Gran/Grandads Gardening Corner

...primroses...?

Joint efforts on our allotment share but the woodland has primroses galore, hellebores and snowdrops. The daffs are through and tulips just poking leaves through. The greenhouse is groaning with seed trays and all the raised beds have been repaired and dug as necessary. Rhubarb is being forced, broccoli cropping and kale still being enjoyed. An exciting time of year but difficult for me with one hand still although the wrist and hand are now much improved and I have full rotation after my #'s.

I weeded for England today in the sunshine, picked up various twigs and branches and managed to cover two beds to warm the soil. Looking much better and cared for already.

Well had lovely day working in garden. So good I forgot to go for my pneumonia jab!!

Can any GNetter tell me if its ok to clear away leaves and ferns etc where a hedgehog has been over wintering.

Do you need to move them cherrytree59? I always just leave and add to them in the following. Autumn...they seem to like that.

sue1169, I have the same problem with cattle leaning over the fence. With me it is the raspberries they eat, including the tops of the canes. It is a double fence with about a metre channel between, but they can lean and just reach. I do love seeing the cattle for the first time each year, they are so excited to be outside! There is a lovely bull who leans over and flutters his long eyelashes at me. I call him Red (Bull) due to his colouring.

Ooh shysal lol..I love them too...but love my garden and they just trashed it!!! Only a foot between our fence and stock fence and they even smashed all my ranch style fence..tore up ALL my shrubs and tall plants...problem...!!

The only thing about leaving areas of debris in the garden, is it encourages slugs and snails. But if it's the hedgehog's home it might be seen as food delivery!

sue1169, If the stock fence was so inadequate the cattle damaged your garden and ranch style fencing, the farmer is liable.

J522 ugh! Takeaway slugs.......gaaaah.

Thank you for the strawberry growing advice. I am going to dither now, shall I, shan't I?
Thought I saw the first slug this morning, panic over, just a leaf in disguise. Must get the coffee jars ready for battle.

Just found a colony of snails in an upturned plant pot in the hedge. ( left by previous owner) it's now in the middle of the lawn. Hope their lunch for the birds!

They're *

Thanks merlitgran...took that up with him last year..he said oh you people want to live in the countryside but cant cope with the reality of it!!...? anyway...dont want any bad feeling so moving everything further in away from the fence....(new fence!!!)

only moved house seven weeks ago, no idea what is planted in the garden , if anything , do I dig up beds or wait , grrrr

Wait and see ab it won't be long, if no tiny shoots come through soon, then dig the beds over.Is your new garden bigger or smaller?

Cherrytree I'd leave the hedgehog heap alone for a while longer until you can be sure s/he has properly vacated. I believe they poodle around a bit, returning to their winter 'roost' until things have properly warmed up. We had a hedgehog sleeping under the shed for several winters but there wasn't any sign of disturbance this year so I suspect it's time had come. We rarely see one, just their calling cards. I'd like to leave out food but don't want to encourage cats and slugs!

It's a lovely day here today, but I can't do much in the garden until all the bulbs make an appearance. They seem to wander around and come up in places where I feel sure they weren't last year.

Re strawberries in pots. I tried a tower - you know big pot at the bottom with smaller and smaller on top, but it wasn't too successful as watering was a problem. They dried out very quickly. I don't know if I should have put drainage trays under each pot? I thought I might try again with alpine strawberries. I have some pretty ones which have bright pinky red flowers.

Much bigger Rosesarered , In the other house I had to make do with pots , now I have beds and paving

How exciting ab! It is better to wait until the summer to see what emerges! Perhaps take photos of things as they grow,/ come into flower. Then you'll have a reference when they die down.
We have a new to us garden, last May. I was really surprised to find a small Victoria plum tree in the front garden it gave us 3 kilos of fruit in the Autumn.
This is our first spring and bulbs are coming up all over the place, some quite odd!
As everything else was very bland, we have spent the winter doing a bit of remodelling and now look forward to the new planting.

roses don't despair about your geraniums.
Cut the mouldy bits off and as long as you cut back to green stem they will grow again. Give them a bit of food and they'll be off in no time.
I have some that I've had for more than 30 years. They go in the greenhouse every winter and look very sorry for themselves but they do survive!

Well thanks for advice re hedgehog will leave the area for a while.

annie leave garden for this year you never know what lovely surprises you will get. Just keep it mowed and tidy plus your pots.

I have grown strawberry plants & Tom Thumb tomatoes in hanging baskets. GC love them

First the good news
we have a white geranium in bud.
It is in a wall basket between the conservatory and the garden fence
I left it there as it was still flowering last autumn.

The bad news is the lawn!
DH raked moss out & has cut the grass, he has also forked it all over as ground is unusually wet.
Some areas are flattened and muddy due to toddlers running up & down in wellies kicking a ball
And under trees we have bird seed taking hold!
The little blighters birds drop several for every one seed they choose to eat.

So any lawn tips would be gratefully received.

Anyone any advice on feeding bulbs after they've flowered , are you supposed to? is it the right time? and with what?
thanks.
I just want them to get a good feed before they shut down till next year but not sure if thats right.
Also can I feed my Wisteria now or is it too late?

tanith, I follow the RHS advice, feeding with Growmore or tomato feed.
www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=91

Cut the dead flower heads off but don't chop down the leaves even if they look a bit of a mess because the goodness goes back into the bulbs (or so I was told). Most of ours are naturalised so they don't get mown until they have died back. I used to throw some Growmore around the general area.

Reading shysal*s link I must have been doing it right and I only take them out if they are in tubs where I want to put summer bedding.

Thanks for those tips, I need to start feeding now then.. I do let them die down after dead heading but have never fed them before..