Hi everyone, I used to post a lot in a previous Gardens etc until my wife was also diagnosed with cancer just over 2 years ago and she went through such a hard time so my time was taken up with not just Mrs Tvman but I was not good because of the rise and fall of red cells, white cells, neutrophils and platelets.
The good news is that I have a little bit more free time to garden. I never stopped because it's in my DNA to get working in the garden. I'm also a wheelchair user because of a serious back condition called spinal stenosis and the pain is so great that I'm only able to work in short bursts.
So let's see photos of your gardens or allotments, whether they be large or small or maybe you only have room for pots and troughs in a balcony or back yard.
My speciality for the last 40 years is vegetables and I have won hundreds of prizes over the last 20 years or so. I have had vegetables in show that have made me Northern Ireland champion for my sins. Unfortunately, since covid some shows have ceased therefore I haven't entered any for a few years.
I've a few photos below, that's if I can remember how to insert them! It's been a while.
Below is a photo of the contents of my greenhouse, there are tomato plants left and right of the pathway. Also just past the tomatoes are cucumber plants against that have frames for them to climb up. The cucumber variety is Mini Munch, they're a small variety that are sufficient for a few salads
The plants in the large pots below are aubergines, variety Black Beauty and inbetween the pots is a seed tray in which spring onion seeds have been sown which of course haven't germinated yet. Over here in Northern Ireland we call spring onions "scallions" and apart from in salads we have them with butter in mashed potatoes and that dish is called "champ". Believe it or not that was served as a stand alone dish that we had when I was small, some 60 years ago. Just mashed potatoes with small pieces of cut up scallions, cooked slowly in real butter then a dinner plate was loaded up with champ, a hole made in the top and filled with more butter then everything was mixed together and eaten. Along with an Ulster Fry in the morning, no wonder we had the highest rate of heart disease in Europe!
Last photo below for this post is a bed of garlic (on the left), shallots in the foreground and at the far end for those of you eagle-eyed is a few red and white onions that are just 2 or 3 inches high. They are grown from onion sets that are small immature onions and usually come in a net bag weighing 250g and there are about 70 in total.
You'll notice that I have wire netting around the beds, that's because 3 years ago I had a rabbit problem. 35 years without them, 1½ years of rabbits and none since! The wire netting is staying for a while yet!
What about some photos from anyone else?
Tvman
Alan Titchmarsh is exactly as you see him on tv, so yo can make your own mind up about him, I have met a few of the BBC gardeners world presenters, at the BBC gardeners world show at the NEC in Birmingham, but I couldn't say which ones, I used to watch Gardeners World when Geoff Hamilton hosted it, then someone from Ilkley took over.
Eddie xx
Stella, are you sure it died, if it doesn't get enough water it will shed all it's leaves and look dead, but its just waiting for a good downpour, the other one looks great, with lovely flowers, which are wonderful as cut flowers.
Eddie xx
Hi TVman, I thought it was a climbing hydrangea as well, especially when I zoomed in on the flower on the right, it is very similar to the one I have had for years and I love it!
Love Annette x
I love peony, they are extremely popular in China since ancient times, many poems have been written about them. Mine smells really nice too which is a surprise. I am very excited every morning just to see what new bloomed that day.
Hi Stella, I have a peony too, just have to remember to put supports in as it's rearing up from its winter slumber. More difficult once it's up, to insert supports. Lovely flower, and scented too.
Tvman
They look stunning. Mine is a hybrid of tree and herbaceous peony and supposedly not need support. In China , we mostly grow tree peonies.
Hi Pet, I'd never heard of the dahlia tree so I googled it. It seems they don't really grow well in our cooler UK climate. They'll grow to maybe 2 metres with a small flower if we're lucky. Unfortunately the flower doesn't come before the first frost here. There you go again Pet making me jealous of your hot climate lol.
I agree with Annette, good to see you posting here again. How are you these days Pet?
Tvman
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