Search results for query: *

So far I've only posted pics of the front garden. The back garden hasn't really been much to look at. When we moved in 18 months ago it was a complete jungle dominated by ivy and overgrown shrubs and trees. It took four of us a week to clear the undergrowth, and then I got busy with the chainsaw...

Rhododendron back in bloom. It was crowded out by other plants and weeds and was in desperate need of a prune. Really pleased to see it bounce back so well. There are twice as many flowers than last year.

Thanks. It's made from local granite, formed 450 million years BP. Its use as a building material is a fairly common sight in the area, not just the material but also the method of construction. The geology around here is both ancient and complex dating back some 600 million years to the...

Been a beautiful day, the first really dry and warm day of the year here. Took the opportunity to tidy up the front garden a bit. Don't forget the clocks go forward tonight. Love this time of year :)

It’s actually a thing! I was only joking. And hand painted. There’s no hope.

Jackson Pollock orchids. Why?

Not the best picture, but always good to see my magnolia tree in flower. It's been so mild this winter it flowered 2 weeks earlier than last year. I'm also hoping for a bumper bluebell display, there is literally a lawn of them growing in the boarder below the tree.

It’s a calm and leafy oasis in the capital city 🙂

@FrozenShivers believe it or not your small peace lily could grow quite large, depending on cultivar. The one below was tiny, I think it came in a 4inch pot. A good few years later it stands over 3 feet tall and just as wide. But there are so many to choose from. It’d be great if this thread...

That’s for sure, only £9.00. I leave the plants to my wife, she somehow has the knack. All our plants seem to thrive on healthy neglect.

Haha, looks it, but it’s a real live plant 😉

Thought I’d start a thread for members to showcase their house plants. I’ll start with the latest addition to the collection, an alocasia. Spotted it in IKEA and couldn’t resist; it’s an amazing looking plant.

Discovered something similar on my roof tiles. Still not certain it ain’t bird poop. Either way it’s a cornucopia of moss.

Yes you're right. I'd forgotten about that, spectacular :)

Of course, thanks Darrel.

Been trying to identify this evergreen shrub in my front garden. Originally I thought it was some sort of laurel. However today I noticed some acorns growing on it. I think it maybe Quercus chrysolepis Quercus chrysolepis - Wikipedia Any other ideas?

Thanks John 🙂

Spent some time in the garden today watching bees enjoy the lavender. It's literally buzzing with them. So far I've seen several different species of bumblebee. Some iphone shots.

I've gone through the forum and found several pages of gardening posts that I've rehomed here. But I suspect there will still be some that are lost. If anyone finds one please use the report button, as Paulo mentioned above, and it will be rehomed too. Either way the new forum is worth checking...

If in doubt ask. Not entirely tuned in to what constitutes a fair day's pay for a fair day's work around your way. Nor the ridiculous and ever spiralling cost of materials. But to add some context, one landscape gardener quoted me the optimistic price of £25,000 for a basic earth moving job and...

Not a bad price at all. I'd snatch his hand off, assuming he's got a good reputation that is ;)

That’s exactly what I need to deal with ground elder. But then it’d still probably grow back 🙄

Maybe also consider some raised beds for perennials or veg etc. Could be a good option if you struggle at ground level.

Good luck @Gill, you and I both have a jungle of a garden to sort out. Don't do too much in one go and kill yourself ;)

Thanks Darrel. And it certainly is a very good grower. It burst in to flower almost over night.

Plants are going mad in this warm wet weather. We've inherited some amazing plants in our new home, including this large stand of yellow loosestrife.

Exactly that. As a kid I’d follow dad around Kew for instance, and when he thought no one was watching he’d produce a plastic bag and take the odd cutting while mum kept a lookout. Of course Bonnie and Clyde would claim their high stakes botanical larcenies were altruistic. I think the excuse...

Bought Solufeed a while ago, and since I’m tankless at the moment I’ve been using it to feed the pots. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my plants look greener or healthier. Or flowers look so vibrant.

Not a fan. Thankfully he hasn’t had much air time since he was booted from Gardeners World and The RHS Chelsea Flower Show. His attention grabbing headline appears to be about how he doesn’t like gardens that look after themselves. Something to do with not taming nature and loosing proper...

Some shots of the garden from over the last month or so. Slowly discovering what's in there. Good and bad. Bluebells everywhere. Rhododendron surrounded by ground elder. Any tips for getting rid of the latter? Also the hedge in the background is yew, I cut it back severely and it didn't like...

Looking marvelous Darrel, very nice plants. And I know what you mean. My wife and I call it the Dead Plant Society. But a constant habit of dropping by can yield some good results. We recently bought a very large bayleaf, with an original and aspirational price tag of £99.99. We got it for...

Thanks @PARAGUAY, you should have seen it before we got to grips with it. It was impossible to tell where the drive ended and the boarder began. We hope to replace the tarmac on one side or the other with soil and planting at some point as well. Both garden and house will be a long term project.

Thanks @foxfish, I've noticed some new buds already, so hopefully I haven't upset it too much. On another note, and I know I'm probably preaching to the converted, now is a good time to keep an eye on the sale section in garden centres. There are some amazing bargains to be had. This haul cost...

Moved in to a new house back end of September 2022. The front and back gardens were completely overgrown, mostly with ivy, and it took 3 of us a couple of weeks to clear both. It'll be a work in progress for some time. But for now we're just enjoying watching it spring to life. The bottom bed is...

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.

Fantastic...

Those Christmas cacti are spectacular :)

Definitely looks very tasty :)

Crikey, and with good reason :oops: My house buying mantra has always been never buy a house on a floodplain. But I'm about to break that cardinal rule and move back to where I grew up :rolleyes: I hope I don't wake up one morning to a similar view :p

Nice view. You really do live by the river :cool: I'd be having kittens every time it rained heavily :eek:

Looking spectacular. Reminds me of my farther. He had them growing in several rooms of the family home and in his greenhouse.

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

I have one that's exactly the same, not sure what that's about either but would love to know. All the rest are thriving.

One of our kitchen residents in flower...

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

The secret of keeping a Venus thriving is simple... Lots of artificial light Rainwater And the very occasional feed of very dilute fertz (tank water once a month) But especially lots of artificial light, that's key. This is still the original Flytrap, after spending the winter on the study...

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

Saturday...

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

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...

Tilia species ?

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

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

Venus Flytraps are back in stock at IKEA... by Tim Harrison, on Flickr

Our's have recently been moved to a sunnier location and seem to be doing much better... by Tim Harrison, on Flickr

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

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

Lovely flowers Keith :)

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

Wow...simply beautiful :)

:eek::sick: :dead: Thanks for sharing Iain...:meh:

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

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.

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 :rolleyes: I've done something very similar in our front garden, but only planted...

That looks amazing.

Hi Ady, when the light is positioned at its highest the actual spot light spread is around 34cm in diameter shining on to my cabinet surface. I guess whether it's suitable for your pot depends on how tall it is. But obviously there is spill outside of that. Mine isn't on a timer, I just switch...

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...:cool:

That's looking awesome Foxfish.

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

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...

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.

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.

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.

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

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...

They are wonderful, and perfect for your steampunk theme

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.

Just started to flower... It's throwing out more spikes as well...

Very nice @three-fingers :)

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...

Haha...us too; I really like Scandi design though so it's no hardship ;)

Yes it's an IKEA JANSJÖ LED work lamp... Some folk reckon its colour temp is a little on the warm side but I think it's fine and perfect for Wabi-Kusa as well.

It's a lovely little plant. Snap, my sundew normally lives on a window sill too and has gone from strength to strength.

Check out IKEA its where I got mine from, and it's flowered and still going strong. I use rainwater and maybe once a month or less tank water as a very light feed.

Not yet, I will post a pic when it flowers, I've just noticed a couple of other flower spikes starting to shoot as well. The flowers on your Utricularia are beautiful.

Thought I'd share a pic or two of my Drosera or Sundew. @Iain Sutherland kindly gave me a few plants that have since grown and started to flower.

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

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 :)

I noticed that the composition of Baby Bio Orchid food is exactly half of that of Baby Bio, respectively... NPK 5.3-2.2-0.85 NPK 10.6-4.4-1.7 And that Baby Bio is £0.50 cheaper. Just add half the recommended dose for orchids...

Looks like it's recovering well. I think if they are still green they will likely carry more flowers sometime in the future. If the flower stalks are brown and wrinkly, like the top half of the one on the right, I think it's okay to cut the dead bit off. I always cut mine back to just above...

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

Looking great Keith :)

Bummer, keep it watered and it won't take long to establish despite replacements. Another option would have been to leave it and buy a garden chess set :rolleyes:

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;)

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

Have you seen this journal? It's a pretty awesome scape and it even has the odd carnivorous plant, and I think there's a fair amount of info on how best to grow them;) https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/green-pekoe-pond-40-litres.27575/

They are lovely plants. A property I bought had a very mature M. campbellii in the garden. The house and garden were derelict and I set about renovating both. I had to fell a tree next to the Magnolia to give it a better chance. Unfortunately it didn't fall as anticipated and took out a couple...

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

I think that'd be amazing...it's a very creative looking space;) Lovely...I can see the layers of maturity and year on year work.

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:)