Does anyone know anything about gardening?

Gravel on top of the soil is a very effective water retaining mulch. Try digging some out on a hot day and you'll see it's moist underneath. Gravel mixed into the soil improves drainage and all things being equal will leave them dryer.

In the South, dahlias can be left over winter with a good compost/manure mulch to protect them, but that assumes they have been in the soil and growing the season before. I still wouldn't be trying to start them from tubers outside at this time of year. For my money I'd get them going inside then harden them off and plant them outside in May.

Yeah I plant mine in pots and keep them inside because snails as well as temperature. Have found raw wool a great snail deterrent, got sent some as packing for something last year and tried it out. Simon works for a food redistribution charity and has got me some wool from a partnering farm this year.

I know kerria is pretty tough, but had a question about trying to split it.

I've got this former cutting, now a proper plant, in a temporary pot/location as we haven't sorted the final home. Now it's flowering, I've decided if would be nice to have second one in another spot.

Logic says plant this one and take cuttings for the original location - but don't want to use this for a few reasons (mainly the size and aethteics of plant, but some others).

My question is this: can I use a sharp knife to cut this section from the rest and plant that? Is it worth a dap of rooting hormone?

My gut says kerria is tough enough to take it. Thoughts?

3 Attachments

Can’t recommend these two books highly enough… they say to treat kerria like a forsythia.
Ps. I’d probably do what you’re suggesting but I’m often a bit gung-ho, cut first read later etc

2 Attachments

Cheers.

I mean forsythia is nuts. One time after pruning ours and used a couple of the straight sticks with forks as stakes for our Daphnes.

The next year they sprouted.

Literally bare sticks pushed in the ground.

Dahlias, 2 hydrangeas and 3 agapathanus. In!

All along the back is hollyhocks so it should have a nice gradient of colour

1 Attachment

Dahlias, 2 hydrangeas and 3 agapathanus. In!

All along the back is hollyhocks so it should have a nice gradient of colour. Also have a rose I’ve let grow which I’m going to try and “espalier” over the fence.

1 Attachment

Anyone know what @Light_EDDed put in his new border?

Maybe Dahlias, 2 hydrangeas and 3 agapathanus.

Just a guess

I’ve got a roses related question. Bought these from a market stall today and would like to know what they are so I can buy the actual plant.

2 Attachments

can you pls post the page for propagating red dogwood ?

Have heard you can take cuttings from shop roses

https://myhumblehomeandgarden.com/2019/05/10/rose-from-your-bouquet-propagate-it/

Top rose look a bit like Keira from David Austin. There are loads that have a raspberry ripple effect.

There wasn't much foliage, so I went with the sharp clean knife cut on an outer limb.

Should have taken a photo after the cut. But there was a good amount of root section attached so 🤞

Looking a bit pointless at the moment with its solitary flower, but hopefully it'll take. Idk why but it seems impossible to take nice looking photos of the garden at the moment.

2 Attachments

As long as the cut doesn’t get infected I reckon you’ll be fine. Either way it’s not a costly outcome!
Bought a new wheelbarrow today which gave me waaaaay more pleasure than it should’ve done.

Never heard of or seen a leatherjacket (Daddy longleg larvae) in my life.

All of sudden, tonight, there were dozens of them all over our patio. Wtf.

Anyone got any advice for getting rid of them?

3 Attachments

Anyone got any advice for getting rid of them?

The RHS say nematodes. They also say they are part of a healthy ecosystem so do a little happy dance.

Anyone got any advice for getting rid of them?

Hedgehogs love eating them. You need hedgehogs.

Or starlings

This post is useless without pics.

Did you go for a solid tyre or inflatable?

Sometimes with these things you're best off grappling your headphones, a torch and a container.

Then just have a manual sesh or two.

It'll be faster than all the research, purchasing, waiting and applying. Especially if they're on your patio.

Probably should have done this but I was late and I was tired.

No chance we get hedgehogs; we’re in a new build with gravel boards and quite a distance to the next garden / green space.

We do get lots of crows though so maybe they’ll find them in the daylight.

I mowed the lawn for the first time this year so assume it’s because of that.

Free bird food, what’s not to like?!

@hugo7 Ha, well it’s not that jazzy - this one from Wickes.
My excitement was mainly born out of the frustration with my old one which refused to die and couldn’t ethically part with cause it kinda still did its job. I’d bodged a solid wheel conversion to give it a second life but under load the wheel rubbed which made it fucking hard to push lol. Two years I’d put up with that and then it spectacularly got its revenge by shearing the handle as I crossed a main road laden with scaffold planks to sneak in the wrong entrance to our allotment. CSB etc.
Anyway, always solid wheel for me, I pissed off the puncture gods.

Would anyone like a full run of last year's Gardeners World magazines? Collect SE19

Thinking out loud: would anybody be interested in.a phone app that helps pick plants based on some questions and generate a planting plan / shopping list?

And let's you input plants at the shops, filter on slugs resistance, soil etc. and spin up a plan?

It's going to be a pita to code it, but it looks something like that doesn't exist yet. Or maybe I missed something?