How much to live on

Auti

@helensbiggestfan - if you are happy to wait for tree growth I think my child had the right idea

He wanted to know what conkers were (4 years ago) and if they would grow so we collected Conkers, sycamores and acorns and planted them in pots. The next spring he was so excited to see tiny shoots and now after 4 years we have small trees (between 2 - 4 feet (sycamore) in pots). We also found out there is a difference in acorn variety where we live and the acorn variety the other side of the country to us as we planted from both places. 

We now have Sweet chestnut, Hazel (a surprise),  two varieties of Oak and a Sycamore (very well contained in his pot).

It was good fun and it is lovely to see them surviving each year and growing bigger.

Savvy_Sue

I have a 'tree nursery' in pots. Walnut, peach, oak, holly, acer and sycamore. I have conkers in the fridge to plant (apparently they like a cold spell) but I'm not worried if they fail because there are lots of conkers trees opposite us and they'll be easy to replace.

I'm unlikely ever to plant them in the ground, but I'm a sucker for a baby tree.

Were those fig trees reduced, or full price @helensbiggestfan ?

helensbiggestfan

The fig was full price. Only about 6 inches high but it looks very healthy.  I'll start it in a pot. They do grow quickly once they get going so I shouldn't have too long to wait before I plant it out.  

I usually have tree/shrub nurseries on the go too.   I have some shrubs in pots but no trees at the moment. 

I especially love acers and maples, they are glorious in the autumn often keeping their colour well into early winter.  And I always find room for some flowering cherries and magnolias.  I am on the look out for some bay trees to put by the front door and I fancy some olive trees too.  

Auti. I am going to pinch your idea of growing from acorns etc. tbh I always thought they were quite difficult.  It would be a great project for the grandkids.   

You really mustn't get me talking too much about gardening or interior design. I could go on for hours, especially as my speciality is doing it on a miniscule  budget. 

 I must contain myself or I'll have the thread police on my case again for veering off topic.  Lol. 

louby40

Anybody know how to stop the snails and slugs from munching on my Hostas?

I've put crunched up egg shells around them as I asked Chat GTP and they said they struggle to move over egg shells. Don't know if this is true. They're all in pots and every morning before I leave for work I'm doing a snail hunt.

Plasticman

louby40 said:

Anybody know how to stop the snails and slugs from munching on my Hostas?

I've put crunched up egg shells around them as I asked Chat GTP and they said they struggle to move over egg shells. Don't know if this is true. They're all in pots and every morning before I leave for work I'm doing a snail hunt.

Put the pots on a saucer and keep it full of water. I've tried egg shells, copper tape etc etc and had little luck!

Savvy_Sue

helensbiggestfan said:

The fig was full price. Only about 6 inches high but it looks very healthy.  I'll start it in a pot. They do grow quickly once they get going so I shouldn't have too long to wait before I plant it out.  

Oh excellent. I'm not quite sure where I'll put it, definitely in a pot to start with, assuming I can get one! 

helensbiggestfan said:

And I always find room for some flowering cherries and magnolias.  I am on the look out for some bay trees to put by the front door and I fancy some olive trees too.  

Auti. I am going to pinch your idea of growing from acorns etc. tbh I always thought they were quite difficult.  It would be a great project for the grandkids.   

I have a magnolia in a pot which I brought from Mum's when she died. All her other pots have either died or been planted out to prevent that happening, but I'm quite proud of that magnolia! We have a large one in our garden already. And just to warn you, bay spreads if not in pots. Slowly, but surely ... ours is by the front gate. An olive tree would definitely be forced to stay in a pot. 

The other things which grow REALLY easily are hazelnuts. I haven't allowed any into the tree nursery because I already have so many around the garden. I blame the squirrels ... obviously!

barnstar2077

I am in the middle of a several year long reclaiming of my garden.  It was so overgrown it was practically woodland!

I am going for low maintenance as much as possible, with a grass cutting strip around the edge, anti weed fabric and bark, and have planted ground cover plants to reduce the need for weeding and bark replacement as they reach maturity and fill the desired space. I'm also not planting any trees that grow above six meters.

I know that I am not getting any younger, so have carefully selected the plants and their spacing, to mean that if I should be out of action for a while at any point it won't be a disaster.

I do not know how wide spread these stores are throughout the UK, but I have found The Range to be an excellent place to pick up acers and the euonymus ground cover for a fraction of the price of a garden centre.  B&M Bargains are also worth checking out, but mainly for the reduced price plant area.  I picked up a couple of lovely cytisus that had lost their flower colour labels last year for 25p each that have just come out in gorgeous yellow flowers.   Although, I do still love a garden centre of course! :  )

Edit: B&M Bargains, not Home Bargains.  I always get them mixed up.  Wish one of them would change their name lol!

MeteredOut

Plasticman said:

louby40 said:

Anybody know how to stop the snails and slugs from munching on my Hostas?

I've put crunched up egg shells around them as I asked Chat GTP and they said they struggle to move over egg shells. Don't know if this is true. They're all in pots and every morning before I leave for work I'm doing a snail hunt.

Put the pots on a saucer and keep it full of water. I've tried egg shells, copper tape etc etc and had little luck!

My wife tried these too, but the pests still got to the plants. She's convinced snails and slugs can fly, but don't like to do it when in sight of a human

helensbiggestfan

MeteredOut said:

Plasticman said:

louby40 said:

Anybody know how to stop the snails and slugs from munching on my Hostas?

I've put crunched up egg shells around them as I asked Chat GTP and they said they struggle to move over egg shells. Don't know if this is true. They're all in pots and every morning before I leave for work I'm doing a snail hunt.

Put the pots on a saucer and keep it full of water. I've tried egg shells, copper tape etc etc and had little luck!

My wife tried these too, but the pests still got to the plants. She's convinced snails and slugs can fly, but don't like to do it when it sight of a human

I think your wife is right.  😂

hugheskevi

I recently moved into the house that I plan to spend the next 20-30 years. I'm still working, but plan to retire soon. So I'm going through a complete overhaul of my new house (and wider life!) to get it into a good condition to enjoy retirement. I thought it might be helpful to share what I decided to do upon moving in:

(1) New main roof - it could have been cleaned, repaired, etc, but would need replacing at some point, so I decided to get it done immediately.

(2) New conservatory roof - same as above, and also changing to a modern, more appealing appearance

(3) New boiler with 3 electronic TRVS and new TRVs on all other radiators - this enables me to carefully control temperatures throughout the house, both avoiding wasting fuel heating unoccupied areas, having a perfect temperature for bedrooms and living areas, and ensuring key areas heat up faster by having a tailored room-by-room schedule for the electronic TRVs.

(4) New kitchen, including floor tiling - may as well modernise now

(5) The seller had installed new windows and doors and bathrooms, so those did not need replacing. There also doesn't seem to be any need for a damp course or rewiring.

(6) Exterior landscaping - making changes I will use, eg, a secure dog area adjoining conservatory, replacing paving in an area we see from kitchen and will use, installing additional paving to have a path from conservatory to front of house for dogs to use, installing a bin area, replacing paving at entry to house, and installing a gate to access an adjoining country park. The rest is just being put to lawn.

(7) Upgrade electrics - install a modern fuse box

(8) New car - moving into the electric era, with an MG5 estate that will be good for dogs.

(9) New PC and all peripherals

That was all a decent amount of cash, but I have found that costs averaged out over a long period become small as long as you actually benefit from the expenditure. For example, I had initially planned a raised paved area in the garden, but realised I would only use it maybe once or twice a year so it would look nice but be a pointless additional expenses. Whereas all the things above I will benefit from over many years, and my expenses in the next 5 years or so on house maintenance and upgrades will be extremely small.

Once all the above is done I will do some routine decorating and carpet replacement, but that will all be in slower time and I will do a lot of that myself once retired.