[Help] Gardeners Question Time.

[A mex eyecan]

My front garden, the picture doesn’t convey the sound of the bees. Elated with the results, three years ago it was a Dandelions/Couch Grass ‘lawn’ with grannies shrubs that offered zilch to pollinators.

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no wonder you’re pleased, it looks fantastic.

Id love to do more with mine but it’s big area, circa 100’ x 20’ but the cost of planting that would mean me giving up retirement and getting another job

 

[Weststander]

no wonder you’re pleased, it looks fantastic.

Id love to do more with mine but it’s big area, circa 100’ x 20’ but the cost of planting that would mean me giving up retirement and getting another job

My back garden’s sizeable too. Still a work in progress 17 years on

 

[Cheshire Cat]

no wonder you’re pleased, it looks fantastic.

Id love to do more with mine but it’s big area, circa 100’ x 20’ but the cost of planting that would mean me giving up retirement and getting another job

A few packs of seeds?

 

[A mex eyecan]

A few packs of seeds?

I must admit that I did wonder about making a substantial area of it with wildflowers, but I’m told that the soil needs to be impoverished. Id also not know when to sow it, what types I could get to grow on the clay soil and how long the flowering season is. I love the looks of the ones I see with blue and red flowers in.

 

[Jack Straw]

Here's a few pictures of my friends' garden I look after.

 

[Weststander]

Here's a few pictures of my friends' garden I look after.
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Echinacea pallida, I love them. Previously hard to obtain outside the US, lately they’re widely available.

A beautiful garden.

 

[Weststander]

I must admit that I did wonder about making a substantial area of it with wildflowers, but I’m told that the soil needs to be impoverished. Id also not know when to sow it, what types I could get to grow on the clay soil and how long the flowering season is. I love the looks of the ones I see with blue and red flowers in.

Poor/subsoil is preferred where you want a meadow of strictly native perennials and grasses from seed.

But not for cornfield annuals.

I like this website, they have mixes for each soil type. If grasses end up dominating, also buy and sow Yellow Rattle.
https://wildseed.co.uk/mixtures/

 

[Nottseagull]

. However the front is entirely exposed and I've been wondering about some kind of fabric I could hang down from the front of the structure. This would only be necessary for winter.

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Bubble wrap? You can buy really wide sheets and it could hang folded over a horizontal rail, so double thickness.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Bubble wrap? You can buy really wide sheets and it could hang folded over a horizontal rail, so double thickness.

Problem is that it would look pretty unsightly.

 

[jevs]

So Saturday just gone (2nd) was the local village show in the sleepy village of East Hoathly, East Sussex. Unfortunately, it coincided with my dad's 80th birthday party so I had about an hour to present stuff in the show.

I wanted to mainly show dahlias and have been busy growing varieties suitable for exhibition since February. However the good ol British weather had other ideas and all the rain we had down here last Thursday and Friday ruined most blooms.

I managed to get 3 different classes....just.

One of the entries was for a photo of an insect on a flower. I put a photo of a lovely Holly Blue butterfly on a red flower...It got a first

Another was for the longest runner bean....I got a second

Another was for 4 tree grown fruits...not apples. I was not placed for that

I put in a pompon Dahlia (x5) and was unplaced

I put in a Ball dahlia (x3) and got a second

And lastly, I managed to scrape together 3 x giant decorative blooms (Shirwell Greta). This is the class that everyone wants to win due to the blooms being absolutely spectacular.........I got a first

Going to research how to improve for next year, without taking the fun out of it.

Off to RHS Wisley on Thursday for the national dahlia show

 

[Jack Straw]

Your'e not just a pretty face!

 

[LamieRobertson]

One of my favs for the time of year …in a customers garden yesterday

 

[Coldeanseagull]

I've had a result in the tropical collecting bit. I've been given a humungus clump of fascicularia, a large yucca rigida, lumps of phyllostachys nigra and another phyllostachys with isn't bissettii but it is green with thicker stems, plus bits. These were all from my nephew who is having his front garden flattened for car parking. Also, I've acquired persicaria purple fantasy plus bits and two types of agave....variegated americana and montana(maybe). Between the two types, I got 23 pups! I lost about 2 pints of blood and 2 stone in sweat moving them. The agave were from my sister, who didn't want to bleed anymore weeding around them!

 

[jevs]

Along the London road, bottom of South street by the traffic lights. there's an absolutely beautiful Paulownia growing out of the road!!! It's about 4 foot high and has huge leaves

 

[Jack Straw]

Along the London road, bottom of South street by the traffic lights. there's an absolutely beautiful Paulownia growing out of the road!!! It's about 4 foot high and has huge leaves

I saw that yesterday! If you tried to grow one in your garden, you'd probably not be as successful!!

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

I picked more runner beans in a week than I did all season last year.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

I've had a result in the tropical collecting bit. I've been given a humungus clump of fascicularia, a large yucca rigida, lumps of phyllostachys nigra and another phyllostachys with isn't bissettii but it is green with thicker stems, plus bits. These were all from my nephew who is having his front garden flattened for car parking. Also, I've acquired persicaria purple fantasy plus bits and two types of agave....variegated americana and montana(maybe). Between the two types, I got 23 pups! I lost about 2 pints of blood and 2 stone in sweat moving them. The agave were from my sister, who didn't want to bleed anymore weeding around them!

That is some haul nice!

However sorry to be the harbinger of bad news, but the Phyllostachys is almost a pointless exercise. Mine put out it's thickest culms this year, only around an inch or so diameter but nonetheless I was pleased. Then to my horror I noticed some of the older culms had branches that had flowers. Really gutted, and I suspect you know that your plants will cling on a few years and then eventually give up the ghost. Perhaps you'll get some viable seed and then a decent new plant or two of your own though. I am curious as to whether any juveniles will be black as the nigra variety is a sport.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

I've grown sweet potatoes for the first time the plants look ok but remain tiny, very much doubt they'll give me any thing, what have I done wrong?

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

I've grown sweet potatoes for the first time the plants look ok but remain tiny, very much doubt they'll give me any thing, what have I done wrong?

I've grown them myself as an annual climber, interesting but not the most beautiful plant. I suspect they need a hotter climate than the UK can provide?

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

I've grown them myself as an annual climber, interesting but not the most beautiful plant. I suspect they need a hotter climate than the UK can provide?

Mine look healthy but that's it, remain tiny.