# Get your garden out



## aliclarke86

I don't have a garden at the moment, the rabbit has eaten the small amount we do have and seeing as spring has sprung as it where who wants to share some pics? 

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## Wallace

I'd love too but my garden is one massive work in progress. I need to hire a mini digger to level it all off, I need to buy a new shed, I need to replace some fence panels and posts AND my back gate from where they blew down in the storms a while back, and that's just in the back garden. I did manage to get the mower out at the weekend and cut the grass though, once I'd spent ages cleaning the spark plug and getting the bugger running again. 

My roses out the front are starting to go great guns now though 

I'll pop some pics up of the back tomorrow. 




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## tim

All my gardens are under water  perks of living in a first floor flat.


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## Lindy

I'm in although the dog and 3yr old have rendered the grass a muddy mess.

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## Andy D

Mines a mess. I have some pics from prior years I can dig out though.


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## kirk

Mines a mess work in progress
Been building a look out for my son from old scraps of wood and felt off a skip. to sit with telescope and bat detector.


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## Aron_Dip

Mine is slowly filling out each year building up the boarders.. But looks a mess at the minute with most the plants being bulbs and perennials. 

Few crap quality photos from last year


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## Lindy

How mine looks this morning.  Pouring rain...



Originaly it looked like the garden on the right. It had a gravel strip up the left side which I decided to lift and put a border in. Lifted all the gravel to find there was a tarmac path underneath  . Not to be deterred I got the pickaxe out and dug holes through the tarmac until I hit soil ( about 6inches) and then planted the shrubs and covered with bark chip and a few log piles for the frogs and bugs. That was 6 yrs ago.

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## stu_

It's either a bit early or a bit too late for my garden, ATM.
Snowdrops, gone over.No spring stuff appearing yet, apart from the Daff's
Did pull the last of the carrots at the weekend though


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## kirk

Lindy isn't it annoying when people just cover things up instead of doing it properly we dug old motor bike parts up and car bits up in our garden when we started and it was all concrete.


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## Wallace

kirk said:


> Lindy isn't it annoying when people just cover things up instead of doing it properly we dug old motor bike parts up and car bits up in our garden when we started and it was all concrete.



Isn't it just!

I've got 1 bit of carpet and 1 bit of underlay, carpet is about 5ft square and the underlay about 10ft x 5ft. They were dug up from the garden last year, and were used to cover up about a ton of rubble! Also found a 10ft x 3ft crazy paving patio under some of the grass!



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## kirk

We filled 3 of these trailers with concrete,my wife's pretty good with a sledge hammer and barrow. She's not one to watch me work.  

 after 3 weeks cutting our way into the garden it still looked like this. We had that many fires the slabs underneath exploded and fired the bin into the air. 



  just ignore my builders bum and focus on the guns   the pond in my first post.  Sorry all I tried flipping the pics only to make them worse.


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## Wallace

Pics as promised..........

Front garden, complete with horrid Pampus grass ( I want the damn thing gone! ) and driveway. No close ups of little border area as it's nothing to show off yet. 





Here is the back, hard standing ( 13ft x 8ft ) for new shed when I've got enough money for it. Currently used as a dumping ground for stuff to go in skip 





The full length, all 125ft of it. 





Current patio area and shed, she's will be going and I'm hoping to level it all off and get it decked. My take me a while though as it's gonna cost a small fortune!





As I said, it's one massive WIP. 


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## kirk

Wow Wallace, I'd love to land scape that huge potential. Nice.


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## Wallace

Huge potential Kirk, just a huge amount of work too. We've lived here about a year and a half now, but last year was spent trying to tidy the front garden up a little bit and also paying for our wedding. This year I'm hoping to get out the back a whole heap more and really get stuck into it and turn it into something nice. 

I'm getting sick to death of looking out the back door or windows and seeing a horrible garden, I get very depressed by it. I'm hoping to get a decent size pond in there, that will have to wait for another year though I think. 


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## Lindy

Well Kirk I didn't did up all the tarmac. It would have filled a skip so I dug up some and the covered the rest. It killed my back doing the bit I did.

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## kirk

Thing is with garden is they eat up cash fast, materials arnt cheap.(£  85 for a jumbo bag of screened top soil here) Most of the stuff in our garden was free, cheap or as they call it now up cycled. We have two pond but now the kids are more sensible well as sensible as they are going to get owning some of my genetics I want a deeper pond to put koi in.[DOUBLEPOST=1395328318][/DOUBLEPOST]





ldcgroomer said:


> Well Kirk I didn't did up all the tarmac. It would have filled a skip so I dug up some and the covered the rest. It killed my back doing the bit I did.                Sometimes we have to sweep things under the rug lindy eh, my back let's me down too regularly. can be very frustrating especially when it's water change day and it's locked up and in spasm . anyway I'm all over this thread I'll sit back and let others get a word in. I love gardening " come on summer"


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## Ady34

stu_ said:


> It's either a bit early or a bit too late for my garden, ATM.
> Snowdrops, gone over.No spring stuff appearing yet, apart from the Daff's
> Did pull the last of the carrots at the weekend though


Interesting carrot.....


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## Wallace

Well I've made some somewhat unexpected progress today, my wife found a little pond for sale on Facebook last night and it was only 20 mins away from us. So we went and collected it this morning. 

It is 5ft x 3ft, and about 3 1/2 ft at its deepest. Not exactly the size of pond I'd envisaged but it's a start. She knew exactly where she wanted it too. 

Here's a pic of the development so far. 





Need to do a lot more work, and I've made use of some of the carpet that was buried that I mentioned in an earlier post. 




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## Lindy

Why don't you just dig a big hole and line it? My grandpa did that and then sunk a bath in the middle so it was about 5ft deep in the middle.  Lined the outer hole with carpet ant then laid a liner over the lot. That was an amazing pond...

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## Andy D

Some nice big gardens on show!

Well here are couple of shots from mine (I have many more!):

Overview



 




 



 



 

My favourite shot from a previous address:


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## Wallace

ldcgroomer said:


> Why don't you just dig a big hole and line it?
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk



What we have there will do for a start, and I think it is to be more of a water feature rather than a fish pond. Maybe a few Comets in the future. 

The trouble is the pond I would like eventually will be a 12ft x 4ft raised sleeper pond. Somewhere around 4ft below ground at its deepest about and 3ft above. For now funds and kids just won't allow for that sort of project, planning stages only for now. 


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## aliclarke86

So I'm moving tomorrow and this is my new garden, needs lots of work but will hopefully look great next year  




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## Tim Harrison

Well this is my garden now, coming out of the depths of a very soggy winter; random unadulterated phone shots - Gertrude Jekyll is a great influence...I wish...


and this is it in the height of summer...







This is my homage to nature conservation...my very own wild flower meadow...


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## dw1305

Hi all,


Troi said:


> Gertrude Jekyll is a great influence...I wish


 It is the thought that counts, I originally got a lot of my ideas from William Robinson <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Robinson_(gardener)>.
The red rambler? Rose is nice, is it "Paul's Scarlet Climber"? 

Here are a few of mine. It is looking a bit scruffier now, but I like "evolution not revolution".


 



 

cheers Darrel


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## Tim Harrison

Fantastic boarders, and me too...that is evolution not revolution. I think you've definitely encapsulated the William Robinson approach. How long did it take to establish those boarders? They look very mature and well settled in. The rose is 'The Princes Trust', by the way. I don't think I've quite got the hang of pruning it yet so it could probably do better given half a chance.

This is perhaps one of the most spectacular boarders I've seen, not far from where I live, Ascott House Gardens.


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## Tim Harrison

aliclarke86 said:


> So I'm moving tomorrow and this is my new garden, needs lots of work but will hopefully look great next year
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk


Plenty of room for potential...maybe you could do a journal


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## aliclarke86

Well it would be fun  its a shame that most of the stuff that is already here has been hacked back so it will tale a few years of pruning to get it looking nice again. Also the blue pergola really needs changing..... Not a fan of the colour one bit!!

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## Wallace

Looks very nice Ali, lots of potential and hard work. Good times. 

Little update on my garden, the good weather this weekend has allowed me some time outside, and this is where I am at at the moment. 

Before pic 




After pic




Still lots to do, but am really pleased with it so far. Just a shame about the rest of the garden lol 


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## Lindy

Looks really neat wallace. I did the same thing with the water tank out of our loft when we changed the boiler. 

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## Viv

Garden isn't looking like much atm, although the fruit trees are flowering and the wisteria's flowers are forming. Anyway, here you go:

left side:


right side:


It looks much better later in the year when the fences are all covered 

Viv


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## Tim Harrison

Very nice Viv, I can visualise it in it's prime...I think what we do with out little corner of this sceptred isle, and green and pleasant land, says a lot about who we are...
...And did those feet in ancient time...


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## stu_

Couple of teasers for you, now FGS as yet


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## Viv

I thought I'd give an update on the garden - I was going to edit my previous post but couldn't see how to do it  Anyway, here's a few shots going around the garden left to right:












Things coming along nicely  Biggest job this year is replacing the fence on the right hand side. Winds are so strong here that we've decided to put up hit and miss fencing, maybe then we won't be replacing panels every year!! I hope everyone else is enjoying being outside as much as I am! 

Viv


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## kirk

Very nice Viv, now I'll have to get mine out again


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## kirk

this weather is awsome, it's nice to see thing growing, but the aquarium isn't getting much love  I've been dosing the features ei since reading clives thread, the difference is amazing.our plants are a bit here and there as our fence is coming down, once I've finished all the neighbours fences I'll get round to ours and getting the plants where they should be
  Lots of potting on to do this evening tis a bit warm at the mo. Viv,, your pond has been inspiring me to build one a BIG one Cheers kirk.


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## Viv

I thought about doing that too but everything's growing well enough - I don't want even more plants to deal with! As it is I've had to divide the Japanese iris already and today I had to take off some dwarf rushes 'cos they were virtually floating free. I'll need to get another pot for them. I can see lily flower heads beneath the surface so they'll be up real soon  

I know what you mean about the heat! French doors are open wide ATM as well as all the windows. My daughter is laying out in it baking her noodle while getting a tan. Never been my cup of tea but then I'm pretty sure she's a changeling  Catching the sun while I planted up the sweetcorn yesterday evening was enough for me!

Viv


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## foxfish

Nice and warm in our garden today!


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## Alastair

foxfish said:


> Nice and warm in our garden today!



Sure they aren't horse stables and running fields ha ha 

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## foxfish

Our garden is quite a typical size for the age of house in Guernsey because there would of been a vinery there before the garden.
It was possible to make a living from one half acre vinery or 3 x 200' green houses.
Between about 1850 & 1920 Guernsey exported Cannon Hall grapes to Covent garden, alone with figs & a black grape that  I cant remember the name of!
We still have two Canon Hall vines & one fig tree, the grapes are amazing, really big like a quails egg size & incredibly  sweet & the figs are nothing like you will find in a supermarket.
During the late summer you can buy the grapes & figs from many road side stalls.
Interestingly the grapes were planted outside the glass house but the vine was directed into the house through a hole in the lower wall so the foliage & fruit would be inside.


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## Andy D

That's a lovely looking garden and what a great size!


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## foxfish

Actually that is only the front lawn!
However you must consider I was a professional landscape gardener, specialising in Japanese design & koi pond construction for almost 30 years.
The left hand side taken last summer when it was hot & dry...excuse the role play charters LOL..


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## Tim Harrison

Wow and...well, just wow...what an amazing landscape. Interesting about the vines, the root stock outside - but he vine inside, it's the best way apparently, just like the Great Vine at Hampton Court Palace.


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## foxfish

A couple of pics taken around 1900.....


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## sciencefiction

Does a window sill count for a garden... I think I'll skip posting pictures in this thread


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## kirk

foxfish said:


> Nice and warm in our garden today!


It must be hot if you have to go round with one of those on your head.


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## Greenfinger2

Hi All,We do not have a garden  But we have an Allotment 30ft x 60ft  
Couple of pics 2012 i think  Getting ready to plant things again this year

[DOUBLEPOST=1401803802][/DOUBLEPOST][DOUBLEPOST=1401804453][/DOUBLEPOST]Ho The Wife & Me Entered the Enfield Allotment comp that year 

 Came second  Not bad for the first time


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## kirk

Nice one green fingers   That a cracking crop.


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## sciencefiction

You are gifted with plants Greenfinger. Your user name suits you just perfect


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## Tim Harrison

Time to get your gardens out again folks...
My Azalea...


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## foxfish




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## Tim Harrison

That is lovely...how do you achieve something like that?


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## foxfish

Well I bought the black pine about 15 years ago but it was around 50 years old then. We had to have it craned in position (I made the pot from decking) I  made a tool shed to look like a tea house but it is now completely shrouded with clematis and my water feature is so overgrown you can't see the water. I planted lots of bamboo to shade the ferns but the whole corner has an auto sprinkler system that produces an mist every hour during day light.
I pay a nice chap to manicure the pine once a year but he often appears with his shears free of charge!


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## Tim Harrison

An amazing garden and place to live.


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## rokenff

Great garden design, I now try to design a rose garden.




___________________
meneed  melamine cups


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## zozo

Some nice gardens shown here..  Mine unfortunately is at the north side of the house, my neighbour has a huge american chestnut standing which looses almost all it's leaves and chestnuts on my lawn and terrace. So this means every late summes first the blossom falls then later i need a helmet when on the lawn  and then always a thick pack of leathery leaves covering everything. The cold and constant wet northside makes it impossible to keep a lawn healthy or many plants alive over the winter.. So every year after the winter my garden looks like an empty mess and have to start over from scratch. My neighbour is a farmer and has a hurdle of chicken, i don't mind it's a mess anyway, but the chicken come in my garden, looks cute but they are hooligans. Make a yard look like a WW1 battle field 

One positive side free eggs and its very versatile, it looks different each year.. Next to the ferns, the raspberry, the blackberry, the grape and my beloved cherry tree there aint much permanent, i always clean up in the spring and plant a lot anual flowers sometimes tomatos too. I like tomato to grow wild, it's actualy a beatifull plant if grown wild.

Last year ... This year, dunno, still in my head only and cleaning..

Cherry


 

Under it


 

Next to it


 

Later


 

Next to that


 

Piece of the terrace


 

Later


 

Can be fun, it's rather small and coozy and sometimes verry buzzy, so not a huge job to make some of it.


But all in all not realy that exciting..


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## Greenfinger2

Hi Marcel, Lovely garden  Fantastic bathtub pond


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## zozo

Thank you Roy..  The bath tub also is a project starting over again each year. It's empty now and already thinking of what to do this year. Maybe gonna do some with old wooden wine barrels to integrate.. Dunno yet, but want to make something splashing this year..  Probably make a little journal about it... Hoh the bathtub pics where actualy 2014..


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## Tim Harrison

Looking great...a journal would be fantastic - it really sounds like a battle against adversity - and maybe post here again once you've got it all sorted out

Anyway, thanks for resurrecting this wonderful thread, maybe more of us could "get our gardens out" this year...it'd be great to see


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## zozo

I see what i can do Tim, might place it in the pond section.. Sneek peak..  Still a mess and nothing going on but death from last winter..
But this year the idea is an old cut in half wine barrel RH side on the higher lawn behind the tub, with some lily and a lotus and some more feeded by the tub and an overflow back to it. Behind that ugly diy firewall and stove stands another swamp bucket out of sightt filled with irisses and other plants, so tub feeding the bucket, the bucket feeds the wine barrel and all runs back into the tub.  Splashing! Hydrowhateverics.


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## jayp

Some lovely gardens ....here is mine , lived here for 35 years and bought it for the garden which was derelict when I first came here.  Hope you like the pics


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## dw1305

Hi all,





jayp said:


> Hope you like the pics


Lovely, what is the fern by the pond, is it _Gymnocarpium?
_
cheers Darrel


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## jayp

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,Lovely, what is the fern by the pond, is it _Gymnocarpium?
> _
> cheers Darrel


 I think its a type of Maidenhair fern , I never keep the labels so not 100% sure ..its spread and isnt even planted , ive just crammed soil under the pond thing and planted it


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## Lindy

Beautiful  

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## Tim Harrison

zozo said:


> I see what i can do Tim, might place it in the pond section.. Sneek peak..  Still a mess and nothing going on but death from last winter..
> But this year the idea is an old cut in half wine barrel RH side on the higher lawn behind the tub, with some lily and a lotus and some more feeded by the tub and an overflow back to it. Behind that ugly diy firewall and stove stands another swamp bucket out of sightt filled with irisses and other plants, so tub feeding the bucket, the bucket feeds the wine barrel and all runs back into the tub.  Splashing! Hydrowhateverics.
> 
> View attachment 85058


I think that'd be amazing...it's a very creative looking space



jayp said:


> Some lovely gardens ....here is mine , lived here for 35 years and bought it for the garden which was derelict when I first came here.  Hope you like the pics View attachment 85084 View attachment 85085 View attachment 85085 View attachment 85085 View attachment 85086


Lovely...I can see the layers of maturity and year on year work.


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## dw1305

Hi all,





jayp said:


> I think its a type of Maidenhair fern


It isn't a Maidenhair fern_ (Adiantum), Gymnocarpium _would be <"my guess">, but it is just a guess.

cheers Darrel


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## zozo

Troi said:


> it's a very creative looking space


 It indeed laks any kind of uniformity.. My house is rented and the (previous) owner is a scrooge and used whatever he could get his hands on obviously.. In a way it has it's charmes.. If it wasn't the north side with moss and algae growing on everything imagineable i would have painted it long time ago.. But since i'm not planning a repaint every 2 years i just leave it like that. Flowers can do a lot, so just lets make it chaby chique..


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## Tim Harrison

Or alternatively, Boho chic...the best kind of garden in my view


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## AndyMcD

This is quite embarrassing. I've so enjoyed reading about aquascaping that it has inspired me to try something alternative in a small border in our front garden.

This is more about me practising and learning than it looking good. Aquascaping has given me the confidence to try out design ideas

I thought I'd have a go at a 'Japanese' inspired border with a dry waterfall (karensansui). I've planted an acer, cherry, azaleas, ferns, conifers. I'm having a go at cloud pruning a conifer I got on sale. I'm encouraging moss. I'm growing Sagina subulata (Irish moss / Corsican Pearlwort) as a carpeting plant from seed to plant out in the summer.

I'm not at all happy with it, but I am really enjoying having a go!


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## dan4x4

kirk said:


> We filled 3 of these trailers with concrete,my wife's pretty good with a sledge hammer and barrow. She's not one to watch me work.  View attachment 21545 after 3 weeks cutting our way into the garden it still looked like this. We had that many fires the slabs underneath exploded and fired the bin into the air. View attachment 21546View attachment 21547  just ignore my builders bum and focus on the guns   the pond in my first post.  Sorry all I tried flipping the pics only to make them worse.



do you live in australia?


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## kirk

dan4x4 said:


> do you live in australia?


Close..........but no Newzealand lol


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## dan4x4

kirk said:


> Close..........but no Newzealand lol



haha explained why pictures are upside down then


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## aaron.c

Aron_Dip said:


> Mine is slowly filling out each year building up the boarders.. But looks a mess at the minute with most the plants being bulbs and perennials.
> 
> Few crap quality photos from last year
> 
> View attachment 21559
> View attachment 21560




Looks lovey! Really love aliums


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## foxfish

Just finished building an outdoor oven, great fun.


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## aaron.c

foxfish said:


> Just finished building an outdoor oven, great fun.



Looks great!! We have one, love it!!


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## jon nash

pizza love it ,nice bonsai's in background


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## Tim Harrison

Looks awesome. 
And thanks for reviving this great thread ...I'd almost forgotten about it.


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## geoffbark

foxfish said:


> Just finished building an outdoor oven, great fun.



looks fantastic   mines a pepperoni!


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## foxfish

Thanks chaps!
It was quite a tricky thing to build mainly because I built a multi part mould for the dome & that took me ages...
Still, I now have a mould that I can use again.
We have cooked all sorts of food, I love fresh mackerel sizzled at 750f for about two minutes. The oven  stays warm for 3 days after the fire goes out.


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## foxfish




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## foxfish




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## zozo

How did you give it that Machu picchu brick style look.. Is that with plastering and a paint job? Realy nice looking oven..


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## foxfish

Yeah I used two coats of course sand plaster with added glass fibres over 4" of ceramic insulation blanket & then shaped the individual stones with a fine sand mix.
I then painted the effect with 3 x coats of weather  shield paint, then used a flexible grey grout in between the stones.


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## zozo

Absolutely nice work.. Looks like from a Hansel and Gretel fairytale..


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## Tim Harrison

Holy moly, that's a lot of work, but definitely worth it.
It looks great, like a piece of Gaudi-esque sculpture...and it's an oven as well


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## Edvet

Love the Gecko!


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## foxfish

Thanks Ed, Here is a short video I made when we cast the first one, I have made four of them now!


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## foxfish

A very unusual sight for Guernsey......


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## foxfish

A couple of bonsai in the trimming queue & a little skull scape...


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## Keith GH

Today 2.6.18 second day of our Winter I planted

50 Jonquil Mix

10 Jonquil Erlicheer 

25 Jonquil Geranium 

20 Calla Lily Flower (Zantedeschia 'Odessa')

50 Freesia mixed

Tomorrow to finish 

50 Ranunculus mixed.

3 Calla lily mixed colors.

6 Calla lily Passion Fruit 

Spread 100 Aquilegia seeds.

Keith


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## zozo

Keith, that's going to be a lot of lovely flowers..


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## Keith GH

zozo

It's a area on the nature strip between two homes about 3-4 Sq mts this what it looked like when all the mini Dahila's were in flower.  Spring 2017 I planted about 160 bulbs.
If everything works out I should not have to do anything other than replant the Dahlias later this year then every 2nd or 3rd year.



That plastic edging was recently replaced with a 30x10cm treated pine.  

Keith

`


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## Keith GH

Tim

Thank you.
At the moment I removed all those Dahlia's and planted Lobelia as a fill in the Dahlia's will be divided up and replanted in early November.

Keith


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## Tim Harrison

Looking great Keith


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## dw1305

Hi all, 
Took these this morning, it was a bit grey so not all the flowers are open, but it is pretty much "peak garden" at the moment, from here on it is usually all down-hill.

Back-garden


 

Front-garden


 

cheers Darrel


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## Edvet

Monty would be prould


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## mort

Front garden, there is a pond there somewhere



 



Side garden



 

 



And the back garden is hard to photograph as it's more of a mini woodland.


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## Keith GH

mort 
A very colourful garden especially the Red Maples.

Keith


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## zozo

Taking Get your Garden Out a bit too serious. 





https://mymodernmet.com/kei-truck-garden-contest/

 I don't want him to over take me when i'm in the inside lane of the curve on my bike..


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## Keith GH

Marcel

First one OK but the second photo with a tank???

Keith


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## foxfish

The skull jar has grown a bit....


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## Keith GH

foxfish

Its starting to look a little spooky now.

Keith


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## AllieG

That skull jar is great, what have you planted inside? Thinking it would be nice to do something similar and have something flowering at the back


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## foxfish

I am not sure about the grass, it was just something out of my tank but it has grown to look different!
The fern is a rabbit foot.
The container lives outside in the shade for most of the day, the fern seems to keep the humidity in the bottom half.


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## foxfish

The skull scape has grown well, living in the shade for most of the day seems to suit the fern

 let’s see what happens during the autumn....


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## foxfish

I have also built a fire breathing rocket stove, fantastic space heater and cooking plate...


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## Tim Harrison

It's a very nice lifestyle you seem to have there in Guernsey


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## zozo

That's realy an awsome rocket stove!!.


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## foxfish

I think it looks kind of steampunk!
Really good fun but it can get stupid hot if you feed it to much, hot enough to destroy metal, so the core is made from refactory cemnt rated to 2000 f.
I had the plate at around 1000f in this dangerously drunken  video....


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## zozo

Knowing your stove and the correct temperature and timing is the Gourmets secret.. Thats trail and error with this kind of cooking. But once you get the hang of it, it's an epicurean dream. I like this kind of cooking and can only confirm it aint easy to get it right.. I'm also still battling to get my Garden BBQ Pizza's perfect.

Also the top plate likely will start to bend if you overheat it to much.

It indeed looks steampunk, i love it!!.. I kinda like the first picture to most, the raw metal looks. But that's personal taste i would have clear coated it.. At least if that's possible.. Rust would also look very good, but i guess the metal is too thin for that it wont live very long if kept untreated and fired up. Don't actualy know if a proper heat resistant clear coat excists?

These are also absolutely hillariously beautifull DIY stoves. I wonder how they look after a year of use..


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## dw1305

Hi all,
This is <"_Clematis cirrhosa_ "Freckles"> on the SE facing wall of our house, it covers <"most of the back of the house">. It is an amazing flowering plant and nearly always has some flowers on it, but this is the main flush, and it will carry on flowering, off and on, all through the winter. It gets a lot of Bees (and Drone flies) on it when-ever the sun is out, both Bumble bees and Honey Bees.

You can hear the Bumble bees (mainly _Bombus terrestris_) "buzz pollinating" the flowers to collect the pollen, even in the middle of the winter.





cheers Darrel


----------



## Edvet

Beautifull! Must smell good too.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





Edvet said:


> Beautifull! Must smell good too.


It just has a very subtle scent, I think some of the other forms are more scented. I've tried "Wisley Cream" a couple of times but they've never survived the winter here (I've had Freckles for ~12 years).

cheers Darrel


----------



## zozo

Or is it Get your garden in?... 


 
It's Marmelade time again.. This year Blue Grape Boskoop with Sweet Golden Delicious Aplle and Thyme.. Usualy i'm generous with teh alcohol.. But this time i leave it out for a change.. 

Hell of a job, sifting it all out to only get the grape juice.. Have some hours to go..  But it's worth while..


----------



## foxfish

I have an updated vid on the rocket fire, unfortunately I cracked my iPad screen by holing it for to long over the fire, it gets worse because it also broke the microphone, so no talking on the video.


----------



## alto

Pretty sure that’s covered by Apple Warranty    

(just need to find the right technician  )


----------



## foxfish

I have moved my mate inside for the winter......


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





dw1305 said:


> Front-garden


It looks like the drought last year has severly thinned out the herbaceous plants in the gravel garden (above in May 2018). 

I wouldn't have watered it, even if I had been at home.

This was Saturday morning. There were quite a few "bulbs" left that had been over-grown, and are making the most of their opportunity.





cheers Darrel


----------



## Tim Harrison

Still looks okay though, it'll soon fill out again, hopefully it won't be so dry this year. Bulbs look nice, sure sign spring is on its way


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





Tim Harrison said:


> it'll soon fill out again,


I was thinking I might try and rogue out the taller growing self-sown perennials (various Valerian (both _Valeriana_ and _Centranthus_), Geraniums, Babbington's Leek, _Eryngium giganteum, Aquilegia vulgaris etc._) and try and keep it to some smaller plants.

At the moment I weed out any _Geranium x oxonianum _seedlings, but just let everything else get on with it.  





Tim Harrison said:


> Bulbs look nice, sure sign spring is on its way


Mainly Crocuses and _Cyclamen coum _left, I don't have any Snowdrops or Narcissus left anywhere sunny, mainly because of the <"Narcissus Bulb Fly">, or any of the various _Scilla_ spp. (mainly the ones that used to be _Chionodoxa_).

The <"_Cyclamen coum">_ were all from seed, and they don't normally flower anything like as well as this. I don't know if that was because of the summer in 2018, or the mild spring in 2019.

The Hellebores (_Helleborus orientalis_ cultivars) are also good this year, they were also all from seed so they aren't the greatest colours.



cheers Darrel


----------



## Oldguy

Well we have decided that today will be our first day of spring. (The nation can choose  March 1 or March 20, depending on preference of seasonal calendar). The grass got cut, a thrush is singing its socks off in the silver birch, the wife is planting rose bushes again, she must have about 130 by now and our cat ventured out into the garden for the first time since we had her and came back in. She's a re homer and very timid. The avatar is of our old guy, a rescue cat, sadly now no more.

Oh and a green bin got filled, nice to get your moneys worth.

Happy Gardening.


----------



## Siege

Nice. We cut the grass this weekend.

Interesting about the green bin. In Huntingdonshire we get a fortnightly green bin for free but pay £45 per year for another second physical green bin so we have 2 collected fortnightly.

Cambridge donot have any green bin collection at all in the winter months so I understand.

Recently we had a family get together and people from Yorkshire  and Somerset said they all had to pay for any green collection (exciting our get togethers you see!)

No doubt the standard charge will come our way soon.....


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





Siege said:


> Recently we had a family get together and people from Yorkshire and Somerset said they all had to pay for any green collection


Wiltshire started charging a few years ago, not sure what the situation is in Bath now (BANES).

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Most things in Guernsey are pretty expensive but we have a great free green waste system.
 Not only can you take any amount for free but, it is then offered back to you after it has been processed into super rich “soil conditioner” as it is called!


----------



## Siege

foxfish said:


> Most things in Guernsey are pretty expensive but we have a great free green waste system.
> Not only can you take any amount for free but, it is then offered back to you after it has been processed into super rich “soil conditioner” as it is called!



Smart. We have to buy it back. Last time I bought some it was £2.50 for a bag but that was quite a while ago now so no doubt it’s gone up.


----------



## Oldguy

We had a Goldcrest in the front garden yesterday. It was working over a small conifer. Wife and I had a very good view through the porch widow. (not our pic). Went for the camera, just about got it in focus and the little s@d flew away.


----------



## zozo

Oldguy said:


> We had a Goldcrest in the front garden yesterday. It was working over a small conifer. Wife and I had a very good view through the porch widow. (not our pic). Went for the camera, just about got it in focus and the little s@d flew away.



Wonderfull! Can't remember ever seeing one so colorfull..


----------



## foxfish

Fantastic bird,I have not seen one for many years!


----------



## BubblingUnder

Interesting little things Goldcrest very curious birds. Seem to behave a bit like wrens, had one running around my feet a few years ago seemed to be looking for insects disturbed by my footsteps. It stayed next to me for quite a few minutes while I took its photo, it was a pleasure & here it is...….


----------



## foxfish

What about a “Hoopoe” anyone spotted one of those?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 
Brilliant photo.





BubblingUnder said:


> It stayed next to me for quite a few minutes while I took its photo, it was a pleasure & here it is...…


In the winter we get "tame" Goldcrests (and <"much rarer Firecrests">) from N. Scandanavia etc, where they are unused to people and don't regard us as a threat. 

Goldcrests are actually quite a common resident bird, often in parks and gardens where you have conifers. I can't hear them any more, but they have a very high pitched t_zee tzee_ call. You virtually never see our resident ones, and they don't visit bird feeders etc. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> What about a “Hoopoe” anyone spotted one of those?


 @foxfish have you got one at the moment? I've never seen one in the UK, but if I was to look for one then the Channel Islands in April would be a good venue. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## Tim Harrison

BubblingUnder said:


> Interesting little things Goldcrest very curious birds.


Lovely LBJ, very much like a wren. I used to get them in my garden in rural Notts flitting in and out of the red current hedge.


foxfish said:


> What about a “Hoopoe” anyone spotted one of those?


I've seen them in Israel, does that count ?


----------



## foxfish

Not seen or heard of one this year but there are normally a few around about now.
Last one I saw was 5 years back.
I did go and watch the Fulmars last Sunday though, if you can find them by looking from the high cliffs, as you look down, it looks like they are being flown by remote control .
We have lots of pale phase buzzards that seem to be breeding and producing almost completely white birds.


----------



## foxfish

Oh and I saw a Spotted Redshank over the weekend too...


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> Fulmars last Sunday though, if you can find them by looking from the high cliffs, as you look down, it looks like they are being flown by remote control .


I've always thought that, I think it is the stiff wings and lack of wing beats. Fulmars are the most fantastic gliders, they (and Shearwaters) are really just <"little Albatrosses">.  

cheers Darrel


----------



## TBRO

You know when your wife sends you to fix the broken light and you just end up making succulent plant, Iwugumis....














Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## foxfish

Lots happening in the garden now! Flat out trying to keep things under control, I looked in despair at my Chinese Elm today. There was hardly a leaf on it two weeks ago....


----------



## Chuck Turtleman

Ha, this is one of those "little differences" moments between our cultures! I was going to post pictures of my vegetable garden, for some reason us yanks call our lawn area our "yard." My home is on a small wooded lot in the mountains. It's lovely, except for bears and mountain lions. It's a bit early for planting vegetables here, but a few things are starting to pop up.
Like asparagus (big plant is rhubarb)


And azalea :



My pond was trashed by a bear this spring, so just put in a new liner. Going to take a while, but should be pretty again by late summer:


----------



## DutchMuch




----------



## foxfish

The wisteria is particularly impressive, I have not seen it produce so many spring flowers before.


----------



## foxfish

foxfish said:


> Lots happening in the garden now! Flat out trying to keep things under control, I looked in despair at my Chinese Elm today. There was hardly a leaf on it two weeks ago....
> View attachment 123603


Well I finally found time for the Elm just another 20 trees to go.....


----------



## TBRO

Cool Bonsai! Looks like they have a bit of age, I always find the Chinese Elms die on me but plenty of Euro elm cuttings growing in the garden. 

Trying to coax my succulents to life after winter. The pachypodia seem to be leafing but the Jalibee try is still a twig. Hope it survives as I grew it from seed. 














Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## foxfish

This tree is only around 30 years old but has some good rough bark and a good basic shape, I am still trying to grow it vigorously for another few years.
I will then put it in a nice container and try to hold it back with just some regular gentle leaf trimming and no more wire or hard pruning.


----------



## foxfish

Hey TBRO , I love that plant in the first pic!


----------



## TBRO

foxfish said:


> Hey TBRO , I love that plant in the first pic!



Thanks it’s some kind of pachypodium but can’t remember which. 

Impressed by your Bonsai age! I’m also interested in it but have yet to create anything worthy from scratch. Got plenty of “material” growing in the garden. Definitely a slow burning hobby! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## foxfish

I have some nice tees but I am reluctant to post to many pictures as google grabs them and thieves spot them!
It is a great pass time though, it is possible to get a really nice tree from mature garden stock, growing stock in the ground with bonsai intensions is one way to quick (relatively) results.
I started my first bonsai as a late teenager around 40 years back but I have a few trees that must be around 60 years old.
I also make my own containers and that is yet another pastime!


----------



## foxfish

I have been renovating my garden firehouse, it is just a few fence panels with a plastic roof but we spend a lot of time in there!
The panels were 10 years old and in very poor shape, I have replaced 10 of them but this time around I have lined the inside with MDF so I could apply some wallpaper.
Amazing effect wallpaper available nowadays, I am going for a Steampumk theme for a large up and complete birthday party! 
Lots to do but it’s all good fun....


----------



## Tim Harrison

I did a lot of work in the garden back end of last year...digging a new boarder, widening the existing and transferring all the overgrown shrubs from the front garden to the back. I've lost a couple through frost and drought stress (you can see the gaps, which have since been replanted), but most seem to be getting over the shock and starting to grow well. I then set about planting a cottage garden style theme in the front.



 View attachment 124273


----------



## zozo

foxfish said:


> I am going for a Steampumk theme



Love it!! My old time favorite.. I like my garden aged and rusty, cast and wrought iron are my old time favorites.





Love to collect old for most people worthless broken or incomplete stuff and for me potential curiosities.. see how i can put it together again to something useable.
SOmetimes it takes years to find, more stumble upon it, or just to get the idea what to do with it.




Once found parts of an old cast iron chandelier. The cast iron pear at the bottom as counter weight And the pully at the top was all that was left..




Found an other old chandelier that was broken and fixed it back together and working again. Pull the pear and the chandelier goes up, lift the pear and it comes down. ALso ballanced it, can go half way if i want. 




And an old british wrought iron lamp holder.. Made complete again from 5 different parts found here and there.. Still need to wire it.. I think i go completely out of the box with it.... I put a RGBW bluetooth smart bulb in it with disco light feature controlled with a smartphone.


----------



## foxfish

Ha ha cool, it is a challenge finding suitably props without spending to much!

There was at one time a huge (by Guernsey standards) factory over here called Techtronics .
They were an American company that produced oscilloscopes, anyway my brother in law worked there for many years and when the factory relocated ( the building is not Specsavers main HQ) he got hold of a faulty oscilloscope.

As an inherited owner, I decided it would work in my design so I took it apart to use the parts.....

I was absolutely amazed at the workings inside! An incredible amount of wires and components.
 Everything was hand built so every solder joint was done by hand ... thousands of joints !

To be honest I felt  a huge guilt complex coming over me as I dismantled the thing with a 9” grinder!
I could not get anything apart with the tools I had to hand, all the fixings were of 1980 American design.
Anyway at least a few bits now lives on, now displayed rather than rotting in a dark shed.

I have the main screen , the main light tube and some circuitry on display but lots of valves and other wizardry for future use...
PS I got a 100 year old doctors case today for £10 ....


----------



## foxfish




----------



## zozo

foxfish said:


> Ha ha cool, it is a challenge finding suitably props without spending to much!



Patience to the resque.  That does it for me.. But indeed if your mind is dead set on finishing something it can get out of hand. I believe it took me about 7 years to finish the chandelier and the lamp finding/collecting parts and ideas... Sometimes it requires some diggin in the shed, finding things i forgot i aready had long time..



foxfish said:


> View attachment 124288 View attachment 124289 View attachment 124290



Love it!! I hear Dr. Who theme looking at that..  But that large wheel definitively needs a valve..


----------



## zozo

Another new Garden job...  Named Pimp my Cast Iron Antique Water Pump..

It's going to be placed behind a ½ wine barrel water filled and planted. There will be some extra piping and a little electric pump mounted as if the old pump is running.





Base color stays Hammerite black..  But the Swan at the sprout is going to be painted Hammerite White, black striping and with an orange beak, as realistic as possible.





For the rest the striping, lettering and the handles ornamental leave decoration will be painted with Hammerite Copper.




Restored Kitsch to the max, this pump is asking for it, it has so manny ornamental decoration that needs to be accentuated...

But still a lot of work..

The old Oak wooden plank it was mounted to.. It was that Old Barndoor green color. Why did people ever use that paint.. It's awfull.. I'm cleaning the paint off and varnish it with a clear dark oak color. It takes time, i like to do things the old fashion way, flame toarch, a bottle of Natrium hidroxyde, scratcher and sand papper. Not using electrical tools is so much more fun and more satisfying. It kinda brings me back in time and feel what the old craftsman back then felt. Putting some real ellbow greass into it.




 I'll keep you posted on the results..

Unfortenately it is not mine and will move to another garden when i'm done.. But i'll test run it on my barrel, just for the fun of it for a few weeks..


----------



## zozo

Some updates.. 

Who in their right mind paints an oak plank like this Barn Door Green?...  No pun intended.. 




Not that i want to hijack this topic with DIY stuff.. But maybe you like to see anyway.. 

The pump has a crack and was missing a piece.. It needed some repair


First i needed to make a mold to preserve the relief, used a 2 component epoxy putty for it.. (Bison Combi Stick..)




It hardens in 30 minutes, did put some grease on the pump to easily get the mold off again..


 
Than taped the mold over de missing piece.. Pressed in some more Putty..





Amazing result amazing stuff, with a bit of paint, it will no longer be seen if you don't know it was there..  The crack i filled up with polymer glue.


----------



## foxfish

I had a brain wave today... I thought I could use some filled Demijohns and one of those old style Hyflow piston air pumps. I wondered if you could still buy them, yes you can though they stoped production 30 years, the problem for me the price!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/medcalf-...m=223500180565&_trksid=p2047675.c100012.m1985


----------



## foxfish

For you youngsters.....


----------



## Tim Harrison

foxfish said:


> old style Hyflow piston air pumps


Crikey I remember those, My school biology lab used one for the axolotl tank. I'm sure there was a time when you couldn't give them away.


----------



## foxfish

Yes, they were not very powerfully and still made a noise but what a wonderful thing ah!


----------



## Tim Harrison

They are wonderful, and perfect for your steampunk theme


----------



## zozo

Absolutely awsome airpump!!.. And it can be used as a slicer in the kitchen..


----------



## zozo

Pimp My Pump is about finished.. 



It's bad , so bad you either love it or hate it... I love it and can't stop laughing about it.. 

Connected a little airpump with an air lift water pump.. Testing it currently and it runs like a charme..



Now the old swan is constantly dripping with incontinence.. Who wouldn't at that age..











Anyway, ordered a new solar powered air pump, the pump and tubing will all be hidden inside the pump itself with a cable to the solar panel comming out. The grey pvc pipe at the bottom still needs to be painted black of course.




As said unfortunately it is not mine, i made it for my nephew, he found this pump behind a bush in the yard from the house he resently bought. But it will be setup in his garden the same way.. Above a  ½ wine barel with a lily. I bet his new born son is going to love this Fairytale pump growing up with it..  At least that i hope.. Well they can always give it back to me.. Still laughing..


----------



## alto

zozo said:


> so bad you either love it or hate it...


Love it!


----------



## foxfish

Great job, looks really interesting.


----------



## Tim Harrison

Looking good. There are a load for sale on eBay but nowhere near as ornate as this one. The swan is a really nice detail which seems quite rare; I guess it's where you would have hung your bucket...
Makes me wonder about its history, who owned it and when it was made etc and where exactly it was used; maybe a posh residence. Do you think there is a chance of finding out more about it using the letters and number on its side ?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 
Last summer (2018) I was away for 6 weeks (end of June until the start of August), and one of the casualties  was our wildlife pond, which dried out completely, and had obviously stayed dry for some time. I ended up having to remove absolutely everything and starting again. I kept all the pots and baskets and this spring one or two of the marginal plants have re-grown from seed or surviving stem fragments. 

The pond had developed a bit of filamentous green algae bloom, so I've put a few spare floaters on it. So far they aren't really enjoying life, other then the hitchhiking _Azolla_. 





The other reason for the photo is that the <"_Libertia ("grandiflora") chilensis"> _actually has some flowers. Most years it has a lot of buds, but all the open flowers are eaten by the snails. It is a pretty scruffy plant, with a short flowering season, but as long as you don't live anywhere really cold it is absolutely indestructible and nothing eats it (other than the flowers).

I call this my <"Lisdoonvarna"> corner, because the original plants (of both the _Libertia_ and the <"_Teucrium fruticans">_ behind it)  came from the Co. Clare Spa town, about twenty years ago. Lisdoonvarna is incredibly wet and cool, but it is never very cold in the winter, so a lot of <"S. American"> and New Zealand plants grow there pretty well.

cheers Darrel


----------



## zozo

Thanks Guys.. 

It was the ornaments that i fell in love with.. My nephew wanted to pait it in a  Brass color all the way.. And i said hold your horses, give that thing to me and lay back for a few weeks.  That pump screams for a descent pimp and High lighting the ornamentals. The Swan is the fairy garden touch for the kids..  It's indeed also for me the very first one i've seen with such intrecate casted details.. Was a pain in the neck to paint it..

That's a good one Tim, i didn't think of it, the swans head to hook the bucket.. Makes perfect sense, i love the story already even more.. 



Tim Harrison said:


> Makes me wonder about its history, who owned it and when it was made etc. Do you think there is a chance of finding out more about it using the letters and number on its side ?



I have no idea about its previous owner and where it comes from. My nephew bought a house build in early 1900, this pump was hidden away in the garden overgrown with Ivy. My best guess it is British or either American made, all threads on the old bolds are withworth.. But it could also be that its from an era before metric was standarized in Europe..

Googling MCH pump i directly find Johnson pumps.. But MCH stands for Multi Centrifugal Horizontal pump..  Coinsidence, MCV is Vertical pump.
I might try MCH pump factory i try to find any?


----------



## foxfish

Marcel, you have given me renewed inspiration to restore my old water pump that I put on display in my front garden around 20 years back.


----------



## foxfish

@dw1305 do you think a stag horn fern will survive ok in my outdoor party house ?
I bought one yesterday and I was hoping to get it permanently mounted on a wall.


----------



## sciencefiction

zozo said:


> But it could also be that its from an era before metric was standarized in Europe.



I've seen those where I grew up although not as fancy.  I think it's from my great grand parents time who are long gone...so are my grand parents. 



dw1305 said:


> The pond had developed



I didn't know you have a pond Darrel. What do you keep in it?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> I put on display in my front garden around 20 years back.


You have an _Orobanche_ sp. in your photo. 

They all look similar and none of them are very common on the mainland UK (I believe that Ivy Broomrape (_O. hederae_) is common in the Channel Islands).

cheers Darrel


----------



## zozo

foxfish said:


> Marcel, you have given me renewed inspiration to restore my old water pump that I put on display in my front garden around 20 years back.
> View attachment 124562



That's also a very interesting pump...  Can't wait to see where you go with this one..


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> a stag horn fern will survive ok in my outdoor party house


Not sure, my guess would be yes if you keep it fairly dry and light in the winter. 





sciencefiction said:


> I didn't know you have a pond Darrel. What do you keep in it?


It doesn't have any fish, just plenty of newts. I also use it to store any native sedges (_Carex_ spp.) that come my way, and aren't easily identifiable. 

It was even more overgrown than in the <"moss in a pond"> thread, so I would have had to bite the bullet at some point anyway. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## zozo

foxfish said:


> stag horn fern will survive ok in my outdoor party house ?
> I bought one yesterday and I was hoping to get it permanently mounted on a wall.



Seems to be a Cold Hardy sub tropical able to survive down to -3°C
http://botanyboy.org/the-staghorn-fern-platycerium-bifurcatum-a-cold-hardy-subtropical-fern/


----------



## Tim Harrison

Disrupting the flow a little, I thought I'd post a pic of my azalea pretty much in full bloom again.
I've had it around 12 years and it's got a bit leggy, so I was thinking of rejuvenating it by gvinig it a severe pruning...any tips ?




by Tim Harrison, on Flickr


----------



## zozo

Tim Harrison said:


> Makes me wonder about its history, who owned it and when it was made etc and where exactly it was used; maybe a posh residence.



Found this, you might like..
http://www.villagepumps.org.uk/manufs.htm

Lots of M's but no MCH..


----------



## Tim Harrison

Crikey, it must have been a huge industry at one time. But I guess that shouldn't be a surprise given that it was once one of the only ways to draw water.
You've really peaked my interest in a part of our industrial heritage that's seldom thought about these days.


----------



## mort

foxfish said:


> do you think a stag horn fern will survive ok in my outdoor party house ?
> I bought one yesterday and I was hoping to get it permanently mounted on a wall.



I don't know if it helps but I've had one that overwinters in my unheated, non insulated, greenhouse for over a decade now without any trouble. I live in Norwich which got to -12c outside during the worst of the winter weather a few years ago.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





Tim Harrison said:


> so I was thinking of rejuvenating it by gvinig it a severe pruning...any tips ?


Should be all right. I'd probably prune it straight after it has flowered. If you prune them later in the year they won't make any new growth until after they would have flowered the next year, so you have a long period of wondering whether your woody stump is alive or dead. 

It will be two years until the new growth flowers again (so none in 2020).

cheers Darrel


----------



## Tim Harrison

Thanks Darrel, that's somewhat reassuring. Some advice on the internet cautions against severe pruning since it might not come back. 
However, it's at the stage when it's beginning to look unsightly especially out of flower, so I don't think I have much to loose either way.


----------



## zozo

Tim Harrison said:


> Crikey, it must have been a huge industry at one time. But I guess that shouldn't be a surprise given that it was once one of the only ways to draw water.
> You've really peaked my interest in a part of our industrial heritage that's seldom thought about these days.



Yup same as Iron Foundries once were rather common i found almost a 100 in my country alone according historical records. And it could be manufactured anywhere in Europe or beyond. I tried in 4 different languages to search for Foundry and Pump Manufacurers with MCH. But nothing out there that comes close.. One national foundry had a trigger "Machine and Construction workshop Holland" But the date is wrong founded since 1902 and up and they made no pumps and went by the name "De Holland".


----------



## Tim Harrison

I've had a look too and came up with zilch...I took the liberty of posting a pic to Richard Williams whose site it is you posted a link to; hope you don't mind. He might know more. From what I've gathered so far it's pretty unique.


----------



## zozo

Tim Harrison said:


> I've had a look too and came up with zilch...I took the liberty of posting a pic to Richard Williams whose site it is you posted a link to; hope you don't mind. He might know more. From what I've gathered so far it's pretty unique.



Great!! I didn't think of that..  Thank you.. You got me mighty curious as well..


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





Tim Harrison said:


> Some advice on the internet cautions against severe pruning since it might not come back.


 Often people don't prune them until they are really suffering and already have die-back or severe chlorosis etc. Once they are moribund they are much less likely to re-grow. 

I would definitely try and prune it, it looks quite a good shape (plenty of basal branches) and it is obviously quite old.  A re-pot and or top-dress is also a god idea. Is the gravel top dressing flint? or is it "cotswold" stone? If its cotswold stone you need to replace it with an inert gravel.

If you are worried you can prune it in stages, first prune would shorten the longer main branches by 4" inches (10 cm). The the next year same again on the shorter branches. Third year just shaping. You will lose some buds, but it will rejuvenate it. They are potentially very long lived plants.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Tim Harrison

That's good to know, thanks. I thought about at least top dressing it as well. The gravel is just inert silica, and it's usually watered with rainwater, but my water butts have run dry this year, all 3x250 litres, hardy any rain, a consequence of living in the rain shadow of the Pennines I guess. I think I'm going to just do it all in one go, I don't think I could live with a half pruned plant it'd trigger my OCD. Maybe I'll cut it back to around 8 inches or so ?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





Tim Harrison said:


> Maybe cut it back to around 8 inches or so ?


Go for it. If the worse comes to the worse you've a nice pot to plant something else in.

I'm not a betting man, but if I was I'd definitely bet on successful pruning.

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Tim Harrison said:


> Disrupting the flow a little, I thought I'd post a pic of my azalea pretty much in full bloom again.
> I've had it around 12 years and it's got a bit leggy, so I was thinking of rejuvenating it by gvinig it a severe pruning...any tips ?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> by Tim Harrison, on Flickr


You can develop it in to this


----------



## Tim Harrison

Wow that's amazing...how would I even start ?


----------



## foxfish

Well you have already started by growing the plant in a pot.

Plenty of you tube info but basically you need to look at your shrub and see what you can see!
Try to imagine the shape and style of a mature tree and then spend the next 10 years convincing  your plant to follow your design.
Always trying to keep your plant as heathy and strong as possible while you manipulate it into shape. 
After 10 years, get a lovely container of a suitable  size to keep the tree at the size you want for the next 10 years.
If you use the correct placement, the best soil, the best fertiliser and only rain water, you will be amazed at how quickly the projects develops .
Azaleas are an extremely  popular bonsai  material but funny enough I have never used one!


----------



## foxfish

To be more specific with your actual plant over the next 12 mounts ..... I would prepare a larger shallower pot , mix 50% hard cat litter with a fine grade soil.
I often use a brown washing up bowl for a pot , cut off around 50% of the root mass and repot In the fresh  soil mix leaving it at least 2” down from the top.
You need lots of holes for drainage and an air gap under the pot (bowl) now top up with chicken @hit and water at least once every day from now til autumn, avoid  tap water if possible.
Top up with CS in six weeks and again in January.
I think that you need to wait for the azalea to drop its flowers before trimming the branches, so this time next year would be a good time to trim the branches.
How much you can cut back is all part of a learning curve and is always a compromise of time and patience.
By spring your plant should of recovered from the root trimming and be in a vigorous state ready for a full year of  strong growth.
To be honest I would probably put in a bit of shape by trimming the branches at the same time as repotting but it will be a bit risky and the plant might suffer ... always a compromise!


----------



## zozo

That Bonsai is amazing!!. So you say you've been growing that tree for over 20 years?.. Now that is dedication..

I never got to it, tried several times, but the small pot doesn't allow neglection.. The few ready grown bonsai i tried all died.. 



Tim Harrison said:


> Wow that's amazing...how would I even start ?



Have a look at this.. That shop seems to be in the UK,, All tho the owner must be Japanese import. He still has that accent. The way the man talks about trees in general is touching and absolute Wabi Sabi. Than he takes huge pliers and splits tick 30 year old branches to be able to rewire and bend them.  Never seen it before and had no idea it was done like that. I would never think of doing that to a tree, always thought bending stops at a given time.. But it seems common bonsai practice with a specialy developed pliers for it..


And this..


----------



## foxfish

I just this moment pooped down the garden to get our tea out of the oven , while there I took a few pictures .
I have added some lights around the cyber man and red light eyes. A couple of my growing on trees both waiting for new pots! My new fern...


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





foxfish said:


> A couple of my growing on trees both waiting for new pots!


I've never seen a "bonsai" _Escallonia. _I might go into business selling "Special Bonsai _Escallonia_ cuttings", they are really easy to root.





foxfish said:


> My new fern..


Very nice, that was a bit of a steal for the label price.

I'll try and get a photo of the larger _Platycerium_ in the glasshouse. I don't know how old it is, I've looked after it (should really have said "totally neglected it") since 1985, and it was already quite a large plant then. The only pest, or disease, it has suffered from was hosting a wasp's nest about five years ago.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Tim Harrison

That's looking awesome Foxfish.


----------



## Tim Harrison

zozo said:


> Great!! I didn't think of that..  Thank you.. You got me mighty curious as well..


Well, Richard just got back to me and I've also pm'd you.

He seems to think it might be French and included a pic of one that is similarly ornate. Intriguing...


----------



## foxfish

dw1305 said:


> Hi all, You have an _Orobanche_ sp. in your photo.
> 
> They all look similar and none of them are very common on the mainland UK (I believe that Ivy Broomrape (_O. hederae_) is common in the Channel Islands).
> 
> cheers Darrel


I have never though much about them, they seem quite common?
I don’t know if our previous under glass growing industry has anything to do with them as I am sure you can see an awful lot growing in the old glasshouses .
I will pay more attention from now on....


----------



## Chrispowell

My gardens very new (planted up last weekend!) And only this area is done at the moment -



 



 



 

Some great gardens here btw!


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> I have never though much about them, they seem quite common?


_Orobanche hederae _has a very localised distribution in the W and SW of the Britain and Eire.  Apparently it is <"common in Guernsey">, so I assume that is what your plant (and that there is some Ivy somewhere close) 

All the rest are fairly uncommon in Mainland UK, _Orobanche minor_ is about the commonest, but even that one I haven't seen for several years. 

Thyme Broomrape (_Orobanche alba) _used to be the one that people wanted to  see in the Burren, it does grow elsewhere but is a pretty rare plant. It is my favourite, as you can identify it easily. For all the rest you really need a flora.

cheers Darrel


----------



## alto

Tim Harrison said:


> That's good to know, thanks. I thought about at least top dressing it as well. The gravel is just inert silica, and it's usually watered with rainwater, but my water butts have run dry this year, all 3x250 litres, hardy any rain, a consequence of living in the rain shadow of the Pennines I guess. I think I'm going to just do it all in one go, I don't think I could live with a half pruned plant it'd trigger my OCD. *Maybe I'll cut it back to around 8 inches or so *?



I’d limit cut to only 1/3 of the plant, take a couple years to (patiently) shape it
If you cut it back that drastically, it will take a couple years to (hopefully) recover ... might as well just give it away for someone to put in the back garden  and start with a new plant

As foxfish suggests it need some pot attention 
(a road trip to Guernsey ..... and pick it up in a couple years )

Don’t forget to sterilize your pruners before trimming


----------



## AndyMcD

Zozo said “Have a look at this.. That shop seems to be in the UK”

Herons Bonsai is great to visit, in person and on their website. They have many great videos, similar quality to The Green Machine. Very knowledgeable and interesting.


----------



## foxfish

I have now mounted the fern on a board and held it in place with wire and a net stapled  to the wood.
Also some more lighting sorted...


----------



## Iain Sutherland

When we bought our house 3 years ago I absolutely had to have gas installed so I could have gas hobs to cook, being in the fen's this meant digging up our front garden to install a tank.  Also being in the fen's this meant losing the top 12 inches of soil and back filling the hole with the gault clay that came out of the 12ft deep hole which the area is famous for.  Being a quick fix as we had a whole house gutted to put back together I only invested in 3 inches of top soil when reinstating.
Anyway loads of plants went in randomly to see what would take, I knew I wanted a woodland style but that was it. As solid clay it's a wet mess in winter and baked concrete in summer.
3 years later the surviving plants have finally reached maturity.  
I appreciate it's a disorganised mess and next year everything will get moved around to achieve what I hoped for but I'm pretty pleased with the plants that survived the experiment.... hosta's have gone mad this year!




Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


----------



## Tim Harrison

I like chaotic planting, I think it looks good as is. But your methodology makes good sense. Moving stuff around and redesigning is all part of the gardening experience, similar to re-scaping a tank but more work 
I've done something very similar in our front garden, but only planted it up March just gone. There was amenity planting there before; shrubs that had become overgrown, now transferred to the back garden.

Again heavy clay subsoil with very little top soil, so I can totally relate to your garden; Somme in winter and concrete in summer with cracks as wide and deep as the Grand Canyon. It's a new development so a nice mix of builders rubble and half bricks as well  

It's a bit of a mess atm but we'll see what survives and what does well and maybe move a few 

Just one half of the front garden, the other half is so bad it's not photo-worthy...




Tim Harrison, on Flickr


----------



## zozo

It looks like a good Cherry year!?..  Better than last year.



 
Hedelfinger Marmelade.. Giving it an estimate, enough for 3 days cooking and 5 litre and still leave the top for the birds.


----------



## Tim Harrison

Bumper crop, must be a mast year. But no net? I used to live in a former cherry growing region in Essex. About this time of year some of the remaining trees would be covered in netting otherwise the birds'd eat 'em all...the cherries that is.


----------



## zozo

Tim Harrison said:


> Bumper crop, must be a mast year. But no net? I used to live in a former cherry growing region in Essex. About this time of year some of the remaining trees would be covered in netting otherwise the birds'd eat 'em all...the cherries that is.



No net, never had a net, but still enough left to make to much marmelade.. I still have from previous year standing around.. 

Having cats around probably helps a lot.. Do you see him, sitting almost at the top? Unfortunately he's no longer among us, but he was mad.. Could sit in the tree for hours when the cherries were ripe.





I also have birdfeeders hanging, but don't see much birds.. It's to close to the ground and to many cats strolling around.


----------



## Tim Harrison

Haha...no net needed...maybe a safety net.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





dw1305 said:


> The pond had developed a bit of filamentous green algae bloom, so I've put a few spare floaters on it. So far they aren't really enjoying life, other then the hitchhiking _Azolla_.


I took this one this morning, the pond has gone from about <"1/3 _Azolla_ coverage to about 70%"> in ~10 days.

The _Limnobium_ looks quite good, but the _Pistia _is still struggling. I'm not sure whether it is the change to higher light intensity or the cool nights.





cheers Darrel


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 
I took a couple of shots of the garden while I was photoing the _Azolla . 
_
This is the gravel garden, it has filled out remarkably from <"earlier in the year">. I'd assumed that a lot of it has died  (it was all brown and withered when I came back last august), but I think most of the plants were just taking a siesta. 

_ 

 
_
This is the West facing border in the back garden, this is about as good as it gets, it is all down hill from here flower-wise for the rest of the summer. There is an earlier incarnation on <"page 2">.

I've tried lots of later flowering plants, but I don't water the garden and they tend to struggle. Looking back at the pictures <"_Allium cristophii"> _loves this border. I bought five bulbs ~15 years ago, this border has ~25 flower-heads, all the one I've moved elsewhere have died, I've no idea why. 



 

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Looks fab! 
Are you guys suffering a lack of rain? We are, it has been almost three weeks since a half decent downpour.
My rain water butts are down 3/4 and the grass is turning to straw .


----------



## mort

dw1305 said:


> Hi all, I took this one this morning, the pond has gone from about <"1/3 _Azolla_ coverage to about 70%"



Hi Darrel,  do you know which species of azolla you have there? I had a couple of little bits that hitchhiked on something and they over wintered fine. They were bright red all summer but as the weather has got sunnier they have changed to green. I know azolla filicuoides is no longer allowed here and just wondered if that's what I have, so I know where to put the excess.


----------



## Edvet

We still have a waterdeficit from last years draught.
We have had rain but not enough to fill groundwater levels.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





mort said:


> Hi Darrel,  do you know which species of azolla you have there? I had a couple of little bits that hitchhiked on something and they over wintered fine.


Mine came from the restored section of the <"Wilts & Berks canal">, but as far as I know whatever they are sold as (or collected from) they are <"_Azolla filiculoides">._

I've seen a couple of different species, but the only way I knew they were different was that a botanist told me they were different. Via <"Wikipedia">_



The only sure method of distinguishing this species from Azolla filiculoides is to examine the trichomes on the upper surfaces of the leaves. Trichomes are small protuberances that create water resistance. They are unicellular in A. filiculoides but septate (two-celled) in A. cristata (syn. A. carolinana).
		
Click to expand...

_


> They were bright red all summer but as the weather has got sunnier they have changed to green.


Mine do that, because we use them for a practical I now know that the large green plants are the ones with <"nitrogen fixing Cyanobacteria"> present.

I had the great idea that using the red ones would make the Cyanobacteria easier to see, but found that they don't have (m)any.





> I know azolla filicuoides is no longer allowed here and just wondered if that's what I have, so I know where to put the excess.


Compost it?

cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

Thanks Darrel,  I meant to say it's red all winter long and turns green in the summer. 

I saw some for sale on eBay that was listed as another species but was just wondering how practical it was for the average hobbyist to identify, or whether they were just claiming it was that species because the other is banned. It seemed relatively popular though and I was just wondering if I could offer mine it to others but as it overwintered I thought its most likely the naughty species, so will compost.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





mort said:


> saw some for sale on eBay that was listed as another species but was just wondering how practical it was for the average hobbyist to identify, or whether they were just claiming it was that species because the other is banned


I think identifying any of them to species is a microscope job. 

I would guess that the plant sold as _Azolla caroliniana (A. cristata_) is really _A. filiculoides. Azolla filiculoides _has been banned from sale since 2014

It isn't a new arrival in the UK, it has been here for over a hundred years (first recorded in the wild in 1883) and I think it tends to come and go (or certainly dramatically vary in abundance) at any particular location.

cheers Darrel


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





foxfish said:


> Looks fab!
> Are you guys suffering a lack of rain? We are, it has been almost three weeks since a half decent downpour.
> My rain water butts are down 3/4 and the grass is turning to straw .


It had been really dry (in Corsham), but we've had a reasonable amount of rain now and my water butts are pretty much back to full.

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

I got me a clock!


----------



## zozo

That green desk lamp shade ( i assume) also is a nice classis touch.. 

And its a Antikythera Clock..


----------



## foxfish

A friend bought the clock for me as an early birthday present, I made the back frame from ply and painted it to look like metal. I used some cinnamon powder over the wet paint for a rusty effect.
Yes I found a green glass lamp and I have some green LED tea lights to power it.
I have bought loads of lighting, flame effect bulbs and mini battery LEDs, wire LED is really cool but this is about forward  planning as it doesn’t get dark until 10pm at the moment, should look good in the winter though. 
I have spent hundreds of hours doing this and now I am behind in every other aspect of garden life!


----------



## zozo

foxfish said:


> I used some cinnamon powder over the wet paint for a rusty effect.



Good idea, looks good.. Never though of that.. What background color didyou use, Silver/grey?

We have a paint brand Still-Life (Stilleven) Oxy Rust.. It contains iron particles and probbaly some copper and acids to accellerate the oxidation process. Within 12 hours it looks like iron that was outdoors for a decade. But pretty expensive at €32 for 0.5 litre. Tho never used it, but it look realistic.. Definitively going to try cinnamon, smells better too i guess.


----------



## foxfish

I used a water based brown to paint the ply (fence panel stain) and then, once dry, I used silver and black tester pots from B&Q .
I just twisted the brush in a circular motion in alternative colours, let it dry and did it again.
To get the rust effect, I used a water based varnish and painted the edges before sprinkling cinnamon power on to the wet varnish. 
Load of drawing pins around the edge, I had to drill every hole as the pins would not push into the ply.
I might try a little bit of green paint around the pinheads......


----------



## foxfish

Here is one for you @dw1305 this stuff is appearing in various locations, Jersey and Guernsey, it grows on Gorse.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> this stuff is appearing in various locations, Jersey and Guernsey, it grows on Gorse.


It is another parasitic plant, it is <"Lesser Dodder" (_Cuscuta epithymum_)>.

I saw it at Studland last year before that I hadn't seen it for ~10 years, it isn't a common plant now in mainland UK.

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Correct (of course) it’s going mad this year!


----------



## foxfish

Another picture


----------



## foxfish

Quiz for Darrel ... what is this one?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





foxfish said:


> what is this one?


That is an easy one, the "Jersey Orchid". It has changed its name, so it is now _Anacamptis laxiflora.
_
cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Ha Ha .. well done and full marks for the Latin name but we call it the Guernsey orchid! 
I went on a guided walk through ( well around the perimeter)   our wonderful organic orchid fields last week.
http://www.societe.org.gg/reserves/les_vicheries/


----------



## foxfish

Orchid city on the common and just a few hundreds yards from my house.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> Orchid city on the common and just a few hundreds yards from my house.


Brilliant. 

I can't tell if the paler ones are Common Spotted (_Dactylorhiza fuchsii_) or Heath Spotted (_D. maculata_), "Common Spotted" would be my guess, but you would need to be able to see the shape of the lip of the labellum.

The darker pink Orchid is Southern Marsh Orchid (_D. praetermissa_) and the bigger intermediate orchid is the hybrid between one of the spotted Orchids and the "Southern Marsh", again a guess but most likely <"_D. x grandis">.
_
cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

I have never seen so many in that area but I hope it is a good sign as the same spot has been fantastic for gathering parasol mushroom in the past but, not in recent years!

I will try and find out what the orchids are called or failing that I will get some closeup shots.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





foxfish said:


> failing that I will get some closeup shots.


You just need to be able to see the lip of the flower, they all look pretty similar, but the lip is a different shape dependent upon species. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

I do have a few more pictures from yesterday, the area is called the devils foot due to an unusual indentation in a large granite rock!
How about a few coastal plants to identify?
What is the island on the horizon?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> How about a few coastal plants to identify?



Photo 2. is Rock Samphire (_Crithmum maritimum_)
Photo 3. _Plantago coronopus, Sedum anglicum _on the rock (lichen is _Ramalina siliquosa_), the plant in the crack looks like _Daucus carota_. Plants in the back-ground are _Armeria maritima, Beta vulgaris, Dactylis glomerata _and_ Sonchus asper._
Photo. 4 is _Lotus corniculatus_, _Armeria_ again, with _D. carota _and_ Festuca rubra._
Photo 5_. Heracleum sphondylium _with _D. glomerata, Lolium perenne, Poa_ sp. (probably _P. annua_) and _B. hordaceus._
Photo 6, 7 & 8. Now this one looks quite interesting, the tall orchid is a hybrid, but looks likely to be <"_D. x hallii">_ (_D. maculata x D. praetermissa)._The smaller, paler orchid is_ <"D. maculata">. _Other plants are _Pteridium aquilinum, Rhinanthus minor,_ _Lychnis flos-cuculi, Holcus lanatus, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Cirsium arvensis, Plantago lanceolata, Juncus conglomeratus, Luzula multflora, Anagallis tenella, Rubus fruticosus, Potentilla erecta & Rumex ?crispus.  _
Photo 9. is _Picris echioides _with _Silene dioica & Galium aparine (_and the "weedy" plants from earlier in the thread_)_



foxfish said:


> What is the island on the horizon?


It looks quite a large island (and distant) so I'm guessing Jersey?

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

I can see I will have lift the bar!
Not Jersey though.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





foxfish said:


> Not Jersey though.


But I'm a botanist not a geographer, it is looking north towards Alderney?

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Yes it is a bleak Alderney!    
About 20 miles away to the North.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> I have never seen so many in that area


I think 2018's good summer might have led to more flowering.

This is an unexpected Bee Orchid in an unexpected place (in the lawn outside the lab). Years ago this used to be a quiet scruffy area with species rich grass, but about 15 years ago the University decided it would look much better as a stripy lawn with topiary, an ornamental gate and (more recently) some <"interesting" planters">.

The sticks were to protect it from the mower (for the last six weeks, we suffer from "turf fundamentalist" grounds management).



 

 



cheers Darrel


----------



## zozo

Small things you can find in the garden..  I found this in an neglected pot in a shaded spot that once contained a Asplenium trichomanes fern, the fern is long dead..

Now its growing a new fern, yet no idea which one it is.. 




But what actualy caught my eye is the Marchantia polymorpha Moss sporecaps.. Our common name for it is Umbrella Moss.. Why seems obvious..








I'm yet never tried my self, another interesting thing is, this liverwort seems to like to grow aqautic too.  And it is relatively drouth resistant.. A moss that can take a beating.. With quite a variety of different growforms.. Hence there for the name Polymorpha?..


----------



## Edvet

First time i see it blooming: Catalpa bignonioides ( not to be mistaken with catappa leaves)


----------



## TBRO

Succulent Iwugumi has grown in well. Shame I think frost will destroy the dragon stone


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Oldguy

Oldguy said:


> Can any one ID this house/garden plant. Friend found it on a tip and potted it on. The flower is approx 1'' or 25mm for younger viewers. Thanks in advance. Hope picture has posted. If not could be in post below.



Still in the dark about picture not loading, but plant ID as a Patycdon or Balloon Flower. Bought two today one white and one blue, £2 each. Sorry about the two duff postings.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





Oldguy said:


> but plant ID as a Platycdon or Balloon Flower. Bought two today one white and one blue, £2 each.


The snails munched the three I bought on the night after I planted them. Bought two more, same happened

Having said that most _Campanula_ relatives have a pretty short life with me. The best/worst was _Codonopsis vinciflora, _which must be cat-nip for snails, and they started congregating even before I'd left the plant. 

This year I grew <"_Campanula incurva">_ from seed (it germinates like cress). I used to have it and it did very well for me and wasn't noticeably eaten, but I got fed up with growing new plants (it is monocarpic). Planted them out, next morning all gone. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## Edvet




----------



## foxfish

Well guernsey is now in an official drought!
We still have plenty of water although there is talk of a hose pipe restrictions in Jersey.
My lawns are very dry but still green (light green) but they will be yellow by Sunday.

I built a table for the party hose using a plank of walnut that I have had in a sawn state for many years.
I used a bit of epoxy to add some interest.....


----------



## foxfish

We have been promised rain , in fact it was meant to rain all day yesterday but it didn’t rain at all!
Today’ does look more promising ..... It is the same with snow, always promising snow but it somehow scoots around the island and never lands on us!
The last rain was 36 days ago and much of the common land and fields are yellow, no rain and lots of dry wind has made this a bad year for gardens.


----------



## Oldguy

dw1305 said:


> _Campanula_ relatives have a pretty short life with me.


Sorry about snails, I use chemicals/throw them over the hedge. The root system on the Balloon flowers is robust. Have some concerns about being invasive. Time will tell. The price was low and in my defense I was left unsupervised.


----------



## Geoffrey Rea

Flower scape... It was going alright. Sort of survived the weather this weekend but it’s certainly been thinned out by the wind  Natures way of dead heading I guess. 

Have also got a hedgehog who’s set up residence under the shed and potters around the garden at night. Blurry photo alert:





Any suggestions on how to give Mr/Mrs Hedgehog a hand getting through the summer?

Currently just leaving a terracotta dish full of water available.


----------



## Edvet

Some catfood.


----------



## Tim Harrison

Not mine, but one belonging to folks I stayed with a couple of weeks ago...



 
Tim Harrison, on Flickr


----------



## Geoffrey Rea

Edvet said:


> Some catfood.



Thanks @Edvet

Maybe worth a shot. Not phased by people, really happy to just sit next to you.


----------



## oscar

Here is my back garden, nothing better than pottering about- well aquascaping is up there


----------



## zozo

For people from South East Asia this might be very common seen about at every street corner. The Butterfly Pea.. 
(Clitoria ternatea). But for Western Europe a rare treat..

After over 4 years trying and failing with seeds from a wild shrub from Thailand i finaly managed to grow a small healthy shrub with a small wooden stem and it's finaly flowering full color.




Not giving up payed off.. Tho i never thought i would succeed it's a very climate and light sensitive plant, not dificult to germinate but very difficult to grow on to maturity in temporate climate with dark winters. And this hot dry summer with loads of sun and water seemed to be that little push she needed.





It's medicinal and edible, flowers contain a very strong pigment and are used to color foods, drinks and textiles.


----------



## Tim Harrison

Well, I guess if anyone could get it to grow and flower it'd be you Marcel. Aptly named as well...


----------



## zozo

Tim Harrison said:


> Well, I guess if anyone could get it to grow and flower it'd be you Marcel. Aptly named as well...



 Always thought the Englisch common name for it was less in your face. Since it looks like a Butterfly and it fruits with Legumes and actual peas in it.. But now you mention it.. It speaks to imagination..  Have to admit, its the reason i wanted to grow it so badly in the first place.. Having a laugh..


----------



## Edvet

Take it inside for winter?
Maybe you are better of with a greenhouse/conservatory to move everything there during winter


----------



## zozo

Edvet said:


> Take it inside for winter?



Yes it gong indoors in the winter.. It will hang here under the dome.



It kinda functions a bit as a greenhouse, warm air accumulates there. But the winters short light periode and likely lower night temps is already hard on the plant. At leas when it still was young. I guess or beter say hope that now its more mature it will take it beter, its the first one i got to grow a wooden stem.. It was quite a strugle to get this far.. 



Edvet said:


> Maybe you are better of with a greenhouse/conservatory to move everything there during winter


That is and likely will stay a dream for ever.. I wish i had. And if i had it would be like walking into a jungle with a pond in it.


----------



## Keith GH

I have just ordered these Daffodils all on a Pre Order that means a lot cheaper.



Daffodil Double mixed




Daffodil Replete




Daffodil Ice Follies




Daffodil Mini collection

Keith


----------



## Tim Harrison

Nice selection Keith, they'll be sure to brighten up any garden...


----------



## foxfish

i have been out collecting a few new trees to boost my diminishing bonsai collection.
I am a member of a freshwater fishing club and was involved in some bank clearance so I took the opportunity to collect a few suitable trees.
The best was an evergreen oak that is well over 30 years old, I have tried to count the growth rings but they are very difficult to count until the sap drys out a bit.
Also collected a couple of blackthorn, a privet and a big bit of self rooted willow.


----------



## foxfish

Here is one I collected around 30 years ago, it was grown in a basket tray for around 10 years then into progressively smaller pots, I might put it in its final pot next year.


----------



## foxfish

And a Myrtle that has been trained in the ground and just recently planted in a big pot, it was over 7’ tall last week.


----------



## Bryce

I’m jealous of you guys and the beautiful gardens you have. Here in the desert in Phoenix it’s to hot for most gardens. But here’s what I have. Not much!!! Lol


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





Bryce said:


> Here in the desert in Phoenix it’s to hot for most gardens. But here’s what I have.


Minimalist, _Aloe, Lantana camara & Washingtonia filifera?.
_
cheers Darrel


----------



## Bryce

Dang you nailed it!!!


----------



## Thomas Cranham

I love gardening and have transformed my front and back gardens from just lawn into my oasis in the 4 years I've had the house. I have flowers somewhere 12 months of the year, have a wide variety of annuals, biennial, perennials, shrubs and trees. Mainly I garden for the wildlife (I have a wife variety of birds visit, frogs, and hedgehogs too) and for growing fruit. I've got 9 different apple trees


----------



## foxfish

Bonsai trees can be brought on quite quickly if you start them off in the ground and do what is called a trunk chop.
I grew this Beach for 7 years in my garden and then chopped if off about one quarter way up.
It was then kept in a basket tray while a new leader was allowed to grow from the top, about 5 years.
I put it in its final pot around 5 years back and the original cuts are now 3/4 healed over. Probably needs another 5 years to completely heal


----------



## foxfish

I made a garden sculpture from a load of apple tree cuttings, a friend asked me to try a make it look like a French Bulldog..
Sarah started a facebook page for kids to give it a name  with a small prize, we had over one hundred names put forward “Dozer” won!
I was never very good at school but even as a child I could shape a piece of clay into an animal or something, it was really fun for me and took my mind off all the worlds issues... for a few days anyway.


----------



## Tim Harrison

That's truly awesome 
Ironically, schools aren't always particularly enlightened places...


----------



## foxfish

If anyone is into bonsai you may well of heard of Peter Chan, he is so unassuming and offers so freely, his amazing wealth of knowledge with a very extensive youtube library, books and face to face if you visit his premises.
It astounds me that people criticise him, his work, his methods and abilities are regularly bad mouthed of various   forums  but honestly I just love him, I love his videos, his passion is so obvious and his overall success speaks  for its self.
He has loads of vides, some short some long, here is a 30 min tour of his bonsai centre .....


----------



## PARAGUAY

This plant grows nice in spring come summer it suffers fungal like problems  any ideas without cures that kill beneficial wil

 dlife


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,
_Spirea japonica_ "Firelight"? 





PARAGUAY said:


> suffers fungal like problems any ideas without cures that kill beneficial wildlife


There aren't really any fungicides that are safe and effective. _Spirea_ spp. don't tend to get much wrong with them. 

These yellow ones suffer from leaf scorch if they get too much sun?

cheers Darrel


----------



## PARAGUAY

Thanks Darrell. Ones in the ground the other in a pot. So I will move the pot into a area what gets less direct sun. It grows well this time of year only to look worse for wear in late summer. I had read insufficient watering early in the season but it  also affect the one in ground so I discounted that. Spirea that's it I thought but wasnt sure


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 
A "lockdown" one from yesterday. 



cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

While out driving yesterday we saw this large pot plant on the side of a road with a “ free to take away” sign on it!
Luckily we were in my van so between me and the misses we got it in the back.
It did have a lot more dead wood and brown leaves that I have cut away and I believe the colour rendition is misleading and very pale.
The thing looks quite old with a mature trunk structure but is amazingly root bound!
I will re pot it as soon as I can get some cat titter but the garden centres are closed at the moment.
I think it might have been kept in the dark for some time but there are some new leaves appearing so I am confident I can restore it but I am not sure what it actually is?


----------



## Tim Harrison

Nice find and project, looks like it'll do okay


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> but I am not sure what it actually is?


My first thought was <"Cherry Laurel (_Prunus laurocerasus_)">, but that would be a strange thing to have in a pot.

cheers Darrel


----------



## zozo

dw1305 said:


> Hi all, My first thought was <"Cherry Laurel (_Prunus laurocerasus_)">, but that would be a strange thing to have in a pot.
> 
> cheers Darrel



That Prunus stands in our parents' house garden, as a massive 40-year-old shrub. I gave it a trim last summer. This one looks indeed very much alike, but what stands out to me it's missing the typical prunus smooth freckled bark..

The bark of the Prunus laurocerasus has this texture.  Or its the resolution of the picture throwing me off.


----------



## foxfish

I don’t think there is any soil left in the pot, it is just a mass of roots!
I don’t really want to feed it at the moment but I have a feeling a bit of nitrogen and sun will turn the leaves a dark green.
The trunk does not have a rough bark but is not smooth like a camellia or magnolia, sort of in between!
I suspect it will be a flowering shrub or tree.
I want to get it out that pot, cut the root ball in half and comb out the upper roots, then plant it in a slightly bigger pot with a very free draining mix of cat litter chopped sphagnum moss and a bit of garden soil.
It might be a late summer flower but we probably won’t see any until next year.


----------



## foxfish

Rhododendron maybe?


----------



## mort

dw1305 said:


> Hi all, My first thought was <"Cherry Laurel (_Prunus laurocerasus_)">, but that would be a strange thing to have in a pot.
> 
> cheers Darrel



Funnily enough that was my same train of thought, before i saw your post. Then I thought the brown leaves could be frost damage and it looked a little sparse leaved for one, so must be wrong but i do think it could well be.


----------



## Heavenly

In the current lockdown, the office...


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





Heavenly said:


> In the current lockdown, the office...


That looks lovely, no wonder Buddha looks so happy, but I'm not sure about your <"choice of Beer">.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Siege

Nice 

I’m not sure about the choice of lager either!


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





Siege said:


> I’m not sure about the choice of lager!


Great minds....

cheers Darrel


----------



## zozo

Indeed a very beautiful garden... 

And indeed that's no Beer that's a Shandy!?... Actually Shandy sounds very British, is it?... Our local name for it is Snowwhity... (Beer mixed with 7up for the kids) And then Royal Club Soda introduced the same as Shandy...

But it has a pro, you can drink forever without ever having a hangover. 

There actually exists a huge misconception around the world about beer. 90% of the people call it all beer. But there is Pilsener and Beer and it has a huge difference. Anyway, if you want a beer, go to Belgium that's one of the only countries still making it.  Tons of it...


----------



## foxfish

I am now quite confident my plant is a rhododendron as I found a few pictures on line of poorly specimens


 

 M

 
My plant is the centre picture, they seem quite difficult and sensitive plants to look after, it might be a challenge to get it back into shape....


----------



## sparkyweasel

foxfish said:


> they seem quite difficult and sensitive plants to look after,


I think that's usually the case when people try to grow them in unsuitable soil. That could be what the previous owner potted it in. I would shake as much soil/compost of the roots as possible and repot it in ericaceous compost. That may be all it needs.


----------



## foxfish

Well I got the flipping thing out it’s pot,I had to use a fulcrum and strap to lever it out the pot!
Anyway I cut the root ball in half with a saw and combed  out the top 6” of roots.
It is now in a slightly bigger pot sitting on top of a bag of vermiculite and surrounded with ericaceous soil, cat litter and sphagnum moss mix,
To be honest I think it is 50 - 50 if it will survive as there were hardly any white root and a lot of dead root  but fingers crossed ....


----------



## alto

foxfish said:


> To be honest I think it is 50 - 50 if it will survive as there were hardly any white root and a lot of dead root but fingers crossed


If you’re patient enough to give it 2-3 years, it may surprise ... azaleas and rhododendrons can come back from what looks to be certain death 
(most just remove them after 1 year of no leafs)


----------



## foxfish

Not my garden although in theory I do own one sixty five thousandth of it!
We went for a walk in the park yesterday, well in Candie Gardens actually.
The gardens were mainly planted around 200 years ago and contain some lovely specimen plants and trees.
The house and gardens were left to our island to be used by the public and maintained with our taxes.
Candie Gardens contain a very popular if not famous statue of Victor Hugo who was a friend of the original house owner and would sit and possibly write  where the statue now résides .
The very last, legal duel, took place in between an avenue of trees!
I did not take many pictures but i though the red chestnut looked great, it is a red horse chestnut grafted onto a common chestnut root stock, planted 196 years ago.
I have been collecting the nuts from this tree since a was a small boy as they are huge and hard but unfortunately not fertile! 
The Beatles once played in the gardens but the music hall is now our naturel  history museum .


----------



## Ady34

foxfish said:


> Rhododendron maybe?


I was going to say azalea, but maybe too big so it could well be. I know very little about plants, but I know it looked a bit like an azalea I used to own.


----------



## Ady34

Just while I’m here, I love plants and gardens. My old garden offered me much enjoyment but a house move to a new build has left me with a typical ‘blank canvas’ shall we say. Anyway I have grand plans for the rear but it won’t be hugely planted. I did bring with me a 12 1/2 year old house warming gift which has sentimental value to our new home. It is a Japanese maple, i had several planted but could not bring them but this one was an easy move. It has never been repotted since I put it in this pot all those years ago. Last year it struggled and I now believe this was due to me overfeeding with a liquid fertiliser. This year it has come back beautifully and I’ll just use water this year, perhaps adding slow release capsules next season.
I took a photo of it the other day, I just love these plants:



I do love seeing all the stunning gardens here, and the creations of @foxfish , you are a very talented man and that bulldog sculpture is quite a thing 
Cheerio,


----------



## foxfish

I have been putting my staghorn fern out and hanging it on a north facing fence .
I put it back under cover at night but I think it could now stay out for the next few months?
It is growing really well, I have sprayed it with tank water a few times but I want to start fertilising  it with something.
I dont know if it can use its roots to absorb nutrients or it it can only use its fronds ?
In fact I dont know if it even has any roots as I cant see any through the moss.
This picture was taken a couple of weeks back....


----------



## foxfish

@Ady34 that is a lovely Acer Palmatum , they can survive for many years in the same pot but I would re pot it and cut back some foliage .
If you dont want it to grow any bigger then just use the same pot but rake out the root ball and use 50-50 cat litter soil mix.
I plant 95% of  my potted plants in 100% cat litter but I am around to water every day.
Anyway you dont really want to disturb the roots at this time of year, best done in February but you can cut the foliage anytime during the growing season .
I feed my mountain maples with chicken poo, I pile in the pellets  about one inch thick in March so the nutrients are washed down into the soil ready for the growth spurt in April. They I use liquid  feed  every two weeks until mid summer.
They hate wind,  especially cold wind but are really fast growing and robust once established in the garden.
I have a couple of beautiful bonsai that I really love to stare at for long moments!


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> but I think it could now stay out for the next few months?


It should be fine. 


foxfish said:


> but I want to start fertilising it with something.


I'd probably try very dilute liquid feed, and some leaf mold placed into the central cup?





foxfish said:


> I dont know if it can use its roots to absorb nutrients or it it can only use its fronds ?In fact I dont know if it even has any roots as I cant see any through the moss.


There are roots, they grow inside the sterile basal fronds.  You can water it a bit more freely with it outside, I leave the hose running into the cup of mine until water runs out. It is hanging up in the glasshouse and it is two man job to move it. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Fantastic Darrel! Do you have a picture?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> Do you have a picture?


Should have one somewhere at work. If  I can't find it I'll get an up to date one next week.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Ady34

foxfish said:


> @Ady34 that is a lovely Acer Palmatum , they can survive for many years in the same pot but I would re pot it and cut back some foliage .
> If you dont want it to grow any bigger then just use the same pot but rake out the root ball and use 50-50 cat litter soil mix.
> I plant 95% of  my potted plants in 100% cat litter but I am around to water every day.
> Anyway you dont really want to disturb the roots at this time of year, best done in February but you can cut the foliage anytime during the growing season .
> I feed my mountain maples with chicken poo, I pile in the pellets  about one inch thick in March so the nutrients are washed down into the soil ready for the growth spurt in April. They I use liquid  feed  every two weeks until mid summer.
> They hate wind,  especially cold wind but are really fast growing and robust once established in the garden.
> I have a couple of beautiful bonsai that I really love to stare at for long moments!


Thanks Foxfish, I’ll take all that on board and look to do something with it early next year. Much appreciate the tips👍


----------



## foxfish

Not really a garden tree but I wanted to show you this beauty that lives in a local cemetery, anyone want to guess what it is and it’s approximate age?


----------



## zozo

foxfish said:


> Not really a garden tree but I wanted to show you this beauty that lives in a local cemetery, anyone want to guess what it is and it’s approximate age?



Long shot?  Betula pendula? (Silver birch?) Age? if it is at least a century i guess... 

If it is, it should have the fruit already ..


----------



## Tim Harrison

Tilia species ?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





foxfish said:


> Not really a garden tree but I wanted to show you this beauty that lives in a local cemetery, anyone want to guess what it is and it’s approximate age?
> View attachment 148785View attachment 148786


_ Tilia cordata, and _fairly elderly_?

Cheers Darrel_


----------



## foxfish

Yes it is a big leaf lime tree, not as common as the small leaf variety.
Its true age is not known but suspected to be around 275 years old .
It is truly spectacular,  so complex  and dense and seemingly alive with movement and sound.
There are several trees in the cemetery that I don’t know what they are !
I will get more pictures next time we visit.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,
_Tilia platyphyllos, _should have long hairs along the veins, on the underside of the leaves.

Cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Yes Darrel it is a _Tilia_ _platyphyllos  large leaf  lime. _


----------



## Tim Harrison

I recognised it might be a Tilia, I grew up on a street lined with Tilia x europaea; a hybrid between the small-leaved and large-leaved lime.

Awesome to look at but don't park your car under them in early summer it'll become covered in sticky sap and it's a favourite of moths, the larvae of which dangle from silk threads ready to fall in to the hair of unsuspecting passersby.

You can spot a resident because they'll meander down the pavement avoiding them, looking like they're drunk. Visitors just walk straight in to them...


----------



## Tucker90

Few people commented on my pond thread so thought I’d share a few pictures of the garden. 

Moved into the property November last year, previous owners left the garden in a similar state to the house, to put it politely, my pigs on the family farm have better accommodation. 

But we knew this when we bought it, it’s a project. 

Before: 






3 trees felled, mountains of rubble and waste removed, hedges trimmed and fruit trees pruned, 6 trips to the tip with a 4 ton cattle trailer, 3 ton of soil and sand and a 10kg sack of grass seed to top dress the lawn (still not 100% but getting there) 45 litres of fence paint, and a lick of white paint on the pagoda we’re nearly there! 








After:




Ignore the small frame, it’s to help the recovering grass. 





I’ve never really been a gardener but can honestly say have thoroughly enjoyed the allotment aspect of it! Things have moved on since these pictures were taken with things starting to grow rapidly. 

I had to make these hinged netted frames, not for birds, but to stop our two cats using the beds as their toilet. 








Current list of hopeful produce are :
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions (red, yellow and spring)
Tender-stem broccoli
Leeks
Strawberry’s
Beetroot
Salad of all varieties 
Radish’s 
And dwarf french beans. 

My current projects are 4 raised sleeper beds for my wife to have mini cutting gardens, providing flowers for the house. 







The bed below had an awful concrete seating area which I am half way through removing, skip is arriving next week! 
The grass in this area is awful, the soil is dry as a result of the trees and hasn’t seen the light of day for the best part of 10 years! So I have yet to top dress it. 

And I have agreed with the neighbours to remove the conifers on the condition that I replant some more, which I am happy to do, as it will rid me of the horrific site of them! 





And as previously mentioned a new garden pond at the end of the pagoda. This will also I turn provide the top soil for said raised beds! 











I have 8 days off coming up and I am thoroughly looking forward to a few hard days graft in the sun! 

Hope everyone’s doing well! 

Some loverly gardens about! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Tim Harrison

Cottage style garden is coming on. This is only its second season...


----------



## PARAGUAY

Keeping busy


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





dw1305 said:


> I'll try and get a photo of the larger _Platycerium_ in the glasshouse. I don't know how old it is, I've looked after it (should really have said "totally neglected it") since 1985, and it was already quite a large plant then. The only pest, or disease, it has suffered from was hosting a wasp's nest about five years ago.





dw1305 said:


> You can water it a bit more freely with it outside, I leave the hose running into the cup of mine until water runs out. It is hanging up in the glasshouse and it is two man job to move it.





foxfish said:


> Fantastic Darrel! Do you have a picture?


Better late than never, this was this morning and apologies for the state of the glasshouse.





cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Thanks Darrel, looks great!  it seems a common practice to drape  a banana  skin  over the main body!
I have not done this as yet.... what  do you think ?
I have an Australian friend who told me he feeds his giant with  banana skins every two weeks.
Ha said it must of consumed hundreds of them!


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





foxfish said:


> Thanks Darrel, looks great!


It had a few dead leaves, but overall not too bad considering the glasshouse has only had minimal maintenance since March. 





foxfish said:


> it seems a common practice to drape a banana skin over the main body!I have not done this as yet.... what do you think ?


I think it should work, it would basically be like adding leaves, but with a bit potassium (K) etc.

I'd probably cut them up rather than using them whole, I also think Fruit flies might prove to be a nuisance in the summer.

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

I just spoke to my friend via Facebook, I have not actually seen him for 30 years, he lives in Perth and said there are hundreds on staghorns all over the place.
The one he has lives in a tree in his back garden and (jokingly) said it actually eats banana skins in a few days !
Apparently in the summer and just after rain, if he puts a skin on it, it will be covered over by new growth and literally disappears in a day or so!
Waiting for a photo......


----------



## foxfish

I have mine outside all the time now, it is growing but not that fast, I will offer him a banana tomorrow.....
(Top right)


----------



## Tim Harrison

Saturday...


----------



## zozo

Tim Harrison said:


> Saturday...
> 
> View attachment 149192



2 pots with gold. 1 at each end... Did you get them?...


----------



## Tim Harrison

zozo said:


> 2 pots with gold. 1 at each end... Did you get them?...


Not this time. but believe it or not I have seen the end of a rainbow...


----------



## Iain Sutherland

Been hard at it over lockdown, turning what was the 'builders yard' during the house Reno into veg garden and chicken run. 2/3 done and almost all upcycled materials.
Furlough starts again thursday so will be back on it.





Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


----------



## rebel

I don't whether you guys have seen this but if you considering a pond, check these out!


We certainly don't have such talent in Australia but maybe in the UK, you guys may have someone who can do water falls like these.

I am impressed how natural some of them look!


----------



## PotteryWalrus

foxfish said:


> I just spoke to my friend via Facebook, I have not actually seen him for 30 years, he lives in Perth and said there are hundreds on staghorns all over the place.
> The one he has lives in a tree in his back garden and (jokingly) said it actually eats banana skins in a few days !
> Apparently in the summer and just after rain, if he puts a skin on it, it will be covered over by new growth and literally disappears in a day or so!
> Waiting for a photo......
> View attachment 149004



This post actually made me remember something about my childhood in Sydney - my next door neighbours had a massive staghorn hanging on their back porch and they would indeed feed it banana skins - you could watch the damn things vanish over a few days just like the plant was sucking them into the root/rhizome thing there at the base!


----------



## foxfish

Ok I have an ID one for you ... what is this plant?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 
Kangaroo Apple_ - Solanum laciniatum, _probably hardy with you.

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

It must of come as a seed in a bag of New Zealand sphagnum moss that I bought from Amazon during the lock down. I normally buy my moss from B&Q and I am sure it is treated to avoid introducing non native plants but obviously not the one from Amazon! I use the moss in my bonsai soil mix.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





foxfish said:


> It must of come as a seed in a bag of New Zealand sphagnum moss that I bought from Amazon during the lock down.


It comes up really freely from seed and is found in New Zealand (and Australia).  It grew by the lake in Rotorua.

Years ago I picked up an interesting "weed seedling" from the Cotswold Wildlife Park and it turned out to be this, I've also seen it at the landfill since and there are often stray seedlings in the glasshouse. It isn't very long-lived.

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Back from the cemetery with a few phone pics....


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,





foxfish said:


> Back from the cemetery with a few phone pics....


I don't know what the first tree is, the one with the lovely dark green leaf.

Not quite on the same scale, but this is the gravel garden (from last week):





_Dierama spp._ and _Abutilon megapoticum. 


_

and a real "value for money one" _Gaura lindheimeri, _it flowers and flowers and flowers_. _I've got a shorter pink one as well, but I like the tall white one.




cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

This might help ?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> This might help ?


Italian Alder (_Alnus cordata)._

I wouldn't have ever guessed without the "cone". I've never seen a really big one like that_.  _I was thinking it might be a Poplar, or a _Pyrus_, but it didn't look quite right for either.

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Well done, I only know the names because I went on a guided walk with “The Men of The Trees’ and that was 30 years ago but I think I remember most of the main specimens.
Most of the mature tree were planted in the mid 1800s when the cemetery opened for business.
There are many dignitaries and war hero’s buried there with some very gothic tomes and headstones  !
We have a public library that has a lot of information and stored records of all the islands public building
I believe there is a record of the ordinal plans and planting  as I remember our guid telling us it was possible to view the blueprints.


----------



## Tim Harrison

For some reason most of the plants have finished a bit early this year but we still have some colour left...


----------



## PARAGUAY




----------



## PARAGUAY

My daughter had this plant given in memory of her mum my wife. It's a stunning rose just keeps sending out blooms


----------



## foxfish

looking Better now


----------



## Tim Harrison

Amazing what a bit of tlc can do, looks like a totally different plant 👍


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 





foxfish said:


> looking Better now


It does, also definitely Cherry Laurel (_Prunus laurocerasus)._

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Nice flower this year and one of my little trees...


----------



## foxfish

My Halloween vase...


----------



## foxfish

I have featured this tree before but the  Ginko tree in Candie gardens looked  like it had shed gold leaf  on the ground this  morning!


----------



## mort

I put a ginkgo in my brothers front garden with his acers and it gave a really nice display of those buttery yellow odd shaped leaves. Shame it's on a foot high.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


foxfish said:


> but the Ginko tree in Candie gardens looked like it had shed gold leaf on the ground this morning!


That is a lovely tree, and a favourite of mine. I usually go to Kew Gardens this time of year (but not in 2020). They have a number of big Ginkgo trees, including <"one planted in 1762">. I think in 2018 they were particularly spectacular and had "fruited".

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Candie Gardens feature some of Guernsey's more notable trees including the second tallest Canary Palm in the British Isles ( the tallest of which is elsewhere in Guernsey  ) and a 200 + year old gingko which is said to be the sixth largest in the British Isles!
I seem to remember this one produced fruit only once as it needs another tree close by to allow this to happen?
The nearest Gingko is around 3/4 of a mile away from this one but due to favourable wind condition one year the pollen was able to reach the Candie tree.... at least I think I read somewhere that is what happened!


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


foxfish said:


> I seem to remember this one produced fruit only once as it needs another tree close by to allow this to happen?


Yes, they are either male or female. At Kew there are quite a few different old trees (originally seed grown?) so I assume that there is a mix of sexes. I think most of the trees in the UK are clonal and male.

cheers Darrel


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


dw1305 said:


> You can hear the Bumble bees (mainly _Bombus terrestris_) "buzz pollinating" the flowers to collect the pollen, even in the middle of the winter.


I'm not sure how much you will be able to hear, but this was the Bees abuzz on Saturday lunchtime. 



cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

I can see a lot of bees for this time of year.

Is that a south facing wall? I've heard freckles isn't reliably hardy and does best with radiated warmth.  Been looking for something to extend the bee season but don't have any warm walls left that don't get blasted by the wind. Considered clematis armandii instead as I think it's hardier.


----------



## Wolf6

Lovely to have that at the end of the year  I've got some clematis apple blossom to kick off spring, but thats still some time away. I considered adding clematis winter beauty as well, because its a bit hardier then many of the late flowering clematis, but the I've nowhere left to put it


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


mort said:


> Is that a south facing wall? I've heard freckles isn't reliably hardy and does best with radiated warmth......eft that don't get blasted by the wind


It is about as good as I've got, SE facing and protected to both sides by <"next doors conservatory"> and our kitchen. Behind it is a <"Cedar wood panel"> (it is a 1970's house). It survived 2010 and 2012 (we got the <"solar panels in spring 2011">, so the photo predates then), when it was pretty chilly here. I've had _C. cirrhosa_ "Wisley Cream" a couple of times as well, but they've never survived long.


mort said:


> Considered clematis armandii instead as I think it's hardier.





Wolf6 said:


> I considered adding clematis winter beauty as well, because its a bit hardier then many of the late flowering clematis, but the I've nowhere left to put it


I've got <"_Clematis armandii & C. clarkeana (urophylla) _"Winter Beauty"> as well. I've had _C. armandii_ even longer than "Freckles" so there probably isn't much in it hardiness wise. I haven't had "Winter Beauty" very long, but it is a rampant grower, almost as rampant as _C. armandii._

"Freckles" is easy as a semi-hardwood cutting, "Winter Beauty" is really easy, _C. armandii _is possible, but often the cuttings root, but never produce a new shoot and eventually dwindle away.

cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

That's interesting about the C. armandii as I was going to try to grow it from cuttings. I'll still give it ago but it's good to know for if they fail.

Every year i like to try and propagate something new and last year I tried my first clematis cuttings, a few made it but nothing that impressive. I gave it another go this year and I've been really lucky with most of them striking. So I've had lots to give away and do swaps with.


----------



## Wolf6

I've hung some peanuts to feed the birds in front of my window at my wfh spot. Fun to have visitors all the time while working from home


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


mort said:


> and last year I tried my first clematis cuttings, a few made it but nothing that impressive. I gave it another go this year and I've been really lucky with most of them striking


I think a lot of it depends on timing and getting wood that has started to harden, but hasn't hardened too far. I've got "My Angel", "Freckles", "Winter Beauty" and "Avalanche" as rooted cuttings at the moment, but had a total failure with all the viticella ones I tried and I've never had any joy with any of the large flowered hybrids. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## Wolf6

Another visitor  Its mostly the small birds that are ballsy enough to get this close to the house though. Starlings and other slightly bigger birds tend to stay further away from the house  Blackbirds go more for the dried mealworms etc. which I throw into the grass. I've also got a jar of peanutbutter and a few houses with seed in the garden. Already did this a little bit in the past, but since the wfh situation I've really gotten into it and trying to identify the different birds. Its always fun when a new species shows up, or a rarer one like nuthatches or woodpeckers.


----------



## sparkyweasel

mort said:


> Been looking for something to extend the bee season


I've got a Mahonia, which has cheerful yellow flowers in winter. I was quite surprised the first time I saw bees on it in December. When we get a sunny day they will come to the Mahonia even in January and February. It's quite big and spiky, but nice if you have a suitable spot for it.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


sparkyweasel said:


> I've got a Mahonia, which has cheerful yellow flowers in winter.


I've got a similar one, they are either _Mahonia_ _x media_ "Charity" or _M. x media_ "Winter Sun". 

I planted mine about 25 years ago (it is quite big now) and when we first had it used to flower after Christmas, but now it is reliably in flower by November. 

There is research that suggests <"winter flowering garden plants">, have aided the <"development of year around Buff-tailed Bumblebee (_Bombus terrestris_) colonies">, and some years they've definitely survived the winter with us and we've had foraging worker Bees in January & February (on "Freckles" and _Lonicera fragrantissima_).

cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

sparkyweasel said:


> I've got a Mahonia, which has cheerful yellow flowers in winter. I was quite surprised the first time I saw bees on it in December. When we get a sunny day they will come to the Mahonia even in January and February. It's quite big and spiky, but nice if you have a suitable spot for it.



I had been considering mahonia but not the usual cultivar. We have lots of the common type down are road that are all full of flower at the moment and we had one in the past that I think my fingers can still remember. 

My neighbour has a large one thats borrowed landscape so I have been thinking a M. nitens cabaret would compliment it or I like the newer soft caress but heard it's a really slow grower and it's still expensive for anything but a small plant.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


mort said:


> M. nitens cabaret


I haven't seen that one. There is a _M. eurybracteata 'Soft Caress' _(I'd have had no idea what it was, but it still had the label) down the road from us. These little new cultivars definitely look more suitable for smaller gardens.


mort said:


> and it's still expensive for anything but a small plant


£25 <"from Burncoose">.

cheers Darrel
​


----------



## not called Bob

Ivy is a good food source for autumn


----------



## foxfish

Where I live we are lucky to have one of the worlds largest clematis developers.
About 10 acres of glasshouses are dedicated to the production of the beautiful plants, they have regular open days and I must say I love to visit! There are people who look and talk more like doctors or surgeons than plant growers and some parts are very sterile and clinical.
I think the majority of plants are exported to America but of course they are for sale to anyone.
https://www.guernsey-clematis.com/index.php/about-the-nursery


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


foxfish said:


> Where I live we are lucky to have one of the worlds largest clematis developers.


I didn't know that, and apparently "Freckles" <"was bred on Guernsey">. 


> Raised by Raymond Evison in 1987 and introduced in 1989.....



cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Raymond Evison is an Island character, he does a lot for  charity and is a regular on our locale radio station, he has a very appealing voice!
I can’t remember how many Chelsea flower show golds he has won but I think it is some sort of record.


----------



## mort

I saw Raymond on a programme, maybe about Chelsea, and they had footage of the clematis cuttings that they grew in little mist tents. It was very similar to the war tropica grows some of its plants.


----------



## foxfish




----------



## AndyMcD

Merry Christmas to all. 

Wondering if anyone could help identify a plant that has grown in my garden. 

It may be a weed, but it’s quite interesting looking. 

- Currently about 3 foot / 1 metre tall after ~ 3 years

- Putting on fresh growth in December, groups of 3 leaves together. Each leaf is about 1cm long. It was a damp morning when I took this picture, so leaves appear more covered in hair than normal appearance. 

- Central stem is striped, possibly more square in cross section. New side shoots are very straight. 

- In a shady location, perhaps not sunny enough for it to flower

A person on a street nearby has a similar looking plant which they have shaped into an egg shape. People are never in their gardens when you’d like to ask them a random question!

Any suggestions gratefully received. 







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


AndyMcD said:


> Currently about 3 foot / 1 metre tall after ~ 3 years


It looks like it might be a Broom (_Cytisus spp._). 

cheers Darrel


----------



## AndyMcD

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> It looks like it might be a Broom (_Cytisus spp._).
> 
> cheers Darrel



Hi Darrel

Thank you very much for replying. 

Thank you. It does look like a broom, but not the standard Westminster Broom. 

Probably best to give it a few months and see if it flowers. 

Thanks again


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## foxfish

Well here is a nice garden addition... I was lucky to be given a good budget for this one!


----------



## Paul Kettless

Heres our little garden, not much width as we live in quite small old fishing cottage. Tried to utilise the space though. 

Love my cook station, we use it all year round.


----------



## foxfish

That looks great Paul!


----------



## Wookii

Paul Kettless said:


> Heres our little garden, not much width as we live in quite small old fishing cottage. Tried to utilise the space though.
> 
> Love my cook station, we use it all year round.



Very nice! When you say "Cook station", you really mean "Drink station" don't you Paul?


----------



## Paul Kettless

Wookii said:


> Very nice! When you say "Cook station", you really mean "Drink station" don't you Paul?


Errr No🙄🙄😂 we low and slow in the wood oven all the time. And we love our pizzas in this household, not so our waistlines though. Never less it's used all year round. 

The same with the plancha, often go out and cook something up in it.


----------



## foxfish

I am just building myself a new cook stove .....


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


foxfish said:


> I am just building myself a new cook stove .....


No wonder it is warm in Guernsey...........

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Instant bonsai for those of you with no patience !
l collected these two willow branches just 11 months ago, all the new growth was from last summer.
Willow has the amazing abittity to sprout roots from virtually any off cut or fresh cut branch.
Just  a few  more years and they will be nice looking bonsai....


----------



## Wolf6

Spring is coming! First bulbs coming into flowers in our garden. 

The helleborus suffered from the snow, but the new flowers are coming into Bloom now.


----------



## mort

I put 150 crocus in the lawn in the autumn and they are coming through at the moment but only one has flowered yet. Everyone else's in the area are in full bloom but I'm normally late to the party anyway.


----------



## Wolf6

mort said:


> I put 150 crocus in the lawn in the autumn and they are coming through at the moment but only one has flowered yet. Everyone else's in the area are in full bloom but I'm normally late to the party anyway.


My whole garden is always a bit late as well compared to the rest of the neighbourhood. I suspect because the sun doesnt go high enough yet to get above the surrounding trees and high shrubs to warm the soil in my garden. Be sure to post a pic when the majority is in Bloom 😀


----------



## Courtneybst

Wild Garlic in my garden from today is looking lush!


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


dw1305 said:


> I've got "My Angel", "Freckles", "Winter Beauty" and "Avalanche" as rooted cuttings at the moment,


I'll just update the Clematis cuttings situation, now the days are drawing out. They've all survived, other than _Clematis x cartmanii_ "Avalanche" which rooted but has subsequently died. I'm not sure why, but I have a feeling that happened last time. 

It maybe that they didn't get enough light.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Wolf6

Whilst hacking away at the jungle that was my front garden I found this. Is this what I think it is and if so how on earth did it grow below thick bushes and survive -15 and 20cm of snow!


----------



## Courtneybst

Wolf6 said:


> Whilst hacking away at the jungle that was my front garden I found this. Is this what I think it is and if so how on earth did it grow below thick bushes and survive -15 and 20cm of snow!



Ginger?


----------



## mort

Wolf6 said:


> Whilst hacking away at the jungle that was my front garden I found this. Is this what I think it is and if so how on earth did it grow below thick bushes and survive -15 and 20cm of snow!



What do you think it is?

It looks like a areca palm which is why I'm puzzled but apparently they can survive to -5c and under 20cm of snow it probably wouldn't have got much colder than that. I'm guessing you would have had to plant it. 

I can't really imagine a areca in a Dutch garden so it's likely something else but luckily there is a helpful guy that I bet knows what it is.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


mort said:


> It looks like a areca palm which is why I'm puzzled


I think it is a Palm as well.

Possibly <"_Trachycarpus fortunei?>". _All Palm seedlings <"look fairly similar">.

cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

dw1305 said:


> All Palm seedlings <"look fairly similar">.



That's the bit I was forgetting, going more for the form of a known species to me rather than them being similar. So I'd agree trachycarpus fortunei is by far the most likely species.


----------



## Wolf6

mort said:


> What do you think it is?
> 
> It looks like a areca palm which is why I'm puzzled but apparently they can survive to -5c and under 20cm of snow it probably wouldn't have got much colder than that. I'm guessing you would have had to plant it.
> 
> I can't really imagine a areca in a Dutch garden so it's likely something else but luckily there is a helpful guy that I bet knows what it is.


A palm was my thought as well, but it has grown there on its own, my best guess would be a bird must have dropped a seed. Never expected those to be able to grow in dutch conditions.


----------



## mort

If it is trachycarpus fortunei which I think is by far the hardiest, commonly found palm, then it is able to survive down to -18c from what I've just read (although hardiness may increase with maturity like other plants). They are really common in the uk, especially in the south, and can have tens of thousands of seeds if they flower which they seem capable of doing in our climate.   

Darrel might know more but they are a slower growing species so it might take a while for it to develop into an easily identifiable plant. I think it's a cool find though and I'd be happy to find one.


----------



## foxfish

I have been having problems with this Beech tree as it has been dropping leaves mid summer.
I collected it many years ago as a field grown tree but it peaked around 7-8 years back and I dont know what is wrong so I am moving it in front of a west facing wall where it will be very sheltered and cooler than where it has been for the last decade or so.
It stands over one meter tall and sits in its blue glazed, hand made pottery, forever home.
I think it is around 40 years old.


----------



## mort

Some of the worst picture ever because it was near pitch black when I took them but any ideas which species this is? It's from a shrub/tree that's maybe 4 meters high and looks like it's been there for a while. It's on the edge of our woods next to a main road so is probably native but given its position I couldn't rule out a council planted species. I've walked near it for well over a decade but not noticed it until the other day but unfortunately not with a camera. The trunk is slightly cracked reminiscent of a young oak.
Thinking maybe a viburnum but the flowers are dark red and I only really know bodnantense thats pink.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


mort said:


> but any ideas which species this is?........The trunk is slightly cracked reminiscent of a young oak.


I think it is <"Wych Elm (_Ulmus glabra_)">. 

If the flower is bigger? Then it might be <"_Parrotia persica__">, _but that has bark more like a Plane_ (Platanus)._

cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

Wych elm fits perfectly thanks. Might see if I can collect some seeds from it when it's ready (end of may apparently). It has definitely suckered as it's a collection of a few distinct trunks several feet apart, which is why I initially thought viburnum but it seems to happen in Wych elm as well from what I've just read. 
I have a Persian ironwood and it's definitely different.


----------



## mort

I found this chucked over a fence into the local woods ten plus years ago (as well as two lovely hardy ferns) . It's kept in a cold unheated outhouse and never fails to flower even with complete neglect. It's been split numerous times and distributed to many friends. Not bad for a hedge find.


----------



## Wolf6

My mom had those, always loved them too


----------



## mort

Terrible picture of a small part of the crocus i said i'd post. I added mixed bulbs that should have included orange but obviously didn't. I thought 150 sounded alot but I'll probably add another few hundred in the autumn as well as possibly some snowdrops. It's certainly much nicer than some boring old lawn (deliberately trying to weaken the grass as I'm planting wild flowers in it, hence why it looks horrible).


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


mort said:


> I found this chucked over a fence into the local woods ten plus years ago


_Clivia miniata, _very nice.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Raws69

Finally got these out of the greenhouse .......


----------



## mort

Had a tiny bit of sun and the crocus started to come out. Still plenty of space for another few hundred in the autumn. Will try to add some more colours. This is just a tiny section of them.


----------



## mort

And this was starting to come out nice. It's fully out now but blowing a gale. I grew it from seed and am quite pleased with it.


----------



## Wolf6

mort said:


> Had a tiny bit of sun and the crocus started to come out. Still plenty of space for another few hundred in the autumn. Will try to add some more colours. This is just a tiny section of them.
> 
> View attachment 164717View attachment 164718


Looks lovely I like the calm colours like this. I added crocus between our stepping Stones but the kids keep running over the flowers 😆


----------



## mort

Wolf6 said:


> Looks lovely I like the calm colours like this. I added crocus between our stepping Stones but the kids keep running over the flowers 😆



It's why I have the little twine roped off areas. To stop other members of the family standing on them. It didn't work unfortunately when they were under a foot of snow recently, a fair few got splattered.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


mort said:


> And this was starting to come out nice.


Very nice, _Acacia dealbata ("_Mimosa"_). _Too cold (and limy) here for that.

cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Very nice, _Acacia dealbata ("_Mimosa"_). _Too cold (and limy) here for that.
> 
> cheers Darrel



I wouldn't be so sure. Our soil is very limey in norwich and it's been outside for 5 plus years now. I only put it outside, after molly coddling it for a few years in the conservatory, because there is one near by that looked fantastic this time of year in flower but mine never did. It went down to minus 8 here a few weeks ago and there isn't even any frost burn. I know they get big quickly and then die young but I think this one has been semi bonzaied till now as it was quite pot bound.


----------



## Paul Kettless

Hi all,

Hoping that some off you green fingered souls can help me with a plant for our garden. My daughter has bought this Palmatum Dissectum Garnet for my others halfs up and coming 50th birthday.

Do any of you guys have experience of keeping acers, my understanding is that this variety is quite hardy for our UK climate. Would appreciate advice on positioning, soil, pruning and ferts. Due to the nature and layout of our garden, it will have to be in a pot, planting in soil is not an option. I know from my last experience that Red acers are more difficult to keep, and many years ago we did have one but managed to kill it. To be fair I had no interest in gardening at that time and was just shoved in the ground and forgotten about. Because of the sentimental point for this plant we want to give it the best possible conditions.

Thanks in advance for any help


----------



## mort

Avcers are pretty easy tbh. They prefer acidic compost but do well in my limey soil (you apparently get better colour in more acidic water). As you are keeping it in a pot then I'd just use ericaceous compost, which is for acid lovers. They don't need a massive pot as they are slow growers. @foxface can probably advise on pruning as he has some stunning bonsai trees but repotting every couple of years if you want it to get bigger and pruning a portion of the roots if you want to keep it the same size. You don't really need to prune them unless you are going for a specific height and shape.
Other than that it's really only the position you have to worry about. They are prone to leaf burn (the cut leaf cultivars like you have especially) if you put them somewhere to sunny (this is a bigger problem for red leafs than green) and can also suffer leaf dessication if they are in a windy place. So put it somewhere sheltered and partly shady. If you have any over hanging growth from other plants then it should suit it there.
They like to be moist but not water logged and a bit dryer in the winter. I think more die in the winter from being to wet than the cold getting them (as most are pretty hardy tbh).


----------



## Paul Kettless

mort said:


> Avcers are pretty easy tbh. They prefer acidic compost but do well in my limey soil (you apparently get better colour in more acidic water). As you are keeping it in a pot then I'd just use ericaceous compost, which is for acid lovers. They don't need a massive pot as they are slow growers. @foxface can probably advise on pruning as he has some stunning bonsai trees but repotting every couple of years if you want it to get bigger and pruning a portion of the roots if you want to keep it the same size. You don't really need to prune them unless you are going for a specific height and shape.
> Other than that it's really only the position you have to worry about. They are prone to leaf burn (the cut leaf cultivars like you have especially) if you put them somewhere to sunny (this is a bigger problem for red leafs than green) and can also suffer leaf dessication if they are in a windy place. So put it somewhere sheltered and partly shady. If you have any over hanging growth from other plants then it should suit it there.
> They like to be moist but not water logged and a bit dryer in the winter. I think more die in the winter from being to wet than the cold getting them (as most are pretty hardy tbh).


Thanks for the detailed response, think we have a decent spot for it. Will get the soil recommended. Doesn't seem like we will need to do much with it as we like garden plants to grow naturally in Shape.


----------



## foxfish

Good advice from Mort, they are pretty tough once you have found a good spot to keep one.
They will hate dry, hot wind, you want a very sheltered spot!
I use hard cat litter in all my potted plants mixed with varying amounts of soil depending on the plant.
I would go at least 50% hard cat litter for a potted acer, if you are really keen ... i would add 10% sphagnum moss as well and then use 40% John Innes No. 2  as Its high nutrient content ensures there will be plenty of food for the whole year.
Personally i would cut off the top third of your tree then place the tree in a wide shallow pot but bare in mind you should be re potting every two years.
You can use the same pot and just cut back a third of the root mass.
If you leave it more than two years it will be very difficult to remove and the tree will start to suffer.
Acers respond very well to training, branch removal, root trimming and air layering but you need to water potted trees every day in the summer and twice a day mid summer if they receive lots of sun.


----------



## Paul Kettless

Thanks @foxfish no problem re the soil I will follow both your guidance, daughter spent pushing £100 on this tree so want to give it best possible chance👍


----------



## Wolf6

Lots of New frogs on their way here


----------



## Wolf6

Added some colour last oktober by planting hyacinth bulbs. Now at its peak, perhaps even just past it, but I am happy with its effect. The  anemone blanda blue hasnt woken up properly yet, they were supposed to be in full Bloom together  maybe next  year. On the lower left some are properly blooming but most are just forming leaves. Planted about 50 tiny anemone bulbs between the hyacinths so I am expecting a lot more to come up still.


----------



## foxfish

My mountain acer coming into leaf, I have grafted this tree many times over the last 20 years.
It started off as a shop bought bonsai in a pot but I planted it in the gound about 35 years ago and then dug it up when I moved house and replanted it on my patio boarder.
It does look a bit battle scared without any foliage but over the last 20 or so years I must of made at least 20 graftings to further make bonsai .


----------



## Maf 2500

Hi, I decided to post some pictures of Japanese maple flowers as they are in bloom now. Not known for their flowers which are really tiny, Japanese maples actually have very beautiful flowers.

Acer palmatum 'Senkaki' or 'Sango kaku':




The hybrid maple Acer x 'Trompenburg', clearly not a palmatum, look at the flowers! (The leaves are backlit by the sun):




Acer palmatum 'Wou nishiki':


----------



## Chrispowell

A snapshot of my garden


----------



## Chrispowell

Mine are a mixed bag, some out and some still opening up


----------



## Chrispowell




----------



## ScaperJoe

All credit to my girlfriend for the garden... I do the indoor ones


----------



## foxfish

That is a big pond snail!


----------



## jamila169

all these gardens are inspiring me to try and get on the top side of our little patch of horror, kids are old enough not to wreck everything now '(apart from #4, she's 13 and still in love with trampolines, hopefully she'll discover boys soon so she forgets ) The whole thing has been heinously neglected thanks to my disability and him indoors being good at digging, but useless at plant ID and having a habit of mowing into the flowerbeds . I need to give it an hour a day ideally


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,
The wet weather has made everything grow, just need some sun now to bring the flowers out.





Cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

We have had wet weather too but ridiculous amounts of high wind that has had some very negative effects in some parts of my garden.


----------



## castle

As my garden gets very little sun, and I’m also renting I started work on a potted shade garden in a disused area. Coming on now 😀


----------



## jamila169

here goes -this is the present state of play on the back  after a decade of having both a trampoline and a large pool on it  complete with new bath waiting to go in , the left side isn't horrible other than a bit of weeding , edging and more structural planting -the bed at the end (where the golden thing is)  is 6 inches deep with twitch and needs the whole bed stripping out and replanting (luckily there's a lot of stuff i can divide and move) , we can't do anything about the very straight path as it's over a foot thick and needed for OH to get his bike in the shed.  Plan is to  get the lawn back into the monkey nut shape it's supposed to be and probably returf if i lose the will to live getting dandelions out and possibly do a circular brick patio at the top






Front is just hellaciously overgrown, missing a fence panel that was pushed out by the now naked conifer and in need of a vicious pruning, the gravel is colonised with lemon balm, herb robert and violets as well as the nettles that haven't been evicted, the bricks are for edging the back lawn and the possible patio and are occupying about 3sqm that i would like back


----------



## foxfish

Better get some gloves on and the secateurs out!


----------



## jamila169

foxfish said:


> Better get some gloves on and the secateurs out!


indeedy, just need to make sure the dog's not eaten my gloves and get a day when it's not chucking it down


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


jamila169 said:


> Front is just hellaciously overgrown


Rewilding is very <"on point at the moment">.  

cheers Darrel


----------



## jamila169

dw1305 said:


> Rewilding is very <"on point at the moment">.


yeah but there's rewilding - I won't remove a native plant unless it's mega invasive (currently trying to work out how to encourage some vipers bugloss over from next door) - and there's OMGITSATRIFFID , the escallonia and dogwood are well past that point and need showing who's boss, The volunteer hawthorn is probably going to go, because it's my main hayfever trigger


----------



## Wolf6

Finally spring has arrived in full glory and the garden is exploding!
Pond:




Lots of algae this year, but the plants are now starting to grow as well so lets see if we can get this back to manageable. Lots of tadpoles swimming around.



It survived -12 this winter!
Iris growing well and about to come into Bloom.






And bees loving the aliums and thyme.


----------



## jamila169

super chuffed to find this in the edge of the lawn, I've had a colony of pink and purple aquilegias in the garden for over 20 years, collected as seed from my old workplace that had a gorgeous garden originally put together in the late victorian period , so full of self seeded perennials ,and mine have thrown up multiple shades of pink and purple and multiple flower forms over the years - this one is different, bigger and graduated in tone, I've never bought any plants because I hate modern hybrids ( and nobody in the vicinity has any in their gardens) so 99% sure it's a really lucky sport. I'll be collecting seeds to see if it comes true and keeping an eye on the other juvenile ones around it to see if there's anything else interesting


----------



## not called Bob

Very nice, we just seem to only have the purple self seeding all over the place.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


not called Bob said:


> Very nice, we just seem to only have the purple self seeding all over the place. View attachment 170518


Mainly purple for me as well. The genuine wild plant is purple. Once or twice I've had pastel bicolour ones appear, but not as nice as @jamila169 plant.

The garden is looking a bit flowerier now





Cheers Darrel


----------



## jamila169

It's weird, but the buds on the new one are the same colour as my pink ones when they're fully open, I might cheat a bit and get some albas to add to the mix now I'm getting pretty hybrids @dw1305 , your garden is what I aspire to, I'm just going to plug away and plant each bit as it's cleared with splits, natives  and seedlings I've already got and fill in the gaps with more stuff that grows well around here (good job I like valerian and cranesbills)


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


jamila169 said:


> I'm just going to plug away and plant each bit as it's cleared with splits, natives and seedlings I've already got and fill in the gaps with more stuff that grows well around here (good job I like valerian and cranesbills)


Strangely the garden started to improve when I stopped "gardening" as such, and basically just went to a policy of minimalist intervention and growing the things that want to grow, rather than growing the things I want to grow. 

I now plant very little in the way of new plants, and I don't worry about colour schemes or plants being in the "wrong place", and just let the self set seedlings etc. get on with it. I don't weed as such, although I still remove Enchanter's Nightshade, Field Bindweed and Wood Avens when I see them. Everything else gets to stay.

The major gardening I do is to occasionally pull out some of the _Centranthus_ and _Valeriana_ "Valerians", _Thalictrum_ and _Geranium spp._ when they get too dominant.

cheers Darrel


----------



## zozo

dw1305 said:


> Strangely the garden started to improve when I stopped "gardening" as such, and basically just went to a policy of minimalist intervention and growing the things that want to grow, rather than growing the things I want to grow.



Dito! Also, the best approach for me throwing bags of seeds around every spring and see what comes goes again and stays by coming back. 

Sitting under the grape watching the cherries getting nicked by the birds and the squirrels, can you see it? Hoping they leave me enough to bake a cake or 2...




Also, my old rusty woodstove, can't use it any longer as a stove. Thus I made a flower pot from it. throwing in a bag of mixed flower seeds... Yet no flowers but I guess next month it will explode.


----------



## mort

The aquilegia have done really well in my garden this year as well. I think I have over a dozen different types now and they came from only two I originally planted. So from a short red, I believe rocket, and a supposedly chocolate, although I never remember seeing any, I have pink, white, purple, red, nearly black and a few more, nearly every flower is different as well.

This is starting to look good and the bees are loving it. There's a story behind why it's more rewarding than ever this year but it's certainly a welcome sight at the moment.





 Also had a decent show from my pretty new wisteria. It's only a couple of years old but it's already flowering ok. The only problem is it was supposed to be a Japanese wisteria and not the american but I guess the labels got mixed up. Still for a tenner I'm more than happy.


----------



## mort

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Strangely the garden started to improve when I stopped "gardening" as such, and basically just went to a policy of minimalist intervention and growing the things that want to grow, rather than growing the things I want to grow.




This is the same policy I've adopted recently and I'm trying to build up a collection of plants I'd quite like in the garden before leaving things well alone to see what does best. I'm surprised in only a couple of years just how hands off I can be, so looking forward to not doing anything soon (although im terrible at not doing anything and never just sit in the garden).

I do get funny looks from the neighbours though. One has an  immaculate garden, where they might only have one plant from each species but it has to be the best cultivar there is. I'm not sure what they thought when the grass looked like the somme this winter as I was planting bulbs, daisies, self heal, red clover and birds foot trefoil.


----------



## jamila169

dw1305 said:


> Strangely the garden started to improve when I stopped "gardening" as such, and basically just went to a policy of minimalist intervention and growing the things that want to grow, rather than growing the things I want to grow.


I've always followed that approach and was getting there (kids, dogs and border mowing spouse excepted) when I was diagnosed with CFS 12 years ago. I'd spent most of my spare time in my late teens and early twenties setting my mum's up to do just that and hers still only needs minimal intervention and occasional replacement of things that reach end of life 30 years on.
 When I was physically unable to continue getting the basics done there were beds dug and some evergreen shrubs and hardy perennials in the back, and I'd seeded the naked parts with meadow flower seed (no grasses) what's happened since is the couch grass in the lawn has steadily encroached on the biggest bed at the end aided and abetted by OH just mowing 'the grass' so the more grass there was, the more he mowed, chopping down anything that was still fighting and on more than one occasion strimming the entire top bed apart from the plants that were big and obvious and I wasn't able to do more than nibble away at it for pretty much the last decade so we're left with a bed at the side that's not terrible, just overwhelmed with mature Alchemilla, Echinops and a tall Cotoneaster along with a couple of roses, the aquilegias then Bergenia, some Hosta and ferns near the house in the gutter soakaway field that's perpetually damp. I removed a huge green hellebore from the margin between the wet and normal part last year because it was about 4 feet across , boring, and killing the grass that already has enough to contend with being in the shade of the house most of the time -that's the bit I'm slotting more plants into , there's a Hydrangea my youngest got me for mother's day 2019 and I've put some Astilbe on the wet side along with Geranium Rozanne, Scabious and Sage on the dry side so far. In the top bed I've got Geranium Oxonianum , Crocosmia Lucifer, Euonymus Emerald and Gold, Cornus Alba which has layered itself all over, Mahonia, a large Lavender Hidcote that's not in good nick from competing with couch grass for years and a Rosemary in a tub that is very sad looking from being repeatedly blown over and not picked up when I wasn't around to stand it back up. 
So, I've got some bones, some of which need remedial pruning and might not like it much (Mahonia and Euonymus), all of which need taking out and replanting just so we can get all the couch grass out (while looking out for anything that's managed to hunker down and defy the grass) and then the big bed needs filling with whatever I can get my hands on that is either grows like a weed round here, is a Derbyshire native or native adjacent so it doesn't ever get like that again


----------



## mort

@dw1305  can I ask what the red flowered plant just about to come out in what I'm guessing is your front garden is? It's at the front. Is it an armeria ballarina red? Looks like something that might fit in to my border.


----------



## foxfish

Nice growing and flowering conditions over the last few weeks have really set the garden on the move, my
mountain maple has come into leaf and the bay is nice and green.
Can you spot the red admiral resting on the wall top left ...


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


mort said:


> red flowered plant just about to come out in what I'm guessing is your front garden is?


On the edge of the gravel? It is _Pilosella (Hieracium) aurantiaca (_"Fox and cubs"_),_ it is <"incredibly invasive"> but easy to pull out of the gravel and popular with Bees.

cheers Darrel


----------



## jamila169

@dw1305 @not called Bob here's the original Aquilegias , as you can see the pink one already decided to throw out some doubles



 



and the monster plants (the fence is 4 feet high for scale) the sadly deceased lavender was to the right of the Alchemilla, where the grass is



 



and the hellacious bit - well, the middle of it ,it's about 12 feet wide and goes from 5 to 8 feet deep (couch grass in heavy clay, it might as well be set in concrete


----------



## mort

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> On the edge of the gravel? It is _Pilosella aurantiaca (_"Fox and cubs"_),_ it is <"incredibly invasive"> but easy to pull out of the gravel and popular with Bees.
> 
> cheers Darrel



Now you have named it I can see thats what it is. I know the plant well as i have a yellow version growing in the gravel at my brothers. It certainly is a spreader but it hasn't been hard to keep an eye on although I did strip most of it out last autumn. I've got some seed from the normal version so I might throw a few in the mix.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


mort said:


> I know the plant well as i have a yellow version growing in the gravel at my brothers.


The yellow ones are really tricky to identify. There is _Hieracium (maculatum) spilophaeum _growing in the verge outside of a house just down the road, and at some point I'll liberate one, but after that you are really struggling for a <"definitive name">. 

I've got an unidentified yellow one that grows out of the block paving and walls etc. I know I got it from a local quarry originally (during a <"Quarry Life project">), but I've never managed to identify it. 

My star self set at the moment is <"Salsify (_Tragapogon porrifolius_)">, I'll need to get a picture on a sunny morning, because otherwise the flowers are shut.  

cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

I'm fairly sure I have Pilosella caespitosa.

My star of the show at the moment in Linum perenne and it acts in exactly the same way as your lovely salsify.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


mort said:


> I'm fairly sure I have Pilosella caespitosa.
> 
> My star of the show at the moment in Linum perenne and it acts in exactly the same way as your lovely salsify.


_Pilosella caespitosa_ sounds likely, the only real difference would be flower colour. I love Flax (_L. perenne_), but it has never persisted in the garden.

This is Salsify* and my _Hieracium_.

* Apologies for the slippers.

cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

Spot the bee competition  














I counted over 70 at one time this morning, plus 4 on one ball. It's the star of the show at the moment.


----------



## not called Bob

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> _Pilosella caespitosa_ sounds likely, the only real difference would be flower colour. I love Flax (_L. perenne_), but it has never persisted in the garden.
> 
> This is Salsify* and my _Hieracium_.
> 
> * Apologies for the slippers.
> 
> cheers Darrel


do you ever eat the Salsify? I grow some at the allotment, but, after seeing the flowers and seed heads, I have kind of only ever had it an an ornamental


----------



## PARAGUAY

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Rewilding is very <"on point at the moment">.
> 
> cheers Darrel


A local park stopped mowing at the 12ft approx edges over the last year and it reverted to a corridor of natural meadow attracting all manner of bees birds insects probably amphibians and small mammals. Everyone loving it but gues what  as council services improve its just been cut ! Going to inquire as to why?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


not called Bob said:


> do you ever eat the Salsify?


I've never tried it. I first noticed it, as a wild plant, about ten years ago in the cutting of the rail track (just NE of the <"Box tunnel">). I was quite surprised because it had been a rare plant and very much associated with warm places (S. coast and urban heat islands) in the UK. My guess is that arrived along the railway line, originally from either W. London or Bristol.

Since then it has spread around Corsham, and I was expecting it to appear in the gravel sooner or later.  Fennel (_Foeniculum vulgare_) and Goat's-rue (_Galega officinalis_) are two more that have appeared locally relatively recently, presumably as a result of global warming.


PARAGUAY said:


> A local park stopped mowing at the 12ft approx edges over the last year and it reverted to a corridor of natural meadow attracting all manner of bees birds insects probably amphibians and small mammals. Everyone loving it but gues what as council services improve its just been cut ! Going to inquire as to why?


Write and complain, if you want further "artillery", other than righteous indignation, there are two charities that are very useful <"Plantlife">  and <"Buglife"> and a FB group <"Say No to MOW">.

cheers Darrel


----------



## not called Bob

its a very good seed producer, I try to contain it, but im sure there will now be plants down wind from the plot


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


mort said:


> Spot the bee competition


Brilliant.  I have <"_Buddleia x weyeriana_">_, _but not _B. globosa._

I've just bought Dave Goulson's new book <"Gardening for Bumblebees">, well worth a read.

cheers Darrel


----------



## not called Bob

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Brilliant.  I have <"_Buddleia x weyeriana_">_, _but not _B. globosa._
> 
> I've just bought Dave Goulson's new book <"Gardening for Bumblebees">, well worth a read.
> 
> cheers Darrel


he was a guest on the last  a very informative chat he had, and certainly opened my eyes to the problems now of there being so many back garden apporists and their domestic bees robbing the wild pollinators of essential supplies.


----------



## mort

PARAGUAY said:


> A local park stopped mowing at the 12ft approx edges over the last year and it reverted to a corridor of natural meadow attracting all manner of bees birds insects probably amphibians and small mammals. Everyone loving it but gues what  as council services improve its just been cut ! Going to inquire as to why?



Similar here in norwich sadly. The local grass areas appear to only be cut just as the flowers are going to flower again. It's really annoying as they do it to areas where no one ever goes. They also cut out dozens of buddleia that were not affecting anything at all.
The local verges on the other hand are left to grow to about 3ft tall, so all the grass gets those annoying darts, before they strip it and leave all the cuttings to blow all over the paths. Last year my dog got a dart stuck in her foot and it cost us over £100 at the vets to fight the infection. It's sage to say I have a low opinion of their verge management.

They plant trees but just round the corner from me at the local library, they planted 4 and 3 died because they never water them. They plant a decent sized tree, normally after cutting down others, then just leave it. I suppose it probably puts a tick in a tree planting box somewhere though. 

And don't get me started on the way they smash hedge rows with a flailing beast, so they never bare fruit or berries but at least they aren't an inch too high.

Sorry unusually grumpy today.


----------



## mort

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Brilliant.  I have <"_Buddleia x weyeriana_">_, _but not _B. globosa._
> 
> I've just bought Dave Goulson's new book <"Gardening for Bumblebees">, well worth a read.
> 
> cheers Darrel



I'm a bit of a buddleia fan tbh. I have sungold as well and many other of the normal davidii  species, black knight being my favourite.

I love the book suggestion. Had a quick look and he has several other books that look very interesting as well, so that's my winter reading sorted.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


mort said:


> Had a quick look and he has several other books that look very interesting as well


They are all a good as a "popular science" books. He is an academic at <"University of Sussex">. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## Wolf6

White ox eyed daisy, white water lilies, white Roses, soon to be joined by white anabelles


----------



## Wolf6

Allium emperor living up to its name. Bees love it, and they last a lot longer then regular alliums. Downside is that their foliage is a lot more then regular alliums as well, and still not pretty.


----------



## not called Bob

Spotted the start of blight today, so spuds out and in the steamer 







Grown in grass clippings, so almost as clean as those grown in sand.


----------



## Wolf6

not called Bob said:


> Spotted the start of blight today, so spuds out and in the steamer
> 
> 
> 
> Grown in grass clippings, so almost as clean as those grown in sand.


Is potato blight something mostly found in the UK? I've never grown potatoes but I've been curious about growing them sometime.


----------



## not called Bob

It's common when it's been humid, same thing hits tomatos


----------



## mort

Our local allotment suffered blight really badly last year, all my potatoes got it but I was luckily quick enough to cut the leaves off before the tubers were effected (neighbouring plots weren't as lucky). The potato's I grow at home in pots were fine but they are earlies which aren't as problematic.
You can buy more resistant varieties and I find growing them in pots to be a benefit as you generally water these yourself and it's simpler to keep moisture levels stable. 

Blight is one reason why crop rotation is important as it stops the buildup of pest/diseases in the soil. Obviously if you use fresh compost in year in containers it's not an issue.


----------



## mort

dw1305 said:


> I've just bought Dave Goulson's new book <"Gardening for Bumblebees">, well worth a read.



I couldn't wait till the winter so ordered a copy and have read most of it. Really nice selection of plant recommendations and surprised by how many I already had but didn't think they did much for Bumblebees. Got a few more on my "to grow list".

Seen the signs of leaf cutter bees on some fuchsias and Roses so have put some cut leycesteria stems in a bee hotel near to see if anything goes in there. Also seen the first stag beetle on one of my woodpiles.

It's bumblebee central here but not seen more than a couple of honey bees this year.


----------



## Chrispowell

A very grey day here but the borders really fill out through the summer 👍


----------



## Chrispowell




----------



## foxfish

I found this in my garden today….


----------



## mort

Much more useful than the fungi growing in my garden at the moment, Phallus impudicus. There are six or seven out at the moment and they really are stink horns.


----------



## foxfish

I always like to find a stinkhorn, they are very interesting and quite funny!
When I was young, my friend ‘Steve’ found a stink horn and bought it around to my house to show me!
He went onto become a doctor and for the last 35 years I have called hIm Dr Stinkhorn…


----------



## Wolf6

Took a Quick snap just before the Rain flattened them. They are ok-ish again now but still not quite the same.


----------



## Wolf6

I tend to leave plants that have sown themselves out alone if it doesnt immediately bother me. So now there is this large Eryngium flower right in the walkthrough to our bbq terrace. Thats all fine, but it is attracting so many bees and flies and all things flying thats its becoming a bit scary walking past it. Its all harmless but still a cloud of flying insects evokes a primal 'OMG GET 'EM OFF' response in me. I wanted to upload a vid too, but its too big, so that will have to wait till I can make it a smaller one.


----------



## mort

foxfish said:


> I always like to find a stinkhorn, they are very interesting and quite funny!



Happy to post you a few. 

Apparently they are edible before they "engorge" but I'm too scared to try them. Found half a dozen hidden in the ferns today plus a few more ready to pop. 









I left them all there despite the stink because they are interesting and don't last long.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


Wolf6 said:


> So now there is this large Eryngium flower right in the walkthrough to our bbq terrace.


This is my offering, _Eryngium giganteum_. My wife isn't keen on it, as its bit spiky when you get out of the car. 





cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Ha ha I would never get away with that!


----------



## NotoriousENG

Nowhere near as good as all of yalls gardens, but all I can manage in my apartment.

These are my sub irrigated planters with peppers, herbs, and tomatoes. The tomatoes were a bit light starved early in the season so grew super tall and leggy. Now they reach over my head (6' 2") and have grown together into a tangled mess. So top heavy the keep pulling the trellis over!

Sadly, I think I will have to bleach and reset these planters next season since it looks like my peppers are suffering from a disease that looks very similar to last season.









Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk


----------



## foxfish

The Stag Horn fern seems to be a slow growing plant under the conditions it is being kept, but it does apear to be very healthy.
When it does grow, the growth is rapid just restricted to just a couple of months a year.


----------



## Wolf6

Few snaps from the garden in between Rain. A fly visiting the agapanthus coming into flower. A critter I couldnt ID but suspect to be a horse fly relative so I went indoors after taking the snap (if it flies and bites I am quick to disappear). And finally agastache combined with persicaria.


----------



## mort

They are both hoverflies and completely harmless. The second bigger one is, I think, Volucella pullucens  Pellucid Fly | NatureSpot

I've had lots of its larger relative Volucella zonatus, hanging around the eryngiums this year.

Nice persicaria by the way. I love that plant and so do the wasps, they seem to get drunk on it in their retirement in late summer before the winter takes them.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


mort said:


> They are both hoverflies and completely harmless.


I think the first one (on the _Agapanthus_) might be _Eupeodes bucculatus, _which is <"rare in the UK">


mort said:


> I think, Volucella pullucens Pellucid Fly | NatureSpot


I'm pretty sure that is right.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Wolf6

mort said:


> They are both hoverflies and completely harmless. The second bigger one is, I think, Volucella pullucens  Pellucid Fly | NatureSpot
> 
> I've had lots of its larger relative Volucella zonatus, hanging around the eryngiums this year.
> 
> Nice persicaria by the way. I love that plant and so do the wasps, they seem to get drunk on it in their retirement in late summer before the winter takes them.


Ah thanks, I know the regular hoverfly is harmless, there are literally hundreds of those in the garden. The other one looked strange to me and living near woods and horses has made me cautious with flying critters. I never knew how many bugs can bite till we moved here 😆 I distrust anything not on or near flowers, especially right after rain. Just now got bitten again by a horsefly walking the dog near meadows with horses.
The persicaria is full of regular bees right now, but in a few weeks wasps will take over. I like how every plant attracts different insects. Bumblebees love the lavender and anemones, bees the persicaria and geraniums, hoverflies have claimed the alliums, wasps have taken the eryngiums, and butterflies love the lilacs and monarda.


----------



## Wolf6

Bees on persicaria, hoverflies swarming the allium millennium, and a pretty hoverfly mimicing a European hornet I guess, with the red/yellow theme. Pretty  we get hornets drinking from the pond occasionally, their heavy buzz imposing like apache helicopters, but they dont bother us.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


Wolf6 said:


> and a pretty hoverfly mimicing a European hornet I guess, with the red/yellow theme


Yes, it is another _Volucella_ sp. <"_Volucella zonaria_">.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Swishrelic

Gardening another hobby of mine  this is my Zen/Japanese corner, rocks are waiting to be scaped at some point!


----------



## Wolf6

Male deerfly on white eupatorium. Females are another bitey pest around here  they have pretty eyes though...


----------



## Karmicnull

Been doing a bit of structural work in our front garden. Thought I might use the result as the centerpiece for an aquascaper 900 build.  What do y'all think?



Obviously I'd actually have to buy an aquascaper 900 and then reinforce the floor where it was sited to carry this plan out, but those are minor details.


----------



## foxfish

I think that stump would of made a fantastic bonsai!


----------



## PARAGUAY

Karmicnull said:


> Been doing a bit of structural work in our front garden. Thought I might use the result as the centerpiece for an aquascaper 900 build.  What do y'all think?
> View attachment 173378
> Obviously I'd actually have to buy an aquascaper 900 and then reinforce the floor where it was sited to carry this plan out, but those are minor details.


Looks great with the root structure but whats the wood?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


PARAGUAY said:


> but whats the wood?


Box (_Buxus sempervirens_)?

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

They are very popular and desirable stump bonsai material, I am always on the look out for Privet and Box stumps!
They can sell in  raw form, with plenty of white root, for £50-100 + but a well tended stump say after 10 years of training can sell for big money !
Here is a picture I just picked up on line as an example.….


----------



## Karmicnull

It's box, so non-toxic from what I've read.  It would have to be left for a year or so to dry out.  And I'd need a crane to actually lift it into the tank.  Details, details.



foxfish said:


> a well tended stump say after 10 years of training can sell for big money !


Well, damn.  I thought you were joking!  I'm not surprised it's £100+ - took us about 15-20 hours in total to dig up.  We were going to chop it up for firewood.  Suspect there's an inadequate amount of root on it, though  .


----------



## foxfish

Yes you really want the tiny little feeder roots and it is a bad time of year too, best dug up in Feb March time.
Many of the most spectacular bonsai derive from what Is termed  as (in the UK) ‘Field grown‘ and collected as a  tree rather than grown from seed.
I have many trees in waiting, trees and shrubs that I have  found or planted and earmarked for collection.
I tend to them several times a year by trimming branches and sprinkling fertiliser around the base and when the time is right  did them up. Some I have been preparing for 15 years.
I dug up a 37 year old turkey oak (i counted the rings) two years ago after preparing  it for 5 years, it was looking good last year showing a few new leaves but died this year …  normally they survive.
Of course you cant go digging up any tree that is not on your land without permission and killing any tree should never be taken lightly especially  if you are a tree hugger!
I always have a few wild collected field grown trees in the making … and some nicely growing ones too…
The first one was the oak that died the second to last was collected by me around 20 years ago, I am not exactly sure what it is ? I think a hybrid leading up to the Leylandii development ?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


foxfish said:


> I dug up a 37 year old turkey oak (i counted the rings) two years ago after preparing it for 5 years, it was looking good last year showing a few new leaves but died this year … normally they survive.


Probably because it was an Oak (_Q. cerris_), they famously transplant really poorly, even when they are small. When I worked on the nursery (on the open ground), digging up trees in the winter they were one of the few deciduous trees which <"were always root balled">.


> ............Root balls are particularly useful with species which are known to be difficult to transplant. Such species include _Betula, Carpinus, Fagus, Liquidamber, Pyrus, Quercus_ and _Robinia_...........



cheers Darrel


----------



## Gavin3171

The garden is a really sore subject for me after i had to get rid of the pond. Lost all but one Koi over a winter a few years back. Now the raised pond is a sociable seating area for BBQ’s and gatherings.


----------



## foxfish

Good  season for mushrooms but this is the first time I have actually found giant puffballs in my garden!


----------



## foxfish

Waste not want not….


----------



## Wolf6

foxfish said:


> Waste not want not….
> View attachment 174678


What is this we are seeing?  looks tasty


----------



## Tim Harrison

Definitely looks very tasty


----------



## foxfish

Yes a real seasonal treat with a soft texture and delicate flavour with the added bonus of being the safest to collect of all the wild mushrooms.


----------



## Chrispowell

Morning all, started getting these mounds pop up in the lawn?!

according to Google they are nor moles as no center hole or uniformity?! Any ideas?

Thanks 

Chris


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


Chrispowell said:


> according to Google they are not moles


I think Google is probably mistaken. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## Chrispowell

Oh no! Assuming they will clear off and not make a home under my garden?

Thanks 

Chris


----------



## Wolf6

Actea cimifuga, beautiful flowers round this time of year and clearly very loved by the butterflies.


----------



## not called Bob

Drowning in squashes and marrows in among the runner beans and raspberries at the moment, so much so I donated a few very heavy bags worth to the local cancer coffee morning this week


----------



## Wolf6

I have some confused lupine it seems.


----------



## mort

Did you cut the lupins back after the first flush of flowers Wolf? If you tidy them up after they first flowered, removing the seed heads, you can get a smaller second flush of flowers. The slugs tend to prune mine long before they even get their first flowers unfortunately.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


mort said:


> The slugs tend to prune mine long before they even get their first flowers unfortunately.


Snails for me and the large <"Lupin Aphids">.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Wolf6

mort said:


> Did you cut the lupins back after the first flush of flowers Wolf? If you tidy them up after they first flowered, removing the seed heads, you can get a smaller second flush of flowers. The slugs tend to prune mine long before they even get their first flowers unfortunately.


It had a terrible spring with one tiny flower which I did cut off. Snails kept eating it and didnt let of until recently. I suppose this combination is why its flowering now


----------



## Wolf6

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Snails for me and the large <"Lupin Aphids">.
> 
> cheers Darrel


I got rid of the lupin aphids last year by cutting my lupins back to the ground and inspecting every single new leaf emerging for weeks on end. Hope to never see them again. Disgusting things


----------



## mort

I've got one lupin that does well in normal years but this year was so wet it got munched by slugs. It does get the aphid problems but if I get there early and squash a few, natural predators tend to take care of the rest. If I don't get there early then spray them off with a burst of water and it seems to work well.

I grow lots of echinops as well and they seem to always get covered in blackfly but I use the water squirting method and they seem to be fine. This year however I barely saw any pests at all, didn't even get any on the broad beans, and I don't know if it's because I increased my diversity of helpful plants or they just didn't make it through such a harsh winter (bees, apart from bumblebees, seem to have been at much lower numbers this year in the garden).


----------



## not called Bob

Had a bit of a harvest yesterday and then roasted pumpkins for tea 


















Some of the sunflowers had gone over, so up on the roof for the birds and away from the rats.


----------



## foxfish

My two Christmas cacti being obliging …. (Both kept in cat litter)


----------



## Angus

Nice Platycerium @foxfish


----------



## foxfish

Note my chamber pot collection.


----------



## foxfish

Maple and Bay…


----------



## foxfish

Christmas cactus in full flower …


----------



## foxfish

It seems to me that Christmas cacti are for sale everywear!
They  belong in the genus Schlumbergera, which is named after the 19th century French collector Frederic Schlumberger.
Christmas cacti are native to the mountainous regions of south-eastern Brazil, specifically the state of São Paulo.
What is most interesting to me is that these cacti grow as either epiphytes or lithophytes. The mountains in which they grow are coastal and quite cool averaging 18-20c
The high humility in this area lends to their ability to grow in trees, cracks and crevices with little to no soil.
So they do not actually grow in the ground As such!
The flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds.
So if you want you Christmas cactus to thrive you need to understand its needs.
1
They do not need a big pot because the roots are only there to anchor the plant and do not suck up water or nutrients.
2
They love high humidity places like single glassed conservatory's or well lit bathrooms.
3
They need to be spayed regually and the pot needs a very free draining medium. The best medium is crushed volcanic rock like certain cat litters and sphagnum moss mixed 50/50. Not actual soil!
4
Spray every day in summer with just a few drops of fertiliser in the spray bottle (very weak mix) and spray in to the pot mix every day too so it stays damp. In the winter spray every few days but with pure rain water no fertiliser.
The use of rain water will make a considrable difference to the plants health!
In the summer you can take the plant outside and let it get soaked in the rain.
Here is a picture of one clinging to a tree in the wild….


----------



## Tim Harrison

foxfish said:


> Christmas cactus in full flower …
> View attachment 178767


Those Christmas cacti are spectacular


----------



## sparkyweasel

foxfish said:


> Here is a picture of one clinging to a tree in the wild….


Or in a pot on a tree stump? Beautiful anyway.


----------



## foxfish

@sparkyweasel I do apologise for my mistake, you are probably right perhaps you can help me out and find a better picture of a genuine wild one growing on a tree?


----------



## mort

There is one at the start of this video I think (about 1.30 minutes in). I only typed it into Google and haven't watched it so don't know how good it is.

My cousin also lives in the Brazilian rainforest, so I'll send him a message to see if he knows any and post pictures if he has any. He isn't to good with plants though but often sends pictures of strange wildlife he has found.


----------



## Wolf6

Jack Frost made a visit to the backyard. Its a mess because of my back hernia, but still, the white adds that right seasonal flavor


----------



## foxfish

My giant Kangaroo Apple,  plenty of fruit appearing too….
Definitely the biggest weed I have grown!


----------



## mort

That time of year again for mimosa's


----------



## foxfish

I noticed the first buds on my Willow bonsai, also potted  two big srubs that someone kindly donated for future bonsai and started re planting around 200  Jersey lilies, or Amaryllis belladonna bulbs that I dug up from elswhere in the garden ….. so all in all a busy day in the garden ….


----------



## Wolf6

Spring arrived in full. These bulbs in container were quite late but beautiful nonetheless.


and my clematis apple blossom is in bloom for the first time after planting it 2 years ago.


----------



## mort

We had over 300 crocus beginning to flower in our lawn just before the three storms hit and hammered them. Some popped themselves back upright but the display wasn't that good.

On the plus side our mimosa is still flowering with no signs of storm damage. Don't remember it flowering for over a month before but we have had the mildest winter I can remember, not even a hint of ice on the ponds.


----------



## foxfish

We are heading for a drought in Guernsey, everything on the surface is dry down to 4-6 inches, hoping for some April showers as otherwise I am going to have a huge water bill!


----------



## not called Bob

The pear tree is in full bloom


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,
A lot of people aren't keen on Grape Hyacinths (_Muscari_ spp), because they spread, but I look on it as bonus.

Bees like them as well.

Edit: I should have put some names on the photos: The yellow one is <"_Muscari macrocarpum_"<, the Wedgewood blue one is probably  <"_M. armeniacum_ "Valerie Finnis">, the plain blue one is probably _M. armeniacum _and the pale one with the flared bell is _M. azureum._

Cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

Ours aren't even out yet. I'm happy to have them but the ones I planted in the lawn don't look like they are coming up, the russian snowdrops (they are probably in hiding) barely came up either but the chionodoxa looked nice . Didn't know there was a yellow species, might have to try some of them in the autumn.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


mort said:


> Didn't know there was a yellow species


I wasn't sure how they would get on, but I planted them in a sunny site under the S.E. wall of the house and they've done pretty well. They've survived here at least ten years.

cheers Darrel


----------



## The Miniaturist

Vinca major. I moan when it spreads everywhere but forgive it when it flowers!


----------



## mort

last years biggest flower, normal sized dahlia on the right


----------



## mort

and the smallest flower so far this year


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 
It has rained over night here (first time for several weeks) and the Front Garden has perked up  almost instantly.











cheers Darrel


----------



## The Miniaturist

Still raining here, filling my water butts yay! 🤗
Most of the plants are 'perking' nicely so expecting a rush of growth when the sun shines again.
The blackbirds are pulling great beakfulls of worms out of the lawn, no cats to dodge as they don't like the rain!


----------



## foxfish

Lucky for you guys, no rain for me !


----------



## Chrispowell

Mines blooming back into life!

The largest job this spring is lawn recovery. We had moles invade this winter and they made a complete mess!

This image was taken a few weeks back, yeah have added a few grasses and another acer or two now.


----------



## foxfish

Its like the grass is always greener as we dont get moles where I live but I would love to see one!


----------



## The Miniaturist

I like the group of acers, beautiful colours. We have one with dark reddish leaves, I planted it in the garden last autumn because the pot was too small. I needed a huge ceramic pot like yours!
Same here @foxfish, just to see one would be nice! We have enough trouble with urban foxes & badgers digging divots out of the lawn.


----------



## mort

foxfish said:


> Lucky for you guys, no rain for me !



It's the same here. We are desperate for some as the ground is cracking already. We haven't had any since the Sahara dust storms and it was a very dry winter.


----------



## foxfish

Quiz , what are these outdoor plants?


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


foxfish said:


> Quiz , what are these outdoor plants?


Babington's Leek (_Allium ampeloprasum_), _Arum italicum_ "Pictum" and Horse-Radish (_Armoracia rusticana_)?

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Right as usual!
Elephant garlic but not very garlic tasting  more like a leek.
 Italian lily, hates bright sun and can grow in very shady areas.
 Horse radish, very easy  to grow but expensive to buy!


----------



## The Miniaturist

I have a native arum maculatum (lords & ladies) in the process of flowering, I'll try to photograph it when the spathe unfurls!


----------



## mort

foxfish said:


> Horse radish, very easy  to grow but expensive to buy!


 
And once planted in the ground, you will never get rid of it.


----------



## The Miniaturist

Here's the lord's & ladies. Sorry it's not a very good photo, the spathe opened facing the fence!


----------



## NatalieHurrell

We've left "wild" strips down the left and right sides of our lawn and planted bee loving plants and wild seed in the old vegetable patch.  Not exactly garden design, but we like it.

A pond overhaul is on the agenda.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


NatalieHurrell said:


> We've left "wild" strips down the left and right sides of our lawn and planted bee loving plants and wild seed in the old vegetable patch. Not exactly garden design, but we like it.


"Wild" is  the  way forward. No pesticides, no artificial fertilisers etc. and grow the plants that want to grow.

Daisies need a lot less mowing than grass, insects like them  and they enjoy being trampled on, all advantages as far as I'm concerned. I'm a fan of Welsh Poppies etc. too, they just get on with it.

This is our garden today. I think gardens are a bit like aquariums, if you can stuff them full of plants (that want to grow) then nearly all the work is a little light judicious thinning.

Front



Another view 



Back




cheers Darrel


----------



## The Miniaturist

I just let things all mix together & self seed or spread how they want, you get flowers all through the season & if some weeds appear it doesn't matter!


----------



## Tyko_N

Outside we are still in tulip season here, but in the greenhouse things are a bit more colourful.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


The Miniaturist said:


> I just let things all mix together & self seed or spread how they want, you get flowers all through the season & if some weeds appear it doesn't matter!


It just works. A lot of the plants are "Cottage Garden" flowers (London Pride, Welsh Poppy, Columbine etc.) but all it really means is that they have stood the test of time. They can be your low maintenance back-drop. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 
Front and back garden from Sunday. 







These few weeks (middle of May to middle of June) are "peak garden". It is usually all down hill from here. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,
When I got home I found that the "Dragon Arum" (_Dracunculus vulgaris_) had come out. It isn't a hard working plant, because it only flowers for a few days every year (and it smells "interesting"), but it is  quite spectacular.

Cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

Darrel, your garden looks great, I love dragon Lillys, I saw one yesterday in a public garden plus a few other interesting plants ….


----------



## Yugang

NatalieHurrell said:


> A pond overhaul is on the agenda.


I tried, but couldn't find your pond on your pictures...
Are you contemplating        creating a pond  for next season?


----------



## NatalieHurrell

Yugang said:


> tried, but couldn't find your pond on your pictures...
> Are you





Here's what it looked like at the beginning of the year.   I've added more plants in it since then and allowed some of the rockery plants to take over the crazy paving.  We're definitely going to do something to overhaul it once the tadpoles have grown up and moved on!


----------



## Hanuman

In the meantime I'll let you appreciate my spectacular parking/patio/garden. Call it like you want. It's an all-in-one. Just like your fert bottle. Plant in the foreground is a Bucephalandra Brownie Ghost "2011".


----------



## NatalieHurrell

dw1305 said:


> Wild" is the way forward. No pesticides, no artificial fertilisers etc. and grow the plants that want to grow.


Definitely.  A lot of people run round trying to irradicate everything with weed and insect killers.  I refuse to use any and use hard graft and nature if I need to reduce anything in the garden.  I spent my lunchbreak fascinated by ants "farming" aphids on one of my foxgloves.  Nature is amazing.  Not a great picture as it was windy and I couldn't get close enough.


----------



## PARAGUAY

There was a good example of natural predation on Springwatch the delicate looking lacewing and it's larvae . Voracious eaters of aphids. Bit like Ladybirds the larvae probably wrongly mistaken as a pest


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


foxfish said:


> plus a few other interesting plants ….


I might try _Echium pininana_ again.  What does the "_Period Clematis Collection"_ look like? I'm really keen on a lot of the older viticella type clematis.


foxfish said:


> Darrel, your garden looks great,


But only briefly, and it is a small garden. If I owned <"half of Guernsey"> (mentioning no names), rather than a small suburban semi-detached,  it would allow me to do a bit more. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## Yugang

dw1305 said:


> it is a small garden. small suburban semi-detached


Sounds like a dream for a HK resident


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


Yugang said:


> Sounds like a dream for a HK resident


In the UK I think we tend to forget how many people live in apartments in the rest of the world (and in London). 

I was a bit disingenuous when I referred to it as a "_small suburban semi-detached_", it is, but we have much more outdoor space than probably 90% of UK houses, particularly in new builds, where they pack 16 houses on an acre of building land.

cheers Darrel


----------



## foxfish

@dw1305 I will take some more pictures next time I am there, unfortunately the once plentiful and lovely plant description signs  have been vandalized so  there are not many names left on display !


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


foxfish said:


> I will take some more pictures next time I am there, unfortunately the once plentiful and lovely plant description signs have been vandalized so there are not many names left on display !


I'll probably have some idea from the pictures and a bit of googling. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## Deano3

Anyone use EI mix added to watering can to help the grass or something similar, my lawn is a bit patchy and doesnt look the best , i usually add a mix that kills weeds and feeds grass but wondering if i could do something like this to save some pennys  😅

Any advice ? Also wanting a nice acer in a large pot we have, today i seen a few types acer palmatum garnet and shidare and firecracker anyone have any recomendations? Just want a nice looking tree in pot that wont be too much maintenance and look great


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 


Deano3 said:


> Also wanting a nice acer in a large pot we have, today i seen a few types acer palmatum garnet and shidare and firecracker anyone have any recomendations?


I really like them. 

The ones with very dissected red leaves (like _Acer palmatum_ "Garnet") are slow growers and need to be in the shade to keep the root cooler and avoid scorch damage to the foliage, they also don't like being anywhere too breezy.  Ideally you want to water them with soft (rain) water.

If you can fulfil those requirements then slow growth is an advantage and you can keep them in the pot for much longer than a quicker growing cultivar.

cheers Darrel


----------



## mort

We have a cut leaved, weeping red acer that was in a pot for a couple of decades and it stayed a manageable size. We planted it in the ground and it has grown more vigorously but still not a monster. We have another couple of the same type but with green leaves (emerald lace i think) and although they have always been in the ground, they are by far faster growers and little monsters really.
We have the upright, normal leaved cultivars as well and they are quicker growers especially katsura which has very fast growth. These were shaded by a tree but our neighbour cut it down so they do get leaf scorch sometimes which makes them a little tatty if you really look. We have had problems with our two potted ones (the ones in the ground are fine and we don't water them) where we didn't realise how windy it had been (even in a shady, sheltered spot) and the leaves all died and fell off prematurely in the autumn but they sprung back in spring, so keeping on top of watering in a must and why you need to check the pot has space for the roots to grow yearly.


----------



## mort

Our climbing hydrangea on the front of our house used to be full of bees that buzzed so loudly you could hear it from a mile away. Unfortunately we had nearly no bees on it this year and i was a little down about that but as soon as our buddleia globosa flowered they all arrived. Its a little annoying that they flower on last years growth and i didn't think it would grow as big in a year as it has, so it takes up half the garden at the moment but the bees adore it more than any other plant i've seen.


----------



## Deano3

Does anyone know if i can add some EI mix to water can in order to grow my lawn a nicer dark green ? 

Like i say i usually add evergreen 4-1 but if i can add something i have to hand would be even easier as a bot patchy currently with some parts dark green and other lighter


----------



## mort

You can certainly green up a lawn with water change water and it's even better if you clean the filters in the bucket and add lots of nitrate. I've dosed clown loach poo onto our plants for a couple of decades and it works great. I don't use EI in that tank but I have poured water from EI tanks on the grass and its been noticebly greener. There was a thread were someone used a hose to direct their water change water on to their grass but I can't remember where it was.


----------



## PARAGUAY

George Farmer did one as l recall


----------



## Deano3

In summer i put hose straight into lawn, i will certainly start putting water change in watering can and evenly putting in lawn.

Was just wonderinf if adding slight amount of EI mix into a watering can and walking over lawn would help or make a substantial difference.

Thanks


----------



## John q

Deano3 said:


> Was just wonderinf if adding slight amount of EI mix into a watering can and walking over lawn would help or make a substantial difference.


I think @Geoffrey Rea  mentioned this whilst posting about the infamous 2020 turf wars.

Post in thread 'New Decade, New Decadence...' New Decade, New Decadence...


----------



## Geoffrey Rea

If you have trace salts to spare @Deano3 you can use one of these Hozelock sprayers:





Use a teaspoon of trace, little splash of seaweed  extract to 5 litres of rainwater. On a dry and windless day just spray over the entire lawn once a month during the summer.

Works well at weed suppression as the grass dominates over the years:


----------



## Deano3

Geoffrey Rea said:


> If you have trace salts to spare @Deano3 you can use one of these Hozelock sprayers:
> 
> View attachment 189808
> 
> Use a teaspoon of trace, little splash of seaweed  extract to 5 litres of rainwater. On a dry and windless day just spray over the entire lawn once a month during the summer.
> 
> Works well at weed suppression as the grass dominates over the years:
> 
> View attachment 189809


Very nice thats the information i was looking for will certainly do that, dont have any sea weed extract bit will do the trace for sure, thanks Geoffrey


----------



## Hanuman

Told you it was not a hoax. "Get your garden out"... quite literally what is happening in Thailand....


----------



## PARAGUAY

Any thoughts on this . Every summer get damage by Lily beetles. All the lily's are in pots as it's a small space. Very hard to control as we know and defy anyone to find one when they fall off. Just now nothing(everything crossed) and lily's in bud no damage or sign of presence at all. I noticed l have put a small Rosemary plant in a pot among them in winter for protection . The Rosemary taking off, could it be companion planting detecting the beetles


----------



## KirstyF

PARAGUAY said:


> Any thoughts on this . Every summer get damage by Lily beetles. All the lily's are in pots as it's a small space. Very hard to control as we know and defy anyone to find one when they fall off. Just now nothing(everything crossed) and lily's in bud no damage or sign of presence at all. I noticed l have put a small Rosemary plant in a pot among them in winter for protection . The Rosemary taking off, could it be companion planting detecting the beetles



Never heard of that working to be fair, though never say never!! could be you’re  just having a good year. 

For natural remedies squirting the larvae with soapy water or sunflower oil is supposed to be fairly effective. For adults, putting paper under the plant before giving it a good shake can help you to find them, but you’ll need to be quick before they fly off. 

I try to embrace bugs where possible. 

I’ve been lucky enough to get mullion moth caterpillars this year and even put a screen up to shield some of them from the birds. 😂 







Unfortunately with that approach and lily beetle you’d likely get lots of pretty beetles but not many lilies left 🙁


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,


KirstyF said:


> Unfortunately with that approach and lily beetle you’d likely get lots of pretty beetles


I'm a believer in "_live and let live_", but I do hand pick (and kill) Lily Beetle (and Vine Weevil) adults and larvae.


KirstyF said:


> For adults, putting paper under the plant before giving it a good shake can help you to find them, but you’ll need to be quick before they fly off.


I creep up on them, put my hand under the leaf rosette and then hopefully the beetle falls into my hand.  You can find the larvae on the leaves and scrape them off, but it is a particularly disgusting experience.


PARAGUAY said:


> noticed l have put a small Rosemary plant in a pot among them in winter for protection . The Rosemary taking off, could it be companion planting detecting the beetles


It might work, they are incredibly efficient at finding Lilies (and Fritillaries) by scent. If you watch your Lilies on a sunny day in May you will see the Lily Beetles flying in and landing on the plant, even when they are hidden amongst other plants.

I've actually seen a lot fewer this year, and <"_boom and bust_"> is often the way with invasive alien  species.

cheers Darrel


----------



## KirstyF

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm a believer in "_live and let live_", but I do hand pick (and kill) Lily Beetle (and Vine Weevil) adults and larvae.
> 
> I creep up on them, put my hand under the leaf rosette and then hopefully the beetle falls into my hand.  You can find the larvae on the leaves and scrape them off, but it is a particulalry disgusting experience.
> 
> It might work, they are incredibly efficient at finding Lilies (and Fritillaries) by scent. If you watch your Lilies on a sunny day in May you will see the Lily Beetles flying in and landing on the plant, even when they are hidden amongst other plants.
> 
> I've actually seen a lot fewer this year, and <"_boom and bust_"> is often the way with invasive alien  species.
> 
> cheers Darrel



Yeah, they are particularly damaging little blighters! 

Regarding scent. I’ve heard of people using garlic spray to get the adults to fly on past. No idea how well that works but could be another weapon in the arsenal!!


----------



## PARAGUAY

Thanks  @Kirsty and @Darrel . Yeh did think it may be just a seasonal thing and everything seems to be doing well this year but was curious with the Lily's have not done well for a couple of years and the Rosemary was a thought. The Lily beetle is stunning but the larva.   ugh! I have let everything grow nature friendly and in the back garden has grown overgrown climbing rose growing through the ivy. Blackbirds Sparrows and a Robin nesting this year . Had a visit from a Sisken unbelievable colours . Agee about the vine weevils though ever since they destroyed a  hardy fuschia in a container a while back😐


----------



## mort

It's been a funny year here as well. Normally we'd see a sea of shiny slug trails but with such a dry spring (or at least that's what I'm thinking is the reason) we haven't had much slug/snail damage at all. It's similar with not really having a cold winter, we thought we'd get plagues of aphids and pests but again not really had any problems.

The funny thing is the animals we have tried to encourage into the garden have been the biggest pains, my new amelanchier was almost completely stripped of buds in one day by the sparrows who then ripped off all the viburnum flower buds as well. We have also been rudely awaken most evenings by horny hedgehogs using the front garden to rutt/mate or generally splat the plants (don't mind the splatting but the noisy grunts and foreplay half the night is sometimes a bit much) .


----------



## DeepMetropolis

Hanuman said:


> Told you it was not a hoax. "Get your garden out"... quite literally what is happening in Thailand....
> View attachment 189879


At least its vented well, this way its less prone to bud rot.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all,
I'm a <"_Dierama_ fan">, they aren't really value for money, because for most of the year they look pretty scruffy, you can't move them and they object to having other plants around them, but these have seeded into the gaps in the patio and they looked lovely this morning.




cheers Darrel


----------



## NatalieHurrell

Pond update picture.  Still ugly, but plants have improved the view a bit.


----------



## The Miniaturist

I would have said you have improved it a lot! The pond looks really healthy & growing now, instead of resembling a puddle surrounded by concrete paving. I see there's a lily bud waiting to open too!


----------



## LondonDragon

Looks pretty good to me, growing in nicely too


----------



## The grumpy one

Quiz: Name that plant.
Time of year for this to flower.




Grew it from seed I got from outside Holland Park House when they pruned theirs. Must be 30 years old now.


----------



## saundersbp

Pond at home, full of newts!
And the fish pond.


----------



## The Miniaturist

Oh wow @saundersbp, that is so beautiful! Everything blends together so perfectly & naturally!


----------



## The Miniaturist

Is the plant a callistemon or bottlebrush @The grumpy one?


----------



## The grumpy one

The Miniaturist said:


> Is the plant a callistemon or bottlebrush @The grumpy one?


Correct. 3 garden points to you.


----------



## dw1305

Hi all, 
The recent wet weather has extended the gardens flowery period a bit. I only water the pots, which means that a couple of weeks of dry weather tends to crisp the garden up a bit.

Front:





Back







cheers Darrel


----------



## NatalieHurrell

We've just had a tidyup.  Our Bee Garden is slowly coming on.  Battling a weird mix of soil down there, including clay.  Also keeping finding buried paving slabs.  The vine weed and scarlet pimpernel (both lovely) keep threatening to choke everything, so trying to keep it at least a bit under control.   Sowed loads of wildflower seeds, but barely anything came up!  Hoping by next year it will be packed with insect friendly plants.  Excuse the refuse bags.












This is what the Bee Garden area looked like when we moved in:


----------



## NatalieHurrell

The grumpy one said:


> Quiz: Name that plant.
> Time of year for this to flower.
> View attachment 190606
> Grew it from seed I got from outside Holland Park House when they pruned theirs. Must be 30 years old now.


If I had to guess I'd say Narrow Leaf Bottle Brush.  Love it.  Amazing plant.


----------



## The Miniaturist

I think that garden has just been waiting for you to move in @NatalieHurrell! Your planting must have changed the area so much already & when the plants are more mature next year you'll have bees everywhere! Don't worry about the wild flowers not germinating, we tried a wild patch a few years ago & are still getting odd plants pop up at random such as this great mullein (verbascum thapsus) with a 5ft flower spike!


----------



## NatalieHurrell

The Miniaturist said:


> I think that garden has just been waiting for you to move in @NatalieHurrell! Your planting must have changed the area so much already & when the plants are more mature next year you'll have bees everywhere! Don't worry about the wild flowers not germinating, we tried a wild patch a few years ago & are still getting odd plants pop up at random such as this great mullein (verbascum thapsus) with a 5ft flower spike!


Thank you.  The mullien is stunning.


----------



## sparkyweasel

NatalieHurrell said:


> Also keeping finding buried paving slabs.


Lucky you! Have you seen the price of slabs?


----------



## PARAGUAY

Definitely  store any paving 👍 Never know when they come in handy


----------



## not called Bob

PARAGUAY said:


> Any thoughts on this . Every summer get damage by Lily beetles. All the lily's are in pots as it's a small space. Very hard to control as we know and defy anyone to find one when they fall off. Just now nothing(everything crossed) and lily's in bud no damage or sign of presence at all. I noticed l have put a small Rosemary plant in a pot among them in winter for protection . The Rosemary taking off, could it be companion planting detecting the beetles


stick an umbrella under or place on a tarp/shower curtain if in pots, give the beetles time to get back on the plants, then shake off onto he catch area and dispose of them


----------



## PARAGUAY

Good idea thanks. No beetle or larva damage . Buds bursting ready to flower. Might be the Rosemary or more likely seasonal.Maybe weed membrane cut to container size @not called Bob  Not seen many aphids about either this year


----------



## not called Bob

PARAGUAY said:


> Good idea thanks. No beetle or larva damage . Buds bursting ready to flower. Might be the Rosemary or more likely seasonal.Maybe weed membrane cut to container size @not called Bob  Not seen many aphids about either this year


That’s because I have them all on this freshly cut, well 24 hours ago plum.

Yesterday was perfect for prunus pruning. Low humidity, sunny, bit of a breeze and the ground moist from last weeks rain. So time to  remove lots of growth.


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## NatalieHurrell

The aphids are insane this year.  I'm just enjoying photographing them!

Our neighbour offered us space in their skip, so most of the pond paving has gone.  Yay.  Now need to revamp the rockery and get creeping plants to grow to the edge of the pond.


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## NatalieHurrell

Mission accomplished.  Just need more pea gravel, some trailing plants for the pond edge and oh... some rain please.


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## The Miniaturist

I second the rain, been jigging around trying a rain dance but only succeeded in embarrassing the cats who all went back to sleep! My water butts are really low so I've had to reduce the water change volume in my aquaria.
The pond looks so, so much nicer surrounded by gravel. I think it creates a more soft appearance so even the edging cobbles blend in. A collection of creeping plants & it will be perfect!


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## dw1305

Hi all,


The Miniaturist said:


> I second the rain, been jigging around trying a rain dance but only succeeded in embarrassing the cats who all went back to sleep! My water butts are really low so I've had to reduce the water change volume in my aquaria.


And it hasn't got any better.  I don't water the garden, so it is in a pretty sorry state (the _Crocosmia_ really haven't enjoyed it).

What it has allowed me to do, is to see which plants don't mind a bit of drought.

This one, <"_Sphaeralcea_ 'Newleaze Coral'>, has been absolutely fantastic.  The plant doesn't last all that long (only two or three years before it goes really brittle and tends to split), and I guess a cold, wet winter would see it off, but it is really easy as a cutting and flowers for months and months in a sunny spot. It is a bit washed out in the photo, but is actually a good red colour.





cheers Darrel


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## dw1305

Hi all,
A sunlit <"_Abutilon megapotamicum_">_, _from a misty Corsham this morning. It isn't a showy flower, but it flowers for <"eight months of the year"> and has survived the S. Cotswold winter for the last fifteen years. It is a slow grower, but otherwise trouble-free, and also easy to propagate as a semi-hardwood cutting.






cheers Darrel


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## mort

We have lots of those around here as well. I think it's a case of everyone who knows one man gets given one.

I have kentish belle which I think is a bit more showy but not as hardy. It's equally been passed on more times than I can remember and has proven hardy for a few years. I have some megapotamicum cuttings on the go at the moment.


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## The Miniaturist

Yucca gloriosa variegata....likes old aquarium water!
We moved it last year as it had got too large, dragged the plant down the drive, then tipped the thing into a huge hole, expecting it to wither & die over winter or be fried in the summer!


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## dw1305

Hi all, 


mort said:


> I have kentish belle which I think is a bit more showy but not as hardy.


<"Kentish Belle"> is much showier.  _Abutilon_ <"Cynthia Pike"> is the other option.

cheers Darrel


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## mort

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> <"Kentish Belle"> is much showier.  _Abutilon_ <"Cynthia Pike"> is the other option.
> 
> cheers Darrel



I knew I'd heard it somewhere, forgotten where though, at least it shows i'm listening


The savour of our garden late in the year after everything else was frazzled


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## mort




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## foxfish

I harvested my chillies this morning, defenatily the best outdoor crop for many years.
Many of my garden plants have suffered this year  from the heat and lack of rain but the chillies have loved the weather.
I bought the majority from the B&Q sales bench for 50p a pot but I did grow two plants from seed.


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## dw1305

Hi all, 
This one is cheating a little bit, because it is the  lab. garden.  We have a number of Hares (_Lepus europaeus_) on Campus and they are a lot less wary than normal. This was taken from the window with the <"fish-tanks in it">. 








cheers Darrel


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## dw1305

Hi all, 


mort said:


> The savour of our garden late in the year after everything else was frazzled


The Bee is a <"leaf-cutter bee"> (_Megachile_ sp.), she doesn't have pollen sacks on her legs, but collects the pollen on the underneath of her abdomen. 

cheers Darrel


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## mort

We get lots of leaf cutter bees in the garden but this was a very large specimen, perhaps twice the size of those we normally see. Some are really diddy little things but I don't know if that means they are different species or different generations.


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## dw1305

Hi all, 


mort said:


> We get lots of leaf cutter bees in the garden but this was a very large specimen, perhaps twice the size of those we normally see.


That one  may be <"_Megachile ligniseca_">_, _but you can't really ID them from a photo. 


mort said:


> but I don't know if that means they are different species or different generations.


Bees are really variable in size (you sometimes get tiny Common Carder (<"_Bombus pascuorum_">) bumblebees for example), but I'd guess that these are different species. 

cheers Darrel


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## sparkyweasel

Got to love Leafcutter Bees. 
This one made  a nest in a plant pot in my greenhouse.


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## sparkyweasel

This one was not so bright, nested in a bird-feeding coconut. Not a great pic, but you can see a piece of leaf being carried in for lining the nest.


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## dw1305

Hi all,
Cheating a little bit again, because it is the campus garden rather than at home, but these are from the sub-tropical fruit gardens of Bath.

One for @foxfish , the <"Chinese Gooseberry">,  or "Kiwi fruit", (_Actinidia chinensis_). These may come ripe in November, it depends a little bit on the weather.  I'd estimated there are several hundred fruit.





and a <"flowering Loquat"> (_Eriobotrya japonica_).  I've seen this in fruit in  S. Turkey in May, so I'm not holding out much hope for a successful crop. The flowers don't look much, but they <"smell incredibly strong">, a bit like Almonds, but sweeter.





cheers Darrel


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## foxfish

Yes the Kiwi fruit was a huge growing crop in Guernsey, for a few years anyway, you can still find them for sale on the hedge rows in late summer.
We used to eat them like a boiled egg by cutting off the top and scooping out the inside with a tea spoon.
Lovely taste if perfectly ripe, with bright green flesh and black pips.


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## Tim Harrison

It seems spring has sprung, first snowdrops. Moved house during the autumn and pleasantly surprised to discover the garden littered with green shoots. Perfect antidote to winter blues.


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