May In Your Garden - Page 6

flashflood at monument valley

No Kate, I never even thought about fleece I just shoved them in between the showers. Good point though, will get some at the weekend. Tbh these are new flowerbeds and I can already see that I've done some things wrong. God knows what I'm going to do with all the amaranthus and sea holly I've grown from seed for a start, lol. I should have checked the size of the mature plants before I sowed the whole packet .

@DavidSpikes: incredible landscape.

@Excitable Boy: Don't panic! Have a plant sale...boot fair...organise a plant swap! I would really love to do that in my general neighbourhood, but I'm still trying to work out how.

Better still, plant en masse if you have the space, its the Sissinghurst way you know  and you can dig them up and compost them once you get a different plant.

I grew 48 Cosmos by mistake last year  and I couldn't bare to ditch them, but in the end I only had space for about half in my garden.

Excitable Boy someone recommended fleece to me last year, raises the temperature a little, I used it last August when it was so cold  and it did help.

I have also sown hundreds of Amaranthus how big do they get?

I have just found some dahlia collarette seeds, is it too late?

David-this is stunning stuff -please keep them coming

It is strange how no matter how many plants you grow they all squeeze in somewhere.

Kate-sow now- they will be late that is all-into individual cells if you can to save pricking out etc.

According to Dr Hessayon Amaranthus gets 3ft high, spacing 2 ft.

Oops!

Should have thought your Dahlias would be fine given how cold it is, especially if you can give them heat to start. I'm slightly overrun with these too. With hindsight one packet would have been more than enough.

Just finished work and it's just started raining!

Wintersong, I have never fed my pampas grass---perhaps it is a lack of water in the summer.It gets lots of sun.

Kate-just bought you this-enjoy

Amaranthus 3 foot high, they are currently miniscule I may need to contact my freecyle friend.

Thanks Geoff. good question figrat because I am not sharing

@Inkadog: well that is a mystery then. Pampas like full sun and well drained soil and I seem to recall you have hardly any soil and lots of stones, so that sounds perfect.

I know my Pampas, which flowered in autumn, made new flower spikes around this time but I can't imagine the deer would trouble the plant over this, unless they are flattening it for dinner! 

I'll cross my fingers its just a matter of time until you can enjoy those feathery plumes as I have done for many years.

Winter - I've made the growing too much cosmos mistake before.  It is so tempting to sow the whole packet!  My dad had a huge pampas in his front garden for years.  It was an overbearing monster and eventually he attacked it with a fire ax.  It filled 30 sacks!  His front garden looks so much better now.

I've been looking at the 5 day forecast for my bit of the Sussex seaside.  Low of 4 on Saturday night.  I am so undecided about planting out my lobelia before I fly out on Sunday.  I didn't really want to leave them in the potting shed until the end of the month because they are really big already.  It's difficult to know what to do because I won't be here to chuck fleece over them.

KG, I would plant them out-and keep your fingers crossed. Maybe leave a couple in the shed as backup.You must be excited about your trip. I have travelled to Oz 5x over the years-my brother lived outside of Brisbane. Melbourne must be pleasant at this time of year.

KG, can you plant out and cover with horticultural fleece?

And yes, I agree about the overbearing monster Pampas. Mine has been too big for a few years now, (I also have a monster Laural, Ceanothus and Cherry tree that need hacking back this year).

Obviously, we planted these things in complete ignorance and at the time, a small plant in a huge garden didn't seem to be a problem. I had absolutely no knowledge of pruning for many years or even owned a pair of secateurs so things were left to grow. The Pampas also provided privacy and I have such a big garden to fill that it took up space in a very cheap way. 

It's incredibly hard work removing the rotted stump, but it doesn't suit my style anymore, which is quite formal with a splash of romantic, and if I'm honest, I will only miss the plumes. the rest was ugly. Hubby is already budgeting for the trellis and arbor and I'm busy trying to get my vision onto paper. It will be the first time I have ever actually planned a border, usually I buy plants I like and then wonder round for weeks or seasons trying to figure out where it should live.

So I will take all the time I need to get the structure planting right because they will grow and be a trouble to remove...like the Pampas.

Inka - My sister lives just outside Brisbane at Whiteside on the road to Dayboro.  I normally go to Brisbane but am going to Melbourne this time because that is where my niece lives.  I'm really looking forward to the trip and can't wait to see what my niece looks like on her wedding day.

I've got quite a lot of lobelia so that is a good idea about planting it out and leaving some in reserve in the potting shed.  I always plant mixed colour lobelia on the top of a low wall around the edge of my patio.

Still raining, I was going to walk to the polling station will need wellies, mac and brolly.

KG I find lobelias one of those odd plants, slightly old school until you see them on mass, then lovely.

I have voted,been on a bus,bought holiday stuff and caught a bus back again.

Still wet