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Post by lugg on May 1, 2021 19:17:16 GMT
I need help to identify this plant Have a look at the various types of Vitex possibly Vitex agnus-castus . There are some SA varieties .
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Post by lugg on May 1, 2021 19:20:25 GMT
think he’s a lousy gardener. Oh no why is that Mick / Bixa ? I am a fan , most probably because he is a fellow Herefordian by choice. He does a great deal of good here , not least supporting our local hospice. Of course that does not make him a great gardener.
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Post by mickthecactus on May 1, 2021 20:22:01 GMT
Don’t dislike him as a person but his garden becomes more and more a disjointed wilderness.
Last night he decided to plant a Mediterranean herb garden but brings out a pot for it that would cost at least £50. Unrealistic.
Planted Heleniums (?) in the ground way too high.
Last year sowed outdoor tomatoes a month too late.
Has plants grown in pots to plant out that look like they’ve been in the pots way too long.
And so on....
Love the dogs though.
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Post by bjd on May 2, 2021 6:06:13 GMT
Yesterday I finally met a guy I have seen around town for several years. He is in fact a professional gardener, works for other people but also has a garden where he grows vegetables that he sells privately. My new neighbour met him as she cycles past his place nearly every day and told me that he was organizing a gardening group. It turns out that he is in fact just wanting to organize a kind of gardening exchange once a month, since nearly all he has comes from seeds he gathers himself, or plants given by other people, or recycling.
For example, he knows a man who drinks a lot of bottled water in big 3-litre plastic bottles. He gets the bottles, cuts them down and uses them as mini-greenhouses to force his plants to grow faster. His tomato stakes are huge bamboo poles he cuts on a piece of municipal land near his garden.
Since the soil around the area is not very good for food production, he told me that for roses and peonies I can add cat litter to the soil to add some clay and amend the Ph.
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Post by mickthecactus on May 2, 2021 6:23:13 GMT
That is good and very interesting bjd. DO you know what it does to the ph? Also I don’t think it can be any old cat litter. Not all are clay based.
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Post by bjd on May 2, 2021 8:50:07 GMT
Mick, he showed me what he puts in -- simply a bag of cat litter from Lidl (cheap discount supermarket). Since the soil around here is fairly acid as well as sandy (good for camellias, Japanese maples, rhododendrons, etc), the litter containing clay would make the soil better heavier for roses and peonies which is like the kind of soil I had in Toulouse, heavy clay. He also said he adds lots of compost to his soil.
In fact, the area was never known for food production. It used to be either swamp or sheep. It was rather discouraging to hear all the things that don't grow well here: fruit trees other than plums, raspberries... And although people do add other soil if they want to grow roses (which there are lots of in fact), it does tend to wash down when it rains.
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Post by mickthecactus on May 2, 2021 9:53:11 GMT
I use clay based cat litter in my compost for the cacti.
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Post by lugg on May 13, 2021 17:09:07 GMT
Tonight on Channel 5 for those that can get it - new series - A Year in Kew looks good.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 13, 2021 17:17:14 GMT
How could it not be?! I tried to find a trailer for it on youtube. That was problematic because there is an older show called "a year at Kew". Apparently the official name for the new series is Kew Gardens: A Year in Bloom. No trailer yet, but here is some more information. Hope I can figure out a way to see this!
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Post by lugg on May 13, 2021 18:34:31 GMT
Yes that is it Bixa sorry I should have been more precise.
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Post by mickthecactus on May 13, 2021 19:17:30 GMT
Watching it now,
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Post by bixaorellana on May 13, 2021 22:45:35 GMT
Yes that is it Bixa sorry I should have been more precise. You are a terrible person.
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Post by lugg on May 14, 2021 10:00:30 GMT
You are a terrible person
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Post by bixaorellana on May 14, 2021 14:09:23 GMT
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Post by lugg on May 14, 2021 19:05:45 GMT
Well I don't know what you thought Mick, or anyone else who saw it but the first episode of Kew - Year In Bloom for me was fab. A mixture of science, ecology, lovely blooms, interesting people and those orchids !
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Post by mickthecactus on May 14, 2021 19:48:53 GMT
I’m a huge Kew fan lugg and enjoyed it immensely. Seen the orchid exhibition a number of times. There’s a Kew thread in Public Gardens I think.
I’m due a visit there when we get back to normal.
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Post by bjd on Jun 2, 2021 11:34:03 GMT
It's perhaps a bit late in spring to be moving plants around but I finally decided to rip out two coniferous bushes I had planted 4 years ago. They didn't grow at all the way I had hoped, but had separated into four long "arms". So my husband had to take a pick-axe to the roots to get them out. One space I left empty, the other I put a small loropetalum that I bought a few weeks ago and which was being overtaken by some gauras and arum lillies. Without the prickly bushes, I was able to pull out the weeds, grass and daisies that were all over underneath. I put some cranesbill in front to fill the gaps for now.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 2, 2021 13:20:40 GMT
Loropetalum is a new one on me so just looked it up. Like the look of them!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 2, 2021 16:38:46 GMT
That Loropetalum will be a striking addition once it takes off!
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Post by bjd on Jun 2, 2021 16:50:34 GMT
I already have two others, one that has done really well. They are lovely in spring with spiky little pink flowers against the dark leaves.
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Post by casimira on Jul 8, 2021 16:51:23 GMT
Well, I am going to be busy, busy the upcoming couple of weeks. As we get closer to the demolition of the house I am going to have to pick and choose plants from my front garden and pot them up and stick them in the back part of the property. Mostly perennials, salvias in particular and a couple of roses. Sadly, the fig tree will have to be cut down but it will hopefully make a comeback or I can otherwise propagate another one. This is all part of the process of rebuilding and I really want to salvage what I can. I'm trying to think of it in a positive light and liken it to having a fresh new palette to create something new and wonderful.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 8, 2021 17:59:50 GMT
I am absolutely positive the new garden will be as dazzling as the former one. One great thing is that you've already done lots of experimenting, so a process you'll be able to bypass this time around.
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Post by tod2 on Jul 21, 2021 14:42:47 GMT
Showing off my "special" Cabbage seeds that have popped up and look like they're doing OK. They are Savoy cabbage seeds sent to me by Mick. At the time our postal service was hopeless and I had almost given up hope of ever receiving them and then one day - Lo and Behold, there they were in my post box! Here are the little darlings...
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 23, 2021 15:00:06 GMT
The more I admire what all of you gardening people are doing, the more I realise that I would never have the patience to be a real gardener.
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Post by casimira on Aug 2, 2021 13:35:26 GMT
I am absolutely positive the new garden will be as dazzling as the former one. One great thing is that you've already done lots of experimenting, so a process you'll be able to bypass this time around. Thank you for your kind feedback. With regard to the fig tree, our contractor's son wants the fig tree and I am" tickled pink" that it is going to a loving home. Mind you, the tree is quite mature so moving it did not seem to be an option. That being said, he has the equipment etc. to dig it up and transport it on one of their low bed trailers. I have already taken cuttings from it to ensure that I will have one when it comes time to re landscape the grounds. I am also thrilled to report that our contractor is a rabid gardener and upon meeting him at his home a couple of weeks ago saw many specimens of plantings that were both unique and well cared for. We lucked out big time in hiring these good people to take on the project we have in store on all levels.
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Post by bjd on Aug 2, 2021 14:56:52 GMT
My gardening plans are much more limited than Casimira's but I have decided that this fall I will pull out all the gauras, which have taken over, and next spring I will plant a lot of dahlias. That will mean a lot more colour than now, since the gauras are almost all white, but yesterday I saw a really colourful garden full of dahlias and it looked great.
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Post by tod2 on Aug 2, 2021 15:52:23 GMT
Oh dear bjd, please retain a smatering of Gauras. That was my mothers favourite flower and everytime I see it in gardens my thoughts are of a real lady, my mum. A kind passionate soul, who like my all-time hero Lady Diana, saw the struggling with compassion.
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Post by casimira on Aug 2, 2021 16:08:47 GMT
A bed full of gauras sounds divine, I wish I had more. Pointless to put any in the garden at this time.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 2, 2021 16:31:03 GMT
Dahlias are growing on me too bjd...
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Post by bjd on Aug 2, 2021 16:47:29 GMT
Here you go, Tod and Casi:
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