Garden Projects and DIY

I think some shade lovers haven’t read the text books. Foxgloves, in my garden, refuse to grow in the shady parts and pop up all over my sunny beds or at the sunny edges of the shadier ones.I’ve found that woodruff can take its time to get going. I moved some to a shady bed alongside our shed...

I think your seating area looks lovely, and is well positioned around the tree. Just a point to ponder - would you want to leave the sides open? I have fairly recently inherited an area of decking which is open round the sides and is full of weeds, right underneath where it is impossible to...

Well you’ve got the sun today now it feels Tropical . It’s a lovely garden like the style , planting and design worth it in the end !!

I haven't cemented in my brick border edges....which is just as well as I've moved them three times to increase the size of the borders....and can't rule out doing it again! They're just set on firmed soil, fine as long as you don't lean on them!

Hi! The whole local are here is full of Rhododendrons, in remarkable abundance. I have a camellia and it's growing very well too. I might get another test to confirm. I'll see how it goes.

I've just come in from doing some jobs while it's been decent, and saw your thread @Welshman . Seriously impressive. I love a bit of building work and changing things around Hope you get the weather to do all the things you want to get done. Probably a good idea to get on with it soon, rather...

I had a look at my YouTube thing, and it seems to be working again, but I've not tried linking a video here @Wannabe . I'm sure the mods would help if you wanted to try it. I'm not sure of all the tech jargon so I'd need someone to explain it to me in words of one syllable!

I like your design @Sogni verdi and am pleased to see those grasses in your plan! Your Phormiums may need a bit more space as they expand, but they can easily be divided. If that’s a Cordyline in the middle, beware, they can suffer in severe winters and look a bit tatty. A dwarf pampas grass may...

No worries! Thanks so much for getting back to me, I really appreciate it. Off to B&Q tomorrow then. Happy gardening!

Really amcGeorge? I would be fascinated to find out all the things that people were eating who lived in my house in 1832. I would also like to know what those things cost, what their house looked like, what jobs they did and their life stories. I would read with great interest a snapshot of a...

Oh dear @LunarSea - not quite what I meant

Not sure my wife would speak to me again if she saw the price of that!

Hi,Thanks @Logan yes the Alpro custard is lovely; we've been buying it for years.Thanks also for your useful suggestion; I seriously considered removing the branches nearest the bungalow but it's too dangerous given all the laurels beneath the tree; I'd have to double rope each branch; the...

Thank you @Bear1 . Yes, I don't like conifers either, so an excuse to replace it with a native mixed hedge would be good. The soil is very good, and topped up regularly with fresh goodness from the river at least once a year... There are loads of local apple trees (but mainly cider types) as...

Thanks all - given me some ideas for the way to progressI'll let you know in a couple of years

That is a mixture Nigel. Do you find that you can plant a good mix of species owing to the different soil types? For instance an Azalea in a particular spot that wouldn't thrive in a different area of your garden?

Tidied up the summer house and put the lights on for the first time in..... well, what seems forever. Lovely quiet evening.There is a plant in there, A Peace Lily which loves the heat!

This worked very successfully when I was teaching....Foundation stage. We set up garden area with paving slabs in a chequerboard pattern so that they could stand on slabs to tend the areas around them. Led to germination, in verandah area, pricking out, planting out, watering, weeding...and...

Chaenorhinum origanifolium 'Blue Dream'

Just checked my records. 4 plants, 3 varieties Hedychium gardnerianium x 2 H. coronarium H. densiflorum ‘Assam Orange’ The H. coronarium is a lot smaller than the others as that is a replacement for one that failed, for some reason.