Our gardening diaries - from latest toys, flowers to wildlife .. Please upload pics

[BigC]

How about ajuga BigC for your creeping evergreen? I like arabis ferdinandi coburgii, a variegated evergreen spreader too

I'm liking the second one of the two....verigated to add a splice of colour

 

[alp]

Today has been very good for gardening, cool and not too hot. Still trying to clear the kitchen ...

Repotted about 30 hibiscus. On reflection, I feel very stupid. When a Barbados woman said her hibiscus changed colour 3 times in a day, I thought it was phenomenal and rushed to buy seeds. They germinated very well and now I have tons of seedlings. Went out to the garden and saw the double hibiscus which displayed pink and purple colours in the same plant .. I felt very stupid and this stupidity is incurable!

 

[BigC]

Hibiscus..in my aunts garden in Brisbane (Qld.) Australia...Your so lucky @alp being able to grow these I dont think they would even germinate over here

 

[alp]

That's so beautiful. I love hibiscus - low maintenance and yet it is so robust and reliable and the singles are so pretty. I saw a yellow one asking for under £5. Then I went round all the other Homebase and couldn't find it.

Does your aunt have an avocado tree or mango tree? My ex sister said they had avocados, but the trouble is all the fruits ripen at the same time.

 

[BigC]

Does your aunt have an avocado tree or mango tree? My ex sister said they had avocados, but the trouble is all the fruits ripen at the same time.

mango and small oranges...

 

[alp]

Wouldn't say I am envious. I don't like the heat. Just love living in Essex, plus a bit more rain. Too much rain in Ireland, but the greenery must be very green. Going to Hyde Hall was very enjoyable as the rain cleansed the air and the scenery was just so clear and clean.

 

[BigC]

Wouldn't say I am envious. I don't like the heat. Just love living in Essex, plus a bit more rain. Too much rain in Ireland, but the greenery must be very green. Going to Hyde Hall was very enjoyable as the rain cleansed the air and the scenery was just so clear and clean.

Yeah you really need to be well versed in BOG Planting over here hahahaha...but when I find something that grows then it usually does pretty well....a lot of trial and error but Hibiscus is probably a step too far....I'm having trouble with my Bottle Brush..its alive but wont flower????

 

[alp]

Might be a good idea to find out which spot in your garden has the longest and strongest sunshine and choose a spot near wall, or concrete ground so that they can release absorbed heat at night. Feed with tomorite or put some banana skin in the pot, so I was told. Or dunk some banana skin in a bottle of water and use it as feed.

Here, someone talks about pruning

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/bottlebrush/bottlebrush-wont-bloom.htm

To create artificial light, crinkle up some foil and put it at the background. You might have seen @Logan using this trick to provide light for her seedlings. Cunning and cheap and canny!

 

[BigC]

Thanks @alp

 

[Logan]

Planted the 2 lavenders and Veronica in the border, put a lot of grit in the hole and mixed a lot in the soil around them. It's heavy soil in that part of the garden. Go down a spade and dig up grey clay.

 

[BigC]

Go down a spade and dig up grey clay.

I took a good sized Rhododendron from its pot and wanted to plant it in a hole I'd previously dug..but sat the pot in it from last season....the leaves were turning yellow....Now I know the reason why..the hole was full of water....accumulated by the clay holding it....I cleared the water and added gravel and dug it ih hopefully it will be fine

 

[alp]

Couldn't sleep. The air outside is very cold and I'm worried that my tomatoes will have very thick skin or the skin will split. Such cold weather is not ideal for them.

This one is called pomegranate.

Summerfruit salmon

Tricolour

They are just so lovely and should go on and on and on.

 

[Logan]

Morning all, great pics Alp, sorry that you couldn't sleep.

 

[BigC]

Morning all...another insomniac among us @alp.
Lovely images...The sky is cloudy overhead but I do see a lot of blue...hopefully it might develop further and give us a good day for once in a while....I have some peppers to pick this evening and decide on the sauce ingredients. I already have a base mix sorted which includes Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Tomato Puree, Sugar and an Oxo Cube..not too sure of the quantities yet or how many peppers to put in..all a bit trial and error...I think I will just make up low amounts first and then scale up when I get it right...Have a great day folks

 

[Logan]

@BigC morning. I would be careful with the oxo cube, it can taist a bit salty. But if you're going to to have a very hot chili, you'll probably couldn't tell.