3: Gardening Diaries ...

[Logan]

I had oriental poppies, they were nice when they were in flower and people commented on it. But it was after they finished, they used to fall all over the place.

 

[BigC]

Bought from Homebase last yar £10.43

Well its better than mine thats for sure miles better......Leave my Strawberry hanging baskets alone ...Ever had a Strawberry Daiquiri without strawberries lol

 

[alp]

I had oriental poppies, they were nice when they were in flower and people commented on it. But it was after they finished, they used to fall all over the place.

And they left me with tons of materials to compost!

 

[Perki]

You can trim back Oriental poppys right after they flower, you get a nice neat clump and sometimes another flush of flowers.

My globemaster alliums last year ( bought very large bulbs ) were hugely impressive 7-8 inch across, I bought some more from lidl this time they are probably half the size of my original 3, the big Allium GM have split I think this year, can see two flower bud coming from one plant. Purple sensation has a nice strong zingy colour, idon't think they flower as long as other alliums though. I bought my mum called pinball wizard last year, looking forward to see what they look like.

What up with your wisteria @BigC ? Bowling green grass is very expensive, even the seed which consist of probably mostly bents and fescue grass. If I was you look into fescue mixed with a dwarf perennial grass seed, tolerates close mowing but hard wearing as well. I been over seeding my lawn recently with some and sometimes another mix which consists of 3 or 4 types of fescue with 5% bents. You might already know this but Wimbledon tennis lawn are 100% dwarf perennial grass, think its mowed at 8mm just before the tournament starts.

Been planting lots of plants over the weekend, got my meconopsis in today, chopped a bit off a helianthus lemon queen to plant with a buddleia black night, lots of watering and potting on a few other plants, pruned the grapevine

It been a lovely sunny day again, forecast to be dry all week. Might have a grass frost on Wednesday.

 

[alp]

just finished watching Catch My Killer!

You know, I still have a lot of oriental poppies left. That patch had one opened already, but I needed somewhere to put my salvia and snowdrops, so I chose that spot. I'm waiting to see my Mrs Percy and frilly oriental poppies flower. I have a very big purple sensation, nearly twice the size of the normal. No other alliums beat the striking colour of Purple Sensation. My giant alliums are all in pots as I have been thinking of moving, so they are all a bit anaemic and on the small side.

@Mark56 My wisteria has not flowered yet, but they have buds, so I can't wait. I raised quite a few from seeds, so I know they can be quite hardy, must admit I have lost quite a few as well through carelessness. The Hong Kong seller is no more on fleabay. Liked his seeds, 7 out of 10 germinated. Today, I removed all the rot bits from the fritillaria imperalis and laid them on their side with a lot of sand, perlite and broken terracotta pot bits. Will retire them into the garage.

For those US contingent who have problems with animals eating their plants, it might be a good idea to put tons of fritillaria imperalis around. The man flogging them on QVC said that no animals would like to go near them because of the skunky smell. Quite right, they smelt awful when I stripped them. Thank heavens that I had a look as they had been very wet and some outer bits had been rotten. On the plus side, I saw quite a few babies ie. free plants for next year!

 

[Logan]

Morning all

 

[alp]

Good morning to a fiercely bright day. Woke up very late. Must be the 3 hours of solid work in the garden. Just made my first cup of tea.

Going to mow the lawn again at 7.30 and I can see a strong breeze. Thank heavens for that. it is possible to work out there and the mossies might leave me alone a bit because of the lower temperature. I must say I have now quite a few itchy spot all over me. I bought tons of iris rhyzomes from J Parkers and Thompson and Morgan and guess what I have now - Indian Chief

2 blues and 1 Cee Jay. Perhaps the rhizomes were so shrivelled and poor in quality that they are still struggling to establish themselves.

2 of these

One of these

I know I have a yellow but the SS has severed its budding stem. I just hope it's because of the lack of warmth causing the dearth of iris blooms.

 

[BigC]

Good Morning to all you trowel wielding earth diggers...

dwarf perennial grass seed

Thanks for that @Perki...as I say the lawn or grass is a very much overlooked plant and I would like to work at this aspect of the garden a little more as I believe that it is this that really shows off a garden...without it a garden would be a pretty stark affair....Its a compromise I know between a standard mix and really good short sward....and I will take on board all that you say...I was kind of looking at a Dwarf Ryegrass / Turf Ryegrass (Lolium perenne)( Dwarf ryegrass is a specifically bred strain of perennial ryegrass, selected for its shorter growth habit and its ability to produce more tillers and subsequently a thicker sward than standard ryegrasses. Dwarf ryegrass is primarily used in lawn and amenity mixtures where short growing species are preferable ) one of the new shorter varieties that is both shorter, strong rooting and can be mown down to low levels...Interesting Wimbledon facts there...and although I wont be pushing the amount of time and care that far, I dont think my back garden soil will ever be as good enough soil quality to invite Roger Federer or Serena Williams around for Strawberries and Cream and a bit of a knock about Thanks again for your concise info. As for the Wisteria, it was an ebay purchase and I originally wanted it to grow over the pergola around the pond which is where I kept it last year, its semi shaded so it didnt do much or grew much either...I have moved it into full sun well as much as we get over here hahaha and it seems to have perked up a little so we'll see what comes about...I may re-pot it and give it some ferts.

Well it looks like it's shaping up to be another great day maybe a little cooler but its sunny...must remember to open the Hot House window before I go to work..Good news I got my money back from Paypal for the bogus tractor seat stool sale on the Bay of Fleas and I have subsequently used this to purchase another from a more reputable dealer of whom I've had prior reassuring correspondence...so all's good this morning, I hope you all have a great day outdoors..Regards C

 

[Logan]

@alp your irises are lovely, the others will take time to get going.

@BigC glad that you got your money back.

Going to do more weeding, hubby's going to the recycling dump tomorrow, so better try and do a lot more.

Slowly washing all the boys bending blankets.

 

[Logan]

Here's some Azaleas

The same close up

 

[Logan]

Sorry I pressed the wrong thing by mistake

Aquilegia

First hardy geranium

 

[alp]

Logan: you've tons of berries/currants. You could almost market them. Now I know where you live. You'd better delete that photo. LOL!

Lovely and prolific blooms! I couldn't believe my eyes seeing the mini fruits!

Very excited to see a flower growing on the narrow strip and because of my eye sight, I needed to go and film close to see what it is.

Ta-ra

And look at the label Edith Worford! Either from Wilko or Summerhill ... I have not made a mistake as the next one is supposed to be Pass the wine! I can see the grapes, so very little chance of having wine!!

 

[Logan]

Logan: you've tons of berries/currants. You could almost market them. Now I know where you live. You'd better delete that photo. LOL!

Lovely and prolific blooms! I couldn't believe my eyes seeing the mini fruits!

Very excited to see a flower growing on the narrow strip and because of my eye sight, I needed to go and film close to see what it is.

Ta-ra
View attachment 37132

And look at the label Edith Worford! Either from Wilko or Summerhill ... I have not made a mistake as the next one is supposed to be Pass the wine! I can see the grapes, so very little chance of having wine!!

Thanks, I don't know I can't delete the pic, lovely flowers Alp.

 

[alp]

Planted out some salvias. A bit worried as that border is constantly being baked. I left them in pots and sank them pots inside the border. A bit jittery.

Logan: Next time don't take the name of the Close unless you want us to visit!

A very sunny day, but the breeze makes it very pleasant to potter around in the garden. Potted 3 salvia and tidied up the garage.

 

[Logan]

Planted out some salvias. A bit worried as that border is constantly being baked. I left them in pots and sank them pots inside the border. A bit jittery.

Logan: Next time don't take the name of the Close unless you want us to visit!

A very sunny day, but the breeze makes it very pleasant to potter around in the garden. Potted 3 salvia and tidied up the garage.

The salvias will be alright as long as you keep watering them.

I forgot about the sign.

It's very hot here, didn't do much this afternoon. Did some weeding this morning I planted a blackberry plant, that's all. Hubbys working all day so got 2 extra walks to do.
Nice and quiet, don't have to listen to him snoring in the chair.