Topic: The RAWK Gardening Thread. (All Questions Answered)

[reddebs]

Meant to add thanks for the info re yellow rattle. 

We don't mow that area till at least September so everything self seeds.  As for the bees, we have loads of big bumbles nesting all round the garden but we don't get many honey bees here for some reason.

[Red-Soldier]

I'm disappointed the ragged robin hasn't grown as in theory it's perfect growing conditions for it as it's pretty waterlogged all winter. 

We've got lots of other things though.

Lots of cuckoo flowers which had a male orange tipped butterfly on it yesterday. 

Cow parsley, oxeye daisies, herb Robert, vetch, trefoil, cut leaf geranium, thistles, curly dock (yes I leave them) ☺️

There's a couple of small buttercup type flowers too that I'm still trying to identify.  Google lens says ones a type of potentilla and the other a star grass 🤷

Cuckoo flower is the caterpiller food plant of the orange tip, so no surprises you spotted anh adult there.

Does it look like this?

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/13635/potentilla-reptans/details

[reddebs]

Cuckoo flower is the caterpiller food plant of the orange tip, so no surprises you spotted anh adult there.

Does it look like this?

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/13635/potentilla-reptans/details

A little bit but the petals have a more pronounced scollop to the edges and they're orangy yellow in the middles. 

The other one is a similar size but the petals are pointed like a star.

[reddebs]

More like this https://observation.org/species/18363/

And the other one like this https://levypreserve.org/plant-listings/zephyranthes-citrina/

[reddebs]

Quick question about my wildflower area.

After I've mown and cleared away in August/September can I then cut really short, scarify and reseed with more wild flowers or will that damage what's already there?

[Zeppelin]

Can anyone help me to identify the two plants in these photos please?

[SvenJohansen]

Can anyone help me to identify the two plants in these photos please?

Is the top one a hedge? Could be a cotoneaster, is there a lot of small berries on it?

The second one looks like a type of barberry. Has narrow spikily leaves.

[Zeppelin]

Thanks for the help

[reddebs]

Already had a few servings of our own new potatoes, radish and rhubarb and picked the first strawberries this morning.

The onions, tomatoes, beetroot and spring onions are not quite ready yet though but I was late getting them in and it wasn't really warm enough either.

Also got flower buds appearing on the bell peppers, which I never thought I'd be able to grow.

How's everyone else getting on with their fruit and veg?

[bradders1011]

Beautiful that. Planning to get some sunnies in our garden next spring.

[harryc]

Very poor crop of tomatoes, peppers, chillies etc this year with the crappy summer we had.

[reddebs]

Very poor crop of tomatoes, peppers, chillies etc this year with the crappy summer we had.

It's definitely been a funny year for the garden but the veg has done ok here.

My tomatoes are outside and I've had a great crop.  In fact I'm still harvesting them and now thinking about making chutney to use some up I've that many.

The bell peppers have also done well.  I've a few already frozen, have used some fresh and there's still some on the plants ripening.

I've got purple sprouting broccoli, rainbow chard and red cabbage all doing well.

Don't grow chilli's so no idea.

[jillcwhomever]

I am going to redo my back garden, getting rid of the decking although I will keep the sides in so I can continue to grow the grape vine. I plan to put a couple of raised beds in and hope to put a sheltered place to sit in. I intend to do some sweet peas this year on my planter and buy a dwarf cherry tree in a pot. I am just frustrated now that I can't get started right now...

[reddebs]

I am going to redo my back garden, getting rid of the decking although I will keep the sides in so I can continue to grow the grape vine. I plan to put a couple of raised beds in and hope to put a sheltered place to sit in. I intend to do some sweet peas this year on my planter and buy a dwarf cherry tree in a pot. I am just frustrated now that I can't get started right now...

Sounds like a plan Jill and I understand your frustration too as I've got lists of jobs I'm itching to get started on.  It's meant to be nice for a couple of weeks now though so you should be able to get going with it.

[jillcwhomever]

Sounds like a plan Jill and I understand your frustration too as I've got lists of jobs I'm itching to get started on.  It's meant to be nice for a couple of weeks now though so you should be able to get going with it.

Hopefully Debs, it wasn't too bad today but wouldn't you know it other things happened so I never got the chance. But as you say, hopefully I will get an opportunity at the weekend.

[jillcwhomever]

Can anyone give any recommendations for garden sheds. I am having to replace my old one and I need one which has shelves in it, a lot of the ones I have looked at in the likes of B & Q/Amazon are not quite what I am looking for. Any ideas anyone, please.

[Oh Campione]

Can anyone give any recommendations for garden sheds. I am having to replace my old one and I need one which has shelves in it, a lot of the ones I have looked at in the likes of B & Q/Amazon are not quite what I am looking for. Any ideas anyone, please.

We got ours from Merseyside Sheds last summer, near Seaforth docks.  Got to pick size and all the other bits you wanted (door location, window) - bought some racking for is well from B&Q for shelving

Really happy with it, they came and built it for us as well

[jillcwhomever]

We got ours from Merseyside Sheds last summer, near Seaforth docks.  Got to pick size and all the other bits you wanted (door location, window) - bought some racking for is well from B&Q for shelving

Really happy with it, they came and built it for us as well

That's useful to know, thanks for that. 

[Terry de Niro]

This was me earlier.

[Slippers]

This was me earlier.

Our lawn's been destroyed by the dog's post poop victory dance.

[Crosby Nick]

Thats a fine garden Jon.

He even has someone on sentry duty at the bottom of it.

[reddebs]

Just had a reccy round the garden and nature has surprisingly weathered the storms, snow and the ice particularly well.

Bit of wind burn to some of the leafy plants but lots of new growth on most things.  The cyclamen and hellebores are still flowering, the daffs and snowdrops are opening and the camellia is going to be beautiful when all the buds open.

The only things that seem to have suffered are the cineraria which are but bedraggled from wind rock but that's fine as I've got spare seeds to grow some new ones.

Even the purple sprouting broccoli are still standing and nearly ready to start harvesting.

[Sarge]

He even has someone on sentry duty at the bottom of it.

Makes sense. Fine big garden all the same.

[Slippers]

Just had a reccy round the garden and nature has surprisingly weathered the storms, snow and the ice particularly well.

Bit of wind burn to some of the leafy plants but lots of new growth on most things.  The cyclamen and hellebores are still flowering, the daffs and snowdrops are opening and the camellia is going to be beautiful when all the buds open.

The only things that seem to have suffered are the cineraria which are but bedraggled from wind rock but that's fine as I've got spare seeds to grow some new ones.

Even the purple sprouting broccoli are still standing and nearly ready to start harvesting.

Ours isn't looking too bad considering I haven't been able to do anything out there since early November.

The top lawn needs cutting and the bottom one's in need of some TLC(thank you dog).Three of the camellias are blooming,the primroses are starting to pop up and there are hundreds of buds on the magnolias.

[reddebs]

Ours isn't looking too bad considering I haven't been able to do anything out there since early November.

The top lawn needs cutting and the bottom one's in need of some TLC(thank you dog).Three of the camellias are blooming,the primroses are starting to pop up and there are hundreds of buds on the magnolias.

The grass has been desperate for cutting here for weeks and I'd hoped Paul would do it when it dried a couple of weeks ago but he missed his chance.

I've not really done much since November either and although there's bits of weeding to do I'm remarkably calm about leaving it for now.  I planted so much stuff last summer that I don't want to forget what's where then start digging things up 🤭

It'll not be long now though 👍

[Slippers]

Yeah,I won't be getting stuck into the borders until I can see where all the bulbs are.

I tried marking their location with little sticks but the dog took them.

[reddebs]

Yeah,I won't be getting stuck into the borders until I can see where all the bulbs are.

I tried marking their location with little sticks but the dog took them.

It's not so much the bulbs as most of them are up or at least poking through, it's that my sister planted dozens of different campanulas, saxafrage and other succulents all over the place, some of which are still tiny babies so barely visible plus some are perennial so die right back.

[bradders1011]

Are sunflowers difficult? We have a little SE-facing corner that gets morning sun and has a trellised wall. The cats do their business there, but I'm sure we can scare them off under the leylandii.

[Slippers]

Are sunflowers difficult? We have a little SE-facing corner that gets morning sun and has a trellised wall. The cats do their business there, but I'm sure we can scare them off under the leylandii.

Not difficult to grow but they do attract snails.

[reddebs]

Are sunflowers difficult? We have a little SE-facing corner that gets morning sun and has a trellised wall. The cats do their business there, but I'm sure we can scare them off under the leylandii.

Dead easy to grow mate and there's loads of varieties that are different heights and colours but also that flower at different times of the year 👍

You'll need a sunny windowsill or greenhouse to start the seeds off though.

[Slippers]

The best sunflowers we ever grew were accidental ones,they were from seeds that were thrown out with the hamster's bedding.

The bedding material protected the seedlings because the snails didn't like crawling over it.

[John C]

Thats a fine garden Jon.

Hello mate, lovely to see you return

[.adam]

Weeping willow developing new green shoots, forsythia has got its first yellow leaves and the grass has started to grow again.

Spring has definitely come earlier this year. Might give my lawn its first cut this weekend.

[Slippers]

Mini daffodils are up,four of the camellias are flowering and the magnolias have hundreds of buds on them.

They'll probably flower just in time for the easterly winds that destroy them every year.

[John C]

forsythia has got its first yellow leaves

You've made me examine my Forsythia and mine has also.

Mini daffodils are up,

Mine have been out for about 10 days.

The Crocus's in the park are lovely.

[BlackandWhitePaul]

I'm wanting to plant about half a dozen shrubs in my garden preferably when fully grown between 3 and 4 feet tall and get berries on them in autumn which will be edible by birds.  Any suggestions please?

[reddebs]

I'm wanting to plant about half a dozen shrubs in my garden preferably when fully grown between 3 and 4 feet tall and get berries on them in autumn which will be edible by birds.  Any suggestions please?

Cotoneaster - red berries, pyracantha - yellow or orange berries, some berberis - purple/black berries, some viburnum - black berries, pheasant berry bush - purple berries.

Some of those can and will grow bigger if you let them but they can all be pruned to stay compact.

Good luck and thank you for considering the birds and other wildlife 👍

[BlackandWhitePaul]

Cotoneaster - red berries, pyracantha - yellow or orange berries, some berberis - purple/black berries, some viburnum - black berries, pheasant berry bush - purple berries.

Some of those can and will grow bigger if you let them but they can all be pruned to stay compact.

Good luck and thank you for considering the birds and other wildlife 👍

Thank you very much I appreciate your help.

I have a guy coming on 10th April who's going to build a 4 foot fence / gate around my front garden and when that's done i'm off to the garden centre to get the shrubs.

I love birds and feed them every day spending quite a bit every couple of months on mealworms / peanuts / sunflower hearts and fatballs. Just last week I purchased a bird bath and a little pump to put in it and will set it up once the fence / gate are installed

[reddebs]

Thank you very much I appreciate your help.

I have a guy coming on 10th April who's going to build a 4 foot fence / gate around my front garden and when that's done i'm off to the garden centre to get the shrubs.

I love birds and feed them every day spending quite a bit every couple of months on mealworms / peanuts / sunflower hearts and fatballs. Just last week I purchased a bird bath and a little pump to put in it and will set it up once the fence / gate are installed

Same here with feeding the birds with the added bonus of red squirrels 😊

You could also consider hawthorn and blackthorn although they're more hedging than shrubs. 

Blackthorn blossom is a beautiful splash of white against bare stems in March and then you get the sloes in autumn if you fancy making sloe gin but they can get invasive.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

Different types of Buddleia are also great for birds, they'll eat the seeds over winter & you cut them back in spring.

I've been getting our wild bird seed from Tesco, it's 12.5kg for £9.65.