylvestris is also lovely, very fashionable, and smells delicious, especially in the evening. Stocks will need staking unless you pinch them back severely. Nasturtiums aren't to be sneezed at (unless they clash terribly with the rest of your colours): Empress of India is the best, IMO, and any idiot can grow them. They're also edible. Nigella, or Love-in-a-Mist and cornflowers are great for filling in spaces, and grow easily from seed. Escholtziana (California poppies) now come in various pastel colours (though I think the original is still best): you can get them in cream. Valerian loves walls. If you're growing sweetpeas, start them early, and protect the seedlings with loo roll tubes.

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At the end of the day we face our Maker alongside Jesus--ken

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Corpus cani

Ship's Anachronism
# 1663

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All good advice - thanks. I have thought about the bit in the books that says "pastel shades at the top of the garden and bright colours at the bottom" (or is it the other way round?)

This is my first time planting a big garden, so I'm not too worried about what looks good where. I just want a summer filled with colour and for that colour to continue as long as possible through the winter. During this coming summer, I'll learn which plants might be better moved somewhere else because they "look wrong", but at the moment I just want to get lots of green and lots of colour.

I have, however, thought about height. I've planted some Euphorbia and Japonica towards the back of the bed, because they'll grow up to a reasonable height (albeit slowly.) I'm about to plant various lilies and delphinia behind them to give a bit more height (and, I hope, colour) in the summer. I've also used my Christmas-present-to-myself drill to put up some trellis across the wall for peas. I've bought a mixture of annual Sweet P (for immediate colour this summer) and eternal P (for colour and covering the wall ever after.) I've got lilies, chinese lanterns, delphinia and stuff to give the height at the back. The fronts are already filled with snowdrop, crocus, daffodil et al to provide some early colour and a bit of bulk. Then I have seeds and bulbs for all sorts of stuff that will fill in, and graduate down towards the front of the beds.

I've come to terms with the fact that I need to do some potting before planting out. Grrrr.

I just need to get the flower beds going and the make a start on the veggies... Just!
[Disappointed]

Corpus

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Bishop Lord Corpus Cani the Tremulous of Buzzing St Helens.

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M.
Ship's Spare Part
# 3291

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The trouble with nasturtiums, Amos, is that they do Take Over the World towards autumn. And they seed themselves incredibly efficiently. Once you plant nasturtiums, you will never be without them.

M.

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Cymruambyth
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# 10887

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Oh, this thread is just too cruel! Have you no sensitivity for the feelings of those of us who are still languishing under three feet of snow? Here in the frigid northern climes, we can only flip through garden catalogues and dream at this time of year, and long for the day when the frost comes out of the ground (which is usually at the end of May!!!!!!!)

[Waterworks]

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"Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living." Jaroslav Pelikan

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Amos

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# 44

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'Empress of India' is quite welcome to take over all the pink bits on my map. I can always put it in salads.

Hollyhocks are equally rampant, and in my last house I had a terrible battle with pot-marigolds.

Corpus, if you don't have it already, get the late Christopher Lloyd's masterpiece, 'The Well-Tempered Gardener' (or is it just 'The Well-Tempered Garden'?). You'll enjoy his style and he gives excellent advice.

Beware of lily beetles.

If I were sitting in Winnipeg with a seed-catalogue, I would make myself another cup of cocoa and enjoy all the pleasures of NOT being able to get out in the garden.

[ 13. February 2006, 06:59: Message edited by: Amos ]

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At the end of the day we face our Maker alongside Jesus--ken

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Dee.
Ship's Theological Acrobat
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Hi Green Thumbs,

I have just moved into a new place and inherited a wee garden. Unfortunately it has rampant oxalis...absolutely riddled with it.

Any idea how to get rid of this??

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Jesus - nice bloke, bit religious

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babybear
Bear faced and cheeky with it
# 34

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I looked this up and there were two suggestions, hoeing and hands weeding before the flowers come, and the use of 'weed and feed' for lawns. It thrives in dry, poor soil.

It seems the most important thing is to prevent it from setting seed. If touched the seed pods will explode sending seeds everywhere.

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Wet Kipper
Circus Runaway
# 1654

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We've just moved to a proper house, after being in a flat.
So we have a proper garden (front and back)

Out front is a fairly big tree, which I'm sure the previous owners said was a plum tree.
At the moment the branches are bare, but I'm guessing that once leaaves and any fruit come, the tree will block quite a lot of light getting to the house.

When's the best time to prune/chop/hack ?

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- insert randomly chosen, potentially Deep and Meaningful™ song lyrics here -

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Corpus cani

Ship's Anachronism
# 1663

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quote:
Originally posted by Dee-nz:
8<..Unfortunately it has rampant oxalis...absolutely riddled with it.

Any idea how to get rid of this??

Them's buttercups int they? This site recommends cutting / pulling them up - preferrably before they flower - and "repeated cutting / cultivation." It's also important not to transfer contaminated soil, but I'm guessing that won't be a problem in a small garden.

Amos - I have read Lloyd's "Well-chosen Garden" which was quite helpful. It has, however, left me with the urge to trade in my Victorian vicarage for a Tudor manor house with 200 acres and a horse pond!

I'm hoping Craddock will finish the East bed today and leave enough time for me to do some planting this PM. Euphorbia, hellebores and japonica are already in, together with hundreds of crocuses and daffs that Craddock rescued. Today, I'm putting in the lilies. What fun this nature lark is!

Corpus

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Bishop Lord Corpus Cani the Tremulous of Buzzing St Helens.

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chukovsky

Ship's toddler
# 116

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quote:
Originally posted by M.:
The trouble with nasturtiums, Amos, is that they do Take Over the World towards autumn. And they seed themselves incredibly efficiently. Once you plant nasturtiums, you will never be without them.

I wish you'd told me that the year before last! I have been removing all nasturtiums and seed pods assiduously last autumn and over the winter, but I still fear they will come up this year again. I will be ruthless...

I've been indulging in winter gardening aka buying seeds... and plants... I have a great book called "Make the Most of Town and City Gardening" which recommends plants for different sizes of garden (mainly small, starting with a window box) and aspects - I bought four small shrubs that apparently work well in partial shade, which my new expanded bed has, and dug them in. Oops. Makes sense to check where you planted bulbs before doing that...

I asked a while ago about a UK-specific gardening forum and I can't remember if I reported back that the best one I've found is the newsgroup uk.rec.gardening. They are willing to answer all kinds of daft questions...

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Carex
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# 9643

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quote:
Originally posted by Papa Smurf:

Out front is a fairly big tree, which I'm sure the previous owners said was a plum tree.
At the moment the branches are bare, but I'm guessing that once leaaves and any fruit come, the tree will block quite a lot of light getting to the house.

When's the best time to prune/chop/hack ?

I spent much of the weekend pruning the remaining fruit trees. Ideally you would prune the tree before it starts budding out so the growing energy is focused in the remaining branches. Actually you can prune it any time, but the tree wastes less energy if you prune it before the sap starts flowing.

One of the first things to do is to remove the "water sprouts", the vertical, fast-growing whips that pop up everywhere. Plums fruit on the curly, horizontal branches and not on the vertical ones.
This alone may be a major undertaking if the tree hasn't been pruned for a few years.

Also take out damaged or diseased branches, ones that cross back through the tree at odd angles, etc. We keep our apple trees cut down to where I can reach the branches without a ladder, even though
they are not dwarf varieties. Don't be afraid to shape the tree or shorten it by taking out some main branches - a good guideline is not to remove more than 1/3 of the wood in any one year.


Pruning will improve the quality of the fruit produced. If you find that you really don't like the taste of the fruit, then next year after pruning you can think about grafting other varieties of plums onto the tree. We had two Italian Prune trees to which I had grafted several kinds of plums, as well as apricots, and almonds.

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daisymay

St Elmo's Fire
# 1480

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We've had the Prince of Wales Trust helping with our tiny garden at our project, which I usually take care of. they have pruned the roses (only 2 bushes) and attacked the buddleia, which took over the rose's little earth circle last year. I am now waiting for the usual weeds to arrive when it gets warmer. The daffodils are flowering with great golden brightness. I also have to deal with buttercups - I was silly enogh to leave them there, because they have such gorgeous flowers, a few years ago, and now I have to dig them up as soon as they appear every spring.

A dirty question - what effect does dog-shit have on the earth? The bit of garden in our street has been emptied (apart from huge silver maples and a few bulbs which are poking out) while work was done in the area. It's not yet replanted, and people are using it as a dog's toilet.

Will it be fertiliser or poison for the tough clay? We keep trying to get it cleaned up and fenced off, but the council hasn't been helpful. I don't want to plant stuff myself at the moment.... [Projectile]

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Corpus cani

Ship's Anachronism
# 1663

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Re doggy-doos...

I have plenty of friedns who just dig it into the flowerbeds seemingly with no ill-effects, but I have been told it shouldn't be added to the compost bin. I seem to remember something about herbivore faeces being ok, but not carnivore "stuff". I'm not, however, convinced that Canis cani's complete diet actually contains any real food at all!

I've just invested in one of these. It's buried in the garden and after scooping (either on a walk or in the garden at Corpus Towers) I empty the stuff in the bin. Once a week, I chuck in a couple of buckets of water and add a capful of enzyme and it seems to be doing its stuff. It's next to where my vegetable beds will be, so I'm hoping it will have pleasing effects on me carrots!

Corpus

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M.
Ship's Spare Part
# 3291

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Mr M & I have a small bay tree in a pot. Unfortunately, it is no longer flourishing like the green bay tree - it is yellow and sickly looking. I don't think it's just winter as it was beginning to look poorly last summer.

Does anyone have any ideas?

M.

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Tree Bee

Ship's tiller girl
# 4033

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Tip it out of the pot and examine the roots.
It may be pot bound, and needs potting on into a larger container.
Does it get enough light?
Try moving it to a different position.

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M.
Ship's Spare Part
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Thanks - it might be pot bound. I should think it gets enough light, but I will try both suggestions.

M.

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Rossweisse

High Church Valkyrie
# 2349

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quote:
Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
...One last thing about walls. Walls tend to have concrete footings, and concrete has a tendency to turn the surrounding soil alkaline. So don't plant an acid loving plant (like an azalea) right up against a concrete-footed wall. It will be mad at you. Find something that likes alkali (ornamental grasses?), or is at least neutral (most plants).

As an alternative, would it be possible to add something acidic to the soil to counterbalance all that? Coffee grounds work magnificently for this purpose; so do oak leaves and pine straw.

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Anna B
Shipmate
# 1439

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First little green nose of a bulb poked up today! Yayyyyyyyyy! The end of winter is in sight [Axe murder]

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Rossweisse

High Church Valkyrie
# 2349

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Ah, yes, you're in Chicago, Prophetess. Mine have been coming up for weeks, and the first dear little yellow narcissi BLOOMED today!

[Axe murder] indeed!

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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528

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quote:
Originally posted by M.:
Mr M & I have a small bay tree in a pot. Unfortunately, it is no longer flourishing like the green bay tree - it is yellow and sickly looking. I don't think it's just winter as it was beginning to look poorly last summer.

Does anyone have any ideas?

M.

New pot, absolutely. With as much new soil as you can manage (get rid of the old tired stuff). Yellow may be chlorosis, or just general sickliness--but either way, dollars to doughnuts, it's a problem with lack of minerals in the current soil. The good stuff just leaches out over time, so pot soil needs to be replaced or added to regularly.

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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
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Amos

Shipmate
# 44

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quote:
Originally posted by The Prophetess:
First little green nose of a bulb poked up today! Yayyyyyyyyy! The end of winter is in sight [Axe murder]

I remember the first thread you ever posted on bulbs, Prophetess, before you moved to Chicago, before your son was born...Did you ever read Elizabeth Lawrence's 'The Little Bulbs'? I think it's still available in paperback.

The garden here, at least the one out back, looks like the Somme. That's what come of having young lurchers. The things I've got in tubs are still doing well though (it was daisymay who inspired me to do that), and I've got little Iris reticulata blooming as well as the crocuses.

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At the end of the day we face our Maker alongside Jesus--ken

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Corpus cani

Ship's Anachronism
# 1663

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Well I have hoards of snowdrops flowering (although I could scarce see them against the snow this morning.) Other bulbs are certainly peeping through - especially the daffodils- but apart from the snowdrops, nothing is flowering yet.

Why?

I have millions of crocus leaves growing strongly, but nary a flower. Down the road, the crocuses are in full bloom. Why is my garden cursed so?

Cc

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Bishop Lord Corpus Cani the Tremulous of Buzzing St Helens.

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Rossweisse

High Church Valkyrie
# 2349

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Two days of 80+ degree weather, and the flowers (I only do members of the narcissus family; Bambi, Thumper and the squirrels all disdain them equally) are bursting out. The narcissi are all out; the jonquils and daffodils are fast on their heels. It is absolutely glorious.

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Anna B
Shipmate
# 1439

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quote:
Originally posted by Amos:
I remember the first thread you ever posted on bulbs, Prophetess, before you moved to Chicago, before your son was born...Did you ever read Elizabeth Lawrence's 'The Little Bulbs'? I think it's still available in paperback.

My salad days, when I was green in judgment.

I never have read that book, but it sounds like something I would enjoy. The Prophetlet and I took a nature walk today to look for signs of spring. It was pretty cold ( [brick wall] , Rossweisse!!!) and I had to wear my long wool churchgoing coat, but we did manage to identify a couple more hyacinth shoots!

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Bad Christian (TM)

Posts: 3069 | From: near a lot of fish | Registered: Oct 2001  |  IP: Logged
Rossweisse

High Church Valkyrie
# 2349

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quote:
Originally posted by The Prophetess:
...( [brick wall] , Rossweisse!!!) ...

Ah, but think how much nicer your summer will be than ours!

[Big Grin]

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Carex
Shipmate
# 9643

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quote:
Originally posted by Rossweisse:
quote:
Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
...One last thing about walls. Walls tend to have concrete footings, and concrete has a tendency to turn the surrounding soil alkaline. So don't plant an acid loving plant (like an azalea) right up against a concrete-footed wall. It will be mad at you. Find something that likes alkali (ornamental grasses?), or is at least neutral (most plants).

As an alternative, would it be possible to add something acidic to the soil to counterbalance all that? Coffee grounds work magnificently for this purpose; so do oak leaves and pine straw.
We have very alkaline water, so we put powdered sulfur under the mulch to acidify the soil around our acid-loving plants. Oak leaves and such are great, but we have too many plants for the amount that we can gather.
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Anna B
Shipmate
# 1439

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quote:
Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
One last thing about walls. Walls tend to have concrete footings, and concrete has a tendency to turn the surrounding soil alkaline. So don't plant an acid loving plant (like an azalea) right up against a concrete-footed wall. It will be mad at you. Find something that likes alkali (ornamental grasses?), or is at least neutral (most plants).

When I was working on a church garden once, I planted a row of "Grosso" lavender against a south wall. Visiting the same church a few years later in high summer, I couldn't believe my eyes. The lavender was about 4 feet high----clearly it loved the heat and the alkalinity. [Cool]

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Rossweisse

High Church Valkyrie
# 2349

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Prophetess: The jonquils started bursting into bloom today. The little narcissi are still going, and together they make a very pretty picture.

It turned colder this afternoon, which should simply prolong the pleasure of their flowering.

Ross

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daisymay

St Elmo's Fire
# 1480

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I've just had a violent visitor to my back-yard! [Frown]

As I came in to my kitchen and looked out the window, a hawk glared at me. It was sitting on a pot, ripping up and eating one of our blackbirds who feed and socialise in the yard for hours every day.

The yard is fluffy with his feathers, and all that was left was his head and one foot of intestines. [Eek!] He was obviously drinking from the water bowl when he was grabbed, because it was rather full of blood. I've taken his remainder to the black bin, as I couldn't bear the thought of his head remaining in my kitchen rubbish bag.

Should I have poured the blood/water into a poy for fertiliser? I reckoned it would cause problems and stink.

Amos, it was one of my lily pots the feast took place on.

My tiny daffodils are thriving in their little pot and beginning to bend ovet to make flowers, and a couple of golden crocuses are flowering. The lilies are shoving up through the earth now, too. I need to water them with poison for the lily beetles.....

I've never seen a hawk so close except in one of the bird sanctuaries. It glared at me with bright yellow eyes. [Eek!]

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Rossweisse

High Church Valkyrie
# 2349

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quote:
Originally posted by daisymay:
... I've never seen a hawk so close except in one of the bird sanctuaries. It glared at me with bright yellow eyes. [Eek!]

I had a staring contest with one in my back yard a few months ago. It sat on a fence-post and sized me (and my RAV4) up, and I returned the favor. It evidently decided that the car was too big to lift and flew away, but I had a clear picture of how it might feel to be a mousie.

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I'm not dead yet.

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Anna B
Shipmate
# 1439

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quote:
Originally posted by Rossweisse:
Prophetess: The jonquils started bursting into bloom today. The little narcissi are still going, and together they make a very pretty picture.

It turned colder this afternoon, which should simply prolong the pleasure of their flowering.

Ross

Lucky you! We're supposed to get a couple inches of snow this week, so my hyacinths and tulips will be in arrested development for a bit. I gave expression to my feelings by ordering a flowering quince "Toyo-Nishiki" from a nursery in Virginia. On sale, even.

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Anna B
Shipmate
# 1439

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Plus a 4-in-1 apple tree (4 varieties grafted onto one rootstock) and a "Carolina Belle" peach tree. [Big Grin]

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Bad Christian (TM)

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Rossweisse

High Church Valkyrie
# 2349

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72 degrees today...lovely breeze....nicely sunny... sitting out on the new screen porch for lunch, watching the daffy-down-dillies grow...
[Yipee]

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Anna B
Shipmate
# 1439

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The heavy snow never arrived, thank the Lord. I really am quite sick of winter---this afternoon found the Prophetlet and me prowling about the back yard.

Does anyone out there have experience with growing grapes? I am especially curious about "Glenora."

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Posts: 3069 | From: near a lot of fish | Registered: Oct 2001  |  IP: Logged
Amos

Shipmate
# 44

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Vines like sun, and require hard pruning in the early spring. We had a couple in Boston (I doubt they were Glenora); the grapes were delicious, and they were very easy once you remembered to prune ruthlessly.

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At the end of the day we face our Maker alongside Jesus--ken

Posts: 7667 | From: Summerisle | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Yish
Shipmate
# 11115

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Moo has suggested that we might post here. Al isn't feeling too strong presently and please forive me for posting on his behalf.

We are looking at planting something which CB's (Maia's) ashes could go beneath. So far we've had many suggestions, including :

Wild Roses

and

Butterfly Bushes

Someone else suggested this :

Camomile

We've had many suggestions involving roses and also involving various kinds of lawns. Al is looking for something that could be planted in Ohio in around June. It needs to be fairly hardy and something which doesn't require a great deal of tendering since he'd hate it to die. They have a good deal of space in Ohio and so could plant either one plant or, more preferably, something which is wilder. But something which can withstand all types of weather.

Al would like something which is wild growing and which would sum up Maia. My expertise on plants is laughable and any advice would be appreciated. I haven't added in all the suggestions but the main ones we're thinking about.

Thanks

Yish.

[ETA : clicked on post too soon!]

[ 25. March 2006, 13:02: Message edited by: Yish ]

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