Garden sleepers and sand cuttings

I've been making the most of the mild weather we've been getting here. It's extremely unusual for the wind to be as absent as it has been for the past few weeks and I dare say we'll soon return to the usual windy conditions but until then I'm making the most of what we have.

I had promised myself that I wouldn't make a start on any more hard landscaping until I had caught up and cleared the rest of the garden which has been neglected all year but I couldn't help myself, I have hundreds of plants waiting to be put into the garden and want it all ready for them in spring. These poor plants have been housed in pots for too many years now and they're beginning to show signs of stress so it's important that I make them a home ready.
With this in mind I decided to build a retaining wall out of old old railway sleepers, these sleepers have seen better days to be honest but I have heaps of them and I needed a retaining bed to add some height for the shrubs I want to plant in there.
I've only managed a small section so far - these things weigh a ton and have to be reinforced at the back to prevent them falling - but once I have them all in place I will board the fences behind the sleepers and then fill them with top soil.

I haven't made the border too wide once it's filled because a) I had to consider the amount it would take to fill and b) I'm only putting shrubs in there.
The ground in front of the sleepers is going to be dug out and curved so that I can plant perennials and then I'll put a decking or patio to the front of that.

The fence to the right of the wall is an aviary so I''l grow some honeysuckle up that but that back fence will eventually be replaced by a solid wall so I have to make sure any soil retaining boards I put up can stand by themselves until the wall is built.
I also have to add approximately another 4 bays of sleepers to the top left as it's a large area.

A job even more tedious than digging in sleepers is the cleaning of this decking. All those small harling chips are well and truly wedged, I tried to convince myself that I didn't care but I couldn't live with the look. Besides the decking needs sanding and re-treating so I have to keep at it a bit every day - it's soooooooo boring.

There are two plants in particular that I have never managed to propagate with any success - Cornus and Philadelphus. I'm not sure what I do wrong, I've followed instructions to the letter and yet no matter what method I have used the years of trying have totalled 1 Cornus and 2 Philadelphus. Last year I tried a technique of shoving cuttings in sand but after I did them I damaged my back and completely forgot about them. When I emptied the bucket though all the now dead cuttings showed obvious root growth so a few months ago I gave it another go.
I basically filled a tub with very damp sand, shoved Cornus and Philadelphus cuttings in, tightly packed, then inserted the tub into a large white bin liner, tied it up and left it.
2 days ago I decided to turn it out and see what had happened, I knew they must have rooted because everything was still alive but I was amazed with the results - out of approx 20 cuttings of each I lost literally only 1 or 2.

Suffice to say I am really happy with the results and will most certainly be doing alot more next year with many other types of plants.
Now I just need to add them to the hundreds of other plants desperately needing to lay down roots in the garden.

Successful Cornus cuttings - finally!

Last time I blogged I posted about a fabulous website called Mikes Backyard Nursery so I thought it was time to follow up with one of the methods Mike suggested for taking cuttings.
I usually take Cornus cuttings in the dormant season and to be honest my past attempts at them have been pretty pathetic - I've taken heaps but only ever had one cutting successfully root and survive (though i suspect this is through my own impatience than anything else), so when I saw Mikes article on taking cuttings and rooting them in sand I figured I'd give it a go.

Mike uses 'flats' that he builds himself from off cuts of wood but I used a plastic tub with drainage holes drilled in the bottom instead.
The idea is to half fill the tub with sand, add the cuttings and then saturate the sand with water. Mike suggests cramming as many cuttings in as you like and this is how he manages to make hundreds or thousands of cuttings each season.
Once the cuttings are in and the sand saturated you simply insert the whole thing into a white plastic bag, supported in all 4 corners with pencils in my case, and then leave it somewhere to do its thing - mine stayed in the PT out of direct sunlight.

To be honest I was sceptical about this method, I honestly did not think it would work so I was a tad unconcerned about keeping an eye on it and by the time I gave it a second thought I figured the cuttings would have wilted and died.
So I was totally surprised when I took a peek and saw this.

A few of the Weigela cuttings may have died off but the majority of the cuttings were happy, healthy and surprisingly well rooted - even the Cornus, that plant that I have had such trouble propagating all these years.
In total I had about an 80% success rate which for me is nothing short of amazing and I believe that if I'f been more attentive to the plants then the success rate would have increased more.
Once my back has recovered I will be taking loads more cuttings using this method and next year I will be taking even more of the things I don't usually bother with because I've failed so many times in the past.
Thank you Mike McGroarty of Mikes Backyard Nursery and Freeplants.com

FREE SEEDS

It's not very often I give my seed box a clear out, I usually just accumulate packets of seeds and then when I come across ones I know I'll never grow or are past their 'sow by' date I throw them out. Yesterday however I was having a sit down in the PT for ten minutes and decided that I should clear my seed box and get an idea of what I have that I will use and what I'll need to buy next year - I ended up with 18 packets of various seeds that were headed for the bin despite them all being well within their 'sow by' date, simply because I know I'll never sow them.
But then I thought why not give them away? I've just joined a UK seed swap group on FB so that would be the ideal place to start however I cannot be doing with all the keeping tabs on so many packets so I thought I would give them away on here instead.
I have 3 sets to give away, all are unopened packets, all are within their 'sow by' dates which run out next year at the earliest and I'm also happy to post them free of charge to any UK address.
If you'd like the chance to win a set - or if you want a chance to win more than one set - just leave a comment below telling me which set/s you would like to win and then on Wednesday 25th September (one week from today) I will put the name of interested people in a separate hat for each pack and then choose names at random.

PACK 1
Aster - 'Milady mixed'.
Cerinthe Major Purpurascens.
Cornflower - 'Blue Boy'
Sweet Pepper - 'Bullhorn mixed'
Morning Glory - 'Heavenly Blue'
Basil - 'Red Rubin'

PACK2
Broccoli - Purple sprouting.
Kale - Nero do Toscana
Pepper - Cayenne
Chard - Vulcan
Beetroot - Detroit 2
Onion - Bedfordshire champion.

PACK3
Squash - 'Patty green tint'
Basil - Sweet
Coriander - 'Cilantro'
Kale - Nero di Toscana
Pepper - Hungarian hot wax
Broccoli - Early purple.






Hopefully some of you guys can make use of these seeds, I know I'll never get around to growing them either because I've tried and failed in the past or because I have more packets of them than I'll ever need.


I must say it's really very nice to wander round to the PT and the greenhouse areas now that I finally got my act together and cleared them - I actually enjoy looking around there now instead of focusing on what's straight ahead so that I don't have to face the mess, the best bit though is that it seems to have cleared my mind when I'm working in the garden, I'm no longer stressing about finding the energy or motivation to deal with those 2 areas.
It's also allowed me to tend some of the cuttings I took a few weeks ago but ignored cos I couldn't face going round there - after years of trying to get a decent cutting to produce a standard Fuchsia I finally have 2.

The one on the left is 'Hawkshead', it's a very hardy Fuchsia and survives the winter outside in the ground here but I don't know whether it will make a good standard as I've noticed the ones in the garden have really suffered from the wind this year and don't look so hot.
The one on the right is a cutting from a wild Fuchsia I have in the garden which in turn was a cutting taken from a plant growing wild up the road (Mr TG bought me back half the bush after I asked for a couple of stems). The wild one is certainly vigorous in growth and is showing the 3 leaves that are supposed to produce better canopies once fully grown but we'll have to wait and see.
They're both still a bit green for this time of year and there's no way those stems will survive the winter without freezing, not even in the polytunnel so I think I'll have to bring them indoors for the winter though I'm still not sure if they need to be more developed than this before they stop growing for the winter, so this could be a pointless exercise. But I have cuttings - yay!

Having tidied the PT and greenhouse areas (did I mention that already ;) I was free to potter about in the garden today so decided to do some weeding of the new beds and then begin spring bulb planting.
I don't grow bulbs very often because I am lazy and always forget to mark where I put them and usually end up putting a spade through them or digging them up (which I did today), so this time I made some more Cork markers and stuck one in the ground wherever I planted bulbs - such an easy solution and yet I've never done it.

I found it quite difficult to imagine where I would want them to come up in the spring time because there is so much summer growth on other plants at the moment - I'm 99% sure I'll regret 99% of where I put them.

Willow water and unknown pond bugs.

I am determined that this final attempt at Fuchsia cuttings will work. After my last attempt following the advice in my age old Fuchsia book I appear to have lost most of the cuttings - I may be lucky and have about 40% alive.
So this attempt is something I've never tried with Fuchsia cuttings though I do it with Hebe cuttings all the time - plonking the little blighters in water.
To add a little twist I added tiny willow cuttings to one of the pots of water, I've read on the internet that Willow naturally contains a plant hormone that stimulates root growth (which is why willow is so easy to root in a bucket of water) and this hormone is leached in to the water when actively growing willow is cut up and soaked in water. So that's what I did with one of the containers - I added cut up willow to the water and made a lid that enabled me to poke the cutting through to the water below but keep the leaves free of it.

Willow added to the water.

Ingenious lid (cough) that keeps the cuttings safe.

I know I haven't labelled the cuttings but tbh I've taken them so many times (with nothing to show for it) that I pretty much know them by leaf type, so in that pic I have 'Hawkshead', 'Paula Jane' & an unknown trailing variety. I also took some 'Ellebel' and a hardy unnamed one that I've had for a few years (actually one of the few I've managed to grow from a cutting).
I also took some of the cuttings and put them in a pot of plain water plus I stuck some straight into compost - none of them are in the heated propagator this time, I've put them in unheated ones in a shaded area of the polytunnel (I'm much more likely to keep a good eye on them that way).
Now I just have to wait and see.

I just had to take a photo of this Londons Pride. I've only ever really glanced at the flowers, just assumed they were pretty white dainty spray like flowers, nice but meh!
Then for some reason I actually decided to look at them properly, have you ever had a good look at them? They are quite simply the most dainty, pretty, painted like flowers I've seen in ages

Aren't they just so pretty!

Now I'm wondering if any of you pond lovers can shed any light on this bug? It's teeny weeny and stays on the top of the pond. They zoom round like bugs on speed and never ever stop, we've never seen them eat anything or anything eat them but there's loads of them.

Please excuse Mr TGs typical builder finger lol.

Mr TG finally has some fish in his pond. I've transferred a few plants from the main pond - Marsh Marigold, Water mint and a Lily that I have a feeling may be too big for it. Mr TG then added some kind of weed that I have no clue what it is and what it's actually going to do. Mr TG put it in there so he can be responsible for whatever it does!

I've just started finishing the end of the pond. I wanted to make a beach effect with us living by the coast and this is by no means finished.

The container to the right has a Gunnera planted in it so that should grow really large - the ones by the main pond are anyways.
The pebbles are from the garden and the local beach and I was aiming for the Saxifrage to look as though it had spilled out of the urn so we'll see what happens once it's actually started to grow.
The pond is due a water fountain but there's debate about what it's going to be - I don't really fancy a fountain in the middle of the pond, I'd rather have some kind of stream trickling down the side. The jury is out on it (our likes are very different) but one day I'll show you the very large formal 4 tiered water feature Mr TG dragged (it was concrete) into the middle of our natural, odd shaped mini lake - it looks odd to say the least!

The perfect Fuchsia cutting

I love Fuchsias and I'm determined to master the art of taking successful cuttings, I even want to have a go at training a standard.
After my recent problems with cuttings I took (I say recent but I've had the same problems every year I've tried doing them) I decided to dig out a book on Fuchsia that I knew I had somewhere. I then sat with a coffee and read the whole thing - well the bits that had pictures anyway, and then this morning I took it out to the polytunnel with me and followed the instructions to the letter.
It seems I have been making a few mistakes each time I've tried this

1. I always use regular potting compost - too nutrient rich apparently.
2. I've always put them in full sun - I've literally cooked them.
3. I've always firmed the soil - no need apparently.

So with this new info in hand

I filled my pots with potting compost mixed with perlite, I took my cuttings of 'Paula Jane' (the only one I have left that has enough growth due to my previous attempts) according to the book - it seems that they don't need to be cut below a leaf node this time of year, who knew! - removed lower leaves and dipped each one in rooting hormone.

In one of the pots I did cuttings below a node (old habits die hard) and the other one as the book suggested.
The cuttings were then well watered in and I resisted the urge to firm them down. Finally I put them in the heated propagator and moved the propagator out of full sun - no cooking this time round.

If these don't survive (look too leafy and big for my liking) I'm giving up and I'll buy the ruddy things!

I haven't just been playing with Fuchsia though, I finally managed to get those Parsnip seeds sown and the Leeks out.
The first year I sowed Parsnips I simply sowed the seed on the soil and I had a fantastic crop that year but then I read it's a good idea to create a cone in the soil, fill it with compost and sow the seeds into that - it helps to prevent forked roots apparently. Ever since reading that it's the method I've used even though I didn't have a problem with forked roots, so this year I tried both methods and will compare the crops.
With the Leeks I've always used a piece of bamboo to create a deep hole and simply dropped the Leeks into the hole and watered them in, the soil settles itself eventually and I always get a decent crop.

Fleece covers everything right now to stop both critters and cats.

Leeks are uncovered but I'll be checking them tomorrow in case the feral cats (of which most have decided they like us because we offer free food 24/7) have left messages everywhere.

Oh the weather is glorious right now!

Birds, flowers and Pergolas

Despite the wind today I got the pergola finished. I didn't get the trellis up as well though because I came across a problem that could see me damaging a pipe that I would really rather not damage, so I'm going to have to think it through first.
Here's the finished pergola though

I'm not sure what to do with the sides yet (if anything), I'll make a decision once the trellis is up.

Remember those Bamboo plants that my daughter saved for me from work, the ones that were in the skip? The ones that were about 15ft tall and we had to transport them home in a car? Well it seems that not even Homebase can kill Golden bamboo - a bit of repotting, feed, lots of water and some TLC and they're paying me back

I'm so pleased they survived even though they looked just about had it, I now have £120.00 worth of bamboo for free.

I've never grown Verbena but I picked up 3 plants on sale at a garden centre earlier in the year. The 3 plants are still in pots and growing well but a week ago I thought I'd snip the tops off, bung them in some compost and put them in the heated propagator.
I'm not the best cutting taker and 99% of what I cut usually dies but lookit

Only a week old and they're shooting up. Think I'm going to take some more!

Finally can anyone name this plant, I got it from my mums old garden and left it in a pot just to see what it does. I'd love to know what it is.

Oh, one more thing. After 3 years absence look what has come back to the new feeding station in my garden

Siskins - I think!

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Time to catch up...

Finally I am feeling half normal again and yesterday I managed to spend some time outside. The weather was lovely and warm, perfect for pottering around outside.
I spent most of my time checking on what's happened while I've been ill for the past couple of weeks and when I saw all the jobs that needed doing I decided to write a list, this will give me a purpose each time I go out rather than wandering around aimlessly and getting nothing done.
By the time I'd got to number 42 though I gave up!
42 jobs so far and those aren't even things like seed sowing or scarifying the garden, they're huge projects like replanting the borders and building a new compost bay - I think I may have set myself too many tasks and if that's the case I'll get demoralised and nothing will get done, again!
So instead of doing jobs here there and everywhere a bit at a time I've decided that i will concentrate on jobs in the actual garden first as this is the area we have to look at all the time - well that's the theory anyway!

Anyway, I had another look at those 6 Garlic cloves I planted earlier in the year, I'm amazed they're still growing and showing no signs of rot or death yet. This is the first time I've ever got Garlic growing even to this height

Wish I'd planted loads more now!

And remember those Dogwood cuttings I took here? well every single one of them is showing signs of growth - this is another first for me as I have never been able to propagate it with any success

Dogwood cuttings

And what about those Olive cuttings I did at the same time as the Dogwood? Well, I can't really tell if they're rooting but they're certainly not dead - or at least they don't look it!

Olive cuttings.

As well as checking on things I also managed to find the energy to cut some Willow ready for a Willow fedge (though I'm now thinking maybe a Willow fedge is not a good idea. I need the Willow to help with the boggy area but Willow is terrible for any kind of hedging in my opinion, it just never looks quite right).
I haven't decided if the Fedge will actually go ahead yet so I've just stuck the Willow in a bucket of water for now, they'll be happy there and will start to root pretty soon at which time I can decide whether to pot them up or plant them out.

40 willow whips waiting on my decision, next to the filtered seaweed tea.

I also strained off that Seaweed tea which didn't smell anywhere near as bad as I thought it would. It's now waiting in containers to be put to use but I'm not sure what the shelf life is and how quickly I need to get it used up, I think maybe it's something I should have put off until the summer months when I can actually use it.

Today is another dry day, not as sunny as yesterday but that just makes the polytunnel more comfortable to be in (it got reeeeeeally warm in there yesterday) so I think I'll do some potting up and seed sowing.  Oh wait, I'm supposed to be concentrating on the main garden - oops!

Anyway I will leave you for the moment with a piccie of my garden helper. He helps an awful lot around the garden, what with his digging and pooping (insert sarcastic face) and never really gets the credit he deserves, so here he is

Huntly! My best pal.......holding his best pal - Fimble.

What's growing?

While browsing my favourite blogs lately I came across Sue Garretts post 'On starting blocks and itching to go' and immediately I found myself eager to get outside with the camera and start snapping away at all the fresh growth bursting through the borders.
However once I got out there, far from the lovely buds Sue was greeted with, this is what I'm faced with

This is the first thing I'm greeted with, pretty naff huh! This is all damage caused by dogs and has made my lovely garden resemble a quagmire (insert sad face here).

But look what else I found, a Leycesteria Formosa self seeded seedling. Leycesteria aka Himalayan Honeysuckle ot Pheasant berry bush is a must have for my garden.
It's pretty hardy and is capable of staying in leaf all through the winter depending on its location. The wind has stripped the leaves off some of the plants I have in slightly more exposed areas (in other words 15ft to the right of the ones in full leaf) but even these will perk back up in Spring, will grow rapidly in one year and produce amazing Purple bracts for some months.

I love this Hebe for its enthusiasm all year round. This particular one is at least 10 years old now and despite being in an exposed garden the shrub is now approx 9ft in height and easily has a circumference of about 16ft - it's moosive!
This particular one flowers a couple of times of years and it's just coming to the end of a flowering point just now but it's still nice to be greeted with lovely Lilac flowers and plenty of greenery on these dismal winter days.
Another plant that is easy to propagate too, I literally snip off 6" cuttings from the ends any time from spring to early Autumn, strip all but the end leaves off and leave them in a small tub of water until they root approx 4 weeks later (depending on the time of year). They're then potted on and will romp away quickly.

I had planned to throw this Clematis out this year. I've had it about 7 years and it has never flowered so I figured it wasn't worth the effort but when you're faced with buds like this forming on it how can I throw it out? I can't remember the name of it and the label has faded too much but I keep records of these things so I'll check it out.
The plan now is to re-pot it in new compost, prune it and give it a 2 year reprieve.  We'll watch and see what happens!

These are cuttings I did a few weeks ago and I honestly expected them to be dead and rotten by now. Cuttings are not my expertise, in fact the only cuttings I manage with any degree of success is Willow and Hebe (the easiest you can get).
These are Dogwood at the top and Olive at the bottom. The Dogwood actually has tiny buds forming so I'm hoping that's a good sign. The Olive is from a baby plant that snapped in half, rather than just compost it I thought I'd try cuttings from it and see if they work. They're looking pretty hopeful so far but I know nothing about this plant so I'm not getting my hopes up.