Flower Power

[Frida]

Lilly: stop that thieving human!!

Sounds like I'm in trouble with Lilly

 

[elusive]

The Cirsium are doing well in all the sunshine, they look a bit pink in the photos but are actually darker & more purple.

 

[Maz]

They look lovely. Are they a type of thistle?

 

[elusive]

Thistle family yes, without all the spiky bits though!
I have some giant yellow ones too but it’s a bit early for them so I don’t know if they’ve survived yet.

 

[Member ID2]

I love thistle or anything spikey. Those are beautiful.

 

[Member ID2]

Garden looks like a jungle with the hollyhocks growing like mad. There's so much tidying to do once the weather improves.

 

[Maz]

Jungle here too!

 

[Riven]

I don't even know what Geum's are . My chives aren't quite out yet. Further north. Although that was a week ago I last looked - maybe they are now - I will check out of the window.

Unfortunately the garden here got neglected one year during the Pandemic. I was just starting to get it in shape when it got completely decimated by rabbits the following year. Nothing has been the same since - they destroyed just about everything. Only the two or three shrubs and some bulbs survived. I replanted some plants and they got decimated by rabbits too.

The rabbit plague seems to have been managed now but since then I've not been able to do a lot of gardening due to knee problems. I'm quite happy with the few shrubs and bulbs though. I still need to get the plants from the garden centre put in, that I recently got - rather than leave them in tubs too long.

Quite a few plants don't survive well here anyway - wild weather here and very hard frosts in winter.

Why don't you grow some wild flowers that would normally grow in your area? They look beautiful and help local wildlife

 

[Frida]

My Castle Howard rose has started to flower.

 

[Maz]

It's a lovely rose Frida. Yes I did sow some wildlower seeds this year and last although nothing has grown really, and am thinking of that option rather than having a lawn at all. The problem with the back is, apart from the rabbits, nothing survives long except the hardy shrub and the chives, because there is also a problem with ground elder which just chokes everything. I could just let that spread as it's not bad to look at - just very invasive and nigh on impossible to get rid of (I've read all the solutions but none would work because it comes from next door and round about). Thankfully it isn't in the front so things grow there - and then the rabbits eat them! Shrubs seem to do ok - except one that had the bark stripped. At least there is still a lawn of sorts and would keep that at the front.

So apart from spring bulbs and some shrubs, nothing much survives.

 

[Member ID2]

Frida, that yellow rose is beautiful.
Do you have gravel or pebbles on the ground to keep the weeds down?

 

[Frida]

Frida, that yellow rose is beautiful.
Do you have gravel or pebbles on the ground to keep the weeds down?

Yes I have some pebbles but I still have to do a bit of weeding.

 

[Coco61]

Beautiful rose and looking perfect right now

 

[Coco61]

I am increasingly concerned about Maestro’s pinks plant as it is browning more and very frail. The cuttings are also not doing well. So I might have to go buying soon as I don’t want to let him down.
Above though, is an earlier resting place for my first hamster Mocho. He has a hebe in his pot that had to be pruned a lot this year after the frost damaged it. Glad to report that it is coming into flower now and with the best display for a long time.

 

[Coco61]

And another view trying to show more of the whole plant. It is hard as it straggles a bit after the pruning.

 

[Coco61]

Finally we saw the whole family on our walk today and with the tide much higher, they were closer in.

 

[elusive]

Mocho’s hebe looks so lovely Coco, it’s quite a tough little plant & is serving him well.
I’m really sorry Maestro’s pinks aren’t faring as well, you’ve done everything you can but this weather & the winter has been really hard on a lot of plants, I hope you can find another one for his spot if this one & the cuttings don’t make it.

The swans & cygnets are a joy to see!

 

[Coco61]

The hebe has grown to be quite a size, elusive. A keen gardening colleague at work once told me that a hebe is normally planted in the ground and I can see why now. But I want to keep Mocho and Maestro’s pots going so that they are mobile- just in case of a move.

 

[Jain]

View attachment 2872

Now the plant - pinks I think, is frail and struggling. We are caring for it and patience is needed but I do hope that it will gain strength and tiny new growth is hopeful.

Sometimes they surprise you if there is the tiniest bit of green there is hope

 

[Jain]

It's a lovely rose Frida. Yes I did sow some wildlower seeds this year and last although nothing has grown really, and am thinking of that option rather than having a lawn at all. The problem with the back is, apart from the rabbits, nothing survives long except the hardy shrub and the chives, because there is also a problem with ground elder which just chokes everything. I could just let that spread as it's not bad to look at - just very invasive and nigh on impossible to get rid of (I've read all the solutions but none would work because it comes from next door and round about). Thankfully it isn't in the front so things grow there - and then the rabbits eat them! Shrubs seem to do ok - except one that had the bark stripped. At least there is still a lawn of sorts and would keep that at the front.

So apart from spring bulbs and some shrubs, nothing much survives.

I had the last remnants of grass taken up last spring put down weed suppressant and large gravel it's a lot more interesting and easier than grass lots planted and a few pots plus solar water feature if you get the weed problem you can just pull them out easily or last resort to use round up they don't like that