Horizon's Gardening Topic

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  • Tonight there's a threat of a serious frost (sub zero) so I've just been out to fleece up (first stage) the banana palms, They're still green and growing so I've left some of the foliage on. Once it gets frosted I'll cut it off. Two potted geraniums and the banana palm in it's pot inside now. Got to find somewhere to put them that isn't alread covered in pots from my mothers conservatory.

    The geraniums in tubs I've moved to the sheltered spot just outside the back door together with some potted begonias that are still struggling on and even still flowering. Even when we get snow it never lays here as there are property walls on all three sides. I can always put some fleece over like last winter and they held up then.

  • As it turned out it didn't go sub-zero overnight. Lowest was about +0.8°C and it hasn't hit the nasturtiums. They're still looking good and a few flowers still.

    Weather outlook is about the same for today and then getting a little less cold so no "Beast from the East" yet.:)

  • I've now removed the frosted leaves from the banana palms so they're just stumps now. Rearranged the fleece and added an extra complete layer. Should be enough now to protect from all but the worst frost. I've also put a layer of fleece over the raised bed that has my perennials in as although they're pretty tough the guidelines did suggest a little frost protection. Tonight should be the last of the severe frosts for a while according to the weather outlook for the week.

  • Our daffies and dutch iris are about 8" high, and the aconites and snowdrops have been flowering for a while. My cyclamen are still flowering well outdoors, despite the nasty weather.

    Mark Twain — 'Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.'

  • Noticed today that my dwarf iris are flowering. I don't have many, but they are a cheery sight.

    Mark Twain — 'Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.'

  • Had a quick 1 minute glance over my gardens and spotted a daffodil flower emerging and some hyacinths showing through too. Even got a a few more snowdrops in my front garden too, which is nice.

    As my personal situation has deteriorated since last September as my caring duties have become 24/7, my gardens are looking the worse for wear. Nothing done on them since last October and they are looking messy as I'm stuck inside all the time. Not sure what will happen garden wise this year, but at least I have some spring plants to look forward too, that's the ones which haven't been destroyed by all the various creatures!

    One of my main planters of violas by my front door has been completely destroyed, but most of the other planters have been pretty much left alone, for now. Should be a half decent display when they all come out and I will post piccies if I can. Lots of dafs, hyacinths, tulips and bedding all starting to awaken.:)

    ===

    I have a amaryllis in the kitchen which is just about to flower and I I will post a snap of it when it emerges. It was a Christmas present. It's a monster! Second stem coming too, so should provide plenty of flowers for quite a while.

  • Sorry to hear your carer duties are affecting the garden.

    There's a roundabout near me that the daffs have been flowering on since mid January. Two of my Amaryllis are also producing buds, they didn't even drop the leaves like about half the others have.

    If the weather's a bit warmer this weekend we'll have to start tidying up the garden. I have a rather overgrown hebe in the front that really needs cutting back. I did some last summer to stimulate growth from lower down the stems. That has happened so I can start to cut off the higher up straggly stuff and make it a bit more compact. Same applies to a small yew nearer the front window that is cutting off the light.

    Fortunately yew can be cut right back and will grow from the cut ends unlike Leylandii. Pity people don't use it more.

    I usually have a small bunch of it in the bathroom as it has a pleasant aroma as the cuttings dry out. Much better than spraying nasty chemicals about.

  • Sorry to hear your carer duties are affecting the garden.

    Thank you. It is what it is.... I just didn't realise last year when I was doing the gardening, that would be it for a while, the same with the cooking. It's strange how little things like doing a bit of sweeping in the garden or doing a roast can be be missed, when those options are no longer available.

    There's a roundabout near me that the daffs have been flowering on since mid January. Two of my Amaryllis are also producing buds, they didn't even drop the leaves like about half the others have.


    If the weather's a bit warmer this weekend we'll have to start tidying up the garden. I have a rather overgrown hebe in the front that really needs cutting back. I did some last summer to stimulate growth from lower down the stems. That has happened so I can start to cut off the higher up straggly stuff and make it a bit more compact. Same applies to a small yew nearer the front window that is cutting off the light.


    Fortunately yew can be cut right back and will grow from the cut ends unlike Leylandii. Pity people don't use it more.


    I usually have a small bunch of it in the bathroom as it has a pleasant aroma as the cuttings dry out. Much better than spraying nasty chemicals about.

    Didn't know that about the Yew and if you look back in the pics of my garden in this thread or the gallery, you'll see I have Yews too. Three in the back and one in the front garden.

    Considering you're so close to the coast and away from the heat of a big city, those dafs are doing amazing.

    Never had a Amaryllis before, so looking forward to seeing it flower.

    I used to love Hebes, even met the country's foremost expert on them, he lives very close to me. But I made the mistake in recent years of going for all the new coloured hybrid versions grown in the garden centres, which look wonderful the first year and then die off, so don't have anymore now. I should've stuck to the advice I was given.

  • But I made the mistake in recent years of going for all the new coloured hybrid versions grown in the garden centres

    Mine is a straight white with slight purple tinges. Big leaves, very sturdy.

    Yew is a favorite for hedges and topiary in the larger stately gardens because it takes cutting back without going brown. It's also very long lived and often planted in church cemeteries and allowed to grow into a substantial tree. The one I have just grew so I guess it must have come from a seed left by a bird.

  • Just been out triming back the Canary Island Palm. Had a note through the door yesterday by the neighbour that it was pushing over the low wall behind it.

    It's mostly the sawn off and cut off stumps: As the body has got bigger they've started pushing against the wall. Anyway an hour's work with my (blunt! :cursing:) rip saw and there's now a good gap to where the wall will be when re-built. The neighbour says they'll do it as it's their wall. That's true as it's inside their property line but I'll make a good will offering to share the re-build costs. It's only about a 10ft stretch and it is my fault that I didn't notice what was going on.

    They're original to the property and after 100 years or so the morter's got pretty crumbly, not helped by rampant ivy.

  • Is the ivy yours Heero, or theirs? Not that it matters, ivy won't knock over a wall.

    If their wall is 100 years old, I'm not surprised its crumbling a bit. Good on for your very generous offer, lets hope they refuse the offer because they might be frightened into thinking that the wall will become joint ownership with you, if you help to pay for it.;):evil:

  • Is the ivy yours Heero, or theirs?

    Does anybody actually "own" ivy. ^^ It's all over the area actually, I pull it out if it gets too aggressive.

    I have another wall that adjoins the next door neighbour. That looks pretty poor too so I really aught to re-point my side at least to stop it disintegration further.

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