Busy-Lizzie

Help - Total Beginner

I was born in Ipswich, my grandparents came from Suffolk.

There's been some good advice above. Don't start too soon (cold weather coming!), sit indoors with a good gardening book. I draw a plan of my veg garden and what I'm going to plant where. When I sow I write the date on the plan and on the back of the page I put how good the harvest was or if something failed.

You can think about what veg you like and "Google" them individually to learn more.

Same for flowers, start the sweet peas early, buy some dahlia tubers, but don't plant them yet. If you have a greenhouse you can start dahlias in pots earlier than you would outside. When the weather is warmer March/April you can sow flower seeds, hardy annuals can go directly in the ground, calendula, love in a mist (nigella), nasturtiums (they can be planted next to broad beans, the flowers can be eaten in salads too) etc.

Climbing Roses

Steve, I saw in your profile that your garden hadn't been touched for 30 years, so congratulations on the huge amount of work you must have done to get it so tidy.

February in Your Garden

Verdun you've been promising photos for ages and you give such good advice about perennials  - please dog out the camera soon or what about a last year's photo?

Garden Problem Area

Walnut trees produce something called juglone which a lot of plants don't like and can even be killed by. Here is a site that explains and tells you what you can plant under them.

http://www.gardenguides.com/94333-planting-around-black-walnut-tree.html

Shaded Border

What about heucheras with different coloured leaves.

http://www.heucheraholics.co.uk/heuchera_shop.html

Otherwise, for colour, you can't do much better than Geoff's answer.

February in Your Garden

Lorraine, here is what the RHS says about propagating helleboures. 2 -3 years to flower from sowing seed.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=113

Gardening Shows in 2013

Ford Abbey is a beautiful building with a lovely garden and very high fountain open to the public. I went last June.

Fork Handles

Our old house in Kent was haunted, but she was a friendly ghost. My daughter saw her when she was 2 1/2, then 2 old ladies in the post office asked if I had met the ghost!

February in Your Garden

This afternoon in the garden, but I expect most of you have this too!

February in Your Garden

Last year a friend who came to lunch gave me a present and when it was over I put it outside by the kitchen wall and forgot all about it. This is what I've just found!

Gardens we have visited 2013

no emails as well as small text

Cleaning greenhouses

Rose pruning and frost

reviews

Why did you all start gardening?

uploading photos