Gardens and gardening 2021

Hi ownedbystaffies

Your lawn sounds interesting, there'll be lots of critters living happily in it. Seriously though, have you ever thought of growing a wild flower meadow? It's simple and you can buy wild flower mixes from seeds companies. In autumn, give your lawn a short cut and then loosen the soil with a rake and then sow your wild flower seeds, trample them in and leave them to grow. 

A little tip here. Make sure your wild flower seeds contain Yellow Rattle. Why? Well, the yellow rattle seeds germinate around March and April, just after the grass starts growing. What happens then is magical. As the yellow rattle grows, its roots fix onto the grass roots and get it's nutrients from the grass roots, keeping the grass from growing wildly and helping the yellow rattle to grow.

Enjoy your garden obs.

Tvman xx

Good luck with your seeds ruthjp

Tvman xx

Thanks Tvman, too cold to germinate sounds spot on. We've had frosts every morning for the last couple of weeks.

I planted leeks, brocolli, carrots, lettuces, spinach, cabbages, and spring onions.

I'll try again in a week or so and I'll get some fleece ready.

Thanks

Stuart x 

Hi chellesimo

Chelle, rhododendrons are one of my favourites too. There's a National Trust gardens only 8 miles from me that has a fantastic display of rhododendrons and azaleas. It's called Rowallan Gardens and around about April the show is treemendous . There are some massive rhododendron flowers as big as a dinner plate.

If you're ever in Northern Ireland and in my area of County Down, I'll show you around lol.

Take care and be safe Chelle

Tvman xx

Stuart, don't give up on the carrots, leeks and spring onions. They're slow to germinate. Lettuce and cabbages germinate within a week as long as they're damp but not saturated. I have carrots under fleece and they have germinated . I'll post a photo later. 

Tvman

I might just take you up on that

Thanks tvman,

I always intend to give that a try - yes yellow rattle is an amazing plant with its parasitic habit of keeping down grass.

Mind you I always have plans - good at the thought, less good at the action!

I need to hire a  regular gardener really, might treat myself to one once I achieve pension age in June ( hurrah!)  Then I can sit back and watch action in progress.

My son is a gardener and my boys have an allotment- I love lazing on the bench watching them work lol!!

Hi fellow gardeners and non gardeners too. I have a photo of my Japanese Cherry Tree that I took yesterday. It's a complete mass of blooms and gets bigger and better every year.

Tvman xx

That is something!