Gran/Grandads Gardening Corner

Wilt!
I said further up-thread (or it could be another thread) that it is very pale and insipid this year - DH will give it some well-rotted horse manure and I will take pleasure in chopping it back. I always like to give them another chance!

sorry, wasn't laughing about clematis wilt but just in relation to its namesake ...

We were given 2 climbing roses along with a rose arbour to go over the garden steps . One of them has red soft growth on it ,ordinary branch like but red and soft ..is this just new growth or is it what my dad used to call suckers? and they need chopping off ..anyone know please

jalima

If they are suckers they will have I think it's 6 pairs of leaves. Or at least more than the other branches. Probably won't hurt them anyway if you take them off by mistake. But it could be just soft new growth. This will harden later and then you can prune later in the winter if you want to . If it is a sucker you need to follow it down to where it grows from the under the ground snd take it off.

Thank you jalima. I will go count the leaves next time I am out the back garden.

Oh, that's OK Nanabilly - but I think it was whitewave who said about the extra leaves on suckers.
I was counting ours the other day as well but it's too wet to go out there and do anything about them - although most seem to be soft new growth not suckers.
And they are busily flowering away again for the second time this summer.

Cheesed off with the wind. I hate the wind!!!

It's just awful here today, wind and rain. I did manage to nip into town for an hour earlier when it stopped raining.
DH said 'at least your sunflowers haven't blown over this time!'

Yet.

I have sat today on GN and reading and pottering and it is stil the summer. I really must get myself more organised and give myself a kick up the proverbial.

Nana climbing roses often have red new growth, particularly if they are pink or red. Suckers are found at the base of the Rose and come from the stem beneath the point where it was grafted onto the growing stock.

White wave, I am with you. Been in the garden, why does everything grow so much so quickly? Where do you start?
Today I thought 1, Bury dead slugs and snails. 2 tidy the garden up ie put bins away cut off dead heads etc. 3 Start weeding somewhere.
People out there ....how do you control the weeds?
I have bought some bark to put down and a weed wand.
Thing is without the weeds I realise I don't have many plants !!!. We have quite a few trees, a magnolia and a Bramley apple and others so I need things that tolerate shade.
Any advice anyone?

I don't know how you control the weeds but:

Do the weeding after it has rained (obvious of course - you knew that anyway ) because they come out more easily.
Do the weeding when you're in the mood (after rain) - sometimes it is very satisfying (usually not)
You know you'll feel better when it's done even if you don't enjoy it at the time
Get rid of them before they flower and spread seeds everywhere

Our weeds even grow up through the sides of the steps etc - and some of them are trees!

Alternatively leave them and develop a wild garden

Do it when I can't stand it anymore!

Do what we do ( to avoid weeding) plant everything close together, it gives a nice cottage garden effect and keeps out the weeds ( still get one or two but not many.) Also, where that just isn't possible or wanted, plant ground cover.

I agree about ground cover and filling the gaps. I hardly have a square inch of soil showing so rarely see a weed. The veg plot is a different matter, but I remove weed seedlings regularly with my stirrup hoe, which I love.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kent-Stowe-Stainless-Steel-Long-Handle-Oscillating-Hoe-Garden-Tool-Stirrup-/222598823186?hash=item33d3ec7d12:g:NWgAAOSwHHFY~zqI

Can I possibly find room for Gertrude Jekyll that is the question.

I have just had an email from Austin roses naming the most fragrant.

Oh! I so want GJ!!! If I do shecwill have to go in a shadyish spot.

Anyone growing theirs in a similar position?

I need advise re. my lawn! Following an accident I was unable for a long time to do anything in my garden and now the 'lawn' is completely out of control, very high with weeds but hardly any grass!

Would removing the top layer, putting down topsoil and turf be sensible? Any advice much appreciated

Replacing an established lawn is quite a big job and new turf/ seed needs a lot of attention. I don't know how large your lawn is and what final quality you want, but I'd be tempted to go down the remedial route.
Get the grass/ weeds cut before the weeds set seed, then if there are large weeds, hand remove. Autumn feed and mow til the frost.
Mowing reduces weeds. In the spring more weed and feed, keep mowing and re seed any bare patches.
You should see an improvement.

Thanks, J52. It's only a very small area (maybe 12ft square?)

White wave, order GJ , of course you must .I have a rubbish rambling rose from a cutting that is going everywhere. Only flowers once not spectacularly so it needs to go. What shall I replace it with?
It's against the fence.

Devon girl, do you have a strimmer or could someone strim it for you? then mow it . Then throw down some grass seed and rake it in. Or you could go for plastic grass.........

Roses are red. What do you plant? And what can you recommend as ground cover? I planted some creeping jenny as ground cover and it has gone berserk. Do have alchemilla mollis and am planting bits of that around. What do you like to grow?

I put Lamiun under roses and it spreads beautifully. I've planted it where I removed ground elder. Although I know I'll be forever removing bits of the ground elder.
There are loads of variety of Lamium, yellow, whit and pinks, they also can have variegated leaves.

loopyloo it is said that you can't plant another rose in the same place as the soil gets rose sick.

But if you could plant a rose near but not in do look at the David Austin site ooooh!!! I could buy them all.

You can order now I think and they turn up in the late autumn for planting

Thanks for the link Shysal. I saw one of those hoes being used in a NT garden and have wanted one ever since. Now I know what they're called. They look excellent for annoying the soil.