Does anyone know anything about gardening?

nailed it

Perhaps we can talk of them as common folk or elders (they’ve been around a lot longer than us)

I remember this wording particularly, bit woowoo but I'm down with it

+1again for David Austin. Gertrude is a doer but my fave is one that is stripey red and pink. Name has gone out of my head so I'll look at the label later.

Edit, the stripey one is Rosa Mundi

https://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/products/rosa-mundi

Our climber / rambler which I like is American Pillar, bit of a thug and thorny but flowers loads...

https://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/products/american-pillar

Shrub rose or a climber/rambling rose? Another vote for David Austin from me, but shrub or climber is the first big choice.

We just bought a climbing rose from Harkness Roses. I'll let you know if it's any good in 5 years or so

Thanks for the rose advice. Shrub rose, maybe in a pot seems best at the moment.

i would recommend desdemona from d.austin, beautiful and happy in a pot (with a feed at beginning of growing season). lovely scent.
Also saw this at chelsea and it's stunning https://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/blogs/news/say-hello-to-our-new-english-rose
so many nice roses!!!!

My large black stemmed mop head Hydrangea has reached peak flowering today I think. It's now at about 5ft tall and looks pretty stunning when you arrive home! The lacecap beside it will be fully out in a few days too.

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Passionflower is going crazy this year

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Black stems look great, I just bought a book on hydrangeas as it's one of those shrubs I've overlooked. Your's look very healthy!

I have a couple in the garden, inherited from last owners. They look straggly and dull and I considered replacing them. No flowers this year. But that looks great and has encouraged me to keep them and get them healthy.

They're very easy to revitalise.
Probably a combination of poor soil and underwatering. I'd dig a ring arround them at the end of summer, remove all rocks and stones, add some homemade compost and watch them thrive next year.

Thank you, will try this. One needs to move so that's probably the perfect time to dig an over-sized hole and give it loads of compost?

I'm in SE6 and have about 8 ready to be rehomed (in pots grown from cuttings in the great strong air of the South Circular) and you'd be welcome to some if you decide replacement is what you want.

If you - or anyone - is willing to trade I have an Aussie bottlebrush? Actually there's two (left from a batch of a dozen) both a year and a half old. SE23 for ref

We've got half a dozen tomato plants that are all a bit bushy and tangled together. They're flowering and just starting to bear fruit, anything I should be doing with them?

Once they’re flowering/fruiting you can give them some tomato feed. If they’re cordon varieties then you can pinch out the side shoots which I’ll help give you a better crop, but if they’re bush varieties you don’t need to.

Removing side shoots can help with stragglyness and concentrating growth. Can also repot the side shoots to get new plants.

I'm in SE23 and def in the market for one if you're looking to move on! Happy to exchange for books or flavourful beers.

I could home one or two, if they're going spare? I'm over on Sandhurst Road so would be an easy pick-up.

Can anybody recommend a builder's yard or standard all over the UK place that has natural stone products suitable for an informal garden?

We need some stepping stones for the herb garden and I think irregular "crazy paving" shapes look better than the regular square shapes. We don't have an angle grinder to cut slabs.

Maybe dropping them creates the irregular shapes but that has risks or becoming tiny irregular shapes... :)

And perhaps there is something that looks good in informal gardens that I just completely missed. The idea is to have stepping areas and then put creeping thyme etc. around the stepping stones.

Right now the lower level is Weed Central.

Hello gardeners. I’m new to this thread but have been reading the last 10+ pages and learning. Does anyone have a recommendation for a central/South (E&C) landscapey type gardener? I am looking for someone to replace an ugly and bad quality concrete back yard with some type of patio/paving that will drain better. Thank you!

Walworth Garden have a landscape team

Oh thank you! That’s a great idea, I had forgotten about them!

Half the onions flopped so I figured I'd lift them.

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Was it your own good self who sent me a PM? My new phone somehow managed to lose my messages before I could reply and offer some advice.