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What was your best garden buy this year?

(67 Posts)
midgey Wed 01-Nov-17 12:34:24

Best Buy was primula ooh la la, bought at the Gardeners Question Time Garden Party, it’s going great guns .

Imperfect27 Wed 01-Nov-17 12:14:40

DH bought me some solar-powered strings of lights - little stars. they cost £5 each and 3 of them complete a section of the garden. they still twinkle now, though we really ought to take them in ... They never fail to make me smile.

lemongrove Wed 01-Nov-17 11:21:34

They are cute AuntieFlo ?
DH calls this sort of thing garden naffery ( bit like faffery) and I have a couple of examples of it ? smuggled into the garden.
Besy buy for us was a cotinus ‘Grace’ as a specimen plant in the lawn, it has grown very tall ( will be cut down somewhat every year) and is now turning a lovely deep red, from it’s original pale puple.

Auntieflo Wed 01-Nov-17 11:14:50

Your gardens all sound lovely envy. My best buy must have been some geraniums, reduced to practically nothing. They revived and have been flowering non stop. The thing that has amused/pleased me most, has been a bit of garden faffery. Two little birds , Peter and Paul, as per the nursery rhyme, on a rotating perch.

merlotgran Wed 01-Nov-17 10:53:10

kitty, Schizostylis are lovely aren't they? Such a long flowering period.

My salvias are still looking great so are the dahlias as we haven't yet had a frost.

I haven't bought anything for the garden this year other than plants, plants and plants although I am hoping the leaf mould sack I've ordered from eBay will arrive today. I usually just chuck leaves on the compost heap but I thought I'd have a go at making proper leaf mould.

loopyloo Wed 01-Nov-17 10:48:41

Yes and the bees love it in the winter. That was one of the reasons I bought it. Have an enormous Fatsia Japonica that has flowers on it . I hate the messy black berries and was going to cut the flowers off then I saw the bees.

Nelliemoser Wed 01-Nov-17 10:41:07

I bought a Mahonia when we first moved here. It sort of "kept on growing" and I had planted it way too near the fence.
It took two men a long time and effort to dig it out.

I replaced it a better position with a Mahonia "winter sun". It is begining to get going. I loved mine,as did the birds when the berries came.

loopyloo Wed 01-Nov-17 10:36:54

Now that's interesting. I think one of the mistakes I make gardening is not hoeing enough. I do like my swoe and am thinking of taking that to allotment.

Squiffy Wed 01-Nov-17 10:27:06

An oscillating hoe. Absolute lifesaver for my back!

loopyloo Wed 01-Nov-17 10:26:33

I think mine has to be a Mahonia Winter Sunshine bought from Crocus that is now flowering beaufifully.
I dug up a whole lot of ivy, and redid that bed. The ivy is now regrowing so have to attack it again.
And hi there Flossieturner, how are you?
I am off to allotment.

kittylester Wed 01-Nov-17 10:16:55

The plants that are currently giving me most pleasure are schizostylis or, as they are known round here 'schizophrenia'!

gillybob Wed 01-Nov-17 09:44:09

My best plant purchase was a Rudbekia (excuse spelling if incorrect) which has flowered non stop since the end of July and still looks fabulous.

Nelliemoser Wed 01-Nov-17 09:41:54

I have Cirsium as well. I think my best plant buys have been the heavily price reduced plants from the"search and rescue" shelves.
Four "storm battered" Penstemmons which just needing tiding up. Two much reduced price Heucheras and quite a few more such bargains.
I have a very cheap Sarah Bernhardt peony bulb from Wilko which was very dried up but it has revived and should get growing again next year.
Always have a look at these plants the biggest problem are the ones that have become really too dried out it is amazing what you can revive.

J52 Wed 01-Nov-17 08:18:34

We’ve been making over our new garden, it was a blank canvass so a lovely cedar greenhouse and a water fountain.
Also, lots of new plants.
I think I’ll enjoy next spring when everything’s settled in.

gillybob Wed 01-Nov-17 07:45:10

Some sandpaper and a tin of blue paint I used to revive /refurbish an old garden bench. It looks amazing .

Anya Wed 01-Nov-17 07:39:05

Yes, my bird feeders. They are still flourishing and will do so throughout the winter.

Flossieturner Wed 01-Nov-17 07:36:03

I had a complete garden makeover last December. I bought lots of new plants and am really happy with all my purchases. Lot of the plants were things I had never bought before.

My outstanding value for money were,
Circium, now flowering for the 4 th time.
Chrysanthemum plugs bought in late summer. They giving a lovely late winter show.
ALso, Wilko, I bought lot of fillers, ferns, hollies, grasses and trees. They were cheap and the intention was just to use them until the garden established. They have been amazing.

Any one else have recommendations from their own garden.