GreenFly - A 'flylady style' gardening thread with weekly tasks to tame your garden

KajiKita

redofromstart said:

About 14 foot if I had to guess.  That's a top floor window and this was after the last trim in 2018:

Wow …. What a stunner! 🤩😳❤️😊
You have a super green thumb … 😊👏

KK

redofromstart

It came with the house, the most I can claim is that I haven't killed it.  There are some double camellias further up that wall that had to be cut back very severely and even they regrew from the stump.  If they are in the right spot...

My lovely SS and his wife sent me a white camellia (the tea one) last week and I need to make a gap for it.  My parents also kindly brought me some plants and some strawberries which I need to do something about.  

greenbee

I need to move a camellia which is growing into a magnolia, and several hydrangeas, but need to finish the weeding and mulching first so that there is somewhere for them to go that won't need to have too much done to it afterwards. Two HUGE hollies are due to come out in January, so I'm holding off planting under them for now to minimise the damage the tree surgeons do. 

I also need to go round and identify all the things that can be transplanted into the hedge at the front, and then decide what to order to fill the rest of the space. I'm after natives, but ideally interesting ones. With flowers and edible fruits. So the two cornelian cherries that are in the wrong place and are due to be removed can be cut back hard and dug up - if they make it, then great. If not, no loss. There are also plenty of dogwoods around so some of those can move too. Lots of baby hollies, but they're all about 2 inches tall so may take a while to get going! 

SandyShores

Wow to that Camelia - its beautiful but humongous.  I had what I thought was a dwarf apple tree growing really big. I had to pull the branches over to reach them to prune and it was starting to cover windows/grow against the house.  I felt I'd been quite brutal, but it still seems healthy and I'm really pleased with the shape.  It looks like I can do another prune in the winter, I guess when the leaves are off I'll be able to see to thin it out a bit more.

debtfreewannabe321

Afternoon all, can I sneak in and pretend I have been here all along?
I think I need some help...We have a massive garden compared to what we had before in the new house. It isn't anywhere near as big as all yours look  But I am kinda grateful for that right now as I am already feeling overwhelmed with the amount of 'just maintenance' that needs doing. I had great plans for a greenhouse, growing my own fruit, veg and herbs and I don't know where to start. Would love some advice. I already have some dug up fruit bushes from the last house (red currant, black berry (no thorns), logan berry and raspberry. I want to put them in the ground but someone has suggested I don't 'cos they'll spread too much and be a nightmare to look after - so I didn't. But now they've just sat in the tubs that were supposed to be temporary for moving them with and they really need planting somewhere. I am thinking that I should probably start off small rather than going gung ho on the gardening plans and then having too much to do. I have grown tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, strawberries, pumpkin and other small bits with varying success before so not a complete noob but a little bit of one  
The garden already has 2 apple trees, 1 pear (we think) and a few we haven't decided what they are yet. One apple tree is covered in mistletoe- will this kill it?
Okay I will stop there.. I will get some pics tomorrow if I am allowed to stay it is getting too dark now for any decent ones. DP Is helping me measure up tonight on the areas I want transformed so will have that as a guide later. 
Any tips on where to get cheap/free greenhouses too?

debtfreewannabe321

redofromstart said:

About 14 foot if I had to guess.  That's a top floor window and this was after the last trim in 2018:

wow! Stunning! I wish we had inherited some beauties like this!

SuzeQStan

debtfreewannabe321 said:

redofromstart said:

About 14 foot if I had to guess.  That's a top floor window and this was after the last trim in 2018:

wow! Stunning! I wish we had inherited some beauties like this!

Me too I love the dry stone wall!

redofromstart

Very welcome to join us and happy new garden to you.  

My first greenhouse came about because I mentioned I wanted one at work, and someone's mum wanted to get rid of one so free to collect.  We left it when we moved.  This house, I picked up a bargain one in the big orange diy place when they were clearing out old stock to make way for new.   Fbook market place? 

The dry stone walls are lovely, I am currently trying to rescue them from the ivy that comes over from the church which is an annual job.  We did inherit some nice mature plants with the house, an old school shrubbery in front of the stone wall so it is all tall and gloomy most of the year. 

I know it is hard to do but who knows what you will both find in spring?

KajiKita

debtfreewannabe321 said:

Afternoon all, can I sneak in and pretend I have been here all along?
I think I need some help...We have a massive garden compared to what we had before in the new house. It isn't anywhere near as big as all yours look  But I am kinda grateful for that right now as I am already feeling overwhelmed with the amount of 'just maintenance' that needs doing. I had great plans for a greenhouse, growing my own fruit, veg and herbs and I don't know where to start. Would love some advice. I already have some dug up fruit bushes from the last house (red currant, black berry (no thorns), logan berry and raspberry. I want to put them in the ground but someone has suggested I don't 'cos they'll spread too much and be a nightmare to look after - so I didn't. But now they've just sat in the tubs that were supposed to be temporary for moving them with and they really need planting somewhere. I am thinking that I should probably start off small rather than going gung ho on the gardening plans and then having too much to do. I have grown tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, strawberries, pumpkin and other small bits with varying success before so not a complete noob but a little bit of one  
The garden already has 2 apple trees, 1 pear (we think) and a few we haven't decided what they are yet. One apple tree is covered in mistletoe- will this kill it?
Okay I will stop there.. I will get some pics tomorrow if I am allowed to stay it is getting too dark now for any decent ones. DP Is helping me measure up tonight on the areas I want transformed so will have that as a guide later. 
Any tips on where to get cheap/free greenhouses too?

I think you have already started correctly by tidying and clearing. That way you will see what flowers / comes out next season without all the weed cover. 

I wouldn’t worry too much about fruit bushes spreading - yes they do but unlike something like bamboo they are fairly easy to dig out. 

The apple tree with mistletoe - it depends on how old the tree is, how healthy and how much mistletoe! 😉 What you could do is cut back half the mistletoe - that will reduce the sail on the tree in winter winds and the demand for nutrients. If you wait until December you could sell it on FBMP in bundles 😊

I’m with Redo on how to track down a cheap greenhouse - set alerts in FBMP / bay of e with a narrow geographical range as you will probably have to disassemble (take pliers, gloves and a tub to put all the accessories in) and transport yourself. This is a good time of year to start looking for one as people have lost interest in them by now 😉

In terms of your local conditions, what grows well etc. start spying on people’s gardens. The ones that you like the look of, if you see the owner start a conversation. Most gardeners LOVE talking about their gardens! 😉😂

KK

greenbee

There are several free greenhouses on FBMP here at the moment, so definitely try that. And get your plants in the ground, even if you move them later (my plants have to survive being moved as I change my mind regularly!).

I’ve also moved (last year) to a neglected garden, much larger than my previous one. Sadly the shrubs here had all grown into each other and been cut twice a year with a tractor and flail as a hedge! Most were not that interesting (supermarket car park planting…) and there was a huge rectangular lawn and vast grey sandstone patio. As there were fences behind the hedge, we grubbed out most of it and discovered some lovely camellias, hydrangeas and a magnolia. A few other things have been left behind. Since then we’ve been renovating/removing trees, and have just taken out the laurels and leilandii from the front hedge, leaving the native plants behind. 

The greenhouse was the first thing to go in, and I’ve gradually created fruit and veg beds around it. I have an apple tree, which I have pruned heavily, but it has produces poor apples and I’m not sure it will recover (in which case it will go - I’ve had one edible apple, and the compost bin has had the rest). 

Work out roughly where you want your fruit and as a minimum get it heeled in. Then as you work out what you have, decide whether you like it or not. If you don’t, take it out. It’s also worth getting soil testing kits (I have some, must use them!) so you know what is likely to work where.

I must get out in the garden this week - painting the shed has distracted me, but I need to get wood chip down on the soggy cardboard paths, do a lot of scything, and test the soil. As well as weeding, pruning, and clearing the greenhouse.