A garden restoration project (nothing fancy)

Farway

Rosa_Damascena said:

Dustyevsky said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

^^ What I call the Ugly Bud.

Perhaps if you'd pruned it.....

It went straight after I posted the pic, in fact the whole border is now looking short and neat. Except the hawthorn has developed nasty red berries that I need to get rid of before they plant themselves.

Oh No! Leave them for the birds, they'll have them once the days get shorter and easy food is harder to come by

ArbitraryRandom

Rosa_Damascena said:

Dustyevsky said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

^^ What I call the Ugly Bud.

Perhaps if you'd pruned it.....

It went straight after I posted the pic, in fact the whole border is now looking short and neat. Except the hawthorn has developed nasty red berries that I need to get rid of before they plant themselves.

If you're fixed on getting them out of the garden so they can't self seed, they make a lovely jam/wine/cordial  

Silvertabby

FreeBear said:

Nepita is good for attracting bees if you can get it to flower - I have a pot of the stuff out on the patio, and it never seems to grow more than an inch high.

Do you mean nepeta, aka catnip aka 'weed' for cats?  If so, it isn't growing because the local moggies are partying with it!  

twopenny

Rosa those berries are winter food for the birds. Unlikely they will grow from dropping. Rather the birds will move them away from your garden when the seeds 'pass' 

I've been watching the bees on my lavender. Old English lavender is best because it releases nectar quickly. It attracts butterflies too which the other varities don't. 
But it's only neat if you prune it right.

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

Rosa those berries are winter food for the birds. Unlikely they will grow from dropping. Rather the birds will move them away from your garden when the seeds 'pass' 

Rosa's hell, that's part of my garden!
I don't get any seedlings at all, though these (I have more!) were easy enough to raise from seed picked up on grass outside a public loo. A few 'volunteer' common hawthorns pop up each year, but considering there are literally hundreds of those (and birds' bums) within easy flying range, that's not a lot.

Rosa_Damascena

Dustyevsky said:

twopenny said:

Rosa those berries are winter food for the birds. Unlikely they will grow from dropping. Rather the birds will move them away from your garden when the seeds 'pass' 

Rosa's hell, that's part of my garden!
I don't get any seedlings at all, though these (I have more!) were easy enough to raise from seed picked up on grass outside a public loo. A few 'volunteer' common hawthorns pop up each year, but considering there are literally hundreds of those (and birds' bums) within easy flying range, that's not a lot.

My hawthorn does not look like this, min is spiky and aggressive and I hate it.

Dustyevsky

The Cockspur Thorn has the longest spines of all, but it has 3 periods of interest and the amount of pruning it needs is small, so it's a good small garden tree. There are plenty of Crab apples and Cherries that do a similar job too without the spines. .

But the point people are making is the amount of self-seeding is minimal, and any seedlings which do pop up may well have arrived from somewhere else altogether.

Rosa_Damascena

Dustyevsky said:

The Cockspur Thorn has the longest spines of all, but it has 3 periods of interest and the amount of pruning it needs is small, so it's a good small garden tree. There are plenty of Crab apples and Cherries that do a similar job too without the spines. .

But the point people are making is the amount of self-seeding is minimal, and any seedlings which do pop up may well have arrived from somewhere else altogether.

I hear you but am sceptical - I have a border full of holly that I'm pretty certain was unintended, and once it gets woody it becomes particularly had to shift.

My hawthorn and berries remain intact despite my better judgement:

twopenny

I don't think we will convince her Dusty 

But Rosa, isn't travel Pyrocantha?
Not Hawthorne.

And I'm with you on holly, can't even clear up old leaves without getting spiked. I hate that with a vengeance!

FreeBear

Silvertabby said:

FreeBear said:

Nepita is good for attracting bees if you can get it to flower - I have a pot of the stuff out on the patio, and it never seems to grow more than an inch high.

Do you mean nepeta, aka catnip aka 'weed' for cats?  If so, it isn't growing because the local moggies are partying with it!  

Spelling was a little off...

I refer to it as Kitty Crack, and the resident furball will sit there nibbling away at the tips. Got some seedlings growing on the bathroom window sill that Furball hasn't spotted yet. Might get some flowers next year.