My garden is a war zone.

I have a lot of old treasured plants on the patio and I've lost quite a few of them .

It's never happened before .

I think that it was a combination of the heat of last summer followed by hard frosts .

We have a large shrub which succumbed to last year's hot weather. We left it hoping it might sprout but there are no signs of green.
Now we have to persuade it out without disturbing the roots of other shrubs around it. Just chopping it down is not an option as it will leave a gap and we have another one ready to plant there.
🤔

Ta very much J52
I’ll look for a smallish one.😃

There are limits to hardiness! I lost a number of ‘hardy’ perennials this year which have survived previous winters.

Germanshepherdsmum

I doubt any plant guarantee extends to death due to cold weather!

Maybe not, but I will try - they are supposed to be hardy in the UK after all?

We have lost a lovely lilac and just a bit of hedge.
Our garden looked like a war zone, the Somme , as Mr. Mole moved in. He has gone now leaving a ravished orchard, but thankfully all the trees seem steady.

I doubt any plant guarantee extends to death due to cold weather!

Disabled, large garden, can't do it myself (have done a few bits last 2 days as was lovely out, and have nearly done myself in!)

I could cry - have basically been collecting my losses - dozens of them, but the main ones, my Eucalyptus Tree, a lovely large winter flowering Senna, 3 Seneccio Angels Wings, A HUGE Phormium which I must have had 15 yrs at least, 2 Silver Euphorbia, 1 Camellia, 2 Fatsia, 2 Clematis, (one evergreen), 2 Trachelosperum, 2 Ceanothus , and possibly a Wisteria, which I think-should be budding up by now? That's what I have found so far! Missing a hydrangea, no idea where that went. However, I usually but plants from either TESCO, as they are cheap, or Dobbies, which have a plant guarantee - I always keep my receipts for this very purpose! They will love me with my crate full!!

Problem is the garden is full of weeds, which I can't manage to pull ... what I wanted to do last year was put cardboard down and shreddings on top, but again, needed help to do it!, didn't get it, so am waiting for someone to assist to do anything now, horrible feeling that ....

Shinamae

My garden is currently a war zone, but is a work in progress, just had the pond moved around a wildflower at section put at the bottom..

You’ll enjoy your remodelled garden come the summer Shinamae, the hard work now will pay off.

Oreo

I only have a tiny garden, can I grow a hydrangea in a pot or is it too big really? I have one border which is full already and a patio/yard bit where we sit/hang washing. Would like one big pot and a few smaller pots with annuals.
Any recommendations for hydrangeas?

I grow several hydrangeas in pots, they are well suited to large pots or planters. You can also get smaller varieties that might suit you better.

Shinamae

My garden is currently a war zone, but is a work in progress, just had the pond moved around a wildflower at section put at the bottom..

Before and during…🤓

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202304/medium-976376-e5d12989-c191-478d-a8f4-20f2f84f8788.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202304/medium-386440-f51ac8a3-24cc-4bec-8d1f-9378962e67f7.jpeg

My garden is currently a war zone, but is a work in progress, just had the pond moved around a wildflower at section put at the bottom..

I only have a tiny garden, can I grow a hydrangea in a pot or is it too big really? I have one border which is full already and a patio/yard bit where we sit/hang washing. Would like one big pot and a few smaller pots with annuals.
Any recommendations for hydrangeas?

I use salt as well Hetty58, but find it is even better mixed with white vinegar. I use it on the pavement outside my house where weeds love growing!

It’s just a pity that the hard frosts have suited the weeds, I’m having a major battle with them this year. Pulling up all my dead precious plants at the same time as barrow loads full of weeds is no joy whatsoever. All my verbena is gone.

kircubbin2000, I've had to cut right down on the weeding (bad back) so I drop a pinch of salt on troublesome weeds in paving - and cover up areas with tarpaulins or cardboard to stifle any growth. Later, I'll get around to dealing with them, bit by bit.

Even here, on the outskirts of London, I've lost many plants this winter, including climbers and shrubs I've had for decades. Still, once they're cut down to the ground, there's the opportunity to try new ones. Garden centre, here I come!

Greyduster

I was delighted to see yesterday that the Astrantia that I bought in Northumberland last year has survived the winter and has new leaves coming through. I have enquired at all three of our local garden centres to try and buy some more as I would like to make a feature of them, but they don’t seem to stock them, so I will probably have to go on line and I don’t like buying plants on line.

I love Astrantia, such good dooers. Wilcos sell them in the packed ‘bulb’ section. I always look for signs of green and then pot them up until several leaves have appeared before planting out.

I wrapped my bougainvillea in fleece last autumn but am too afraid to undo it in case it died. Does anyone else have an outside bougainvillea?

We have a very prickly palm type plant which I think is a Date Tree and it takes chunks out of me whenever I get near it. I want to get rid, the Hubster is keen to keep it. I can report the winter has decided it for us...it is dying! I am trying to keep the grin off my face!

Two large phormium don’t seem to have survived the winter in my garden, as all the leaves have turned brown, and they’re obviously meant to be evergreen plants.

I’ll give them maybe 3 months to see if any new shoots appear, but I think when it got down to -6 degrees with layers of snow this winter, they were killed off.

I’m particularly sad about one of them as it had been there for 20 years+ and was a good privacy screen.

I was delighted to see yesterday that the Astrantia that I bought in Northumberland last year has survived the winter and has new leaves coming through. I have enquired at all three of our local garden centres to try and buy some more as I would like to make a feature of them, but they don’t seem to stock them, so I will probably have to go on line and I don’t like buying plants on line.

We are over the moon that most of our hostas in pots have survived, despite some of the terracotta pots breaking up in the frost and ice. We've collected them over the years, split them many times and most of our families, friends and neighbours have received our 'extras'. We forgot in the Autumn to remove the dishes that fill with water from beneath the pots, and thought the ice would have finished them off so it's nice to see the new leaves starting to poke through the soil.

Apart from the loss of many plants, including those with greenhouse protection, it is the literally, millions of sycamore seedlings that are causing me the biggest problem.

I have a sycamore seedling problem every year because we have several very large ones around the property and they grow like weeds, I'm continually having to pull up the ones that get away. They are very worrying because we have horses and the seedlings at the two leaf stage are poisonous to horses.

But I've discovered that if you cut them short at that stage they don't regenerate. So rather than weed them out of grass or gravel it would be worth going over them with a strimmer (or mower on grass) to cut their heads off...

I'm actually quite astounded at what has survived the winter as we live in a frost pocket and sometimes the biting cold meant that it never lifted all day. But perhaps our northern plants are tougher than the effete southern ones

SkyDancer It's a nice thought but few people want Oak trees. My DF once grew half a dozen trees until they were about 3 years old and offered them to a gardening club, the Council, and various other people but no one was interested. They ended up in the compost. Many who are involved in reforestation want only trees that are certified disease free and particular types/species, and English Oak trees grow too big for most gardens and allotments. Our Village Society has planted 25 trees around the village over recent years and not one is an Oak - although there are already a number of oak trees around anyway, especially on the nearby heath.