Does anyone know anything about gardening?

Cheers. This is exactly what I need.

There is a type of creeping rosemary that is excellent for over hanging troughs and things like that. Evergreen and nice flowers too.

If you want a quick win for this year grab a load of lobelia from somewhere like Thomson and Morgan. They're inexpensive and give great impact. If. You choose a single colour it'll look a bit smarter and less pub hanging basket.

lost over winter

RIP

Fatalities for me were a beautiful big Tetrapanax, and similarly great Euphorbia Mellifera, all my Dahlias, a Salvia Amistad, three Pittosporum Tobira Nanum, all my Cannas, three enormous Echiums that were going to flower this year, and even a Clematis Armandii that really ought to have been hardy, although it was young still. Every plant in my neighbour's newly planted Pittosporum Tandara Gold hedge has also died.

Jury is still out on whether any Ginger Lillies survived, as they are late to get going usually. Hardy Banana (Musa Basjoo) has just triumphantly raised a new stem from the ruins of the old, and Melianthus Major I thought had died back entirely but a sucker has just emerged 50cm away.

Not a good winter for tropical looking plants! Monty Don is (mostly) giving up on them now, having grown them forever. Friday's Gardeners World had a good segment on this.

I similarly need to make a calculation - are extreme winters just part of the regular picture now, due to climate change, or was that a freak occurrence?

I lost a campsis, clematis and echiums. I tried to grow cannas last year and they just didn't do that well, they've come back but I'm not going to bother with them.

I have the trailing rosemary, it's ace.

A couple of years ago I reworked the front of my house with planting areas.
It's finally starting to look established - the small Prunus 'Shirotae' Tree in the middle is getting there. In the bg, the street trees are in full blossom atm.

1 Attachment

I don't edge my flowerbeds with hard materials, fwiw. I just recut the edges with a half-moon cutter twice a year. This is the strategy: https://rachel-the-gardener.blogspot.com/2018/08/edging-of-beds-how-to-retrieve-untidy.html?m=0

All my (brand new!) salvias died over winter which I am very annoyed about. I thought I was going to lose my spirea after the drought and then the frost, but somehow it's looking healthier than ever. Maybe I need to fill the entire garden with spireas instead

That's what I used in the greenhouse. I like it. About to buy 25 meters of the stuff for the garden path.

Lovely! :)

Was talking to one of the neighbours. His approach: chives, Californian poppies, ferns that blow in, and just let them seed.

Bar some weeding when plants come up in the driveway there's very little work.

Prairie gardening Belfast style ;)

Ouch. I seem to have lost 2 Salvia Amistad as well but I'm hopeful that they'll come back.
Re the Tetrapanax, I lost everything above ground but I have three or four strong leaves now. As per "Exotic Planting for Adventurous Gardeners", the Tetrapanax should come back...

Very nice. I have the same one but as per the website and as per where I've put it, it shouldn't grow that big!

1 Attachment

Nice.

Well done to your Tetrapanax. Everything I've read says it ought to be hardy (albeit top growth will die), but it seems a bit late for it to still not have popped anything new up

.

2 Attachments

Ha, mines right by the vegetable patch so the roots tap into the goodness that I plough into there.

I found it in the garden, so it's a gardening question. What sort of lizardy thing is this?

[Edit] ah - could be a newt

1 Attachment

Looks like a Smooth Newt.

^ this. Where there's one, there'll be a few more... They bury themselves underground and live in log piles and under rocks. Cute little things & eat pests also. We have hundreds in the garden and the kids are very protective! (So I can't move or dig without permission)

Have you or a neighbour got a pond?

The council gardeners were digging up the bed to replace the plants. Got 20 free bulbs, score! Now where to put them...

1 Attachment

Yep - the neighbours a few doors down have a tiny little puddle of a pond.

I've left a patch of overgrown grass for them to hide in.

You probably know this as you were able to get them to flower but... the rhizome needs to be exposed over the prior summer to stimulate flower growth the following year.
After lifting the rhizome last year, this year was my first year of flowers.

Were you over-zealous with the mulch last August?! Was something covering them?!

What’s wrong with my rose? I sprayed it for mildew, still the same 2 weeks later

1 Attachment

Also what are these? Loads of them have sprung up in my garden 👍🏼

1 Attachment