Last Post 569 days 19 hours ago
27 November 2011 16:55:29
Ground cover.
Thinking about this, had to come inside as it getting very cold outside.
Geranium cantabrigiense is a very good , nealy evergreen , low growing groundcover. I have cleared a bank near Rat headquarters, well I did some clearing but as it got closer to the HQ called on a friend!
This is a hybrid geranium and comes in pink and white. The pink one is Westray, the white on Biokovo.
It spreads well and rather quickly and the flowers last from Spring to September; they are quite short stemmed and pretty. I have planted the bank with bits I just pulled from one of the mature plants and hope for the best.
The photo I hope will appear is taken from Dave's garden on the web.
27 November 2011 15:28:51
Doed anybody else get muddled when talking about Sempervivum, Saxifrage and Sedum? Someone be kind as say they do to make me feel better!!
26 November 2011 23:47:27
I was thinking of this plant today. In my last garden I had one and never liked it.
When I moved here , looking for a wind break, I thought of Leycesteria and got a couple of plants . They seed readily and now I have a big clump. It is a very useful plant as a wind break or to hide a shed or wall or just to enjoy it. I find it grows very quickly and in some ways because the stems are hollow resembles a Bamboo, though a deciduous shrub. The birds love the berries especially the Pheasants! Many of mine would now be about 8ft which I gather is the maximum growth.
So I need to apologise to this plant for not appreciating it previously!
I have not got a close up to post but worth a google if you are not familiar with it.
22 November 2011 19:53:52
I just can't believe it. Cuttings( Philip) made me this most wonderful Photo Story of my garden, some of the earlier days but most up to date. I am flabbergasted to have such a wonderful record and can't find words to thank him enough. And none of the 'bad areas' appear!!! The photographs shown were taken by me, my brother Ted or our own Ladygardener so many thanks to Ted and Anne. I hope you have time to look at even some of it to see what Philip has managed to produce since yesterday!!!
The music as you will see is by Gheorghe Zamfir,..and the first tune played twice is "Lara's Theme",..from "Gone With The Wind",..the second is "Everything I Do",..and lastly for the end is "The Lonely Shepherd". (copied from Phillip's email)
http://youtu.be/uiOfjAzOXX0
Please view it as it is and not on a big screen.
22 November 2011 17:30:29
So far and yet so near!
Monkey dog Meg took me by surprise today when she climbed a tree to try and reach a tennis ball, you can see the latter high on the left side, if it does not get cropped! She actually went much higher but the camera was not ready. Anyway I was concerned she might hurt herself so urged her down.
20 November 2011 15:03:06
Two in one
I was taking a photograph of the Melianthus major which has done very well and survived the bad Winters. Then I see myself , well a shadow. on the compost pile !!
18 November 2011 19:52:42
cheer me up please? These last two dreadful days have got to me, I know it is the same for everyone. Dog Meg sits and looks at me with her big sad eyes saying' can we go for a walk' but it is just too bad out there. I want to plant my new Rose and do lots in the garden. There is so much to do in the house but I just can't work myself up to grabbing the broom and dust pan. The Crossword seems really hard today and yes I agree this is one big moan . Roll on the Spring.
17 November 2011 19:34:31
When I posted about this a few months ago some of you said you would like to have it. I have rooted 4 and would like to put names on them so would those who were interested please put up their hands and even let me know please. This will save me going back into the annals.!
17 November 2011 00:03:11
I confess I am not really a rose person. I do have about 6 all climbers but have only one bush rose Just joey. However I bought a rose called Reine des Violettes in Lidl a couple of days ago. Does anybody grow this as I would like to know if I could grow it up against a wall? I fell for the colour!! Thank you.
14 November 2011 20:53:48
Some time ago I decided to sow seeds of Lunaria aka Honesty. These of course germinated profusely and I potted on about 20 seedlings of white and same of pink. Why did I do this I ask myself ; now they are tall stemmed seedlings just about getting their true leaves and will need more potting on , more compost , more care. Why did I not just toss the seed on the ground in the Spring and leave it to nature.
I cannot throw out healthy seedlings after all the poor things have made it this far do you think I could risk planting them out somewhere in the garden , have sort of a Lunaria forrest?
Do you do daft things like this?
14 November 2011 20:35:49
Sowed seed of two Astrantias , Hapsden red and another red one. Used proper seed compost and even the heated propagator; not one of either has germinated to date, at least 3 weeks since sowing. Same with some other seeds sown in similiar conditions , germination really bad. A couple of Geraniums, two from 10 seeds of each. I think my multipurpose compost and sand was better but then no controlled experiment was undertaken! Dicentra scandens has produced a few seedlings.
By the way I can't find the Copper sulphate that used to be available to prevent die back, anybody spotted it anywhere?
11 November 2011 18:17:19
Today while potting up some seedlings I had a little muse.
I looked around my greenhouse/shed/ cat run at all the seed trays, cuttings and pots of sheltering plants and wondered at the change in my gardening activities since I joined the iers. While always very very interested in my garden my enthusiasm has blossomed since coming here. I have a couple of garden addict friends but my most frequent visitors are my extended family and while they appreciate all the work done since I arrived here and enjoy the results they are not really into gardening per se. So to have met a group who understand my excitement should a seed from the trythisandseea species germinate or empathize with the loss of loved plant not to mention contribute some wonderful plants to my garden has spurred me on enormously. To actually visit , meet and make friends with some of the group is such an added bonus. I hope very much to have an Open day early next July and there will be a very warm welcome for anyone who cares to come. End of muse.
09 November 2011 22:41:14
Did anybody ever grow this? I saw pictures recently and was very taken by it so ordered seeds which arrived today. Good picture here;
www.songsparrow.com/.../plantdetails.cfm
09 November 2011 17:33:22
Home again, collected the family on my way back so we all arrived together. It is funny that dog Meg just bounds in as if she had never been away but Maisie has to do a tour to make sure nothing has moved.
We had a great few days but the highlight was visiting Scrubland. I will put up, in an Album, a few pictures I took there. I hope Scrubber will clarify if necessary as there was not space to elaborate in the album. Also I had a lovely picture of Scrubber with Shoosh and it has vanished, may find it later, hope so.
I managed to get a few bargains while away in the form of 3 Hostas each at €2 , they are ‘Wide brim', sagaea and Wogon and on Googling they seem to be pretty good ones to have.
Also on my return there was a box on the doorstep containing the Alpines I had ordered for my new trough. For anyone interested these are;
Anemonella thalictroides
Campanula x haylodgensis .Plena
Corydalis ochroleuca
Saxifrage ‘ Alan Martin'
Saxifrage ‘Crenata'
Maianthemum canadense
Vitaliana primuliflora-
Though I was weary I did pot them up. I will take a good look around the garden tomorrow and might even do a little work.
07 November 2011 22:10:03
I usually copy and paste from Word but it did not work for some reason when I tried to add it to Scrubber's thread .
What a wonderful afternoon at Scrubber's and Anna's home, indeed one to remember with such great pleasure. From the welcome from Scrubber and Anna not to mention Dooley and Shoosh to a tour of the Scrub and the lovely afternoon tea Anna gave us what a way to spend such a glorious afternoon. The Scrub is sooo special, hard to describe the feeling one has there, it is indeed magical and very easy to imagine the presence of that Cherub. The work that has gone into building the different tiers in Scrubland all made of mighty large stones is difficult to imagine. Having read so much about it over the past months to see where different features were in reality was great and now I will be able to follow progress with even more interest. I thought the Scrub would be more overgrown but no, it is wonderful Woodland with loads of bulbs and plants ready to show themselves in the Spring. The ground was carpeted with multicolour leaves and of course glowing amid it all was the Osaksuki sp? I did not get a close up of Sr Josephine's bottom as it was a bit squelchy but now I know where it is!. At this time of year you are able to see the River Barrow so close to the boundary of the Scrub . It exceeded my already high expectations.As for the rest of the garden loads of perennials and shrubs and wide borders. I particularly loved the big paved area at the back of the house with walls and features made by Scrubber; there were some lovely troughs , really old ones . He had done much work in the Rose garden and the Walnut tree intertwining will look great.Very many thanks Scrubber and Anna , Dooly and Shoosh for a very special afternoon.
04 November 2011 18:03:59
Pruning and Oiling
Lovely day in Cork too so like many I did much gardening. Cut back
Grace , hope I did not take too much. Then on to the Acacia pravissima which got a severe pruning prior to having some large branches removed. Best of all was out with the Linseed oil to give Oakbird a new coat. I am so pleased with his new position though it will take a little time to decide what stone or wood to put at the base. I love driving in now and being able to see him. Hope you like him.The picture looks so blurred here I will put it in an album.
03 November 2011 18:45:48
This was the day Oakbird got moved. It was some job but he is now in his new place. I will post a picture tomorrow because he needs his third annual coat of linseed oil and hopefully it will be dry tomorrow and I can do this. I am so pleased that I can enjoy him more. He also need the stones to be put around him but this will have to wait a while until the concrete dries. Scrubber, it would have been too difficult to raise him higher than he is and I know you suggested having him sit on wood but for the time being it will be the stone.
03 November 2011 01:58:44
Hope you have a good day;)
01 November 2011 01:23:04
I would also love to know how those with the red leaves Victor Reiter and Dark Reiter came through the frosts; mine did not fare well.
01 November 2011 01:19:56
I know some iers bought this during the year. I was unable to track it down here so got it from the UK; however it seems to have vanished!! How are yours doing? It was one I was most anxious to have to add to my much loved Geranium family. Maybe it will appear in the Spring but it is most unlike any of the Pratense to disappear.