When do you start to think about ........

[LovelyLadyLux]

When do you start to think about your garden? Or do you always think about it?

I find that soon as Christmas is finished and the New Year rung in I typically start really thinking and planning about what I'm going to grow in the garden. January doesn't seem to early to me to start to plan and I start re-visiting the garden centres about now and can't wait 'til I see the first display of seeds come in.

The infamous bike stealing ham swiping store I seem to like to go to has a big garden section out front and they've already brought in spring pansies and primroses. A full display of colour in an otherwise dreary landscape given the time of year. Didn't get any spring plants yet but did go through my planters once I got home so I've got in mind what containers I have that I need to buy plants for.

I'm also going to be on the look out for the first in-coming of herbs. Need to get a couple more parsley and chives going along with some lemon thyme and who knows what else.

Need a tree dug out, need to find an apple tree to take it's place out back and more gardens made as the ivy is taking over one entire section.....

Anyway it all happens in spring and I'm definitely in planning & planting lookout mode.

Any plans?

[Horus]

Not yet, its too early wet and cold to do much in the garden, it will be a couple of months yet before I even think about it

[Robbo70]

I am a very accidental gardener. Come spring, will buy a few bags of compost soil, a few trays of potting plants in various colours and plonk everything in a tub, basket or wall hanger. There is no planning, and no uniform colours involved. To the sides of the car part, i shove violas or pansys, and to the other side, i sprinkle cottage garden type seeds and wild seeds and wait to see what comes. I call it the walk on the wild side Its predominantly for the bees, but there is usually a riot of colour and all shapes and sizes. Each year it gets wilder as the previous years self seeding plants come back too.

[Horus]

Nice idea with the wildflowers biggest problem I find with them is overcrowding and they get very leggy.

[Robbo70]

They are all down in one side where customers dont go, and the pathway isnt accessible so i let them get leggy I just like the riot of colour, and it would appear, so do the bees and the butterflies. As i said, its all accidental and i have no idea what i am doing

[Horus]

No I love the wildflower effect and often try to create it myself
Having said that last year I bought this huge box of so called wildflower mix from the Home Bargains store, enough to do 50 sqr mtrs it said, so I scattered the lot and waited.
There sprang up a mass of seedlings and I nurtured them all through the Spring, as they grew taller and taller I noticed that they were all the same with a dark patch on each leaf. Eventually a flower started to appear and I recognised them as nothing more than a field weed! robbing b*****ds.
This year I will be trying to get some seeds to grow that I 'borrowed' from a lovely cottage garden where I spent my holiday in Dorset.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I think I recognize that photo as being of that garden in Dorset and as I recall from the photos it was quite a lovely wildflower garden. It has real planning to it but was lovely.

I usually start thinking garden anytime now. Last year we had such a glorious Februrary I could have been planting then but I didn't realize we were in for an unusually warm spring and a downright hot summer.

Right now I can see the tops of the couple hundred daffodils I planted, the heather is blooming a lovely mauve/maroon and seed catelogues should be appearing in the mail soon.

I need to get some trees cut down out back so I can plant more productive and attractive plants in their spaces and I need to clear off a bunch of ivy that is taking over an entire corner of the yard. Once I do that I need to plan out what is going to go there

I'm hoping my hostas have survived in pots (we've gotten cold cold but hopefully not so super cold the hostas are mush)

Last year I didn't do any annuals at all but I think this year I'm going to follow what Robbo is doing and will hit the shops and buy a swack of colourful annuals - marigolds, petunias and any other that grow in sun and pop them all into the ground. I think the flush of colour will do well out front.

I bought a lovely foxglove a few years ago. It did get a bit tallish, was unique and looked quite nice. Next couple of years I had foxglove coming up EVERYWHERE. Was slightly awful as the seeds of this 1 plant spread everywhere. UGH! I think foxglove comes in the category of wild flower and it did go wild on me.

If you're looking for tall - Holly hocks. We used to only get a few scragglers down alleys and they never seemed to be a good garden plant but somewhere over the years they've been hybridized and now have lovely flowers. Had a lovely apricot coloured one down in the garden in the States.

Just wondered when others started to think gardening. I'm looking for hints and tips and what you're doing this year. (I have no problem stealing ideas! )

[Jayway]

Here, its not so much "thinking", its more" doing " if there is to be a constant supply of food. Due to the rain the grounds are covered with the yellow flowers of a sort of clover weed, cant get rid of it as when you pull it out it leaves little onions in the ground. Later there will be poppies, iris and so many flowers. My garden is the only clear space, and is providing potato,cabbage, pepper, beans, peas, spinach, tomato and various herbs, fresh food, and all sorts of frozen veg. I did notice my ancient rosebush had two pink roses till yesterday when Glory ate them-

[Horus]

It’s a symbiotic relationship Jay, Glory eats the roses, Glory poops, you put the poop on the roses and the rose flowers, then Glory eats the roses ………

[LovelyLadyLux]

I actually miss having chickens as I used to love their poop for the garden.

Here the timing comes down to having to get the seeds then get them started with sufficient sun they don't all grow totally leggy OR wait and see what is brought into the garden shops. The Rule of Thumb here is if you see it you better buy it as it'll be GONE and you won't be able to get it again. OR you can always save your own seeds but so many seeds are no longer viable.

Thinking about gardening here usually starts about now with the first arrival of primroses and pansies. Next comes spring heathers and then seeds.

Right now I'm looking for some big ferns - Boston ferns as it is my intention to put them outside over the summer. Grandad has some good looking ones (did you have them too Horus?) Anyway I quite liked how they looked in the photos I saw here so am going to try 1 of those outside this summer too.

Hoping all the hostas made it over the winter ......

[Horus]

Yes I have lots of ferns LLL I neglect them and they are happy

[LovelyLadyLux]

@H - I thought I recollected you even posted a photo of your big green ferns. I'm going to get one and put it outside by the front door. I have 2 spots I could fern-up outside it is bringing them IN and over wintering in the house.

[Horus]

Do you really need to bring them indoors? ferns are really tough and even with your colder Winters I would imagine if you were to wrap the pots in some bubble wrap and cover the tops the same that they would be OK

[LovelyLadyLux]

I don't know if ferns would live over outside or not. Wild ferns definitely are ok but not sure if a Boston Fern or that type would make it or not. Winter here has been relatively mild but we can really dip down to below freezing for a few weeks so ?

On looking at the place I figure I could accommodate 1 big fern inside so will see what I can find come spring in the garden shops. Shopping here is all predicated on what comes in to the shops and stores.

[LovelyLadyLux]

More than me here are thinking spring. We've had our first delivery of bulbs that you plant in the spring

Bleeding heart - got 2
Hostas - got lots
Dahlias - lovely assortment and I love dahlias but will hopefully get them locally from people who can tell me how high they're growing as I don't want super tall ones
Liatris - maybe - grew it before but I think I grew already started from a potted plant
Begonias - the tuberous ones. Am thinking 'yes' to these but the ones in the store I was at only had regular upright yellow & reds. I used to have lots of begonias years ago (like 30+ when the daughters were young) and want to get some more. Want uprights and am thinking 3 per 14" diameter pot. I think I want to buy these bulk cause I believe you have to look for the eyes in the tubers to have started and I can't see through the packaging on these ones to tell how big they are and/or if there are any emerging eyes.
Gladiolas - Love 'em and the flowers are gorgeous but mine always fall over and the garden out front has nothing sheltered so wind is a factor to think about
Lily - I like them but have honestly never had much luck with them. I dunno if I plant too deep or water too much or not enough - just no luck with them.
Canna Lilies - they look lovely in the picture but I've never tried them

So - now that I've seen bulbs in one store it means the truck has arrived and there will be lots of bulbs to go and see in all the different stores and see what the Shop Keepers have thought to bring in this year.

Definitely want upright begonias. Love the flowers and I think they'll like the front porch area to grow in too.

[Mad Dilys]

I'm glad you reminded me about Dahlias.

I used to grow all the different kinds and my favourites I grew from seed every year, until I overlooked some one year that were growing against the house wall. They died back as expected, but what wasn't expected was the early flush of flowers the following year from the volunteer tubers left in the ground.

I shall be growing some this year - Mignon which are bronze leaved and about foot tall and my big favourites Coltness hybrids which are not more than 2 ft. with single flowers in a wide range of bright colours. So easy to look after and with the advantage of a tuberous root they can endure a bit of drought or bad watering better than most plants.

[Horus]

Why is it that all Dahlias always seem to have an 'Earwig' in them?

[Robbo70]

Mine dont for long! I have lizards and a skink and anything that moves gets flung in a viv and is eaten. I do a tour of all my potted plants outside for snails as its the skinks favourite food, and the shell provides his calcium needs.

[Horus]

O ooh I could keep you in snails

[Robbo70]

I could make a trip over and collect them I keep them in a big plastic tub with plenty of salad and veg and leaves and feed one to colin the skink every 3 days or so. He gets very giddy at the sight of a snail. makes me realise just how sharp that mouth is, and though he doesnt technically have teeth, he can crush a snail shell in seconds. Every now and again he gets an egg and makes light work of crushing that too