Thanks to the advice and information gained from this thread our garden is transformed from the dogs playground/karzy to somewhere we both enjoy along with the dogs although it may have been different when five of them were chasing around kicking up stones, one thing that never been mentioned is the cash needed when your starting out. #Eyewatering It’s still a dogs karzy, thanks Bowyer no class 😂s
Looking good @T_C_E did you decide on what to do with the centrepiece yet btw or going to come back to that?
I've had a few bits and bobs from https://www.farmergracy.co.uk/ over the last couple of years. They are based in the Netherlands so it can take a week or two longer but good selection and often have some of the more unusual stuff and some good deals.
@Bournemouth Addick I plonked a large pot in the middle with some bamboo just to see what reaction it gets from the dogs. They don’t particularly take any notice of it which is a good thing, I thought about a heavy concrete three tier fountain looking planter.
I can only find cheap ones made of plastic which would get knocked over by the dogs or blown over by the wind off the coast.
Living just off the clifftop myself I feel your pain with the wind (oh er missus). I've weighted some of my larger planters down with breeze blocks inside, which does help a bit.
@Bournemouth Addick I plonked a large pot in the middle with some bamboo just to see what reaction it gets from the dogs. They don’t particularly take any notice of it which is a good thing, I thought about a heavy concrete three tier fountain looking planter.
I can only find cheap ones made of plastic which would get knocked over by the dogs or blown over by the wind off the coast.
Have you looked at Whelans in Sheerness, they had some large concrete planters the last time we visited, admittedly it was some time ago.
I did all the work myself @DaveMehmet (I’m no gardener/chippy and it shows) but £33/44 for a trellis panel and plants £12/25 for root or grown on rose plants.
I’ve had four jumbo bags of compost and one of top soil delivered at over a £100 a throw.
It stands me for about 2.5k and that’s without replacing the decking still to be done.
Still I love being out there, even in the greenhouse when it pi55ing down.
I’ve not a cue what I’m doing with plants but it’s fun learning and surprisingly I’ve not killed anything yet, varying success with seeds but apparently that’s the norm, not every seed will grow.
I’ve never gardened before and didn’t realise how good it could be mentally and even though most of it has been a struggle after recent surgery I just chill out for five minutes before going again.
I’m always online looking for cheaper sources for plants/seeds so if anyone has links to good ones please post them I could do with all the help I can get. 😂
I’ve always enjoyed gardening but like you, I’m no expert. Not done it a lot but love growing things from seed. Managed to keep his apple plant my daughter grew from seed as a school project about 6 years ago. Also the purple plants below (Coronaria) self seed like mad and we always have them every year. The originals came from my grandad’s garden, my dad then took some and gave some to me about 15 years ago. We’ve had dozens of them since.
@Bournemouth Addick I plonked a large pot in the middle with some bamboo just to see what reaction it gets from the dogs. They don’t particularly take any notice of it which is a good thing, I thought about a heavy concrete three tier fountain looking planter.
I can only find cheap ones made of plastic which would get knocked over by the dogs or blown over by the wind off the coast.
Have you looked at Whelans in Sheerness, they had some large concrete planters the last time we visited, admittedly it was some time ago.
Safe to say I can grow pumpkin plants from seed 😂 as to if I get any pumpkins we shall see, roses and dahlias are becoming my thing as are peonies but as of yet I don’t have any of those.
Got a lot of first year roses despite them being cut right back before being planted and the flowers didn’t hang around much more than a week.
Best I've ever seen the Pink Martini rose. The blooms have had a nasty habit of going brown and dropping off in previous years - I assume due to moisture getting into the bowl shaped blooms.
Moving a large/heavy fig tree out of the greenhouse today, lots of moving stuff about and a little swearing to follow, correct music crucial to the operation, will also move a banana plant out at the same time, I have high hopes that I might actually get this one too fruit so gently does it.
Moving a large/heavy fig tree out of the greenhouse today, lots of moving stuff about and a little swearing to follow, correct music crucial to the operation, will also move a banana plant out at the same time, I have high hopes that I might actually get this one too fruit so gently does it.
That'll be amazing if you get it to fruit, and quite rare for the UK I thought? Mine are going mad but the wind has not given them a break and they're shredded to buggery sadly.
The idea was keep in the greenhouse and give it every chance, but it's a bit too hot in there now so I've found a sheltered spot for it in a plastic greenhouse, it's a different type of heat in there, hot and moist so hopefully more tropical feeling.
Moving a large/heavy fig tree out of the greenhouse today, lots of moving stuff about and a little swearing to follow, correct music crucial to the operation, will also move a banana plant out at the same time, I have high hopes that I might actually get this one too fruit so gently does it.
That'll be amazing if you get it to fruit, and quite rare for the UK I thought? Mine are going mad but the wind has not given them a break and they're shredded to buggery sadly.
Moving a large/heavy fig tree out of the greenhouse today, lots of moving stuff about and a little swearing to follow, correct music crucial to the operation, will also move a banana plant out at the same time, I have high hopes that I might actually get this one too fruit so gently does it.
That'll be amazing if you get it to fruit, and quite rare for the UK I thought? Mine are going mad but the wind has not given them a break and they're shredded to buggery sadly.
It’s not that rare, the main gate at UCL has quite a nice tree. They do nothing to it and it bears fruit each, although I have never seen anyone trying anything from it. Actually the key to getting them to fruit is not putting them in rich soil. They just grow and grow. Poor soil(relatively to ours), plenty of stones, good drainage and the occasional watering.
Restricting the root growth the way to go and a sunny spot. My sister gets a good crop every year from her one. She keeps it in a container on the patio and keeps it to about 2 meters tall and 1,5 meters wide.
Moving a large/heavy fig tree out of the greenhouse today, lots of moving stuff about and a little swearing to follow, correct music crucial to the operation, will also move a banana plant out at the same time, I have high hopes that I might actually get this one too fruit so gently does it.
That'll be amazing if you get it to fruit, and quite rare for the UK I thought? Mine are going mad but the wind has not given them a break and they're shredded to buggery sadly.
It’s not that rare, the main gate at UCL has quite a nice tree. They do nothing to it and it bears fruit each, although I have never seen anyone trying anything from it. Actually the key to getting them to fruit is not putting them in rich soil. They just grow and grow. Poor soil(relatively to ours), plenty of stones, good drainage and the occasional watering.
Restricting the root growth the way to go and a sunny spot. My sister gets a good crop every year from her one. She keeps it in a container on the patio and keeps it to about 2 meters tall and 1,5 meters wide.
Lol - my musa acuminata is some way off bearing fruit at the moment!
I kept it indoors over winter but stuck it outside in too much full sun too soon and it suffered badly from scorching. Recovering now fortunately.
My others have fared a little better, wind shredding excepted.
Moving a large/heavy fig tree out of the greenhouse today, lots of moving stuff about and a little swearing to follow, correct music crucial to the operation, will also move a banana plant out at the same time, I have high hopes that I might actually get this one too fruit so gently does it.
That'll be amazing if you get it to fruit, and quite rare for the UK I thought? Mine are going mad but the wind has not given them a break and they're shredded to buggery sadly.
It’s not that rare, the main gate at UCL has quite a nice tree. They do nothing to it and it bears fruit each, although I have never seen anyone trying anything from it. Actually the key to getting them to fruit is not putting them in rich soil. They just grow and grow. Poor soil(relatively to ours), plenty of stones, good drainage and the occasional watering.
Restricting the root growth the way to go and a sunny spot. My sister gets a good crop every year from her one. She keeps it in a container on the patio and keeps it to about 2 meters tall and 1,5 meters wide.
Lol - my musa acuminata is some way off bearing fruit at the moment!
I kept it indoors over winter but stuck it outside in too much full sun too soon and it suffered badly from scorching. Recovering now fortunately.
My others have fared a little better, wind shredding excepted.
Above is musa sikkimensis - Red Tiger
Oops, I really should read and understood the post before replying.
I ignored the banana plant bit and concentrated on the fig tree bit.
I bought a banana plant once by mistake, it was put in with the cannas. I stuck it in the ground and treated the same way as I would a canna. It grew to about 2,5 meters in a few months, plenty of impressive leaves and a thick stem. I should have lifted it for the winter but I didn’t bother. It died.
Watching and learning about gardening I plant two seeds in case as often it does one or both fail.
Unless at my granddaughters request I try pumpkins then they takeover the garden, planted at base of the conifers they are working their way to the gate and will be heading London bound carriage way of the A2 before any pumpkins are ready 😂🤷♂️
I feel that I was kinda bullied into this chap after all the banana 🍌 chat, so next time I'm in Bournemouth I'll be looking for a contribution.
Next time any of you are by Chatham BR Station, go up a road called albany terrace or even on Google maps and do the street view. There is a house there that has 3, maybe 4 colossal palm/banana trees, I'm far from an expert in either so one of you will have to confirm what the behemoth tropical trees are.
That’s it for this year, from only 5 red robins and a hard standing where the kennels stood to this in seven months.
Looking forward to growing plants from seed in the autumn in the greenhouse which should make this new found hobby a lot cheaper.
Raised the centre piece palm to protect the dogs eyes as they are bloody sharp, went on to replace the raised decking before calling it a day a couple of weeks before I have surgery so hopefully I can sit and enjoy it.
I cut back the pumpkin plant to find a solitary pumpkin growing amongst what I now know is a very invasive plant! 😂 What do we think gardeners?
That’s it for this year, from only 5 red robins and a hard standing where the kennels stood to this in seven months.
Looking forward to growing plants from seed in the autumn in the greenhouse which should make this new found hobby a lot cheaper.
Raised the centre piece palm to protect the dogs eyes as they are bloody sharp, went on to replace the raised decking before calling it a day a couple of weeks before I have surgery so hopefully I can sit and enjoy it.
I cut back the pumpkin plant to find a solitary pumpkin growing amongst what I now know is a very invasive plant! 😂 What do we think gardeners?
That's ace mate! Lot of hard work and a fair bit of £££ on show there. Well done you.
And I definitely have greenhouse envy. Leaning towards the exotics and tropicals myself I could save a fortune by propagating but don't have the space for it.
Comments
I've had a few bits and bobs from https://www.farmergracy.co.uk/ over the last couple of years. They are based in the Netherlands so it can take a week or two longer but good selection and often have some of the more unusual stuff and some good deals.
I plonked a large pot in the middle with some bamboo just to see what reaction it gets from the dogs.
They don’t particularly take any notice of it which is a good thing, I thought about a heavy concrete three tier fountain looking planter.
https://whelansgardenornaments.com/about/
I kept it indoors over winter but stuck it outside in too much full sun too soon and it suffered badly from scorching. Recovering now fortunately.
My others have fared a little better, wind shredding excepted.
Above is musa sikkimensis - Red Tiger
What do we think gardeners?
And I definitely have greenhouse envy. Leaning towards the exotics and tropicals myself I could save a fortune by propagating but don't have the space for it.