When I'm allowed out of the statbank dungeon I spend quite a lot of time in the garden where my vegetables are my main concern but I also love my David Austin Roses which are pruned by The Lass as she reckons I don't do it right. She took this pic this morning after I had just finished planting out the last of my main crop potatoes with the help of Archie the houndlet.
I have a couple of Peony’s that are now a couple of feet high. They produce lots of large headed flowers but sag dreadfully when in flower, especially after some rain. I have the metal hoops but they only come up about a foot or so above soil level and frankly not much use when the peony is full height ( 4 feet) and in flower. I’ve tried staking and using twine but this only seems to bunch the stems together spoiling the effect of the plant. Advice gratefully received with thanks in advance.
I bought 6m lengths of 5mm rebar, can shape it as you need too. Rusty so it blends quite well in the garden. I planted my mum's peony when we moved in 6 years ago. It had been in a pot for 13 years previously and it only flowered for the first time last year, it will flower again this year. The grumpy old sod didn't like to be moved. Bit like me.
I have a couple of Peony’s that are now a couple of feet high. They produce lots of large headed flowers but sag dreadfully when in flower, especially after some rain. I have the metal hoops but they only come up about a foot or so above soil level and frankly not much use when the peony is full height ( 4 feet) and in flower. I’ve tried staking and using twine but this only seems to bunch the stems together spoiling the effect of the plant. Advice gratefully received with thanks in advance.
I bought 6m lengths of 5mm rebar, can shape it as you need too. Rusty so it blends quite well in the garden. I planted my mum's peony when we moved in 6 years ago. It had been in a pot for 13 years previously and it only flowered for the first time last year, it will flower again this year. The grumpy old sod didn't like to be moved. Bit like me.
Thank you Red. That is exactly what I’m going to do. Not expensive either. 👍👍👍👍
Planted a Jostaberry plant three years ago and it's done nothing except grow foliage. Finally this year it's producing some blossom so I'm hopeful of a crop if I don't sell the house beforehand. Same goes for my dwarf cherry tree which has a clump of flowers for the first time. Promising!
I’ve got an ant problem. I’ve had it for a couple of years and they’ve got to go. They’re in my greenhouse. I could try nematodes but it says it deters them. I can’t imagine they will all just troop out the door. I would rather not kill them but….. any ‘kind’ methods of getting rid?
I’ve got an ant problem. I’ve had it for a couple of years and they’ve got to go. They’re in my greenhouse. I could try nematodes but it says it deters them. I can’t imagine they will all just troop out the door. I would rather not kill them but….. any ‘kind’ methods of getting rid?
Put baking soda or bicarb wherever they are coming and going from. Apparently salt works too. Failing that you can dig them out until you find the nest and eggs and move them elsewhere.
I’ve got an ant problem. I’ve had it for a couple of years and they’ve got to go. They’re in my greenhouse. I could try nematodes but it says it deters them. I can’t imagine they will all just troop out the door. I would rather not kill them but….. any ‘kind’ methods of getting rid?
I’ve got an ant problem. I’ve had it for a couple of years and they’ve got to go. They’re in my greenhouse. I could try nematodes but it says it deters them. I can’t imagine they will all just troop out the door. I would rather not kill them but….. any ‘kind’ methods of getting rid?
I’ve got an ant problem. I’ve had it for a couple of years and they’ve got to go. They’re in my greenhouse. I could try nematodes but it says it deters them. I can’t imagine they will all just troop out the door. I would rather not kill them but….. any ‘kind’ methods of getting rid?
Err why?
Live and let live!
I don’t use anything to kill what most people call pests. We get slugs, snails and all the usual others. We also have lots of snail shells missing their contents so something is eating them and others. We came to gardening this way through laziness and ignorance. When we bought our house we did nothing in the garden apart from cutting the grass, basically we didn’t have the time and money to do anything else. I think it’s worth sacrificing a couple of years of plants while attracting the predator species in. We have a few Hostas, which are slug bait, they grow well with little damage. Of course we are not immune to losing some of our bedding plants but doing nothing to control damage is easy I prefer to let things live.
To protect my ganja and tomatoes I plant Rosemary herbs and Marigolds next to them, they encourage ladybirds who then get fat on all the stuff that likes to eat medicinal plants. I do the same with bedding plants. Hosters are the one that I have to put wool pellets down on as they are catnip for slugs and I haven't seen a toad or hedgehog in our garden for years as they used to take care of the slugs.
Pesticides are no good, I'm all in on making the garden as welcoming as I can for pollinators, I have a few buggerys and a big log bed for the insects to make a home in.
Spraying everything is unhealthy to us as well as the insects being nerfed. Squirrels are an issue, I feed them and I must have some of the fattest squirrels in the country in my garden and the little bastards still dig bulbs up and dephile my lawn regularly.
Rats and Buxus Bush caterpillars are the only exception to my no kill policy. The ones the cats don't get I pick off with a rifle (rats not the caterpillars) Sparrows also take care of the little bugs. I spray some stuff a couple of times a year on the buxus bush to deter the caterpillars as those invasive shits destroy buxus in this country and they aren't cheap to replace
Currently visiting wife's family in Scotland, planning to purchase a few exotic plants up here in the hope they may be a bit more hardy than the stuff I get down south.
Currently visiting wife's family in Scotland, planning to purchase a few exotic plants up here in the hope they may be a bit more hardy than the stuff I get down south.
Currently visiting wife's family in Scotland, planning to purchase a few exotic plants up here in the hope they may be a bit more hardy than the stuff I get down south.
Scottish Alpine strawberries are really nice and they are even harder than my covid strawberries
Started the process of getting my tenders out this weekend (ooh er missus). My bananas wouldn't wait any longer and were bursting out of their fleece jackets but I'm most chuffed with the condition of my sago palm.
First winter with this for me and by rights should've been taken inside or into a greenhouse. But just a bit of fleece seems to have done the trick and I'm amazed how unscathed it is considering the deluge of rain we had this winter.
decking quite a sizeable area of my garden at the moment - very unsightly bit down the bottom which is uneven and would need a huge amount of work to dig up the concrete and crap in it, roughly 12m x 8m.....christ the price of materials!!
decking quite a sizeable area of my garden at the moment - very unsightly bit down the bottom which is uneven and would need a huge amount of work to dig up the concrete and crap in it, roughly 12m x 8m.....christ the price of materials!!
All gone through the roof coz of covid. Glad I got my oak conservatory done just before, cost a fortune but dread to think how much now
decking quite a sizeable area of my garden at the moment - very unsightly bit down the bottom which is uneven and would need a huge amount of work to dig up the concrete and crap in it, roughly 12m x 8m.....christ the price of materials!!
We're having a couple of patios put in at the moment. As you say, prices have shot up.
My garden has become my happy place 😂 I think I’ll look at doing a tiered raised beds in the centre with a centre piece plant, any ideas what would look good?
Would go well but £££'s to get something established of a decent size. With all the shingle I'd also be thinking something Mediterranean (or seasidey) @TCE . It's going to need to take full sun if it's going into the middle of the gravelled area.
Maybe something like a cordyline for some height or a phormium? Some interesting colours out there to chose from:
If it were me I'd probably go for an agave (maybe a bit spiky for the dogs?) or some sort of palm, which would sit well surrounded by shingle.
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I bought 6m lengths of 5mm rebar, can shape it as you need too. Rusty so it blends quite well in the garden. I planted my mum's peony when we moved in 6 years ago. It had been in a pot for 13 years previously and it only flowered for the first time last year, it will flower again this year. The grumpy old sod didn't like to be moved. Bit like me.
any ‘kind’ methods of getting rid?
We came to gardening this way through laziness and ignorance. When we bought our house we did nothing in the garden apart from cutting the grass, basically we didn’t have the time and money to do anything else. I think it’s worth sacrificing a couple of years of plants while attracting the predator species in. We have a few Hostas, which are slug bait, they grow well with little damage. Of course we are not immune to losing some of our bedding plants but doing nothing to control damage is easy I prefer to let things live.
Pesticides are no good, I'm all in on making the garden as welcoming as I can for pollinators, I have a few buggerys and a big log bed for the insects to make a home in.
Spraying everything is unhealthy to us as well as the insects being nerfed. Squirrels are an issue, I feed them and I must have some of the fattest squirrels in the country in my garden and the little bastards still dig bulbs up and dephile my lawn regularly.
Rats and Buxus Bush caterpillars are the only exception to my no kill policy. The ones the cats don't get I pick off with a rifle (rats not the caterpillars) Sparrows also take care of the little bugs. I spray some stuff a couple of times a year on the buxus bush to deter the caterpillars as those invasive shits destroy buxus in this country and they aren't cheap to replace
First winter with this for me and by rights should've been taken inside or into a greenhouse. But just a bit of fleece seems to have done the trick and I'm amazed how unscathed it is considering the deluge of rain we had this winter.
#Wrongclubcolours
Slowly claiming the garden back from the dogs.
Thank you
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/89364/polygonatum-hybridum/details
My garden has become my happy place 😂
I think I’ll look at doing a tiered raised beds in the centre with a centre piece plant, any ideas what would look good?
Maybe something like a cordyline for some height or a phormium? Some interesting colours out there to chose from:
If it were me I'd probably go for an agave (maybe a bit spiky for the dogs?) or some sort of palm, which would sit well surrounded by shingle.