-
New to the Gardening board? Start here
💬 Some other boards on the Forum with a similar ethos * Green & ethical MoneySaving * Crafting * Old-style MoneySaving ℹ️ Some relevant guides elsewhere on MoneySavingExpert.com * Gardening on a budget * Home, garden & pets deals 💡 If there's a link you think we should include here, please send me a message!
-
arkonite_babe's very useful Gardening Index
MSE update August 2014 Check for any offers, discounts etc on our Home & Garden and Gardening pages. If you have updates to add please PM either arkonite_babe or Pink.. MSE update March 2022 Please note that some of these links are now out of date. Back to the original post... Below is a list of useful links for gardening…
-
Gardening in a drought
So this is a part of the forum I don't visit often! I'm much more at home talking about ISAs :) There are threats of drought and hosepipe bans given the recent dry spell. I collect rainwater but my barrell is already almost empty, which I have never known this early in the year.The forecast said we were due some rain…
-
Awful weather - typical Brits talk
Well it's been downright awful here in Somerset for the last couple of days with non-stop rain! Just wondering how committed you lovely peeps are... have you been put off by gardening when it's raining? Are you a shrinking violet or a hardy perennial? Just a light hearted thread ☔🌧️
-
General purpose Potting compost August 2025
Hi. Looking for opinions and experiences please. I need some potting compost and knowing how rubbish a lot has been reported to be I need an update. I have a choice at the moment, on offer, of Leavingtons multi purpose, Miracle Gro multi purpose Miracle grow moisture control - which is really for hanging baskets. I need to…
-
The ups, the downs and the insides out of growing your own in 2025!
Welcome to the new ups and downs of growing your own! Everyone is welcome. Come and tell us about your growing shenanigans What do you like to grow? Are you going to try anything different this year? Did you try anything different last year? Did you like it? Would you grow it again? Do you have any tips for growing? Do you…
-
Are these bluebell bulbs?
Dug these out whilst planting some new plants today. I seem to recall there were bluebells in this area in the spring.
-
How deep to fill a planter
I hope I manage to explain this correctly - very much a novice gardener, so let me know if you have any questions! I have a big built planter in the garden, which is currently full of building rubble and assorted rubbish. I've been intending to empty it out and fill with soil so I can get some plants in, but I'm wondering…
-
GreenFly - A 'flylady style' gardening thread with weekly tasks to tame your garden
What do we mean by GreenFly? Over on old style there is a long running and supportive community who focus on getting the house clean and tidy in smaller steps. A group of us thought that something similar for taming the garden would be very useful so here it is. The idea is that by doing little and often we can get on top…
-
B&Q cheap top soil
I’ve noticed a lot of posts on Facebook regarding B&Q allmost
giving away pallets of top soil. It says all you have to do via a
link is answer a few questions and pay a nominal fee of a few pounds
and they will send you a pallet of 60 bags of top soil. Is this too good to
be true, has anyone seen this or even taken up the…
-
Advice Pruning Opal Plum Tree
Hello - I belive this is an Opal plum tree in my garden ? This years Ive had a very good crop of good fruit, been able to make plum wine, chutney , fresh plum juice feach day and also frozen around 150 plums , cropping is just about ending now. Problems are that many of the fruit are bad and each day many bad ones drop off…
-
Cleaning Patio paving with Karcher K2 pressure Washer no answer to simple question
My house frontage paving is badly pitted and dirty from over thirty years exposure to seaside air. I have bought a Karcher K2 'home kit' which includes a special rotary pressure jet of which I have heard good things and seen demo videos. The 'home kit' comes with car washing brush and detergent together with a 500ml 'Patio…
-
Greenhouse drainage
My greenhouse floods with heavy rain. I have been told that I need to remove the two rows of bricks that are positioned against the greenhouse base , dig a trench and fill with gravel. I'm looking for guidance on how deep the trench should be and should I use 10 mm or 20 mm gravel. Any advice would be gratefully received.…
-
Japanese honeysuckle growth on garden swing seat
I have some Japanese honeysuckle growing up both sides of my seat and it's very vigorous where it's growing over the 'roof'. However, the leaves growing up the sides have mostly turned brown and fallen off, leaving a network of shoots. Is this normal or something I can rectify by cutting back hard in the autumn?
-
Fuchsia dying or struggling this year
Has anyone else had problems with fuchsia plants this year? I usually grow four or five different varieties around the garden, but this year I have only one healthy plant which is a hardy one which survived the winter (the only fuchsia that did). All my other hardy fuchsias died, and I bought replacements most of which…
-
Recommendations - Non Branded Grass Feed & Grass Seed
Hi, wondering if anyone can recommend a a retailer that sells non branded bulk: * Grass Seed * Summer Lawn Feed * Autumn Lawn Feed I normally but grass seed in 5 - 10kg bags from Amazon but that's become quite expensive too. As for the feed, there are a lot of brand names out there but surely must be some retailers selling…
-
Sarah Raven - some shockingly bad feedback
I’m reading a lot of negativity about Sarah Raven these days, both on Trustpilot and in gardening forums. Anyone else having problems with them these days? They used to be first rate, but not any longer it seems. Looks to be going the way of Thompson and Morgan - once they get to a certain size they cease to care.
-
Historic gardens going into administration
Hester Combe house and gardens have gone into administration due to low visitor numbers. This is a beautiful garden that I've known and watched for decades. I've known it before it became commercial and followed it through. Luytens and jeykll garden. It was abandoned but interesting. It was restored in the flower area and…
-
Hazel tree second flowering?
We've got a lovely council owned Turkish hazel outside our house, and in addition to nuts (not too many this year) there's now a second flush of catkins and some of the leaves have brown dried patches - is this likely just heat/weather stress?
-
Gourds and apple questions
I was given some gourds seeds, labelled 'assorted Gourds, not edible', no information beyond that. I have gourds growing now, I have no idea how big they grow, when to pick them, do I dry them and if so how. The plants have that powdery leaf fungus so many leaves have died but new ones are growing. Anyone, any…
-
Best solution for weeding block paving?
I have a large block paved drive which I always weed using a wire brush, unfortunately as i get older it is getting harder and injuring my back. Don't normally like using chemicals but does anybody have any suggestions on what they use which is effective and easy to do?
-
Potted bay tree going to pot
My pyramid bay that I've loved for 6 years has succumbed to the dry heat, hardly any rain for 3mts. It's been watered and seems thoroughly but I can't get it out of the pot to check for a problem. The small end stems are dying now, more than half the leaves brown and it's beginning to get bugs in the foliage buds. I'd…
