General Gardening Discussion

as a jobbing gardener i am often overfaced with overgrown gardens and no idea how much work is involved at the start........ if it is really bad i suggest you get a good gardener to sort out the worst of it and get advice on plants to plant i use professional hand tools, not the cut price off...

I don't even know what they are. My wife presented me with a bag and said "They're Alliums"."What type are they? What are they like?""Alliums, they're really pretty".So that's it, I know no more about them.

I think I'd give up gardening if it involved that much work.

Well, not sure if I am excited, but now they don't seem to have changed since I put the post up. To add to it we had quite a hard frost last night so shall watch them to see what happens. Will let you know if they flower in the near future. Thanks.

Thanks Michaelmasdaisy - I've done what you suggested - lets hope it works OK

Sorry for the delay in november piccies, problems with pc. As a reminder of summer gone, roses will flower right through til DecemberThen there's the fruitIris Foetidissima - a lover of dry shade, and evergreen. Blessed with bright orange fruits which last for some time.The leaves...

Mine too have always been and are in shade - not a problem they just need moisture and heat from the decomposition to be kept up. My Henry Doubleday wooden bin even had its own duvet when delivered :D

Would just like to add Laura, that those weedkillers only really work when the plants are growing strongly, so its really a job for next spring summer now. Unless you want to dig out what you can through the winter months.

What kind of plants did you order ???Have visions of 'happy' plants sitting in the 'nik' with lots of laughing policemen :DI do hope everything gets sorted out OK and your trees come to no harm.

I've a collection of seeds going spare. I'll e-mail you a list - but not this weekend - I'm working!!!

A work-mate of mine recently set up as a one woman gardening service. She's in her fifties and had worked as a nurse and nurse manager for all her life!But things came to a point where she was disillusioned by nursing (Agenda For Change was responsible for that!) so she quit and trawled...

Yes it's a bit late now, they need long nights (12 hrs +) from about the end of September, temperature in the 60s F. draught free. What a nightmare to grow! You've done well to keep it healthy from last year. Buy a new one or better still, buy a Holly bush this year.

Steve Yes, there are a lot of them about :D La Marina is nearby. We are 50KM south of Alicante, and 5KM south of Torrevieja. Here is a map from Google Earth. The nearest beach is at La Zenia.As you can see we are just into the rough :D :D

Hi Billily, As far as I know, they are self fertile, in other words, they will form berries without you doing anything. One thing I notice is your in Folkestone, is it a bit chalky down there? Reason I ask is that Gaultheria is a lime hater, and it needs an acid soil.

They look a bit like daffs to me, but not big enough to flower. Looks like you've got them under cover which could explain them being a bit early.

Thanks Fran - no one has heard of peppermint mulch! LOL I think it is an island thing ...

Most plant that we buy these days seem to be grown under ideal, but totally unnatural conditions. Therefore even something as hardy as primroses seem to need hardening off, to out door conditions. I'm only guessing but I reckon the yellowing of the leaves is due to the shock of being exposed to...

Thanks for your information, Liz.Jez

Yes indeedy - they should produce occassional flowers all winter til the main display in spring - though wet may set set them backThat reminds me I need to find some more primroses (primular vulgaris) as my stock is running low, and I love them.One of the signs of spring in near by Milton...

Thanks, Liz, for the information. It's OK, then - I've only wrapped round the sides of the pots. Top has a layer of vermiculite and base is off the ground on bricks.Looks like I can stop worrying!