Lead us not into temptation.

It's that time of year,seed catalogues coming through the door,large inviting adverts in the papers and magazines for gorgeous plants.
That is before we call in at the local Garden Centre or Gardener Corner.
What chance have we got..
Just spotted these.

http://www.maillife.co.uk/view/product/maillife_catalog/2,938,367/TAM309

 

God, that winds me up!

There is no such thing as a climbing Fuchsia! There are upright growing varieties such as this one and Lady Boothby.

The nearest thing to a climbing fuchsia is one that I have - F.perscandens

In its native habitat in New Zealand it will scramble over other small shrubs etc, but it cannot climb.

Now that I have got that off my chest - that does look nice Roders! Only thing is that as it looks like Blacky is part of its make-up, I doubt how hardy it may be. Probably worth a punt though at that price.

Lady Boothby has proven to be hardy here, although it is slow to get going in the spring.

 

The hardest temptation at the moment is to not sow any seeds,it is so warm here working in a Tshirt yesterday but i was moving 3x2 slabs.But it is getting to be a proper temptation now not to think it is spring.
I think that is why so many random threads are appearing on the forum,people taking their minds off gardening.
Instead of buying more plants and seed I think we ought to be concentrating on ways to control the bugs with no winter it is going to be an interesting (hard work) controlling the insects and slugs not to mention cabbage whites!!!!!:WINK1:

 

^This!

... I am itching to be out there DOING important spring things!
The bugs are going to be interesting for sure this year ... I found a discarded apple core in the back of the garden and when I touched it, all these flying ants came out. What? January, man, January!!

 

I totally agree, there is now also "climbing" Geraniums. As with the Fuchsias though, they are just TRAILING forms tied onto canes or frames.

 

I know of a Geranium about 3-4 minutes drive from me that is 3-4 meters tall climbing through a tree which it has been for years ... but it's just one of the giant ones (we have many single and double 1.5-2 meters tall ones here) that it is just 'reaching for the sky/light'.

Must say, I would love the Fuchsia!

 

Well yes you could say that about climbing roses and some Clematis etc.,they need tieing in.

But the fact remains that the temptation is still there,we are all capable of being tempted to buy something we DON'T need.

 

Climbing roses and climbing clematis ARE climbing plants. The Fuchsias and Pelargoniums aren`t.

 

I received the latest catalogue from Marshalls the other day. There's loads of good deals in it. I think I'm going to get rid of almost all of my front lawn and fill almost the whole garden with flowers this year. It occurred to me that we don't really use the front garden, so I've been keeping it tidy and that's about it, but then it occurred to me that its the first sight we see when we come home, so even if it doesn't get used, it might as well be full of blooms.

 

A wildflower meadow?

 

That's not a bad idea. I'll have to have a think. I want some really bold colours in there, and I want year round colour, so not sure if exclusively wildflower meadow seeds would do the trick, but I like the idea. Maybe replace the entire lawn with a wildflower mix, and have pockets of bolder stuff, each pocket coming into its prime at different points in the year.

You've got me thinking now.

 

If you have the itch, here are a few seeds that are worth sowing early..........

Datura metel and wrightii
Plumbago capensis
Exotic tuberous plants such as Gloriosa and Bomerea
Perennial Lobelia
Salvia patens
Chillies
and anything else with a long germination period.

 

I have Cleome seeds which would look good at the back. They are annuals, but that would give you a chance to think about perennial plants and source them (or the seed). Well grown Cleomes (which really just means Cleomes that are given a little space) offer a great splash of colour. At my old house (where I had more space) I grew a bed of Cleome and Amaranthus which was very effective.