We're opening our garden - 8 weeks to go!

DaftyDuck

That's a good garden there... keep it up! Those clematis might make it up there in time, you know. Give them a combined mulch of compost and some inorganic fertiliser, and plenty of watering, and they'll shoot up (even if it is their first year). I've opened previous gardens in villages (in suburbia at the mo, and not doing it ... ) and it's great fun. You'll learn a lot from many of the keener gardeners as well. Instant tip: have many spare plant labels as several older gardeners are bound to know what your mystery pant in the corner is. Give 'em a label and pen (best if they get the spelling wrong; it's less embarrassing!). Labels are also useful for swapping cuttings with fellow-gardeners.... and you'll know how to by then .

Have a few flower pots handy to give the nice people a cutting... then pop round to their much larger garden, expressing your total ignorance on how best to grow anything as wonderful as their XXX over there... and see how much they chop off to give you back.

(If it is wet, you may want to protect heavily-used areas of the lawn... also stop people going skiddo ... I didn't, and had a very muddy clergyperson)

As to your wooden greenhouse being past it... have you tried repairs to it? Mine here is also aged (75 years or thereabouts) and I'm forever screwing extra batons on... even though one side fell out on my veg patch, there's still a bit of life in the old thing yet!

Cally_Smart

I would go for a quick climber like Cobaea Scandens (cup & saucer vine)as ant suggested.They are not frost hardy like they would be in South America or wherever it is they come from(they would be perennials there & keep growing bigger all the time! )but have to be planted an annuals here but they fill in,very beautifully, till your chosen plants have gotten a bit bigger.I grow them myself ,I think they could get very tall in a warm/hot summer( well ,we can only dream can't we?)

DaftyDuck

Just another thought - you might want to paint that shed wood and wall before the climbers (whatever ) go rampant.

I'd go for a sunny terracotta on the masonry, and treat the fascia with wood preserver....

Oh, and is that a Dobbies border fork & spade I spy? My border fork is pants - keeps bending the tines... :mad:

geoffky

After just coming in from the garden since 10am this morning clearing up after a 70ft high 5ft wide sycamore tree was felled in my garden (the mess) i have to say i think your garden will provide many many hours of hard work and enjoyment..It looks nice..

bownyboy

geoffky wrote: »

After just coming in from the garden since 10am this morning clearing up after a 70ft high 5ft wide sycamore tree was felled in my garden (the mess) i have to say i think your garden will provide many many hours of hard work and enjoyment..It looks nice..

Cheers geoffky, sound like you deserve a well earned cold beer for your efforts!

bownyboy

Cally_Smart wrote: »

I would go for a quick climber like Cobaea Scandens (cup & saucer vine)as ant suggested.They are not frost hardy like they would be in South America or wherever it is they come from(they would be perennials there & keep growing bigger all the time! )but have to be planted an annuals here but they fill in,very beautifully, till your chosen plants have gotten a bit bigger.I grow them myself ,I think they could get very tall in a warm/hot summer( well ,we can only dream can't we?)

Thanks for the suggestions, am writing all these down for next time I'm over at the nursery, keep them coming!

bownyboy

Had a slightly more relaxing day today - made the most of the great sunshine and we headed over to RHS Wisley to get some inspiration. Fantastic gardens and bought two purple climbers, two hanging baskets and some bedding plants. Then had a pottering afternoon. Pics to follow.

bownyboy

We bought 2 new climbers to keep the tiddly honeysuckle company:



One of our tree's has suddenly blossomed, no idea what it is though!



Bought a bird bath to go with the nest:



I put up some trellis by the front door, £16 for two. Will probably get a fast growing wisteria to plant here so it hopefully grows up and over the porch.



View from the larger rockery:



View from the rockery back to the lawn. Looking much better after the lawn feed a couple of weeks ago.



Another view of the new climbers by the shed wall.

FOREVER21

Good Luck for your open day.

A word of caution from personal experience, has whoever is organising the event taken out public liability insurance to cover any accidents.
In my area the residents association organised a similar event last summer without taking out any cover. A visitor to one of the gardens tripped over a loose flagstone, needed hospital treatment, and then followed a solicitors letter claiming damages.
The claim is still on going and has left the particular garden owner very worried regarding the eventual outcome.
Whilst at the end of the day the homeowner should be covered by
their house insurance, unless the insurers try to get out of it under the circumstances.
Hopefully this will not happen to you, but it might pay to check.

azzabazza

One of our tree's has suddenly blossomed, no idea what it is though! - it looks like Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum).

Your garden looks wonderful. We cannot plant out bedding plants yet (east coast, Scotland) as we are still prone to frost. Might be an idea to keep yours protected at night for another couple of weeks just in case there is a dip in temperature.