Madaboutgardening's Outbox

me too!!! can't help but be all excited at the thought of all the plants I want to sow,but have to be patient...
Although I have sown some tom and leeks too......

Thanks for the lovely welcome,
yes I think I will take some before and after pictures ,its so nice to see some of your blogs and see how your gardens have developed and it will be really nice to look back on . Just need to get down to it now!

what a productive day and both should look fantastic very soon,
Jane

I'm thinking about that too, I'm thinking of planting some Chard , pak choi , cabbage and winter purslane to start with. Check out sarah ravens website she has a sow it now section that give as selection of what can be sown now to take you through the winter. www.sarahraven.com

I've never heard that Jacque, I tend to grow the same flowers in the same spot year on year, perhaps just add some fertilizer to combat any soil depletion....

Hi Catherine, I'm relatively new on here too but its fantastic and very friendly. Welcome i look forward to seeing more of your lovely garden
Jane

its going to look great once they fill out a bit, looks like lots of hard work went into it.

the border looks lovely, its been a good few years since I went,I might make the effort and go again before summer ends.

wow, he's lovely

awsome photo, you're very talented

very pretty

Chris reading your blog reminded me of my tropical childhood, and its amazing how the gardens you grow up in shape how we garden now...
I grew up in Rhodesia and remember most strongly hibiscus grown as hedges, jacaranda tree's, glory lilies growing in the wild, the fragrance of frangipani tree's and a bush I only know as "yesterday ,today and tomorrow " that had flowers that faded from brilliant blue to white........
Thanks for reminding me of those memories

what a lovely house ,view and a blank canvas with lots of potential to do what you want,You're very lucky

can't give any answers but just wanted to say my gladioli have'nt flowered this year either

just done a quick search for you and yes the bottle brush can be pruned after flowering to make a more compact bush as they can get a bit straggly . Try this link http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Callistemon+citrinus

very interesting reading on yet another wet August day

Definitely lots more like minded women gardeners out there, for example my neighbour was using hand shears to trim her 20ft long hedge this afternoon, I offered her use of my electric clippers and she refused saying she had some but prefered to use her hand shear as it was more theraputic. As for me the only time I need help from my husband has been with the occasional tricky tree root and when I was 8 months pregnant and could'nt face cutting the grass. Plenty entrepid women garders out here!

we grew some pyracantha (not sure of the variety) in a brickbuilt raised bed approx 2ft deep when I lived in Scotland and they grew very well for many years.

or you can get a liquid feed that you apply in the spring

I had the same problem with my lilies but when I dug up the bulbs they looked perfectly healthy (most probably due to the ants nest in the pot with them). I would dig them up and check the bulbs, remove any grubs you find and use again if they are'nt chewed to bits....

looks like a rock rose to me ,latin name Cistus x purpureus Alan Fradd. They are readily available here in Britain too...

I think some modern gardening books don't go into much detail because they are aimed towards encouraging new would be gardners who want to have a go and don't want to be bamboozled with too much information. There are plenty of more informative specailist books available for the avid enthusiast.
I must admit I love the large glossy pictures and design ideas from modern books and find they old ones, although informative , a bit dry and uninspiring. Whilst I agree on the idea of keeping a reference book in your boot is a good idea I must stick up for the wealth of fabulous gardening books that have come out recently (what having purchased a fair few myself)
As far as plant labelling it often depends where you are purchasing your plants from , some places are far better than others.

for once I was pleased to have an ants nest , as I had the dreaded lily beetle on my pot of lilies but when I investigated the roots looking for the grub thats supposred to eat the lily bults there where none due to the ant's nest !!! Yey

good idea as I lost a couple of young clematis to the dreaded slugs and snails this spring, so I'll be definitely be stealing your idea

I've used a climbing roses when I lived in sw scotland not far from the coast (so similar conditions )another climber I've used very successfully has been clematis montana that will grow a good 100ft . As Hoya105 mentioned pyracantha grew successfully up there as well

It's been a wet old day here too, but I've manage to find some cheap canna lilies from a garden center this morning so its not all bad.
Lets hope it improves cause its not fair on the kids of on school holidays atm

oh how lovely , really love the exotic feel of the gunnera and the tree ferns, and I've been thinking about a willow den for my boys its inspired me even more,
thanks for the privalige of looking round your garden

great garden thanks for let me sneak a peak

its saying the video is not longer available

sounds good to me