Get your garden out

[Guest]

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.

 

[PARAGUAY]

Updates will be good Tim be nice to see it evolve

 

[johnjo]

What a gorgeous day it’s been today so thought I’d post some pond pics while Iv been working on it today. It’s t ime to give my pond a good clean as the blanket weed is starting to gather so that needed pulling out and treating first. Cut back last year’s dead growth on the marginal plants and wait for the new shoots to wake up.

Iv got lovely red Lobelia Cardinalis and forget me not amongst other growing part submerged around the pond edges and different types of lilies in the pond. One variety is already flowering! I do love pond plants you get the most interesting insects. No frog spawn yet though.

The moss growing on the waterfall rocks is looking really nice too.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Your mossy stones are nice.

different types of lilies in the pond. One variety is already flowering!

That is actually an Aponogeton sp., A. distachys <"https://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/Flowers/P/Pondweed(Cape)/Pondweed(Cape).htm">.

cheers Darrel

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

now is a good time to keep an eye on the sale section in garden centres.

I tried that this afternoon, there were plenty of plants that looked a little the worse for wear (or a lot the worse for wear) but they still had their original (and "aspirational") price tags.

Here are a couple from the garden, they were plants that I bought originally, but have done well in the 20 years since. It is quite cold in Corsham, but they seem to survive OK. The Clematis is rooted behind the shed, and the Grape Hyacinth in a dry, sunny spot under the house eaves.

Clematis armandii

Muscari macrocarpum "Golden Fragrance"


cheers Darrel

 

[Guest]

I tried that this afternoon, there were plenty of plants that looked a little the worse for wear (or a lot the worse for wear) but they still had their original (and "aspirational") price tags.

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 19.99. It just needed repotting and some TLC. It's already looking better.

 

[johnjo]

That is actually an Aponogeton sp., A. distachys <"https://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/Flowers/P/Pondweed(Cape)/Pondweed(Cape).htm">.

Brilliant, thanks for identifying that Daniel. 👍 I have been trying to find out what this was for ages! I thought it wasn’t a lily by the leaf shape but didn’t know what else to call it. I really like it, I t’s got a nice character and the flowers last for ages.

Hi all,

I tried that this afternoon, there were plenty of plants that looked a little the worse for wear (or a lot the worse for wear) but they still had their original (and "aspirational") price tags.

Here are a couple from the garden, they were plants that I bought originally, but have done well in the 20 years since. It is quite cold in Corsham, but they seem to survive OK. The Clematis is rooted behind the shed, and the Grape Hyacinth in a dry, sunny spot under the house eaves.

Clematis armandii
View attachment 203519
Muscari macrocarpum "Golden Fragrance"
View attachment 203518

cheers Darrel

Amazing what you can do with plants that look like they are on their last legs…they look great.
I quite like waiting for places like Tesco and Aldi to forget again to water their outdoor plant racks and then end up having to sell them off cheap to get rid of them. Iv got several acers in my garden I paid 50p each for as they looked dead in their pots.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Cheating, because it is at work again.

I bought some Tulip "Little Beauty" bulbs in the autumn, but afterwards I wasn't sure about them and eventually planted them in the <"gravel at work">. They've just started flowering and I think I may have made a mistake with them, because they are lovely........




cheers Darrel

 

[palcente]

Spent a weekend in Amsterdam last fall and brought some bulbs back with us! They just started to colour up!

 

[26024]

Not a proper garden but kind of 🙂

 

[Tyko_N]

Meanwhile, in Sweden (slight setback with the weather):

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Meanwhile, in Sweden (slight setback with the weather)

Not quite that bad, but an air frost last night in Corsham.

cheers Darrel

 

[Tyko_N]

but an air frost last night in Corsham.

Ouch, an unexpected frost might be worse than this. The Swedish April weather is notoriously unpredictable, and we might get the occasional bit of snow and hard freeze even into May, so most people just plan around this. On the other hand we had daytime temperatures around 17-18C last week which was nice.

 

[johnjo]

My favourite Japanese Maple, the spring leaf colour on this variety is lovely.
This was a Tesco dried up cast off in one of those cardboard tube boxes costing me 50p when I bought it about 10 years ago. Now it’s a mother plant Iv used several times for air layering new trees off. It’s a great technique for multiplying your tree stock if you’ve never tried it and great for making bonsai’s with!

 

[Kave_art_man]

That’s a spectacular acer Johnjo,
Do you know the variety?

 

[johnjo]

That’s a spectacular acer Johnjo,
Do you know the variety?

Sorry I don't. I got it years ago but don't have a refernece label for it. I'm sure if you took a trip to a garden centre/nursery you would see it in there and get the name.

 

[Guest]

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 it very much. It's sprouting new shoots now but new growth is a bit patchy. I'm hoping it'll recover eventually though.


A different rhododendron


Viburnum tree in flower. The scent is amazing.


Peony

 

[hypnogogia]

Ground elder is a bugger to get out, and we’re still fighting it after 7 years.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
The Pocket-handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata) on campus is flowering really well. It doesn't put on much of a show most years, so I assume this is because of the hot weather in 2022.




cheers Darrel

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Rhododendron surrounded by ground elder. Any tips for getting rid of the latter?

Nice Rhododendron, unfortunately it is pick a name with these, but it looks like a R. williamsianum hybrid. They like a sunny position, but are a bit prone to frost damage to the new growth and flowers (the plant itself is really hardy). I really like <"Temple Belle"> and may yet find a big pot for it (our garden soil is unsuitable).

Ground Elder (Aegopodium podagria) is a problem. We had a bit of it in our garden when we moved in, but over time I got rid of it by continually removing the green shoots and any rhizome I could get at.

People often recommend deep digging, but that is counter productive because it creates bare ground and any rhizome fragments really enjoy themselves without any competition. <"Glyphosate worked">, but you still have the bare ground issue after treatment.

You could try a ground-cover Geranium. If you planted <"Geranium x oxonianum "Claridge Druce"> it would definitely work over time, but you might eventually consider the Ground Elder the lesser of the two evils.

cheers Darrel