Talkback: Garden jobs for spring - Talkback

01/03/2010 at 17:53

February 28th, over an inch of rain, March 1st, early frost followed by sunniest day for a very long time. Wonderful! I was out in the garden first thing, armed with my to do list, a lengthy document, cleaning the pond pumps, replacing the filters and UVC lamps, weeding, sorting out the climbers and a dozen other things. Brilliant start on the list, but the best bit of the day, sitting in the morning sun on a bench, with a cup of coffee, admiring the crocus display, as courting birds twitter overhead. After such a bad winter today has been very rewarding

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01/03/2010 at 20:46

So true i have been waiting for this day all winter beautiful.

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01/03/2010 at 21:39

Pears, pears, pears! I finally ordered two minarette pears from Ken Muir today, after much faffing and wandering off on quince tangents. Bad weather is no excuse, I should've done it ages ago but couldn't bring myself to go for minarettes, afraid they'd look like those bizarre, over-fruiting, containerised midget trees in magazines. But I shall train mine at a jaunty angle side-by-side on my sunny wall, and hope for the gracious cordon effect. Interestingly also spent my lunch hour Vitax-ing all the roses while removing our cat's and dog's little presents from around the garden. Out with the old poo, in with the new. Go, March! Sheila Averbuch -- Stopwatch Gardener

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02/03/2010 at 12:27

Dear James, I have to finish applying wood preservative to my trellises before allowing anything to grow up them. I started the job last September and have done 2.5 trellises so far. I also have to fix a hole in my pond liner. These are two very boring, horrible jobs and I've been hoping they would just go away. But they haven't. Kate

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02/03/2010 at 13:30

Just had a wander round my garden, looks like ive lost a few plants and even my ceonothus and red robin look like they have bit the dust, the ground is frozen solid along with the pond and water butt, a little snow on the ground ,its an open aspect garden so gets no protection but i must say the dog woods look lovely and the few snowdrops. I am hoping it warms up soon!!

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02/03/2010 at 20:01

cant wait new allotment this year getting it turned over this saturday gotta take out all the grass rizones put compost in any plant my petit puio onion sets sturnon dill allantic pumpkin and start other stuff off in the greenhouse

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02/03/2010 at 21:38

Sounds great Michael, hope to get planning and organising my greenhouse this weekend.

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03/03/2010 at 09:06

Yes a great day on monday 1st and tuesday 2nd March Made a new garden patch already for planting Re planed a few plants they did not mind bless them. sorted out green house sowed some seeds What a great time in all in the two days spent 12 hours in the garden.Better then being indoors been really great

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03/03/2010 at 10:19

I would like to know whether I should cut back the fronds of my evergreen ferns. Can anyone give me advice?

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03/03/2010 at 11:09

We also serve who only sit and eat. :(

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03/03/2010 at 11:42

i have to walk on my lawn to get to the boaders,the ground is stilll very soft under foot.its slow to dry out due to heavy clay so am limeted to what i can do at this time of year.i'm hopeing for a longer dry spell,we had some snow yesterday but today looks promesing.

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03/03/2010 at 12:32

My spirits are as gloomy as the weather. The garden looks as though a bomb has hit it - and it has - in the shape of a 7 month (now) yellow labrador whose mission in life is to chomp, chew and dig up every plant which is clearly there for his personal fun and frolic! He got up on my alpine trough and dug out every plant, bar one. (Husband was in loco parentis that day!) My son-in-law asked why we'd taken off the pebbles from the water feature!! That wasn't us actually! He made himself ill by diging up the fritilaria bulbs and eating them (be warned). The trellis we put up round the veg garden has been devoured - we do feed him, honestly! Our last lab (black - perhaps that's the difference) hardly went on the borders but our beloved yellow hooligan hasn't got the message yet. Maybe he'll be better when we get out into the cold and start gardening with him. Just as well we love him! What on earth can I do this year to cultivate a garden that is Bertie proof?

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03/03/2010 at 13:58

I'm really enjoying this weather - planting snowdrops in the green and trying to eradicate brambles when my back won't take any more bending. The conservatory floor is covered in broadbean, garlic, shallots and onion plants in pots waiting for me to plant out when the soil is warm enough. Bee - I would only cut down any bedraggled fronds on your fern. They can look so good at this time of year, the polysticums. Dryopteris can be tidied up now by cutting back the old fronds.

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03/03/2010 at 16:00

Relocated to the northern tip of the Netherlands last summer from the damp South Wales coast, and after almost two fully frozen months of snow and subzero temperatures I was beginning to think the spring would never come, but it arrived sometime last week with blackbird's song and robin's twitter. Turning over the muddy, bleak soil and saying hello to the snoozy ladybirds this afternoon has never filled me with so many smiles. I hope it warms up a few degrees more so I can get my magnolias in the ground and see my welsh daffs standing along side my our dutch tulips.

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03/03/2010 at 18:50

looking forward to seeing my alium taper idea works can see the shoots coming up got globetrotter centre then a slightly smaller variety circling round and then even smaller 1 again should resemble a wedding cake lol

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04/03/2010 at 08:31

I've had some time off this week... Monday went to the garden centre and now for the next few days am looking forward to tidying my borders and starting to prepare for a new veg patch at the top of the garden. Lots of plants to move to accomodate it but it will be worth it!

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04/03/2010 at 11:35

I agree with my fellow bloggers - how wonderful it is to be able to get out in the garden again. I too have made lists - so far have filled two pages of a shorthand notebook and only half way there. I have spent three days clearing and cutting down the dead leaves and stems of the perennials in my flower beds and have the acheing muscles to prove it. Also sown some veggie seeds. Now I want to move some of my established evergreen shrubs, would it be a good time to do this?

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04/03/2010 at 18:11

Thanks to this post, I spent a very happy lunchtime out pruning my climbing roses - thanks James for giving me the idea on such a lovely sunny day :) Ked, don't try and change your garden if it was fine for your black lab - change your yellow one. I don't mean trade it in for a black one, just teach it how you want it to behave in the garden. Life is all fun at that age and whilst you don't want to stop that, you do want to get some training in.

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04/03/2010 at 18:50

i love reading everyones bloggs as i'm fairly new to gardening i'm able to use all your good advice so i'm hopin you could help me, i'vebought persian buttercup bulbs and please don't laugh but which way up do you plant them?? i think it's spikey side up my hubby who is as daft as me said plant them on thier side!! please help they look lovely on the packet.

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04/03/2010 at 19:08

Ked,i have the same problem with a young rescue dog i got three weeks ago.he's a border collie cross[i suspect with a mule 'cos he's as stubborn as]so at the moment he only goes in the garden under supervision.i am still waiting for the ground to dry enough to walk on without causing too much damage,a couple more days like today should do it.the thing to make me smile today was seeing the crocus basking in the lovely sun.