How has your gardens grown?

[LancYorkYankee]

<LI class=cf>Hey Guys, remeber me? Sorry I've been so long overdue on Accyweb. Haven't been able to keep up with anything over there. It is so nice that it's getting dark by around 7:30 over here.

My question for this chat: Have any of you had any gardening landscaping success in spite of your dismal weather?

As you vcan see below, we continue very hot and dry. Makes my daily chores that much more challenging. Plus have 30 more baby chicks to raise, the 30 guinea chicks are down to 9, the baby possums have been eating grubs and such so they are almost ready to be on there own, the bay squirell (peanut/nutkin) has tried to conquer a territory. Last I saw he had been in quite a fight.


As for my garden/landscape, it has been a pretty succesful year. I'm glad the gardening chores are slowing down alot now. So, enough about me. How have you fared?

Brian
<LI class=cf>

<LI class=cf>Culpeper, VA

• Friday
  
  96° / 63°
• Saturday
  
  91° / 65°
• Sunday
  
  86° / 67°
• Monday
  
  90° / 65°

<LI class=cf>
Accrington, GBR

Mostly Cloudy, 61°

• Friday
  
  68° / 52°
• Saturday
  
  63° / 52°
• Sunday
  
  63° / 56°
• Monday
  
  60° / 44°

[garinda]

It's been a poor year for blooms at Rindy Towers.

My mini sunflowers are still out though, even if the real sun hasn't put in much of an appearace this year.

[Eric]

Originally Posted by garinda

It's been a poor year for blooms at Rindy Towers.

My mini sunflowers are still out though, even if the real sun hasn't put in much of an appearace this year.

Wouldn't mind some of those mini sunflowers, mine are over 10ft, and that is with below average rainfall.

[mez]

redesigned my front garden nearly finished the left of the pathway ......starting on the right side of the pathway in next few weeks .................just a bit busy with days out with mates at the min.

[shillelagh]

My gardeners coming down tomorrow so next week the grass is getting cut and the borders getting weeded. So it will look all nice and neat for the first time this year.

[mrskitty]

Its been a complete success in Kittys garden..... full of gorgeous flowers,the only ones that didnt come back quite so well were my nastursiams,which is weird because they took over the whole place last year,causing me to have lots of caterpillars-Jack loved it.We even had a cocoon on the window and i had the fortune to watch the butterfly hatch.
My favourites are always the hostas-although my lilies were fantastic too.
So overall no complaints from me-well apart from the slugs.

[mrskitty]

Originally Posted by garinda

My mini sunflowers are still out

Mine have come up with three heads each this year

[cashman]

another very sucessful season here, Fireman dug it up n flagged n pebbled it a couple of years ago= gardening heavan.

[Tin Monkey]

My veg growing has suffered this year, due to all the rain.

I've had kale, spinach, a few carrots, lettuce, rocket and some celery, but nothing like the crops I should have had. My tomatoes are really struggling to ripen, even in early September.

[WillowTheWhisp]

We had lots of flowers in bloom and a lovely hanging basket before I went away but I came back to a mass of weeds and a few brown twigs in the basket. Mimi hadn't watered or weeded and it kinda looked like Sleeping Beauty's castle.

[jambutty]

Last year I treated my garden to a liberal dose of Weedol to try and kill off all the grass and weeds that reminded me of the African Veldt. My number one grandson lifted some 30 concrete flags and then used a rotavator to turn everything over.

I sowed a large “V” (for victory) area with Poppy seeds as my memorial garden and the remainder with Meadow Flowers and sat back to await a floral display come this summer.

So what happened? The grass grew back as tall as ever and swamped the new seedlings and the slugs got the rest except in one corner where a few meadow flowers bravely greeted the summer. Although one monster shot up like a rocket with a wonderful display of delicate blue flowers, which the passing bees enjoyed. I’ve gathered some seeds for next year. A few bedding plants did put some colour into the garden but my attempts to grow hollyhocks, foxglove and lupins from seed just made the slugs and snails fatter still.

My next door neighbour gratefully received the flags to lay down a patio and in return I accepted the soil that was removed to make room for them. Fair swop I thought.

My grandson was called upon to do some digging. Right in the centre he dug out a circle about 5 feet across and as Focus were having a ‘get rid of all stock’ sale I got 500 litres of general compost. The 6 inches deep circular hole was half filled with compost and right in the middle we placed 24 white and yellow daffodil bulbs. Around these in a large circle went 80 white, blue, purple and yellow crocuses. 200 snowdrops surrounded them and were neatly buried in more compost. The rest of the garden got zapped with Weedol and after a couple of weeks anything green that poked its head up got nuked.

I also managed to trace some English bluebells and I await their arrival. So my slave dug out a section in one corner to receive these bulbs. I put 30 foreign bluebells in to await the arrival of the genuine article. The zapping of green stuff continued and will continue until next spring when the centre bulbs will start to show.

Meanwhile I sowed more hollyhocks, foxglove and lupin seeds in bio degradable pots, placed them in two trays and every morning when I got up I would take them out and place them in a sunny spot and come evening bring them back in again. No slugs were going to get this lot. They have now been planted out now alongside one fence with a liberal dose of slug pellets all around them. The half time score is slugs nil me 2. Meaning that 2 fat slugs have paid the ultimate price for trying to eat my seedlings.

By pure chance I was driving along Mosley Street in Blackburn when I spotted poppies growing on some land where houses had been demolished. (I have very good long vision) I harvested lots of seed because they were Opium Poppies and you cannot buy them now. I blame the Taleban. These together with some packets of normal red poppies that I have bought and the seeds from some yellow poppies that will grow anywhere like the crack in a brick wall, will get sown next spring to form a memorial garden surrounded by meadow flowers.

I am looking forward to next spring and summer.

[cashman]

well jim reading that made me sweat buckets like the tactical gardening 2-0 lol, hope everything turns out well next time. though if yer thinking of selling smack next year, DONT.- Too much Competition in blackburn.

[LancYorkYankee]

That's an interesting variety of experiences so far. Mez, no matter how much better your lot looks, I still liked the personnel touch you had made to your bushes! Geez Eric, hit the folks when they're down, 10 foot sunflowers Now Tin Monkey, what is rocket?

I guess since Eric did his bragging I can feel okay with our successes down and over here. It was a great year for corn, eggplant, peppers, beans, beets, all squashes, kale, swiss chard, potatoes, asparagus, tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, watermelon, pumpkins, and yes sunflowers! It was a pretty bad year for turnips, cole crops, carrots, spinach, and soybeans.

The hot dry weather encouraged alot more insect damage than should be expected. Also, kept me from getting alot of grass clippings for mulching.
Landscaping and fruit trees had apretty good year.

Jambutty, I bet you can't wait to see all that work pay off next spring. It should be gorgeous!

Brian

[steeljack]

Jambutty.....I'm eagarly awaiting Margaret R to pick-up this thread and reply to your post about your liberal use of chemicals and weedkillers and seemingly aversion to organic gardening techniques

[Tin Monkey]

Originally Posted by LancYorkYankee

Now Tin Monkey, what is rocket?

It's a member of the lettuce family and is very popular with trendy chefs nowadays. It has quite a distinctive, peppery flavour and really adds something to salads and sandwiches.

Maybe it's spelt differently in the States? Like roquette or something?