obelixx

Clematis nelly moser

Integrifolia varieties trail nicely as they are non clinging and often quite small.   I have alba and rosea which get to about 3'/1m each year in the ground.  They'd need regular feeding and watering to do well in a basket and it would need to be fairly deep for their roots.  I grew some in a long conical basket a few years ago but then moved them to a bed.

Species clematis can be grown from seed but for named cultivars you need to do cuttings or cultivars.  I found this which explains how better than I could -

Some species start well from cuttings; others do not. The vining types, especially cultivars, are usually started from cuttings or layering. Cuttings should be taken from healthy semi-mature stems of the current year’s wood. Each cutting should have one pair of leaves. The lower end of the cutting can be treated with a rooting hormone and then placed in a medium such as perlite, peat, sand, or a mix of these. Cover the cuttings and containers with plastic to maintain high humidity, then place them in bright light but not direct sun. Once rooted, plants can be potted individually and later placed in the garden.

Many clematis can be propagated by layering (Figure 14). Select 1-year-old stems with good buds. Cut a 1-inch slit in the stem. Pin the stem to the soil in a container or on the ground with a wire. Cover the slit stem with soil and keep moist. Sever the stem when it has developed roots at the slit, gently dig up the rooted stem, and move it to the intended site.

It was on this website - http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationId=1027

The RHS offers this advice on cultivating and propagating clematis - http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=97 

having a moan about...

Winter does officially go on till well into March and after last year's late frosts which came and zapped a lot of plants excited by early and untimely warm weather, I have to say i'd rather winter dragged on a bit longer and that spring came later and without such frosty setbacks. 

Plenty to be getting on with in the mean time- structural maintenance, painting obelisks, tuning compost heaps (OH's job) and clearing paths of weeds.   Next month i'm hoping to buy and erect a new shed but will need a man to dig a level hole and fill it with a good concrete base.  Time to chat up the farmer neighbours and their son-in-law who does landscaping...........

BBC Archers Message-Board

I understand HCF, but you can do all that on here too really.  The Archers boards may also spawn spin offs as the Beeb gardening ones did when they banned OTGF and brought in the three minute rule.

How are things with you and your dogs?  Ours are very happy at the mo cos I'm stuck at home on the sofa all day for a month recuperating from major foot reconstruction so they get lots of cuddles and then a decent walk from OH when he gets home as he does a one hour circuit weekdays and 2 to 3 hours on weekends with plenty of time off the lead.

They also love running around in the garden in all the snow and go fossicking for rats and other country rodents.   Good job I can't get out there to see the damage yet.  Rasta has been skating on the pond but not Bonzo who seems to have some basic commmon sense depsite all the daffiness.

BBC Archers Message-Board

Have never listened to the Archers except when it has been on at a friend's house once or twice.  Don't do soaps of any sort so don't understand the fuss but no doubt it will be aloss to its community.

Didn't they have boards for Strictly while it was on?

Clematis nelly moser

Montana is a spring flowering clematis which you can prune after flowering finishes to keep it in bounds and/or renew vigour.   Nelly Moser is a group 2 so you prune afet the first flush of flowers in May/June.  remove some or all of the dead heads and prune back any stems taht are hetting too long.  You can also take out a main stem or two from the base to renew vigour and encourage flowering lower down.

Give both a good feed after pruning and also from spring to flowering end.  Nelly Moser will produce a second flush of flowers in late summer if she's happy and well fed.   This website will help you identify your clematis and gives info on pruning and cultivation care - http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/ 

Monet's Garden, Giverney

Everyone I know who's been says the best time to see it is early morning before the coach parties arrive so I would consider staying overnight somewhere nearby if poss and getting an early start.   My friends have spent the whole morning and part of the afternoon, even those who've been more than once as there are different things to see at different seasons.

I have yet to persuade OH to take me so might have to plan a solo or girls' trip once I have two functioning feet again.

North Facing

My back garden faces north so only gets full sun before 9am and after about 3pm when the sun is up.   We have no neighbours t cast shade but the house does so parts of the garden are in full sun in mid summer but the couple of metres immediately behind the house get none between 9 and 3 though there's plenty of light.

I grow clematis Nelly Moser, Blekitny Atholl/Blue Angel and Ravarrhinne on the back wall and have tried roses New Dawn, Guniée and Falsatff, all of whom grew well and flrwoered well for several seasons but all of which have been clobbered to death by frosts below -20C in recent winters.

I use the area at the back of the integral garage as a work area and the aea behind the hall and dining room as a terrace.   Then there's a dampish bed planted with Japanese anemones, ferns, chelone, astilbe, assorted primula, snakes head fritillaries, astilboides, hostas, a couple of dwarf conifers and some hackonechloa grass in there and very happy.    Further along I have a mix of hostas and hardy geraniums.

The rest of the garden gets a fair amount of sun so I plant all sorts of things - clematis, assorted shrubs, aquliegias, thalictrums, hemerocallis, phlox, hardy geraniums, sedums, peonies, rheums, roses, persicaria, iris, ornamental grasses in the carex and miscanthus families and many more.

We also have a veg patch which does very well with rhubarb, soft fruits and salads  and things like fennel, beetrrot and broccoli but is now proving too cold for winter veg but I doubt your winters are as cold as ours have been recently so no reason for you not to try.

I suggest you spend your first year in teh garden waiting to see what grows as much will be lurking under the soil waiting for spring..    There'll be plenty for you to do cutting away the old dead growth from perennials, tidying up shrubs and cleariing paths.   Be ready with wildlife friendly slug pellets in case hostas and hemerocallis emerg as slugs love to munch their new growth.    Take photos and make notes of plants you want to keep, multiply, rejuvenate or get rid of and also gaps where you can introduce new plants.  Fill any obvious gaps with easy annuals this year till you see what you have and what you need.

Most of all, take the time to observe and enjoy whilst deciding how best to improve to meet your needs and ambitions for the garden.

Monty Don's French Gardens

Au contraire - there are so few gardening programmes that the ones we have should be done well, from the initial idea to the setting of budgets, choosing of camera teams and editors, researching the gardens or subjects to be visited and final presentation.  Monty's French Gardens is going out in a Friday night gardening slot so should be more than pretty pictures and a travelogue slapped together any old how.  It should have some metaphorical gardening meat to it.

Monty Don's French Gardens

I agree about Villandry being a waste and think that, with a bit more effort and research, he could have shown us productive and beautiful potagers such as those mentioned by Busy-Lizzie.    I say again it's not enough to see the thing.  I want information about how it's done by the best.    If his French is no longer  good enough there are interpreters available.  

 Gardening is, after all, a very practical activity and gardeners are practical people who love to share tips and plants and produce.   This programme is missing that spirit - with the exception of the lady on the allotment. 

Safe species for a tall hedge in high density housing estate?

I agree.  Hornbeam is good for a damp site or heavy soil but is less wildlife friendly as pyracantha which can also be kept quite narrow.

Encouraging bats in our gardens

Beechgrove this weekend

Weekend 22 March

Good Morning - 21 March

Choosing chillies

Hanging baskets and window boxes

New shed - any tips?