Gran/Grandads Gardening Corner

Grannylyn I pad sense of humour ! You never know it might work!

Lots of thanks - you are all very knowledgeable, and thanks for sharing this.

I know where I want my sweet peas to go - there is a wooden arch that leads to a passage behind the summer house (the children love it!)and I think they would do well there.

Yes Jalima it's a wonderful harvest time here. I have been madly bottling tomatoes, dealing with an overload of courgette, and enjoying lots of beans and carrots etc. It's been an unusually wet summer and I have been able to water the garden every day. Usually we have to be careful with water as we rely on two rainwater tanks for our supply.

I'm having a new patio laid this spring, but he's not going to start until after Easter. My friend says he's really good - but really slow - so I'm not holding my breath about when I'll be able to enjoy the patio!

One of my neighbours very kindly cuts and cares for the grass on the landscaping at the front of our houses, very kind of him as we each own a section. Yesterday he was putting on the organic product that he always uses to kill moss, and which doesn't turn it black. If you read the product details it explains how the dead moss is digested by bacteria with no need to scarify. I have bought a bag plus a cheap spreader for my back garden, as I am usually too heavy handed with this type of thing, hence previous black lawn! I will report back on how effective it is.
www.amazon.co.uk/Bacter-Organic-Lawn-Fertiliser-20kg/dp/B00KVH0P6G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489406306&sr=8-1&keywords=Mo+Bacter&tag=gransnetforum-21

ooh!! shysal I'll be really interested in hearing how that goes, I just managed to get both lawns cut this morning and honestly I'm shocked at the amount of moss in both of them. Last Autumn I stupidly let OH loose with some weed and feed with moss killer in it and now I have lots of bare patches where he chuckedscattered it. It looks even worse now I've cut the grass I'm going to have to get busy with reseeding lots of patches..

Do give an update on how it goes with that organic one ..

Thank you for your reassurances Roses -,kept going outside and peering at it!!

Just spent all morning clearing up the garden after the winter. Can't wait for the chicken ban to be lifted in a couple of days as they're great at scrattinh up the weeds.

Chicken ban? What's that all about?

Bird flu, all poultry was to be kept indoors for 30 days, that's over, but some areas must still adhere. It makes free range chickens turn into barn chickens!

Lovely spring day today. I did some more planting of the poor herbaceous plants that were moved in pots. I felt I was letting them out of jail!

Then greenhouse viewing in the afternoon! So excited I've not had one before!

Lovely hydrangea shysal and I will say that hydrangeas, either in the garden or pots seem very easy to grow and do well, so worth the expense.

Thanks shysal I have just ordered the 20k pack after looking at this on Amazon, crossing fingers that it works. although it's pricey, if it does work well it will be money well spent.

Thanks for the chicken info J52.
Lucky you getting a greenhouse! I wish I had room for one. The only levelish part of my garden has a clause in the deeds forbidding an 'erection'.

roses, I ordered 20Kg of the lawn stuff too. Let us hope it does the trick. I think the secret is not to be over generous with it.

Otherwise we will get black patches. I will ask the main gardener ( him indoors) to measure it out carefully.

Giving my garden a tidy up, sown my first tomatao and lettuce seeds along with some annuals - pot marigolds (I make moisturising cream with the flower heads) - in the greenhouse. I think I've run out of cucumber seeds - must check.

I love growing for the pleasure of seeing those first tiny seed leaves appear.

I need to go through two boxes heaving with packets of seeds - maybe I'll do that today!

Chicken ban not lifted yet. Think it's midnight on March 15th or 16th.

Just checked 12.59 on 16th March.

Some of our crocus bulbs came up better than others, but nice colour anyway.

Lovely photo, encapsulates spring.

I'm wondering whether to plant a honeysuckle to climb through Lleylandi hedge. It belongs to our neighbour!
I could always claim that a bird must have dropped it!

Leylandii*

Gorgeous, roses, and not a weed in sight, unlike mine!

J52, what a good idea. I hate my neighbour's partially brown Leylandii. It already has plants growing through it, but they are brambles and ivy! She doesn't do anything to it at all. I trim my side, but can't reach the top even with my extending hedge cutter, and can't manage a ladder on my steep sloping garden.

The moss killer you recommended has arrived Shysal so will be spreading that around pretty soon.

What a lovely garden Shysal I see you have all kinds of shrubs in there.

My moss killer is due on Monday 20th. Perhaps we chose different suppliers. The spreader came yesterday so have assembled it. It has several flow rates but doesn't tell me how much per square metre. There is a chart on the body of it with German brands only. I shall have to choose a medium setting and hope for the best.

Ordered another plant today, a pink Jasmine to grow against a new fence put up by next door, beside the patio. Had to chop down the Euonymus and ornamental Ivy which were probably what pulled the old fence over!

Ordered through Amazon, supplier was Longacres Garden Centre, they certainly were speedy!

Mine is coming from Longacres too! Perhaps you are a Prime customer, which I am not. I think we live in roughly the same area, so would have expected delivery on the same run.