Help!!

pauline1245

hello,
I'm looking for groundcover for a shady area , please

Vinca minor, also known as periwinkle? It comes in blue, pink or white and there is also a golden leaved version.

Why not treat yourself to a book on container gardening. I recommend this:
www.goodreads.com/book/show/1044037.The_Container_Expert

Reported

Oh dear! I think I've broken the rules. Is it the advertising for a book company? I forgot - I'm so sorry. Just wanted to recommend the book.

I've got that book ?
I also have some others by D G Hessayon

I think it's ok Germansheperdsmum

Just say "Other retailers available" Chapeau

Chapeau I don't think you have broken any rules. Lots of posters recommend companies etc. Your intention was to be helpful. Please don't worry.

Thank you Callistemon21 and apologies to GSM.
The book I recommended is available through many other retailers including those selling 2nd hand copies.

We have had a spate of dodgy links lately, Chapeau so I think GSM was just on the ball ?

Thank you so much..? just ordered it..

Those expert books are rather good - various ones for different topics, eg roses, shrubs etc. Worth a look, anyway.
Post didn’t need reporting, really, though I understand why as we’ve had quite a lot of “iffy” links lately.

You could put a few bulbs in now for spring interest. Plant the pansies or violas over the top. You will need to replant early summer with bedding but you will have a good show

Daisymae

You could put a few bulbs in now for spring interest. Plant the pansies or violas over the top. You will need to replant early summer with bedding but you will have a good show

You make it sound so easy but I don’t think I’ve got green fingers…?.. look at the photos of what happened to my last lot of plants ?‍♀️

I don't think you can do anything dreadful to bulbs, they seem indestructible. So even if you planted pansies or violas and they didn't thrive the bulbs would still make good show in the spring. Crocus will come first, then daffodils with staggered flowering times. There are lots of lovely small ones that look good in pots. And narcissi. Species tulips would be nice in smallish pots, then large ones for bigger pots. The crocus and daffs will come back year after year and you can put summer bedding plants over them in the pots in the late spring.

I agree that the large plant on the fence is a Jasmine, possibly a trachelospermum, which was a bargain if it cost £1.69.
My initial thought was that some of the pots were rather small, thus making the plants vulnerable to extremes of hot, cold and damp.
It’s hard to see what they were, but probably annuals. I never buy from the internet, as I like to see the quality of plants.
Part of my garden is a courtyard that is full of planters. My suggestions are: Go to a charity shop and pick up a few basic gardening books, go to a reputable garden centre and buy a largish planter and use the advice in the books to plant up a winter spring display.
You can mix plants and spring bulbs. Gardening is a journey of discovery and experience. No one ever gets it completely right.

Bulbs look lovely in containers. Just a word of warning if you have squirrels in the area. They love digging up a nice, juicy tulip or crocus. You can try laying a piece of chicken wire over the top as protection before the bulbs come through.
Apparently squirrels don't like daffodils. "Tete a Tete" are very good performers. They are sold widely and aren't too expensive. Because they're small they don't bend over towards the sun as obviously as taller varieties.

Good luck! ?

So sorry Chapeau, I thought it was spam!

Shinamae, some of your pots, the ones causing problems, are quite small and look like they’re plastic, not a good combination for permanent planting. They would be fine for spring bulbs, which you really don’t need green fingers for, a bag of compost and put them in pointy side up a good couple of inches deep. For the permanent planting, one or two larger pots would be a good investment. They don’t have to be expensive. It won’t matter if they’re plastic if they’re big enough, won’t dry out so quickly and they will hold more compost for the plants to grow good healthy roots.

Thank you all for such good advice, can’t wait for that book to come and I will buy a big planter and see how that goes ?
As I loathe and detest housework….?

I find gardening is a perfect distraction from housework - while I’m outside I can’t see what needs doing inside.

This is one of the plants I bought from the Internet I think it cost me £10!! I can’t understand why one of the plants have died but the other two aren’t looking too healthy either… Will never buy from the Internet again. I don’t drive but I have a garden centre within walking distance.. trying to upload the photo but it’s saying it’s too large which I don’t understand because I have uploaded photos much larger than this one ? I’ll try again… it just won’t so I’m gonna put on another photo of it which was bigger but was accepted! It’s the plant at the front with two sick looking ones and one absolutely dead, it is some sort of Daisy..

Buying plants from the internet is fine so long as you use a reputable site. Amongst my favourites for reliable plants are Crocus, Bressingham Nurseries, Farmyard Nurseries (in Wales), Claire Austin and Cotswold Garden Plants. You really do get what you pay for with plants.

Germanshepherdsmum

Buying plants from the internet is fine so long as you use a reputable site. Amongst my favourites for reliable plants are Crocus, Bressingham Nurseries, Farmyard Nurseries (in Wales), Claire Austin and Cotswold Garden Plants. You really do get what you pay for with plants.

Thank you GSM but as you can probably tell I am a complete novice which is a shame because I have got quite a good size garden to work with as well as pots (I do know that the soil in the garden is clay )Will put a photo of, I think they are acers and Japanese maple which I have had for years and have not managed to kill so they must be quite hardy. Also I don’t believe I have got drainage in some of those pots which I have been told is vital but the big plants in the big pots that I’ve just mentioned they have got no drainage …. anyway with all the horrors that are going on in the world at the moment I do need a hobby and I am going to make my garden my hobby as I do need a distraction. I did get rid of my news apps on my phone and iPad but the news headlines keep coming up anyway ?‍♀️

Gardening is a wonderful hobby. I suffer from depression and it helps so much to be outside just pottering around.
Don’t worry about being a novice. You definitely need drainage holes in smaller pots, and to raise them up a little so the water drains away and the roots aren’t sitting in water, which will rot them. Larger pots can cope better without them because the water will sink down to the bottom , well away from the roots. Too much water is as bad as not enough. If you buy the right plant for the right place (most good online sites will show you which plants are suitable for full sun, shade, dry conditions, damp conditions, containers etc) from a reliable nursery and look after it according to the instructions you won’t go wrong. The nurseries I mentioned (I should have given Beth Chatto a mention too) will guarantee your plants provided you follow the care instructions.
Enjoy!

I am going to look for some large planters and get rid of the small plastic pots, is it better to have the orange ones, God I can’t think of the name !!…?‍♀️…terracotta…?

Germanshepherdsmum

Gardening is a wonderful hobby. I suffer from depression and it helps so much to be outside just pottering around.
Don’t worry about being a novice. You definitely need drainage holes in smaller pots, and to raise them up a little so the water drains away and the roots aren’t sitting in water, which will rot them. Larger pots can cope better without them because the water will sink down to the bottom , well away from the roots. Too much water is as bad as not enough. If you buy the right plant for the right place (most good online sites will show you which plants are suitable for full sun, shade, dry conditions, damp conditions, containers etc) from a reliable nursery and look after it according to the instructions you won’t go wrong. The nurseries I mentioned (I should have given Beth Chatto a mention too) will guarantee your plants provided you follow the care instructions.
Enjoy!

Forget the terracotta, far too expensive for me! ?‍♀️…would like your opinion please on these?