Gardening: Hints and Help!
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Cutting any plant back(particularly Roses) creates growth-the saying ‘prune for life’ is true, the plant won’t grow instinctively it will grow reactively you take a bud off(prune) it will work to replace it. In Spring & Summer a plant is designed to reproduce(create flower for pollination). Its energy will be used for reproduction. In the Autumn+ energy will be for root growth.
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I have just taken the top six inch off our new beech hedging, hoping to encourage side branching. It’s doing great for its first year I think. I need to read up on correct time to cut as I think this is what makes it keep its crispy leaves through Winter......🤔
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We have a village neighbour with a really long beech hedge, on crisp cold & frosty mornings I can hear it vibrating in the breeze, it always reminds me of Christmas👍🏻😊
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Before the rain started today I collected some of my "lockdown" flowers grown from old seed packets. A couple of rose photos too for those who liked striped and mixed colours, Rosa Mundi is the pink striped one and Rosa Mutablis the mixed colour (my favourite.)
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Lovely brue😁 I love sweet peas, but I’m not very good at growing them. Do you find your Rosa Mundi is healthy? I steered clear because I heard it was a bit prone to one or two issues. Yours looks lovely though.
This is my latest Rose out. It’s called “Proper Job”, bred in Cornwall I think. It’s certainly where I bought it.
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The Rosa Mundi grew well on clay soil when we lived in Warwicks. Here it's not so good, lots of suckers that aren't true to type which means they may be grafting them now on stock that's not so good...OH got into trouble for cutting off the true shoots and leaving the suckers, I think we've sorted it now but it's not very strong. I still like it and am giving it a chance. 🌸
"Proper Job" look just the job!
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Brue beautiful flowers.
Sweetpeas were very special between my dad and I. I used to grow them and take a few every day to dad in hospital - he spent the last 3 summers of his life in hospital having various bits of his leg off 😢😢. To this day the smell and sight of them cause me very mixed emotions.
But I love them. Not grown any for years, we had a motorhome 😀. This year I've treated myself to a couple of bunches from our farm shop - they lasted well. Not often you see them for sale.
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B2, we just commented today on the fact that you don't see Sweetpeas in gardens like you used to, after spotting some growing beside a neighbour's door.
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Very true Nellie. You do see them in allotments round here, but rarely in gardens. I had a wild version for years, used to come back every year, but this year, not a trace. I might have done some over zealous weeding and not spotted it😱
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Our town show is cancelled this year. It used to be absolutely fabulous, three huge marquees full of plants, local competitions, crafts etc..... Nowadays it’s a shadow of its former glory, and much different in character. We are usually away now.
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Have to be patient with this tree. A couple of years ago we bought a half price Mulberry Tree in a local garden centre January sale. The tree was probably a few years old and is still taking it's time to grow. In fact we go "round and round the Mulberry Bush" frequently to see if any fruit have appeared, it can take eight years or more to fruit. Suddenly one single fruit has come into view, if it matures it will look like a big loganberry and should be very juicy! Maybe a few more next year?
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A long term project brue😁 I think I have only seen one fully grown Mulberry tree, it is just inside the gates to Tewkesbury Abbey. Huge, and it was dropping fruit onto visitors😂 Memorable though.
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You can always catch a Mulberry thief, they will be covered in deep red stains...as I found out to my embarrassment at Charlecote Park many years ago. I "availed" myself of a few mulberries and had to go through the exit gate with visible reminders all over me!
(Some very old trees in the park....LINK.)0 -
Anyone take cuttings from their plants. I've just altered the planting in my borders with many new plants ( cost a fortune ) so have been taking some cuttings of some Salvia's one really pretty one ' Hot Lips ' its worth a look . See what you think.
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Yes, we frequently take cuttings of various plants and shrubs in our garden. We are in the process of "re-vamping" our garden (blame the lockdown
) and will transfer some plants and take more cuttings from others, Salvia "hot lips" is not a plant we have but we are very drawn to it so I think it could be on the shopping list for next year unless of course I can scrounge a cutting or 2 
We are extending our veggie plot and decided to buy a couple of fan trained apple trees to use as a divider between the lawn and veggie plot, we ended up buying 3 apple trees, 2 as a dividers (eaters) and 1 planted along the fence (cooker), now we are thinking buying a pear to go alongside it! (ready trained trees - now they did cost a fortune ) Would be interested to know how your cuttings of "hot lips" take
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Salvia cuttings take really easily, we've got a lot growing here, even the lovely tall purple Amistad which can't take the cold in the winter, have a go, saves buying more of them! Little heal cuttings work well.
This year I'm sprinkling seeds around from several plants (a good dry year for seeds) so hopefully more foxgloves etc over the next two years.
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Yes, seeds😁. I am on with collecting aquilegia, lupin, delphinium at the moment, and the Welsh poppies are doing it for themselves😂 Will have some lovely hollyhock seeds later, the nearly black ones, and some pink. Always overrun by foxgloves, lychnis and violets. I have a nasturtium that I am hoping to get some seeds from as well.
OH has finished renovating our old wooden swing, it’s around 22 years old, but looks as good as new now. We have another comfy lounging swing as well, I quite often end up asleep on there! Newly sorted small pond area looking ok now as well....still full of tadpoles!
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Just had to show how the new rose “Bathsheba “ has taken off really love it.
thanks for recommending it .
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Not really gardening, but these flowers have appeared in our front garden, there are about 10 of them. Certainly not planted by ourselves!
We’re normally away at this time of the year, and assume they’ve flowered in previous summers.
Any idea what they are, and where they have appeared from? There are no others in neighbouring gardens or locality.
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Could they be the Common Orchid? Lucky you if they are!
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I think they are some sort of orchid, here’s another photo of a couple growing next to the drainpipe. Quite surreal!
🙂
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Thought I would include a photo of “Hot Lips “ salvia such a pretty plant .
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That’s great timing hostahousey. We saw this plant at our recent visit to Fountains Abbey and admired it there. A lady even asked me if I knew what it was called but I had never seen it before. It certainly is a striking, pretty plant.
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Nice bright plant!
We have baby froglets! Tiny little things, smaller than a thumb nail. Still lots of tadpoles as well.
The dreaded rat hasn’t been spotted for over two weeks now, so we have put up a feeder again, just with seed, no fat balls. I do feel very sorry for the rat, but it had to go. The garden has been so much quieter without the birds, but they are coming back now. Big flock of Goldfinches, Blue, Great and Coal Tits, Robins, Blackbirds, all are back. Starlings are rarer though, they are all hoovering up the crumbs and crusts back down at Retail Park now it’s back open.
I am waiting for Japanese anemones to burst into flower next. Love these, got a few different varieties. Bought an almost red one last week, just haven’t found a space for it yet........😁
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A few spare Chatenay carrot seedlings grown in a pot, not a bad crop and tasty too.🥕🥕🥕
Note the colour co-ordination..
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