Gardening corner 2018 season!???

We tried sinetti in some of the tubs in the market square last year. They did brilliantly, flowering all summer (with constant dead heading). They did attract black fly though - plus attendant ants.

Home Bargains sinetti!

J52 on the subject of bargains.
My sister is a very good plant doctor (currently trying to revive an orchid for me).
She phoned the other night to say she had found some lovely sinetti plants @ £2.99 each.
We were delighted with these last year (£9.99 from b&q) and are now looking forward to seeing if our bargains thrive!

That looks so pretty! I love getting bargain from the sick plant shelf.
I hope your acer flourishes and gives you many years of pleasure.

Whoops. Here it is!

A few weeks ago I had some good advice on planting my tiny acers.
Here's one that seems happy with its primulas. I bought them from the 'casualty' dept at b&q and kept them indoors for while. 18 poor wee plants for £6 which are now flourishing and have masses of buds!
Window boxes and tubs are now sitting ready and just waiting a week or so for some sun.

What a beautiful day, i was at work from 8-1pm but as soon as i got home i got the lawn mower out and cut front, back and side lawns. A line full of washing done too.Any excuse to be out in the sun.

Rained solidly all morning. I had wanted to finish weeding the strawberry cage. Still , fine, warm weather forecast, so can crack on then. New lawn all seeded, and the rain has been opportune for that. Loooking forward to a few warm days.

The apparently dead looking stems of my gooseberry plants have suddenly covered themselves in leaves.
I thought they were gonners.

More weeding today. Cleavers (goose grass) have taken advantage of the weather putting us a month behind.

The Jack Russells follow me round eating the stuff which then makes them sick!

Such fun.

It’s dull, but warm here. Yesterday was great, but did too much, renovating big pots and weeding the courtyard. I’m paying for it today!
Also got some cheap Hollyhocks and Ranculas, courtesy of Homebase.
I can’t resist so I’ll be out there later.

(Hijacking the thread. Sorry!). But it’s another lovely day here so I’ll be out edging and surreptitiously making the garden beds bigger this afternoon.

Thanks Jura. This is the Other Knee and it’s collapsing rapidly. I just hope it hasn’t upset the first new one too much. I did the exercises religiously last time and you’re right it does pay off. I’ve wangled a top class surgeon by having the first done privately so hopefully all will be well. This one’s a BOGOF!

Ah - good luck with the knee. Surgeon said to me both times- I can do the op, and do it well- but then it is up to you. If you are not prepared to do the hard work afterwards- you won't really get the benefit.

I knew that, because my mum was too old, and I know several people here who never got full movement- because they did not do the follow-up work. No square brackets on this computer- so sending virtual flowers.

I never ever throw gardening stuff away- I just could not. Sure somehow will be more than happy to take some bulbs from you- I would if I was nearer.

Will be much warmer tomorrow, 17- and then 21 from Wednesday- hurrah. Will have to leave garden to go foraging for morel mushrooms

It’s so good to hear how well you’re doing after the knee op jura. Mine is now six weeks away and I was getting the heebie jeebies about it and the recovery time. I’ve just come in from re-edging the grass paths (well, some of them. We’ve a lot) and come to the conclusion we’re rather over-bulbed. I’m thinking of doing some guerilla gardening with surplus mini daffy and snowdrops around the town signs but don’t know if I have the courage. I can’t throw them out!

Due to knee op, and late snow- only just started gardening now. Really busy at the week-end- weeded and turned 3 veggie raised plots, and a massive border. My lovely young physio came to get 2 big bucketful of perenial plants I divided for her, with her 2 little kids - and was tickeld pink as they have a new house with 2 large borders to fill.

Minou has turned out to be a great helper, or rather entertainer- he follows me everywhere- and every so often I go and sit on the swing seat and he comes to join me for a cuddle.

Planted new raspberries and a few new day lillies and a white peony.

Best bit, not really gardening I suppose- emptied the jakuzzi and cleaned it with vinegar and re-filled - ready to use tonight for the first time since knee op - hurrah.

And the dear friends the slugs and snails are on the move! The PS broccoli at the allotment was awash with them. Be warned everyone !

Yey! We have ?! The temperature is currently 6 degrees, so there’s hope that there might be gardening today.

I’m sure our resident squirrels have brought friends to party, I’ll check their rear ends from a safe distance?

One has a very short tail. Have you seen it?

BBevan perhaps they’ve moved to Surrey to feast on flowers?? Seriously that is concerning, ours have never not been visible apart from on really cold days. They’ve been busy emptying the peanut holders most days too. That said we tell ourselves they are all God’s creatures, while gritting our teeth at the loss of spring flowers.

We haven't seen our resident squirrels yet this year. No sign of then since before Christmas. I wonder where they are?

Is anyone else having trouble with squirrels picking and eating magnolia and tulip flowers? Have never noticed it here before but the little “rats with good PR” are pulling off all the flowers and eating them like ice creams?

Grannylovesshopping?Isn’t it odd how many horticultural names there are on GN? If your bamboo is controllable by cutting off shoots as they appear, eventually you will kill it. That was the advice I found when I researched. We planted ours too so only have ourselves to blame, especially as we let it grow too big and wide before we tackled it. Apparently there is clumping and travelling bamboo. Ours was a fearsome traveller! ?

Thanks for that, would be sorry to lose it. Will keep hoping!