Gardens, Gardening, Plants, etc 2019

Hi all

Yes, I have a few dozen daffodils, narcissi, tulips,  snowdrops, alliums and hyacinths for planting. When we were away at the weekend, we picked up some lovely healthy vibrant coloured pansies, violas and cyclamen. Some of the cyclamen have a bright colour which have a thin white edging all around the petals, truly beautiful. The various plants are destined mainly for the tubs and containers at the front door. I love arriving home to see a great display, gives me such a warm feeling inside.

Veg wise, I have ordered garlic, shallots and overwintering onions, red and white. I find it's best to buy them from a specialist grower because when you buy a package of all 4, there's a decent discount to be had. 

I've a few young plants that I raised for growing to maturity in the greenhouse-winter lettuce and spring onions, we call them scallions in this part of the world and cut up, poached in butter which is then added to mashed potatoes, a lovely buttery dish that in Northern Ireland is called champ. In the Republic of Ireland, they use diced cabbage and there it's called Colcannon. Whichever you choose, they're pretty tasty, but choose champ lol.

Enjoy planting your bulbs everyone.

Tvman x

hi there oh I love it when I hear other people's gardening stories as you know I have a great passion for gardening I am the same I have loads of containers large borders rockeries big lawns containers hanging from all round me fencing that's without all the hanging baskets as well then all me animal ornaments me animal chimes and all me silver balls in it goes on and on them all me lighting as well me neighbours say it's like matlock illuminations and I should sell tickets ha ha ha I love to see me shoots coming up gives me hope and gets me excited xxx

Hi 

I was lucky enough to visit Sissinghurst garden today - it was Vita Sackville West’s garden where she arguably invented modern gardening. It’s broken up into distinct garden areas with different themes, all tied together by clever landscaping around some beautiful old buildings and the wider views to the Kent countryside. 

Goodness it was beautiful. It receives so many visitors that some  parts were cordoned off to allow them to recover but lots was still open and plenty still in flower. The famous white garden was past its best but gorgeous nevertheless. The asters and dahlias were our in full force in the purple border, the marigolds were like jewels in the red/gold garden and the trees were beginning to turn so there were splashes of autumn colour. We watched a gardener trim a yew hedge, using a spirit level to keep his line, and another volunteer sweep every last leaf from a stretch of York flagstone. The autumnal smells were incredible and I discovered what the fruit of a magnolia tree looks like. I had never noticed them before. 

It was a real treat. 

Xx

Oh it sounds fabulous love themes wonderful you get such an atmosphere of you have themed gardens it's like the garden having a conversion with you sounds a bit daft but that's what I do like when I play me music I am sure they listen and grow better another daft comment ha ha I think everyone is getting used to me ways now I am just being myself and I can't change that I am at chemo today every Fri comes round to quick normally does when something you dread comes along any messages any body sends I will get back to you later on tonight let's hope I am not set back two hrs today!!at least my best friend is with me as usual you all know how wonderful she is and I can have loads of squashy cuddles from her today to get me through it xxx

Hi Daloni

Sounds like a wonderful day, I find I get such a lift when I go to a beautiful garden, I can sit for hours, feasting my eyes on the joyous colours. 

I think that this winter I'll start a yew hedge somewhere. Yew hedges are few and very far between over here. I can't say for sure that I have come across any over here, maybe too far north. Don't know.

What is very common here is Castlewellan Gold hedging, Leylandii, as well as Escallonia. So many Escallonia hedges were killed in the big freeze about 8 years ago. The one I have in the front garden fell victim to the cold then and it's only just back to its best after several years of drastic cuts of 50% a couple of times a season.  The advice from local radio gardeners was to start again but following a chat with a local landscape gardener, he and I both decided to try to save them. My son and my wife thought I was wasting my time, but I persevered and the results are worth it. Strangely, neither has congratulated me. 

I can't say I've come across magnolia fruits but I'll have a look in the front garden later. 

Take care Daloni 

Tvman xx

I hope your chemo goes smoothly today Popgate

xxx

So, very nearly done with my front garden this year. Everything is weeded and cleared out. I've planted some new tulip bulbs, just need to put the rest into the planters down my path but was too pooped to do that today. So just need to do some pruning and plant those last bulbs and I think it's sorted.

However, the already planted tulips from last year seem to be poking their heads up! They seem to think that we're coming into spring. Stupid things! 

Picked my cabbage today too, as I think he was done growing. Will have to decide how to best eat him. 

Any ideas? 

Lass

Xx

Various bulbs in my garden are also poking up, that's quite normal year after year. I'm currently working on assembling a polytunnel, so far I've only managed to get the four corners marked out and tomorrow I'll make a raised bed for my overwintering onions, shallots and garlic. It's best to make your beds first before putting the plastic on. Wielding a hammer or crowbar etc isn't a good idea if you put the plastic on first. Red cabbage is my favorite, whether pickled or braised. I've copied a recipe that I would use. Here it is:

Not to worry if the leaves of bulbs come up early. Some always do it, and they will withstand most of what winter will throw at them. The only danger is if flower buds get frosted and I find they are pretty tough too. 

Most of my autumn colour is going now, but I have various evergreens from bright lime green through to ordinary. I especially like a variegated Euonymus Japonicus 'Bravo'. It becomes a big plant, but it always looks like it's in the sunshine.

This time of year the Arum Italicum come up. This is a small bulbous plant with dark glossy, white veined leaves, which colour up what would otherwise be bare ground. They do tend to swamp early spring plants if planted too close, but they die off over the summer so can have herbaceous plants take over for summer colour. The cornus stems are red now, and I have some good small cyclamen in flower. The winter heathers haven't started yet.

Sadly I can do very little myself any more, because of low immunity and breathlessness if I bend over. I have some very good gardeners that come every three weeks, weather permitting. The satisfaction is that I have designed it all and planted most of it myself when I was in better health.

Tessa

Hi Tessa

I love to see the cornus red stems, they are magical when there's a lot of them together, I always mean to get a few, I really will have to. I have seen a few hedges made using cornus red and/or yellow, they're very wide though, they need a lot of room. 

My Escallonia hedge in the front garden took a hammering a few years ago when we had the big freeze (along with everyone else's) and I stuck with it, giving it two or three haircuts each year to encourage new shoots further down to thicken it, rather than ripping it out and starting again. They're not a native hedge, they were brought over from South America a couple of hundred years ago by Señor Escallon and he very kindly donated his name to it! Now that would be a lovely thing to do, wouldn't it?

I find it hard now, if not impossible, to trim the many hedges I have. My 35 year old son that lives with us helps a lot in that regard, although my urgency is not his urgency to put it mildly. He takes pride in his neatness, yesterday he toiled for a few hours, trimming the only Leylandii hedge that is one side of protection for my vegetable plot. It's about 40 ft long and incorporates a 12 ft high archway, the only entrance to the plot. That's it done for another year.

I could write for ages when gardening is the theme!

Happy gardening Tessa.

Tvman x