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Post by bjd on Feb 6, 2021 18:56:20 GMT
You don't cut off the dried stems? Won't photograph mine today -- it hasn't stopped raining.
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Post by casimira on Feb 12, 2021 16:13:30 GMT
I would just let them be until the leaves just rot completely before cutting or removing them. Sometimes you just have take the ugly unsightliness of them and let nature take it's course. A removal of the leaves interrupts the plants dormancy period. As long as the roots of the bulb/rhizome stays alive they will be fine.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 12, 2021 17:36:12 GMT
A removal of the leaves interrupts the plants dormancy period. Thank you, Casimira! That is the must succinct explanation ever of why to leave the old leaves. No more waffling about should I or shouldn't I.
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Post by casimira on Feb 13, 2021 15:02:56 GMT
I heard a report on the radio that more and more people are gardening and seed companies have reported record sales of seeds and not enough available to meet the demand. One seed company representative likened it to the Y2K era when people rushed to plant gardens as they feared a doomsday scenario with food shortages. (I remember putting in a Y2K garden but, it was more of a tongue n cheek expression of the hype that was going on at that time).
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Post by tod2 on Feb 15, 2021 14:19:39 GMT
Taking the advice of other gardeners we bought a bale of straw for mulching around the plants in the veg garden. It was a bit too much so the last bit lay bleaching in the sun. I made a comment to Mr.Tod that it is such a pity to let it go to waste so he grabbed a handful and look who was living like Lord Muck in amongst the pile! We have always had Red-Lipped Herald snakes in our garden. Mainly in the walls where there is a gap between bricks to let out a build-up of water. When he went back for a second handful the tenant had skipped without paying his rent!
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Post by casimira on Feb 15, 2021 14:32:08 GMT
COOL Tod. When we first put in our garden some 30 plus years ago we began seeing snakes hiding in different places. They are brown marsh snakes and I am thrilled to have them join the ecosystem here. We had a cat who would occasionally bring one to us and leave it in a conspicuous place as a gift. I had a house guest who woke up early to make coffee and encountered one on the kitchen floor. She let out a loud scream and was hysterical. The snake was dead of course, likely tortured for goodness knows how long before becoming bored with it.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 15, 2021 18:09:10 GMT
Poor snaky. Hope it finds another nice spot.
The only time in my life I ever saw someone slapped for hysteria was because of a snake. I was spending the night with a friend who lived out in the country. Her dog had recently had puppies. When we came downstairs very late for a snack, we discovered that the puppies had puked all over the floor & were rolling in it. Meanwhile, the mother dog was whining. My friend snapped at the mother to shut up, then went into the kitchen to get something to clean up the mess. As she rummaged in the kitchen, the poor mother dog, still whining to be let out the back door, let loose with a tsunami of diarrhea. At that point my friend opened a bottom cabinet in the kitchen and a large but harmless black snake slithered out. My friend began shrieking, causing her entire family to come thundering down the stairs. Her mother surveyed the mess as Caroline carried on like a banshee, then calmly stepped over & smacked her in the face.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 15, 2021 18:48:06 GMT
Good grief.... In defence of Monty Don, I like his gentle enthusiasm and environmental awareness. I've had good advice from him and I love his garden. I think Alan Titchmarsh can be a bit smug and patronising altho he knows his stuff (as he never misses an opportunity to remind the viewers). Monty is an amateur altho very knowledgeable. The best Gardeners' World presenter by far was the late Geoff Hamilton, he is the one who got me hooked on gardening and I have a couple of his books..well him and my chum Pat (Myrt)...she has been passionate about plants since I've known her....I didn't really have much interest until my FiL gave us a GH in the early 80s. Looks like my pelargoniums might have been nobbled by last week's cold snap. I may have saved a couple...they're on the staging in my GH....usually the bubblewrap insulation is enough but not this year.
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Post by monetsmum on Feb 20, 2021 8:33:32 GMT
I'm with you on Geoff Hamilton Cheery; he got me hooked too. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the little garden centre in our village where he did a great Q&A and several demonstrations on propagating. He was taken far too early.
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Post by casimira on Feb 21, 2021 17:05:05 GMT
With the frigid temperatures of late here, the garden is a war zone. So, the arduous clean up begins. I am limited at the moment because I pulled a muscle in my lower back/hip while hauling a slew of potted plants inside. It's on the mend but, I don't want to push it too far at the risk of reinjuring it. So, I am going to have to my garden helper over here and commence the long process of machete wielding clean up. I don't think I lost anything that won't come back. It's just so daunting a task which I'm not looking forward to.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 25, 2021 12:01:34 GMT
Twice, before my parents sold a house, I would take a look at the garden, which generally looked pretty awful for a variety of reasons, the principal reason being that they totally lost interest after a while. There would be great enthusiasm at the beginning, putting in new plants and flowers, and then things were pretty much left to fend for themselves. The grass would be mown and everything watered when necessary, but that was about it.
I would finally get out pruning shears and snip off just about everything I could get my hands on in terms of dead branches, invasive suckers and scraggly useless things. This was generally about two months before the moving date. By the time my parents left, the plants would be bursting forth in full glory and I was kind of sorry never to see them again.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 25, 2021 13:51:16 GMT
I can see how gardening grows on a person especially after a wonderful positive reaction to hard work. And it is hard, after all its manual labour and one has to have the stamina to take it on. I don't know how old your parents must have been Kerouac, but something tells me they might have had that old syndrome of "The mind is willing but the flesh is weak" - that is how I sum up any gardening efforts I might want to take on. I am very grateful we have a full time gardener with assistance at times when the weeds and lawns get too much for one man to deal with. Mr.Tod is not fading fast....more like sitting back an admiring his initial handiwork.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 25, 2021 19:35:51 GMT
The last few mornings it has been mild enough for me to drink my morning coffee sitting on a chair outside the back door in the sunshine. It's still chilly but not too cold. The birds are starting to rev up their singing and I really love sitting in the garden listening to the goldfinches, robins, blackbirds, dunnocks, sparrows, starlings etc...trying to differentiate which ones are singing.
ANYWAY whilst sitting out there I am looking at my ravaged flower beds thinking that I really need to start sorting out and cutting back...I havn't done much yet...but I'm thinking about it....
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Post by tod2 on Feb 26, 2021 12:32:53 GMT
I wish you loads of good gardening Cheery! I have to start investigating some shade-loving plants that will grown in a recess under the eves of the roof. In pots that can be switched around. All suggestions very welcome!
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Post by casimira on Feb 26, 2021 15:52:26 GMT
Well, you can't go wrong with ferns. Ivy and many of the philodendrons are a safe bet. Also, caladiums of which there are many, many varieties. Hydrangeas and vinca, impatiens all do well. I'm sure I will think of more and will post when they pop back into my addled brain.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 26, 2021 15:57:19 GMT
Well, you can't go wrong with ferns. Ivy and many of the philodendrons are a safe bet. Also, caladiums of which there are many, many varieties. Hydrangeas and vinca, impatiens all do well. Exactly.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 27, 2021 8:59:56 GMT
Thank you so much....I'd forgotten about Impatiens but they would be ideal in a nice pot. It's a small space so I don't think hydrangeas unless you get a mini version. I'll ask one of the nurseries I buy veg seedling from to point out the other names you gave me - Thanks!
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Post by bjd on Feb 27, 2021 9:33:21 GMT
If it's a small space, then I would go with impatiens in a pot. Vinca (periwinkles) are nice but do tend to spread and invade. I see they are in bloom right now here.
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 27, 2021 15:52:54 GMT
My favourite secateurs broke this morning. Just old age as I’ve had them over 10 years and they’ve done a huge amount of work. RIP.
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Post by lugg on Feb 27, 2021 19:26:10 GMT
I have had to call in some help re my garden as I cannot dig etc at the moment. I told them to blitz it - well they did !!! I am not sure what will have survived but as I look at a particularly long blank stretch I feel quite excited to think about new things to plant.
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Post by lugg on Feb 27, 2021 19:27:26 GMT
My favourite secateurs broke this morning. Just old age as I’ve had them over 10 years and they’ve done a huge amount of work. RIP. RIP
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 27, 2021 21:32:52 GMT
Bummer about the secateurs Mick. I have 3 pairs, including a pair of felcos...but my favourite ones are a pair my DiL bought me at a garden show for a fiver...
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 28, 2021 7:14:15 GMT
Mick, are you going to bury them in the garden? Set up a little memorial?
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 28, 2021 7:41:06 GMT
Rest in Pruning
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 28, 2021 8:27:16 GMT
They were Wilkinson Sword and in the handles had other tools, a small saw and a couple of very sharp knives.
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Post by bjd on Mar 1, 2021 16:43:06 GMT
Spring is here so it's the time of year when I move things around in the garden. Went a bought a couple of perennials (2 pentstemon) and 2 malvas (?), moved a couple of fuschias out from under a bush and put them where we removed a white camellia bush to another part of the garden. I then dug out a few irises that I had planted 2 years ago but which hadn't bloomed because they didn't get enough sun. Those bushes tend to grow more than I expect.
At the market this morning, a woman who sells plants was there. I was tempted to buy another loropetallum but since of the ones I have, only the one that gets a faire amount of shade has done really well. The two others get too much sun and their leaves are not as nice. This woman told me that too much sun indeed harms the leaves, so I abstained.
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Post by casimira on Mar 1, 2021 17:39:16 GMT
I have had to call in some help re my garden as I cannot dig etc at the moment. I told them to blitz it - well they did !!! I am not sure what will have survived but as I look at a particularly long blank stretch I feel quite excited to think about new things to plant. It's so exciting to have a fresh new space to plant whatever your heart desires. An artist with a blank canvas and palette to consider. The possibilities are endless. I set out this morning to cut back all the plants that got hit by the freeze. I had my trusty helper here to help me,. It's always better to have someone to work with, it makes the time go by quickly. Then the rains came... I am so disappointed as we were only able to work for about two hours before the sky opened up and started pouring. Sorry about your secateurs Mick. I had a whole bag of tools stolen from my truck years ago. Some of them were easily replaced but I had two pairs of Felco secateurs, one small and the other larger, not quite loppers but in between. They were designed for left handed gardeners and are quite pricey. (another example of how southpaws are discriminated against in my opinion). The amount of money the insurance company paid me didn't even come close to covering the cost of replacing them.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 1, 2021 17:50:08 GMT
Casi, did insurance pay you out second hand or as new?
I have others but not as good as these. I also have 2 loppers, 1 medium, 1 large.
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Post by casimira on Mar 1, 2021 18:09:52 GMT
Casi, did insurance pay you out second hand or as new? Let's just say that they didn't pay me "jack". (I also had several other items in the truck that were valuable and got little to nothing for them either).
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 5, 2021 16:28:25 GMT
I think it's interesting that the British use the French name for them. In the U.S. I only ever heard them called pruning shears. Maybe sécateurs are reserved for fancy gardeners.
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