[TV] Gardeners' World This Evening, BBC 2. Different to Usual.

[knocky1]

Blimey, we've just dug up Casablanca and Int' Kidney, both first earlies.
Have picked all our black, red and white currants now in freezer.

Bottled black currants and red gooseberries this weekend. Heading off in camper to Bulgaria in September and always take a jar of each on our trips to enjoy.

Bad year from my new strawberry bed. Worst in 20 years. Had loads of green leaf but few flowers. Too rich soil? ...or just a bad year.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

View attachment 113176

Up to 30 types fruit and veg grown amongst that.

That is just showing off. [emoji1785][emoji528][emoji519][emoji520][emoji1649][emoji3049][emoji1646][emoji523][emoji526][emoji534][emoji535][emoji1647][emoji270][emoji1645][emoji527][emoji892][emoji1650][emoji530][emoji527]

 

[knocky1]

That is just showing off. [emoji1785][emoji528][emoji519][emoji520][emoji1649][emoji3049][emoji1646][emoji523][emoji526][emoji534][emoji535][emoji1647][emoji270][emoji1645][emoji527][emoji892][emoji1650][emoji530][emoji527]

This year; asparagus, kale, chard, collards, broad beans, borlotti, runners, peas, beetroot, 3 types potatoes, sweet corn, courgettes, cucumber, tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, black currants, gooseberries, apples, cherries, radish, uchiki kuri squash, mustard leaves, Only 23 will have to make up the 30 with basil, marjoram, sage, coriander, parsley, dill and chicory. Plus the blackberries along the paths.

 

[AmexRuislip]

This year; asparagus, kale, chard, collards, broad beans, borlotti, runners, peas, beetroot, 3 types potatoes, sweet corn, courgettes, cucumber, tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, black currants, gooseberries, apples, cherries, radish, uchiki kuri squash, mustard leaves, Only 23 will have to make up the 30 with basil, marjoram, sage, coriander, parsley, dill and chicory. Plus the blackberries along the paths.

We're growing soya beans and lemon grass this year

 

[Coldeanseagull]

I've got potatoes and tomato seedlings growing in my compost.....to get them growing in the correct place is just too much work

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Having just about given up on our Victoria plum tree (smallish plums, singes of blight) it turns out we have a bumper crop and have knocked out a mass of jam already. The blight fear was unfounded. 280 odd asparagus...now the new stinky herbs are keeping the mozzies away. All is good in the garden of evil.

However....catnip. Our cat has taken to rolling in it and dribbling on the patio. Then he slinks off to eat ants. Yes, ants. Is this the cat equivalent of lagers followed by kebab?







(You can interpret 'kebab' any way you like. Our cat certainly seems to do so. The dirty bastrad.)

 

[Wardy's twin]

Yes and it's great seeing the bees all over them. Dr Zeus. They self seeded from this one two years ago. We then missed the sequence for the triennials so none last year and this year. The ones in picture above will be flowering next year, if they survive the winter.
View attachment 113182

Jack your dinners ready

 

[Weststander]

Just Hashish and Opium Poppies.

 

[Coldeanseagull]

Just Hashish and Opium Poppies.

I don't grow hemp, but papaver somniferum self seeds freely here

 

[Weststander]

I don't grow hemp, but papaver somniferum self seeds freely here

We have a few too. An attractive poppy.

 

[KingKev]

We're growing soya beans and lemon grass this year

Lemongrass, really? Never thought of that as something to try in U.K. interesting...
Grew tomatillos last year which did pretty well - covers a lot of ground mind’...

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

That is an absolute stonker! The two I had in my garden blew over in the last high winds, so I'm hoping that there might be some seeds still lying doggo in the soil. However, there are loads about three feet high getting ready for next year.
When I worked for the Council, the Weald allotments were considered the "flag-ship" allotment site. Mr. Cooper used to rave how well run and how well maintained they were.

I have similar. Displayed in Faversham Open Gardens this year

I also have a Golden Rain tree and some good seedlings in pots. Lovely tree.

 

[AmexRuislip]

Lemongrass, really? Never thought of that as something to try in U.K. interesting...
Grew tomatillos last year which did pretty well - covers a lot of ground mind’...

Lemongrass being grown in polytunnel

 

[Jack Straw]

A section of the butterfly and bee border I've made this year in my friend's garden, which was until March, a lawn.
Features Artichokes, Grasses, Asters, Salvias, Nepeta, Sedum, Rudbeckia, Persicaria, Echinacea, Phlox, Kniphofias, Heleniums, Perovskia and Phlomis.
Whilst working there on a different part of the garden to day, I was still able to keep half an eye on the above-mentioned area. Butterflies included Large Whites, Small Whites, a Red Admiral and more Gatekeepers than I've ever seen in one small area. Also lots of different bees, and flying ants!

 

[AmexRuislip]

A section of the butterfly and bee border I've made this year in my friend's garden, which was until March, a lawn.
Features Artichokes, Grasses, Asters, Salvias, Nepeta, Sedum, Rudbeckia, Persicaria, Echinacea, Phlox, Kniphofias, Heleniums, Perovskia and Phlomis.
Whilst working there on a different part of the garden to day, I was still able to keep half an eye on the above-mentioned area. Butterflies included Large Whites, Small Whites, a Red Admiral and more Gatekeepers than I've ever seen in one small area. Also lots of different bees, and flying ants!

Stunning.

 

[jevs]

A section of the butterfly and bee border I've made this year in my friend's garden, which was until March, a lawn.
Features Artichokes, Grasses, Asters, Salvias, Nepeta, Sedum, Rudbeckia, Persicaria, Echinacea, Phlox, Kniphofias, Heleniums, Perovskia and Phlomis.
Whilst working there on a different part of the garden to day, I was still able to keep half an eye on the above-mentioned area. Butterflies included Large Whites, Small Whites, a Red Admiral and more Gatekeepers than I've ever seen in one small area. Also lots of different bees, and flying ants!

That looks nice Jack.

 

[Coldeanseagull]

Guess what I've seen? As rare as rocking horse droppings they are, haven't seen one since maybe 2003.
A fleeting glance as, with wind assistance, it fluttered into my gazebo then out and gone

A purple emperor!

 

[Weststander]

A section of the butterfly and bee border I've made this year in my friend's garden, which was until March, a lawn.
Features Artichokes, Grasses, Asters, Salvias, Nepeta, Sedum, Rudbeckia, Persicaria, Echinacea, Phlox, Kniphofias, Heleniums, Perovskia and Phlomis.
Whilst working there on a different part of the garden to day, I was still able to keep half an eye on the above-mentioned area. Butterflies included Large Whites, Small Whites, a Red Admiral and more Gatekeepers than I've ever seen in one small area. Also lots of different bees, and flying ants!

Was that another project, to the one you showed us earlier this year?

I planted Echinacea Purpurea and Rudbeckia Goldsturm for the first time a few months back. The former have now flowered (stunning), with the Rudbeckia any day now.

Jack, with your professional knowledge, you know instinctively the correct plant spacings. As a layman I follow the RHS or sellers guide, but this often leads to too far apart or sometimes too boxed together. Any general tips on a perennials border, please?

 

[knocky1]

A section of the butterfly and bee border I've made this year in my friend's garden, which was until March, a lawn.
Features Artichokes, Grasses, Asters, Salvias, Nepeta, Sedum, Rudbeckia, Persicaria, Echinacea, Phlox, Kniphofias, Heleniums, Perovskia and Phlomis.
Whilst working there on a different part of the garden to day, I was still able to keep half an eye on the above-mentioned area. Butterflies included Large Whites, Small Whites, a Red Admiral and more Gatekeepers than I've ever seen in one small area. Also lots of different bees, and flying ants!

****** wonderful.

 

[Jack Straw]

Was that another project, to the one you showed us earlier this year?

I planted Echinacea Purpurea and Rudbeckia Goldsturm for the first time a few months back. The former have now flowered (stunning), with the Rudbeckia any day now.

Jack, with your professional knowledge, you know instinctively the correct plant spacings. As a layman I follow the RHS or sellers guide, but this often leads to too far apart or sometimes too boxed together. Any general tips on a perennials border, please?

Indeed it is. It's very difficult to get the spacing of a lot perennials right first time. My planting distances for most of the list of perennials I posted above was about 9 to 12 inches. It's best to plant too close than too far away, and then thin or transplant some if necessary, which is what I will be doing next spring. The beauty of perennials is that after you've seen how they've performed in the summer, you can move them about the following spring to get the spacing exactly right. If you space your plants too far away, they will never meet up. It is a dark art!