Gran/Grandads Gardening Corner

Before I had garden space for strawberries, I grew some in a large squat ceramic pot, mulched them with pine needles, kept them well watered and they were sweet and juicy. Apparently strawberries like the acidity of the pine needles.

It's strange reading about all your spring flowers blooming as here on the other side of the world we are descending into winter.

Happy gardening everyone!

I've just sown some petunias, antirhinnums and tomatoes hydroponically. A new project x

Hydrangeas only form flowers from old wood. Says DS who owns a nursery!!

Good information on Gardeners question time, re pruning hydrangeas, this afternoon.
I think the sign of buds depends where you are in the country.
Our frog spawn is almost filling the pond. Is this a sign of a good summer?

Roses my new Vanilla hydrangea is just sticks. Is this as it should be at this time of year?

Alima, I cut mine back to about half its size (mine is huge, covers a whole wall growing up sturdy trellis.) It always seems to do well, too well in fact. Also, it has a habit of producing many small plants that come up all over the place. If you plant one of these up in a pot, hopefully you will get a new plant.

....spring has certainly sprung..theres an 'orgy' going on in my wildlife pond!!???

Re moss. A friend uses Green Thumb and recommends them. I was once told of a (perhaps) cheaper method by an old gardener, that the best thing to get rid of moss in lawns is regular treatment by several young boys on bikes!

Brilliant idea allule. If it survives I will need to repot it and we have a couple of bean bags past their use-by date. This could be fun!

Grandelly Funny you should ask about walnut trees as we have a large prolific one which shades most of our small garden and it did overhang next door. I knew they bleed so we waited until after Christmas to ask a tree surgeon round to trim our side thinking it would be the right time. But no. Apparently the best time to prune is from the end of August through to November. And yes, you can be fairly brutal. Our neighbour was nervous about the dead twiggy bits which the tree keeps shedding so they had their side cut back severely to near the fence line. The first year it sulked a bit and only gave us small walnuts (probably more due to the season) but a year on it's happily shooting back. I should add that the leaves take an eternity to rot down and according to GQT aren't very good for the garden. We put our leaves in the council's garden compost bin.

How far back should you cut a passionflower? I did mine last spring and there it was, dead.

Thank you HannahLois, I am concerned about the exposed North part of the garden , always had sheltered gardens - untill now

I can't wait for the weather to warm up. In the garden, I try and grow as many perennials as possible. Lovely to see everything coming up again. I have started some dahlia tubers indoors, last year I had 20 new plants by taking cuttings. I have cut my hardy fuchsias hard back as I can see new life at the bottom. They are always lovely. Last years hollyhocks have actually survived, they are the "halo" ones, very pretty but still suffer with rust. I have just pruned all the roses and the buddlia so my brown bins are full. I did the clematis and Passion flower last week. I have lots of mini daffs
out, cowslip, crocus, snowdrops and last years xmas hyacinth have all come up. I am planning to buy some more Iris, they don't last long but are so lovely. In a propogator I have some gaillardia seeds. There is so much to do but I love it.

Hey there all you green fingered grans. I have a 2 questions about walnut trees. When do you prune them and can you be brutal with them? I have inherited the tree with the house and I'm not sure what to do with it as I don't want to kill it or harm it.
Look forward to hearing from you.

We were given a an orange and lemon tree two years ago for our golden wedding. I spent the first winter moving them in and out, and thought I had killed them, but last spring they started to recover. I have done better this winter and they look quite healthy and ready to go in bigger pots.
I bought two pots, but as I will need to move them, didn't want them too heavy. I read up and liked the suggestion of using polystyrene packaging peanuts in the bottom for drainage and to reduce weight. Unfortunately, I got confused by quantities, and am now wondering what to do with four bin bags full! I have some beanbags that I can top up.....and then?

sorry - Martina!

Who the heck is Hingis?
She's a famous tennis player (Martin Hingis) - have you got a tennis court in your back garden Nfk?

Anniebach, I seem to remember that all sky tv satellite dishes face south, south east so just nip outside and have a look. You can then work out the other directions.

Alima depends a bit on luck with annual fuschias, sometimes the survive, I used to chuckplace mine in the garage & hope for the best. When you bring them out wait & see even if they look dead, you'll be surprised.

Hardy & Half-hardy can be cut back once they start shooting.

Can't wait to get out there, the weather's looking good for next week. We are having a new fence and some trees taken down and then I can really get on with things. Bulbs and wallflowers are coming out, along with primulas.
Happy gardening!

The only way to get rid of moss I have found is to have the lawn professionally treated .Company called Green Thumb (I think it's a franchise)-other companes must be available and I dont have a stake in it -we pay £13 a month and they visit 4or 5 times a year and do various magical things to it. Sometimes they seem to be here about 5mins and I do wonder...but our lawn does look very good
Bit of an extravagance but I do everything else so not paying a gardener (yet)
I think moss comes back whatever you do...

Things. Who the heck is Hingis?

My poor lemon tree. The twigs are bendy and alive and the lemons are ripening (I took seven more off when it got sick). I tried washing up liquid and two sprays - both guaranteed to work - but the only way was to pick the darn Hingis off by hand. Much easier after the leaves had all fallen off! I fear my treatments may have caused as much damage as the scale insects. I'll report back if it shoots!

Oops, just read the bit about the clematis!

It is exciting having a new bare plot to plant HLL (excuse abbreviations). Are you going to put a climber on the fence?

We had loads of moss in previous garden, could never get rid of it due to the growing conditions. We did use an electric scarifyer, it generated huge amounts of moss to clear. I have read that you should kill the moss before scarifying.

Don't forget Gardeners World starts tonight. It's only half an hour, I thought it had gone to a full hour, last season?

I've just aquired a whole new border having removed a huge prickly pyracantha hedge which, although dense and evergreen required constant trimming during the Spring, Summer and Autumn. It was four feet wide and ten feet high and became a never ending problem. I've now gained the said border but also an ugly wooden fence. I shall paint this pale grey to match the shed, add a trellis and plant evergreen clematis and climbing roses against the south facing fence. Lavender Hidcote will form a low hedge along the front and I shall fill in with cottage garden perennials and a couple of smallish evergreen shrubs or box balls. Really excited.