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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 11, 2019 16:20:15 GMT
It's amazing what you can cram in successional planting helps, the bluebells, dicentra, pulmonaria, hellebores, geranium and epimediums flower in April- May...before the deciduous ferns start unfurling...now the primula, astrantia, foxglove and thalictrum are in flower or starting to flower. If something gets too thuggish it comes out or is cut right back...same with the other beds. About 60% of the garden is either slabs, grass or gravel...and then there is the shed and greenhouse! [/urlt]
That's part of the shady bed at the top, it's about 1m deep and 6m long...not very good at estimating size tho...
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 11, 2019 16:47:20 GMT
This is wonderful information, Cheery -- you're showing exactly how we can confront challenges such as shade and not enough growing space. Love your latest batch of pictures. What is the black grassy plant tucked under the helenium? Makes a great color combination with that rich orange. Also, in the picture above, what is the black & green foliage at top left -- begonia?
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Post by lugg on Jul 13, 2019 12:29:26 GMT
Lovely borders Bjd and Cheery. I usually have no problem with clematis Bjd ( unlike with other plants) I have had a lovely clematis for ages but this year something is wrong its going black around the bottom and the leaves and flowers are drooping . The buds look really healthy but as the flower begins to open it just droops. Any ideas anyone.
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Post by bjd on Jul 13, 2019 14:30:58 GMT
Lugg, I just looked up about planting and caring for clematis. I bought a new one this year and it seems to have died right after I planted it so I'm afraid I'm of no help. What the various articles I read said that it was important to know what kind of pruning is needed and that depends on when it is supposed to bloom (spring or summer).
Maybe your clematis lacks water?
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Post by fumobici on Jul 13, 2019 14:43:04 GMT
I had a clematis that had done well for years turn up looking sick one year and I wondered if it would survive. I cut it back hard and it came back the next year good as new. I have no idea what the issue was that year.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 13, 2019 15:38:02 GMT
Well, my next window crop of dill has just sprouted. Not a big deal, I know.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 13, 2019 16:39:15 GMT
Maybe your clematis lacks water? Sounds more like too much water, possibly.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 13, 2019 17:25:40 GMT
This is wonderful information, Cheery -- you're showing exactly how we can confront challenges such as shade and not enough growing space. Love your latest batch of pictures. What is the black grassy plant tucked under the helenium? Makes a great color combination with that rich orange. Also, in the picture above, what is the black & green foliage at top left -- begonia? The black thing is an ophiopogon I think, the flowers are pretty non descriptive but the grass like leaves are what I grow it for. Grows from a rhizome and is easy to propagate by dividing. The green and black leaves are geranium sanguinium...I cut it back 2 - 3 times a year and it comes back...if i didnt cut it back it would take over!
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Post by lugg on Jul 14, 2019 9:41:46 GMT
Thanks guys , well hopefully it will survive. I am going to try more water as although we have had some downpours it really is very dry. The other thing is Ive tried to add more shade over the root area. We will see.
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Post by bjd on Sept 24, 2019 6:34:32 GMT
My garden is full of holes. When it was dry, the birds were taking dust baths. Then it rained and they (especially blackbirds) have been digging holes to get bugs and worms in all the areas where the grass isn't very thick.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 24, 2019 16:27:15 GMT
Sounds as though you have a very healthy ecosystem!
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 25, 2019 5:56:01 GMT
I'm not sure yet if my hibiscus is going to forgive me for repotting it. Most of it is looking pretty limp, yet the leaves are still green. I'm afraid to water it too much even though water was what always made it perk up quickly in the past.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 25, 2019 6:16:12 GMT
Put a plastic bag over it to keep humidity around the leaves long enough for it to recover. Don't let the sun hit it when the bag is on.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 25, 2019 16:01:57 GMT
Put the bubblewrap insulation up inside the greenhouse the other day. Just for a change I used clothes-pegs to hold the sheets in place...looks odd but it means I can use them again next winter. The huge rolls of bubblewrap (bought in a garden centre) used to come with little plastic fixings which were neither use nor ornament, so I used to use sticky tape. Problem was that when it got wet the tape would fall off! Maybe this post should be in 'petty personal traumas' Anyway, it will be lovely and snug in there over the cold months.
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Post by mickthecactus on Sept 25, 2019 16:41:43 GMT
Just started bringing in the tender cacti and succulents that have been out all summer.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 25, 2019 17:55:13 GMT
It's that kind of activity, Cheery & Mick, that I hark back to when I'm bitching about the dry, desert-like heat here in the winter and Spring.
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Post by mossie on Sept 30, 2019 15:29:15 GMT
My rear lawn is coming along nicely
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 30, 2019 16:41:36 GMT
Love it! Is that pyracantha?
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Post by mickthecactus on Sept 30, 2019 17:23:21 GMT
You must have one hell of a lawnmower...
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Post by bjd on Sept 30, 2019 17:59:49 GMT
I don't think it's pyracantha, looks more like cotoneaster.
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Post by mossie on Sept 30, 2019 19:26:20 GMT
Cotton Easter horizontalis. When I used that term when pricing for a job when I was at work, 60 years ago now, the garden centre person I was speaking to laughed their head off. But I still call it that.
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Post by mossie on Sept 30, 2019 19:27:42 GMT
And Mick, I let the birds do that, it is their fault it is there.
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Post by mickthecactus on Nov 6, 2019 19:10:10 GMT
Today was sunny if a bit chilly so I decided to work on the front garden in the sun. Finished digging over the veg plot (yes it's in the front), mowed the lawn, trimmed the edges, weeded the semi alpine border, strimmed the rough area where daffodils are planted and planted up 2 bowls with violas.
All in all very satisfying.
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Post by bjd on Nov 6, 2019 20:23:47 GMT
I didn't put my few succulents out of the way before we had all the rain so they are swimming/drowning these days.
The other day while the weather was alright, I cut back my gauras. Have to move two of them because they got so big they covered the other plants nearby. I also moved a couple of irises and have to find a place to put a big pentstemon. It's beside the gate but every time we open the gate, it gets smashed. I didn't realize it would get so big.
I meant to buy some violas at the market the other day but most of the sellers didn't turn up because of the weather. Maybe next week.
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Post by bjd on Nov 17, 2019 9:57:45 GMT
I took advantage of a sale of bare-root peonies the other day and planted them on Wednesday when it wasn't raining. I had a look yesterday and one was floating in the hole I had made, the others were lying on the bare ground. I had to dig deeper holes, put in more soil and cover them with mulch. I think I hadn't buried them deep enough and the huge amounts of rain pushed the fresh soil down completely leaving them high and "dry".
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 18, 2019 18:39:42 GMT
Now you know why corpses are buried 2 metres deep.
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Post by bjd on Dec 15, 2019 15:27:13 GMT
We have been having some very strange weather lately -- tons of rain and wind although mostly not too cold other than 2 mornings with a bit of frost.
I noticed yesterday that the flowering cherry tree I planted in October has a few blooms, as does a rhododendron! Maybe they thought those cool mornings were winter and are now ready for spring?
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 18, 2019 6:46:49 GMT
The cherry trees in Paris often mistakenly bloom in December.
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Post by bjd on Jan 31, 2020 16:58:52 GMT
Since the weather was so nice today, I went to browse at the local nursery. I bought a lavatera "Barnsley" to plant. Had to look around for a place to put it when I got home.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 21, 2020 12:56:18 GMT
I was reading about peeing in flower pots. Apparently this can be good for them in moderation. I suppose it is easier for men than women.
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