Gardening Aspirations For 2018

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by "M", Nov 26, 2017.

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  1. "M"

    "M" Total Gardener

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    Reflecting on your successes and non-successes of 2017, plus purchases, wish lists, and new ideas garnered from reading the forums: what are your gardening aspirations for 2018?

    On my plants wish list will be Clematis "Freckles"
    Still need to make my water feature :rolleyes:
    A shed would be nice! :doh:
    Still waiting for the water butts to be "plumbed" in :rrant:
    Now the new build at the back of my garden has risen like a phoenix, some trellis for the patio-meets-lawn would be good (for privacy).
    I need to get someone in who will put up a fence (STRAIGHT) so I get all of the land I paid for and not just some of it! :doh: It is the party line, so shouldn't cause undue stress/upset with the neighbour :fingers crossed:

    I seem to have acquired a few plant which fall into the "exotic" theme, but without being "exotic", so, when the fencing is righted, I will harness those to surround my Dracunculus vulgaris and make it look like a "theme" :heehee: (I'm talking fatsia and bamboo here, so a good foil for year round interest and for the Dracunculus to climb through).

    If anyone sees any flaws in my plans, do feel free to mention it :redface: :heehee:

    What are your gardening aspirations for 2018?
     
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    • CanadianLori

      CanadianLori Total Gardener

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      Oh dear, this great post is immaculately timed. Friday's mail brought me two seed catalogues and a new Lee Valley Christmas gift idea one as well! I want it all...

      Okay, I am currently trying out capillary matting inside and hoping it works out well and I can use it in my greenhouses next spring. I have a tendency to drown everybody. I know they don't need so much water but I fear letting them go dry and keep flooding things. If this works well, I will then need to rip out my irrigation network in there ... hmm, no, maybe raise it and squash in more hanging plants.

      I would love to be able to grow carnations. I love their smell. I need to find a variety that will tolerate me.





      I
       
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      • ARMANDII

        ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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        I've just bought Dianthus "Memories" Lori at bargain price but, not being that much of a Dianthus fan, it was the heavenly sweet scent that won me over.:love30::snorky:
        [​IMG]
         
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        • Sandy Ground

          Sandy Ground Total Gardener

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          If all goes as planned, it wont be much more than replace some plants, add some garden lighting and perhaps make up a couple of gates if time allows.
           
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          • Redwing

            Redwing Wild Gardener

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            Nice idea for a thread. I’m going to develop my newly made wildlife pond but not before the spring:

            We're Making a Wildlife Pond

            Also I need to decide which desert grape to plant and get it in over the winter months.

            And I’m thinking of buying a lean to greenhouse. I miss my old one since I moved five years ago.
             
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            • Jack Sparrow

              Jack Sparrow Total Gardener

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              I still have so much to do. I'm hoping we get a relatively dry winter so I can carry on tidying up. It would be nice to spend next spring and summer planting.

              G.
               
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              • Jack Sparrow

                Jack Sparrow Total Gardener

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                Carnations? I saw these in B&Q recently. I didn't know what they did so I didn't risk it.

                20171117_105116.jpg

                G.
                 
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                • CanadianLori

                  CanadianLori Total Gardener

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                  :gaah: why don't we have finds like that!
                   
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                  • Sheal

                    Sheal Total Gardener

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                    I'll be getting to grips with my new garden for most of next year.

                    The back lawn is choked with moss so that is a must to make mowing easier.

                    One of the front lawns isn't actually mow-able at this point, it needs levelling, but that will have to wait until after a few mature trees and their stumps/roots are removed. I also intend to widen a part of the drive for easy car turning at the house end. This in turn means the removal of part of the lawn and expanding the gravelled area.

                    I also have to tackle a crop of bracken and brambles on the boundary. Oh, and the removal of a mature bamboo - that is not going to be easy. :doh:
                     
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                    • shiney

                      shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                      @Sheal Don't work on the bracken until all the spores have gone. They are thought to be carcinogenic if inhaled.

                      I've just grabbed this link to Scottish Natural Heritage

                      Bracken control
                       
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                      • shiney

                        shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                        My aspiration is to still be able to do my gardening as normal. :old:

                        As usual, we tend to change some things anyway, either because plants get out of hand, too old or simply die. The 'simply die' bit has been prevalent lately with the loss of some giant Fuchsias (8ft x 6ft) to disease and a lovely Cistus (at least 6ft diameter) for no apparent reason at all. :sad:

                        The Cistus has already been replaced with one from another part of the garden but we have nothing (yet) planned for the Fuchsia areas. We have already stripped out a 100sq ft area of Vinca and replaced it with other plants and have just removed about 200sq ft of Pulmonaria (one of my favourite early flowering plants) to give more room to other plants around it - and to plant some bulbs.

                        I'm not sure what else we'll do this year.
                         
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                        • Clare G

                          Clare G Super Gardener

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                          Great idea for a thread! I don't have any big structural plans - already having a couple of new-ish features, having replaced my lawn with gravel and paving in autumn 2016 and then reshaped the pond and replaced the pond liner this summer. However that does give me scope for some replanting - I want to move around some of the perennials in the borders next spring - and hopefully make room for a few new ones:spinning:. There should be room for some more marginals round the pond as well.

                          I also want to do more to encourage wildlife. So recently as all the leaves come down I have been tucking them and some dead wood into a shady corner on the rubble and earth bank at the end of the garden, where frogs and insects already hang out. (The frogs also like my new pond!) Not many plants grow there but I've got some periwinkle and ivy cuttings growing in pots, ready to poke in next spring.
                           
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                          • Sian in Belgium

                            Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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                            What a lovely idea, to think about next year, whilst a storm blows outside...

                            I need to finish making our new raised veg beds. They have been dug out to a depth of 2', and filledto overflowing with horse manure this spring. So of course, they are now about 10" below ground level. So I need to get hubby to help me carry some timbers from the bottom of the garden to make the sides, and then refill with horse manure...

                            I hope to get all the hedges cut to be below 6' tall, so that then I can maintain them.

                            The wood store should be emptied, and re-done, maybe with a panel (made out of the wood?), so that the rain doesn't blow through so much.

                            I want to extend the patio bed around as far as the deutzia, so that I don't have to risk the steep bank to mow round it each week. A similar reason to extend the pink bed above the house, as the ground slopes v steeply there, and I have to work hard to stop the mower rolling over there...

                            Otherwise, no plans to extend or increase the amount of work required!!
                             
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                            • Sheal

                              Sheal Total Gardener

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                              Thank you for the information @shiney. Bracken is considered a health risk now but I can remember as a child running and playing in fields of it - I'm still here. :)

                              It's not a large area I need to deal with but an awkward one as it's growing on and around a boundary stone wall and is gradually encroaching on to the lawn. I had a good idea how to deal with it and the information in your link has confirmed that for me, thanks again. :thumbsup:
                               
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                              • NigelJ

                                NigelJ Total Gardener

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                                Get the new greenhouse into full use. Finish moving fruit bushes into new cage. Begin to plant up bank behind greenhouses. Catch up on jobs neglected due to greenhouse construction and other construction work.
                                 
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