Does anyone know anything about gardening?

Any suggestions for herbs/ground cover flowers that enjoy a bit of ericaceous soil? Just planted some blueberry bushes and looking a bit barren underneath.

Most herbs are of Mediterranean origin and will grow in anything other than concrete. I would try planting seeds of any herbs you like, after all, the worst that can happen is that they won't thrive and you've only lost a couple of packs of seeds.

Heather? Think creeping thyme prefers slightly alkaline soil.

https://littleleafy.com/can-you-plant-herbs-in-ericaceous-compost/

Sounds like most (but not all) will be fine. Scroll down to see the tables

Anyone know what this brain-resembling fungus is in my new raised bed? Plants are courgettes (and a pea plant) grown from seed, and bed soil is mix of top soil, compost and rotted muck…is it something from the horseshit? Maybe not rotted enough?

Will the fungus kill the plants -and us ?

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I would remove it just in case it's poisonous but hard to say. May be a peziza?

easyjoint basalt

Annoyingly our mate told us easygrout by mistake. Which they didn't like working with. We prefered the easygrout grafito colour as well.

They really rate easyjoint. We were looking at one of the Sika products as an alternative, but thought it was safer to go with our mates suggestion. Plus they all had the same grainy look as the easyjoint.

Looking very smart. Time to clutter it up with pots.

Almost certainly Peziza varia. Not poisonous but inedible.
Fairly sure it’s a saprophytic and feeds on dead timber so probably not affecting your veg.

Used to have it growing all over the chip piles at my old job.

Anyone else getting mad sap under maples/sycamores? I love the field maple out the front of my house but the front path and car are constantly "glazed" at the minute. Walking round the neighbourhood, it's not every tree so I decided to try and read about it as I thought it was the weather doing something funky with the leaves. Turns out, from a few sites/forums I found, it's not actually sap but the sugary secretions from aphids feeding on the sap. I wonder if the recent conditions have been favourable to aphids but less so to their predators. Tempted to get a box of lady birds and chuck them at it. It's totally harmless, just annoying.

Got lots of sunflower seedlings. Do you think there is enough room to plant them out in-between these garlic?

Theres about 8" between each row

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Yup, that’s aphid spunk. Def a busier year for it. All my tree work mates are posting videos clawing them out their eyes

Got lots of sunflower seedlings. Do you think there is enough room to plant them out in-between these garlic?

I wouldn't.

"sugary secretions" and "honeydew" are making me heave a bit thinking about it. I thought the one by me was bad, one round the corner nearly has puddles under it.

that looks great and certainly looks like you have more space. We had similar i.e. low retaining walls that made everything feel cramped.

Seal it sooner rather than later as it is amazing how quickly it gets weathered.

yes it definitely needs softening and my choice would be gravel both sides with a membrane on the left hand side to aid weed control.

What is the new black wire on your shed(?) wall and is it permanent?

No, I wouldnt either. Wishful thinking. I could clear another bed, but that of course is effort.

What is the new black wire on your shed(?) wall and is it permanent?

It's an armoured cable. Idk exactly how it'll be used - but probably for Xmas when we put lights on the dwarf fur tree on the left. I'll put an exterior plug on the left then feed it through a hole in the shed and plug it in occasionally.

Maybe long term we'll have it wired up properly so we can have lights on the left if we have a seating area there or a pagoda.

We'll definitely have gravel on the left. But my OH doesn't love the gravel over soil look so there's some negotiation

Had some Echinacea Purpurea "Magnus" arrive today so put it in beside some Rudbeckia for that purple/yellow late summer cone flower clash. Wasn't successful last year with the Echinacea as it got spirited away by something so have left it much later purchasing plants this year.
Also, my free Oriental poppies aren't that far away from flowering. The anticipation is killing me!

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nice, so it will be tidied in due course.

Jesus man. I've got a day job as well as the rest of the lawn to dig up. Give me a break!

But yeah TBH I'll probably tuck it round through the air brick this weekend and see if I can negotiate gravel buying in amongst painting.

I'd like to feel like one bit of the house is more or less wrapped up.

I'm far from a gardener but have plants in the garden that were here when I moved in that get covered with aphids. Predators do a decent job or sorting it out unless there are ants protecting them. Have a look for a patrol of ants on the trunk.

I have a big Acer with no ants and loads of ladybirds, then some other leafy thing with loads of ants, loads of aphids and zero ladybirds.

I'm sure I read at some points about soapy water deters them?

Guessing it may be tricky to get up there

@stevo_com - FYI it's normally the larve you buy. The ones I got for our hibiscus worked.

It's not my tree, it's just on the pavement. And like I said it's more annoying not knowing when I can clean the car/path without it immediately being covered in aphid jizz again.

Jizz on it yourself and show them who's boss.

My colleagues in Belfast were complaining about their car getting covered in aphid muck too.

We have a big Acer from the neighbours overhanging, lots of ants but also lots of hoverflies and rove beetles so no rain of aphid gunk when I'm out gardening.

The roses of course get their usual aphid visit, roll on the wren and tits and soapy water.