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Post by bigjohnritchie on Nov 22, 2021 21:08:27 GMT
Now that the winter is "here" I've decided this year to allow everything to die naturally and not be tempted to "tidy" until next March at the earliest. I've decided to see what effect it may have on the wildlife and I assume it will benefit them along with winter feed for the birds. How do you guys deal with winter ? I'm probably doing the opposite Franklin. A couple of years ago we decided to create more of a cottage garden effect ....planted plants / seeds of both Cottage garden and wild garden type... thinking they are roughly similar the same....they are not.....so the garden is s bit out of hand, need to get on top of it again. Some things need replacing. We've got quite a bit of box hedge, but that seems diseased so I might get rid of it. And some trellis needs replacing, I'm going going to put a shed up and at least start a small stream.....so I'd like to do this before Spring.....so that I could ' sit in the garden' more than I normally do. I don't know what to do about the small veg plot, I believe in the ' no dig ' method but actually like turning it over
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Post by chuffedstokie on Nov 23, 2021 8:50:25 GMT
Had the first proper frosts here in this bit of Wales so I'm just watching everything in the pots and tubs retreat naturally. I'm still trying to work out how Buddleia has managed to find its way into some of them 🤔 very invasive. Spring bulbs planted oak trees doing well. Quite looking forward to my first proper Spring in Aberdyfi.
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Post by franklin on Mar 4, 2022 15:16:35 GMT
Survived over winter Red lime. Lemon.
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Post by deeside2 on Mar 4, 2022 17:10:22 GMT
Survived over winter Red lime. Lemon. They look good mate ! Where have you kept them ? We got a conservatory and I've been wondering about getting a lemon tree in a pot but didn't want to risk it being too cold.
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Post by franklin on Mar 4, 2022 17:20:27 GMT
Survived over winter Red lime. Lemon. They look good mate ! Where have you kept them ? We got a conservatory and I've been wondering about getting a lemon tree in a pot but didn't want to risk it being too cold. In the garage mate I got a small plant light which I kept on all day until I go bed. I watered once a month fed them once since I took them inside from the garden in September/ October time when the night temp got below 10° on a regular basis.
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Post by deeside2 on Mar 4, 2022 17:26:30 GMT
They look good mate ! Where have you kept them ? We got a conservatory and I've been wondering about getting a lemon tree in a pot but didn't want to risk it being too cold. In the garage mate I got a small plant light which I kept on all day until I go bed. I watered once a month fed them once since I took them inside from the garden in September/ October time when the night temp got below 10° on a regular basis. Thanks I might give one a try. Are they in any special compost or just general multi-purpose ? Just a point about compost, I've not been very impressed with the new peat free stuff I bought last year. It takes ages to get wet, and it wasn't very good actually growing plants in.
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Post by franklin on Mar 4, 2022 17:42:50 GMT
In the garage mate I got a small plant light which I kept on all day until I go bed. I watered once a month fed them once since I took them inside from the garden in September/ October time when the night temp got below 10° on a regular basis. Thanks I might give one a try. Are they in any special compost or just general multi-purpose ? Just a point about compost, I've not been very impressed with the new peat free stuff I bought last year. It takes ages to get wet, and it wasn't very good actually growing plants in. I bought a specific citrus ericaceous compost and an off the shelf citrus feed from the garden centre. One tip I'd give you is don't pot them up into a massive pot keep the pot just a few ltrs bigger than what it already potted in. Another point is in summer they do shoot up!! My lemon added 3feet easy last summer so be aware they are trees 😆 other than sun they are pretty bulletproof although they do drop leaves and fruit unfortunately very easily and set fruit can take months to ripen upto 10months for lemons. I hand pollinated the flowers with a cotton bud just to make sure as the insects weren't doing the work for me. As for regular compost I use the same cheap compost 3 bags for £10 I've tried the peatfree and it's not great some I had was like fluff/ fibres it was rubbish.
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Post by franklin on Mar 4, 2022 18:05:36 GMT
This is my light its only small 20inches or so long 4 colour indoor plant light £25 or so but with a conservatory the natural light will be fine.
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Post by deeside2 on Mar 4, 2022 19:09:02 GMT
This is my light its only small 20inches or so long 4 colour indoor plant light £25 or so but with a conservatory the natural light will be fine. Thanks for all your advice mate. I'm seriously thinking about getting a lemon tree. The info about pot size is really good to know.
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Post by questionable on Apr 10, 2022 15:42:30 GMT
Just purchased a fig tree as according to a well known gardening magazine they look amazing when in pots on the patio, any tips please??
In fact just ordered another one on line, again for ornamental purposes
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Post by deeside2 on Apr 10, 2022 16:05:16 GMT
Just purchased a fig tree as according to a well known gardening magazine they look amazing when in pots in the patio, any tips please?? What type did you get - Brown Turkey ? I think this is best for the U.K. Definitely keep it in a pot, but I think you may well need to replant into a bigger pot in about 3 years time. They grow best against a south facing wall in full sun, and like well drained soil, or add some John Innes Number 3 compost if the soil is too heavy. They may need some frost protection in winter. Edit - just found this info from Jackson's at Bagnall. www.jacksonsnurseries.co.uk/grow-your-own-fig-tree.html
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Post by questionable on Apr 10, 2022 16:39:08 GMT
Just purchased a fig tree as according to a well known gardening magazine they look amazing when in pots in the patio, any tips please?? What type did you get - Brown Turkey ? I think this is best for the U.K. Definitely keep it in a pot, but I think you may well need to replant into a bigger pot in about 3 years time. They grow best against a south facing wall in full sun, and like well drained soil, or add some John Innes Number 3 compost if the soil is too heavy. They may need some frost protection in winter. Edit - just found this info from Jackson's at Bagnall. www.jacksonsnurseries.co.uk/grow-your-own-fig-tree.htmlYes just ordered a brown turkey and the one I’ve just put out is a Dalmatie and yes the bloke at the garden place suggested I use the John Innes no 3 👍👍
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Post by franklin on Apr 10, 2022 17:01:21 GMT
Great to see this thread becoming "active" again, my magnolia is in full bloom my Cherry and crab apple are starting to bloom, my daffs are amazing and my tulips are coming along great. Happy days are back again 🌷🌻🌱🪴
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Post by questionable on Apr 10, 2022 17:33:13 GMT
Great to see this thread becoming "active" again, my magnolia is in full bloom my Cherry and crab apple are starting to bloom, my daffs are amazing and my tulips are coming along great. Happy days are back again 🌷🌻🌱🪴 I’m on my second week of annual leave and it’s costing me a fortune so far in plants etc, £400 already easily on plants. We’ve had a 12 x 6 mt patio put in with a 5x5 pergola must admit it looks superb and IMO it’s a one off cost for plants/shrubs as if you do it right it’s a life time benefit. We spent on good quality daffodils and tulips multiple varieties of both and they look stunning and plenty of ppl stop and admire them, IMO I don’t smoke/drink so I enjoy spending on my garden.
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Post by deeside2 on Apr 10, 2022 17:46:59 GMT
Our 3 camellias have been flowering for about 4 or 5 weeks now abd have been absolutely covered in flowers. Our magnolias about the same length of time, but the white stellata has been fantastic this year. Our crab apple, apple trees, and flowering cherry trees are all packed with buds about to burst into flower. Judging by the number of flowers we should hopefully get a bumper crop of apples this year - we've got a couple of James Grieve trees. The tulips and daffs have been terrific as well.
We splashed out on some David Austin roses, 3 bush and 1 climber, they all were bare root and arrived a few weeks ago. They're all looking really happy in their new homes with lots of new growth already.
I planted my parsnips out yesterday, I'd started them in toilet rolls a few weeks ago in the greenhouse and they've romped away. The carrots seeds are in, as are the beetroot, pak choi, little gem lettuce, lolla rosso lettuce, mixed leaves lettuce, and I've transplanted a row of peas out of a length of guttering that I started in the greenhouse into a raised bed today. I've still got some french beans, courgettes, sweet peppers, aubergines, and tomatoes growing away in the greenhouse, together with loads of flower seeds.
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Post by questionable on Apr 10, 2022 18:44:05 GMT
Our 3 camellias have been flowering for about 4 or 5 weeks now abd have been absolutely covered in flowers. Our magnolias about the same length of time, but the white stellata has been fantastic this year. Our crab apple, apple trees, and flowering cherry trees are all packed with buds about to burst into flower. Judging by the number of flowers we should hopefully get a bumper crop of apples this year - we've got a couple of James Grieve trees. The tulips and daffs have been terrific as well. We splashed out on some David Austin roses, 3 bush and 1 climber, they all were bare root and arrived a few weeks ago. They're all looking really happy in their new homes with lots of new growth already. I planted my parsnips out yesterday, I'd started them in toilet rolls a few weeks ago in the greenhouse and they've romped away. The carrots seeds are in, as are the beetroot, pak choi, little gem lettuce, lolla rosso lettuce, mixed leaves lettuce, and I've transplanted a row of peas out of a length of guttering that I started in the greenhouse into a raised bed today. I've still got some french beans, courgettes, sweet peppers, aubergines, and tomatoes growing away in the greenhouse, together with loads of flower seeds. We’ve purchased 3 camellias and a magnolia all quite small but they’re part of a long term plan I have for the garden, we’ve got loads of agapanthus that’ll soon be sprouting up, also having a dabble at growing my own seeds and just purchased some cosmos seeds to start off with, really looking forward to seeing what I can achieve
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Post by franklin on Apr 10, 2022 19:12:31 GMT
Great to see this thread becoming "active" again, my magnolia is in full bloom my Cherry and crab apple are starting to bloom, my daffs are amazing and my tulips are coming along great. Happy days are back again 🌷🌻🌱🪴 I’m on my second week of annual leave and it’s costing me a fortune so far in plants etc, £400 already easily on plants. We’ve had a 12 x 6 mt patio put in with a 5x5 pergola must admit it looks superb and IMO it’s a one off cost for plants/shrubs as if you do it right it’s a life time benefit. We spent on good quality daffodils and tulips multiple varieties of both and they look stunning and plenty of ppl stop and admire them, IMO I don’t smoke/drink so I enjoy spending on my garden. I think once you are established the cost drops off dramatically. I've spent about £30 for this year although I do have some pots due to be sorted but cheap bedding plants and wild flower seeds ( which I've already got) won't cost a lot I'm hoping for £50max this year.
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Post by franklin on Apr 10, 2022 19:14:49 GMT
Our 3 camellias have been flowering for about 4 or 5 weeks now abd have been absolutely covered in flowers. Our magnolias about the same length of time, but the white stellata has been fantastic this year. Our crab apple, apple trees, and flowering cherry trees are all packed with buds about to burst into flower. Judging by the number of flowers we should hopefully get a bumper crop of apples this year - we've got a couple of James Grieve trees. The tulips and daffs have been terrific as well. We splashed out on some David Austin roses, 3 bush and 1 climber, they all were bare root and arrived a few weeks ago. They're all looking really happy in their new homes with lots of new growth already. I planted my parsnips out yesterday, I'd started them in toilet rolls a few weeks ago in the greenhouse and they've romped away. The carrots seeds are in, as are the beetroot, pak choi, little gem lettuce, lolla rosso lettuce, mixed leaves lettuce, and I've transplanted a row of peas out of a length of guttering that I started in the greenhouse into a raised bed today. I've still got some french beans, courgettes, sweet peppers, aubergines, and tomatoes growing away in the greenhouse, together with loads of flower seeds. My camellia is still in bud nothing much happening with it so far. My Stellata is stunning full of white flowers. My crab apple last year was full to bursting with fruit here's a tip last year me and the missus made crab apple and raspberry syrup brilliant in "fiz" or a G&T 😋
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Post by questionable on Apr 11, 2022 8:16:57 GMT
Just ordered a mature wisteria and will be popping up to Bridgemere later to get a large pot we’ve seen to put it in, I was thinking about placing it directly into the ground but there’s no option soil wise where I want it.
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Post by franklin on Apr 11, 2022 8:44:29 GMT
Just ordered a mature wisteria and will be popping up to Bridgemere later to get a large pot we’ve seen to put it in, I was thinking about placing it directly into the ground but there’s no option soil wise where I want it. They have a 50% off on lots of pots at the moment 👍
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Post by deeside2 on Apr 11, 2022 9:11:21 GMT
Just ordered a mature wisteria and will be popping up to Bridgemere later to get a large pot we’ve seen to put it in, I was thinking about placing it directly into the ground but there’s no option soil wise where I want it. Sounds lovely ! Hope you post some photos when it's all finished !
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Post by franklin on Apr 14, 2022 19:41:16 GMT
I've potted up a chunk of fresh ginger I bought from the greengrocer at Bridgemere I'll let you know how it goes.
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Post by questionable on Apr 14, 2022 20:21:35 GMT
Email received today informing me that the fig tree I ordered has been delayed so the company have given me a £10 credit code, seen a red Chinese birch tree on their site which looks stunning so ordering that now as I’ve already paid a £6 delivery and can order multiple items on the same delivery charge.
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Post by deeside2 on Apr 14, 2022 21:42:58 GMT
Three weeks ago I planted a plum stone, after I'd eaten the fruit off it. I put it into a small propagator out of direct sunlight. Today I checked it and it's grown to around 4 inches tall with a couple of leaves and looks quite healthy. It should be interesting to watch it develop and hopefully get some fruit. Trouble is it's from a plum bought in a supermarket so I don't kmow if the tree is self-fertile or if it needs another tree close by for cross pollination.
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Post by franklin on Apr 14, 2022 22:00:51 GMT
Three weeks ago I planted a plum stone, after I'd eaten the fruit off it. I put it into a small propagator out of direct sunlight. Today I checked it and it's grown to around 4 inches tall with a couple of leaves and looks quite healthy. It should be interesting to watch it develop and hopefully get some fruit. Trouble is it's from a plum bought in a supermarket so I don't kmow if the tree is self-fertile or if it needs another tree close by for cross pollination. You might be lucky but it'll take a few years to find out 🙂
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Post by deeside2 on Apr 15, 2022 5:35:59 GMT
Three weeks ago I planted a plum stone, after I'd eaten the fruit off it. I put it into a small propagator out of direct sunlight. Today I checked it and it's grown to around 4 inches tall with a couple of leaves and looks quite healthy. It should be interesting to watch it develop and hopefully get some fruit. Trouble is it's from a plum bought in a supermarket so I don't kmow if the tree is self-fertile or if it needs another tree close by for cross pollination. You might be lucky but it'll take a few years to find out 🙂 Yes, definitely one for the future. Tbh I just planted it to see if it would actually grow, I hadn't thought what I would do with it if it did.
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Post by innocentbystander on Apr 15, 2022 10:24:17 GMT
Great to see this thread becoming "active" again, my magnolia is in full bloom my Cherry and crab apple are starting to bloom, my daffs are amazing and my tulips are coming along great. Happy days are back again 🌷🌻🌱🪴 Peahens from next door pecked all the buds off my tulips. Can anyone advise on the most discrete bore of shotgun to use on their tiny,empty heads? Elsewhere: seeds in Wilkos are a fraction of the price anywhere else. I raise a few dozen delphiniums every year to keep pace with the slugs. Hollyhocks and nasturtiums are dead easy too, so work out very cheap. I've built an Everest-like compost heap over many years. The stuff I dig out of the base is superb.
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Post by franklin on Apr 21, 2022 20:29:15 GMT
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Post by franklin on Apr 21, 2022 20:43:17 GMT
OK so my Red Lime and Lemon marmalade has been done, we were going to make syrup but we changed to marmalade to try it. We have about 2ltrs 😁
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Post by deeside2 on Apr 25, 2022 8:22:51 GMT
Some of our bluebells which are colonising a shady corner and spreading quickly. ibb.co/6JBQVrpOne of our camellias which is coming to the end of it's flowering period now. It's been brilliant since early March. ibb.co/CQyD0TsOur crab apple "Evereste" which is settling in nicely ibb.co/bNQx21CFlowering cherry tree which has been covered profusely with blossom for what seems like ages this year ibb.co/Xz33cgZOur fruiting cherry "Stella" which we're growing in a large pot. Covered in blossom after I gave it a rather drastic prune last autumn. We'll see how many cherries we actually get this year. ibb.co/YXvVj7mThis is an azalea that my dear departed old dad potted up about 12 years ago and I've managed to keep it going ever since. ibb.co/yFdL6dkAnd finally, the greenhouse is getting full with seedlings soon to be needing potting on. ibb.co/C83nvXG
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