Does anyone know anything about gardening?

Well it wasn’t the frost that killed my fuchsia, bloody vine weevils have eaten all the roots!

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https://www.thompson-morgan.com/p/best-value-perennial-collection/wkc0440TM?

Leylandii removal has started

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Ouch! I've seen one or two but they haven't had the cheek yet to eat my plants.

RIP what colour was it?

what colour was it?

Err, fuschia. :)
It was a ‘Dollar Princess’ but I can’t find a decent picture. To be honest we had it against a south facing wall and even watering it daily it was never really happy. I moved it to the shade when we went on holiday and when we returned it looked better than before!

Lol, well some are just white and purple :)

I might have one of those, it's in boggy clay now but it wasn't too happy in a pot in scorching sun last year.

I prefer the white and purple ones TBH but I was shouted down. Now's my chance!

Other stuff in pots which have croaked it over the winter include - two kniphofia I forgot to get in the soil last year, a stunning Nandina, my four year old Aeonium, one Acer (which is planted in soil but clearly suffered with lack of water last year and has some branch die back). I'm gonna focus on vegetables this year. Oh yeah, I killed a blueberry bush too :'(
Eulogy -

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Hah, in a way the bugs did you a favour! But perhaps add something around the new one that attracts ground beetles which eat the weevils?

It was just such a weird year, hot and dry, then very late warm weather and then BLAM frost.

Growing some peas/tomatoes this year, see how it goes. Those need a lot of fertilizer if I want them to do well.

I imagine the African Lillies lived? They have some at the local recycling centre in a pot and with no care they just keep going.

I want to plant something like lavender and rosemary along this wall. It gets plenty of sun through the day. Don't want anything too high or that will encroach too much over the lawn (and is easy to keep alive).

There are lots of different varieties of both, any suggestions on which are the best options?

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Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender) or Lav. X intermedia if you want a bit more height, imo for lavender.

I'm sure I've seen espaliered rosemary, which might look good on that brick.

Thanks for this - looks amazing value, but 'delivery by end of May' for spring planting seems a bit weird. Don't suppose you've ordered from them before and have any sense of how timely they're likely to be? Cheers

If you're not too bothered about variety and have the patience to grow them on, you garden have an offer on lavender plug plants. I've got some coming, delivery is estimated around mid-march

https://www.yougarden.com/item-p-510054/english-lavender-collection

From chinwagging with a gardener this morning I think I'll go nematodes if I get another fuchsia. Weird weather I fear is the new norm, I've already got three 200L water butts and I'm looking at getting more as I ran out so quickly last year.
Peas are one crop I don't think I'll try at home again as they just didn't produce enough food to make it worth while, YMMV. I read somewhere that they shouldn't be overwatered once established - maybe I'll stick some up the allotment.
Agapanthas is a happy plant although it's getting tricky to shoehorn in any lobelia in the pot, such is the solid root mass.

@aggi The only tip I can offer is if you choose French lavender which has the pleasing large flower heads, don't hard prune it back to woody growth like you can with English lavender. My motto of prune first, read later struck again with at least four casualties.

Heard that peas shouldn't be over watered on a podcast only yesterday.

Operation fuck off slugs begins

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That agapanthus in the pot is lovely. Where's the pot from?

You could do a lovely espalier with something like quince/apple on that wall.

Appreciate that's not what you're looking for but it needed to be said.

Cheers, both in that picture were either TK Maxx or Homesense. It requires an industrial sack truck to move it now.

+1 this but you could still underplant with a row of lavender.

As for the original question, would always look to Jekka's for herbs

I think I’d like to plant rhubarb now for eating next year - does anyone have either any recommendations, or a cutting/crown they’d like to swap for some tomato or chilli seedlings?

Any shed recommendations? I need a new one and I'd like something fairly chunky that will last a while. Is tanalised worth it? I'm unlikely to creosote* it as often as I should.

Cheers for the suggestions, I think the Lavandula angustifolia looks like what we want.

Just personal preference but I've never been keen on espaliered stuff, think it just looks overly "formal".

In terms of what size to buy, what's the sweet spot of price, size, survivability? I'd like something that gives a bit of interest this year, so nothing too small but don't have to be fully grown.

Looks like Jekka's don't deliver, any other suggestions on where to buy from or should I just head for a garden centre (I'm not too far from Enfield which seems to have many)?

BnQ always has lots of Lavender in stock, I got a tray of 6 last year there.

Stuck them in fresh compost and they grew really well.

But you can also get the bigger size if you don't fancy waiting. They are underplanted with Geranium x Oxanium (hi boggy soil) at the front.

Tanalising, (solvented Copper Chrome Arsenate) hasn't been available for at least a decade.
Modern timber treatments are still Copper based, but don't have to give the typical 'shit-brown' colour.
Creosote, (solvented distilled tar fractions), has likewise been unavailable to the consumer due to health risks.
£++: buy a shed made from hardwoods
Wallet-friendly: treated softwood and remember to paint it with water-based shed/fencing 'paint' every 5 years.

If you're near EN1 I have a 6x4' shed you can have for free. It needs reassembly, staining and roof felt but will probably last ages yet.