Royal Horticultural Society – Gardening Advice: Pruning Honeysuckle

Summary: prune by a third in late summer.

Royal Horticultural Society – Advice: Dividing Hostas

Summary: do it in early spring or late autumn.

Background

• 17/04/2006: Sowed nasturtiam seeds in bin and front garden.
• 09/04/2006: Sowed various wildflower varieties in place of Lemon Balm.
• 08/04/2006: Cut grass for first time this year.
• 01/04/2006: Tulips in front garden flowering.
• 29/01/2006: First time in garden. Removed all dead stuff. Dug up Lemon Balm and moved one of the Skimmias next to one of the others.

• ??/??/2005: Planted Tulips in front garden.
• 21/08/2005: Planted Hydrangea.
• 02/05/2005: Planted Coreopsis in pot.
• 10/04/2005: Planted dahlia tubers.
• 03/04/2005: Planted Dicentra.
• 02/04/2005: Aerated lawn.
• 26/03/2005: Cut grass for first time. Planted Aster, Poppy, Candytuft and Nasturtiam seeds.

• 31/10/2004: Cut grass for last time?
• 25/07/2004: Planted Rudbeckia, Crocosmia, Helenium, Kniphofia and Gaillardia.
• 03/07/2004: New Zealand Flaxes removed.
• 22/06/2004: Planted Marigolds in pots.
• 08/06/2004: Lots of flowers.
• 30/05/2004: Garden colourful! Planted Osteospermum, Poppies and Dwarf Lilies.
• 05/05/2004: Repaired feed & weed spillage.
• 17/04/2004: Nasturtiams sprouting. Tulips unfurling.
• 08/04/2004: Lawn feed & weed (disaster!)
• 28/03/2004: Planted Gypsophila seeds.
• 26/03/2004: Planted Honeysuckle. Planted Nasturatiam seeds.
• 10/03/2004: Cut grass for first time.
• 14/02/2004: First time in garden this year. Bulbs appearing.

• 23/11/2003: Last cut of lawn?
• 05/10/2003: Aerated lawn.
• 05/09/2003: Removed sunflowers.
• 15/06/2003: Planted petunias in bowl
• 04/06/2003: Lawn feed & weed
• 17/04/2003: Planted Paeonia. Transplanted herbs (curry, rosemary & thyme) into garden.
• 13/04/2003: Planted ivy
• 09/04/2003: Lawn feed & weed
• 29/03/2003: Aerated lawn. Planted Magnolia, Pinks, Lupin & Sedum
• 23/03/2003: Planted hostas & japonicas
• 16/03/2003: Planted sunflower seeds.
• 15/03/2003: Cut grass for first time.
• 11/03/2003: Dug border.
• 14/02/2003: First time in garden this year. Daffodils unfurling.

BBC – Gardening – Plants – Plant Finder – Astrantia major ‘Claret’
Could be useful along the north-facing fence?

Been a bit slow on the updates recently. Not much to report beyond the usual though.

I cut the grass with the second shortest setting a couple of weeks ago but the garden didn’t seem to like it just yet; it looked a little threadbare. Consequently I didn’t cut it last week, to give it a rest, and this week raised the blades back up a notch. It looks much healthier now.

I also took the opportunity of some decent weather and a lazy weekend to redefine to borders of the garden. I dug the ditches around the edges a little deeper to try and remove the various weeds that have taken up residence. The garden looks much neater now, we shall see how long it lasts.

Plant-wise: I’ve trimmed the lemon balm a bit to try and prevent it overrunning the other plants too much (last year quite a few suffered as it’s a bit of a thug). Only one of the dahlias is showing any signs of growing just yet – I suspect that something has been munching on the new shoots.

Weather-wise things have been fairly dry, with the occasional downpour. Overall the plants aren’t quite as verdent as last year, although I wonder if this is because I haven’t mulched for the last couple of years.

After the rain of the last couple of weeks, this weekend’s nice weather finally allowed me to cut the grass this weekend. I also attacked the nasturtiams that are beginning to become a pest – they are popping up all over the place. I think it is going to be an ongoing job to keep on top of them.

I also purchased a new plant – Coreopsis Calypso. It was an impulse buy (my two year old’s choice!) and required me to empty one of the pots of bulbs (they were getting a bit tired anyway). If this develops well I might consider it for the front garden, as it is meant to be very long flowering.

Today I planted a bunch of dahlia tubers in the stretch of soil along the left hand side of the garden (the patch occupied by last year’s monstrous nasturtiams). I dug over the soil, to a depth of about 6 inches and then mixed in some multipurpose compost. I then planted the corms according to instructions and finished it all off with a layer of cocoa shells (that were left over from last year).

The varieties I planted were:

• Dahlia topmix “Sweetheart”
• Dahlia paeony flowering “Biship of Llandaff”

We shall see what happens…

BTW, I cut the grass again and it still looks a bit crap but getting better…

Just planted a “Dicentra Spectabilis” in a shady, damp spot of the garden, next to the Camellia. Hopefully it should bring some colour to an previously empy spot…

I did the Spring ritual of scarifying and aerating the lawn today. I’m now feeling shattered. As usual the garden looks crap but should be well prepared for the Summer.

For future reference: I brushed about 150L of Multipurpose Compost and 150L of Sharp Sand into the lawn (which you can just about fit in the car as long as you don’t mind the suspension at a slightly “jaunty” angle!).

Next Step: planting the dahlia corms…

…somewhat belatedly. A new year, new spring and new gardening – or at least more of the same.

I cut the grass for the first time today (I could have done it last weekend but was out of the country). It currently has it’s customery hacked about look and I will try to cut it again in a few days to try and make it look a bit more presentable.

I also took the opportunity to clear up all the remaining deadwood (I did most of it a few weeks ago) and plant some seeds. I say “plant” but what I actually did was completely ignore the various instructions and just scatter the various seeds liberally with a little fine potting compost. We shall see what happens…

This year’s seeds are:

• Aster, Carpet Ball Mixed
• Poppy, Hensol Violet
• Poppy, Cherry Glow
• Candytuft, Giant Hyacinth Flowered
• Nasturtiam, Climbing Mixed

The nasturtiam’s have only been planted in the old bin/planter. They were so rampant last year that I am avoiding them in the garden proper this time.

Small steps…