https://gardenandgossip.org/ Sun, 03 May 2026 00:01:27 +0000 MyBB https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1847 Mon, 20 Mar 2023 21:28:45 +0000 Small chilli]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1847


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  EACB4D75-5FEE-4322-9F65-7BEF51B5A83B.jpeg (Size: 288.23 KB / Downloads: 18) ]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1591 Thu, 16 Jun 2022 18:08:56 +0000 Small chilli]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1591 Not the best light today but I did manage to walk home between shows.

I just like old hollow trees.

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The first of many photos of loch uisg. It’s a fresh water loch.

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Orchids & cotton grass along the side of the road

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Just in case I didn’t know where I’m going

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More to follow when I’ve had my tea  ]]> Not the best light today but I did manage to walk home between shows.

I just like old hollow trees.

  112F90E7-28D7-461B-B160-8D6063F4CCB5.jpeg (Size: 578.21 KB / Downloads: 23)

The first of many photos of loch uisg. It’s a fresh water loch.

  B85E570A-7BAE-4204-9218-1A11052F86F0.jpeg (Size: 468.37 KB / Downloads: 26)

Orchids & cotton grass along the side of the road

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Just in case I didn’t know where I’m going

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More to follow when I’ve had my tea  ]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1366 Sun, 19 Dec 2021 22:35:49 +0000 Proserpina]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1366
Unfortunately, as much as I would just like to now spend all my time in the garden, I'm a bit limited right now by a number of factors:

1) It's very cold!
2) My gardening things haven't moved in with me yet so I don't have my gardening gloves or my own tools just yet
3) There's a whole house that also needs lots of attention (and that's the bit that will fall down in expensive ways!)
4) I broke my finger
5) It's dark when I get home from work, unless I'm on nights
6) If I'm on nights, I'm not doing much except sleep during the day!
7) I have a post-graduate exam coming up

Still, I've spent some time pottering around and generally admiring the garden, and musing about what to do next.

I think I have around 95 square metres of usable space at the back, including the greenhouse and an area for compost. The back of the house faces south, but the garden has a gentle slope towards the house so may not catch quite as much sun as a flat south-facing garden. It has three tiers: there's a concreted/paved patio area right by the house. That's pretty small. Then there's a flat lawned area with a border. It's protected from the wind on all four sides as it's surrounded by the house, a fence, a retaining wall, and the garage but it may also be a bit shaded at the far end by the retaining wall. The retaining wall has a steep slope and is currently being used as a rockery, though it's become rather overgrown with grass as it wouldn't have been safe for my elderly vendor to climb up and down. The top tier is the longest and is the part with the gentle slope towards the house. It's mostly lawn, but there's a path down the middle, ornamental borders either side, a shed, a greenhouse, two gravel-filled raised beds, and a rather wild area behind the greenhouse and shed.

There's also a very damp detached garage that needs lots of work, is being invaded by ivy, and has rotting/broken windows. However, I have hopes that it may one day make a very nice potting shed.

My vendor has moved to a retirement flat without a garden, so very kindly left me lots of gardening equipment and containers. More on these later!

Pictures hopefully to follow shortly.]]>
Unfortunately, as much as I would just like to now spend all my time in the garden, I'm a bit limited right now by a number of factors:

1) It's very cold!
2) My gardening things haven't moved in with me yet so I don't have my gardening gloves or my own tools just yet
3) There's a whole house that also needs lots of attention (and that's the bit that will fall down in expensive ways!)
4) I broke my finger
5) It's dark when I get home from work, unless I'm on nights
6) If I'm on nights, I'm not doing much except sleep during the day!
7) I have a post-graduate exam coming up

Still, I've spent some time pottering around and generally admiring the garden, and musing about what to do next.

I think I have around 95 square metres of usable space at the back, including the greenhouse and an area for compost. The back of the house faces south, but the garden has a gentle slope towards the house so may not catch quite as much sun as a flat south-facing garden. It has three tiers: there's a concreted/paved patio area right by the house. That's pretty small. Then there's a flat lawned area with a border. It's protected from the wind on all four sides as it's surrounded by the house, a fence, a retaining wall, and the garage but it may also be a bit shaded at the far end by the retaining wall. The retaining wall has a steep slope and is currently being used as a rockery, though it's become rather overgrown with grass as it wouldn't have been safe for my elderly vendor to climb up and down. The top tier is the longest and is the part with the gentle slope towards the house. It's mostly lawn, but there's a path down the middle, ornamental borders either side, a shed, a greenhouse, two gravel-filled raised beds, and a rather wild area behind the greenhouse and shed.

There's also a very damp detached garage that needs lots of work, is being invaded by ivy, and has rotting/broken windows. However, I have hopes that it may one day make a very nice potting shed.

My vendor has moved to a retirement flat without a garden, so very kindly left me lots of gardening equipment and containers. More on these later!

Pictures hopefully to follow shortly.]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1213 Sat, 31 Jul 2021 12:35:08 +0000 Spec]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1213 ]]> ]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1100 Thu, 27 May 2021 20:54:29 +0000 MartinH]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1100
Here's the view of the garden from the back porch. That privet hedge is about 6 feet wide in places and will need some rejuvenation work.


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The view from the lounge doors. Again, the hedge is taking over the ornamentals planted in front of it.


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Looking back towards the house from the middle of the garden. A good view of the missing panes in the greenhouse, too.


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Looking down from the middle of the garden. That shed there needs some, ahem, attention. Also some of those trees are going to have to go too.


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The apple trees at the bottom of the garden. Not sure about the biggest one, it's too big to reach any of the fruit (if it has any). I'll make a decision in the winter.


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Plenty to do!]]>
Here's the view of the garden from the back porch. That privet hedge is about 6 feet wide in places and will need some rejuvenation work.


  IMG_20210522_164223 garden left.jpg (Size: 894.04 KB / Downloads: 34)

The view from the lounge doors. Again, the hedge is taking over the ornamentals planted in front of it.


  IMG_20210527_122350 garden right1.jpg (Size: 963.51 KB / Downloads: 32)

Looking back towards the house from the middle of the garden. A good view of the missing panes in the greenhouse, too.


  IMG_20210522_164645 garden top.jpg (Size: 753.31 KB / Downloads: 39)

Looking down from the middle of the garden. That shed there needs some, ahem, attention. Also some of those trees are going to have to go too.


  IMG_20210527_122404 garden middle1.jpg (Size: 954.56 KB / Downloads: 35)

The apple trees at the bottom of the garden. Not sure about the biggest one, it's too big to reach any of the fruit (if it has any). I'll make a decision in the winter.


  IMG_20210524_154519 garden end.jpg (Size: 851.13 KB / Downloads: 35)

Plenty to do!]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=983 Mon, 29 Mar 2021 08:55:15 +0000 Small chilli]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=983  ). What is actually needed ( everything & a side order of miracles ). How I’m going to do it all . What plants? What materials ( paths, fencing, structures) ? What layout / configuration ? And all the things I’ve not yet considered ! 

I’m going to be adding photos , lists of plants , ideas, just everything.

I’d love your suggestions, help & advice along the way   . 





( I have a horrible feeling I’ve already started this thread somewhere else! If you find it (veggie    ) can you move it or link it to here please     )]]>  ). What is actually needed ( everything & a side order of miracles ). How I’m going to do it all . What plants? What materials ( paths, fencing, structures) ? What layout / configuration ? And all the things I’ve not yet considered ! 

I’m going to be adding photos , lists of plants , ideas, just everything.

I’d love your suggestions, help & advice along the way   . 





( I have a horrible feeling I’ve already started this thread somewhere else! If you find it (veggie    ) can you move it or link it to here please     )]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=806 Fri, 15 Jan 2021 08:35:17 +0000 Vinny]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=806
https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/gr...er_6266128]]>
https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/gr...er_6266128]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=303 Thu, 02 Jul 2020 17:21:21 +0000 Admin]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=303

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After a bit of work and some cankered tree removal


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Thats as far as I got before needing a minor opp on my back earlier this year, I have grand designs in my head though...]]>

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After a bit of work and some cankered tree removal


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Thats as far as I got before needing a minor opp on my back earlier this year, I have grand designs in my head though...]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=301 Wed, 01 Jul 2020 17:50:58 +0000 Admin]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=301

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I found the fence when clearing the undergrowth


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I found the fence when clearing the undergrowth


  20161005_164401_resized.jpg (Size: 496.46 KB / Downloads: 23) ]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=298 Wed, 01 Jul 2020 09:38:36 +0000 Admin]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=298 This was my first plot, affectionately known as Area51


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After a few weeks


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A few months later


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  photo 1-9.JPG (Size: 127.04 KB / Downloads: 26)


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After a few weeks


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A few months later


  photo 1 (8).JPG (Size: 126.5 KB / Downloads: 34) ]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=973 Tue, 02 Jun 2020 19:58:11 +0000 Veggie]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=973 We moved to this house nearly 40 years ago. It had a normal sized back garden backing onto an old orchard that was used for grazing horses.  I always wanted that orchard even though the trees were in need of care, falling over, top heavy, unpruned for decades and chewed by horses - but all I could do was watch, as the trees fell and the brambles grew and the horses pushed the falling trees over.
25 years ago  (1995) we both had the chance of voluntary redundancy with pensions paid early. After much thought (about 10 minutes) we decided to stop working for others, pay off the mortgage with our redundancy payouts and live more frugally on a much lower income.(not that we did!).
I'd always wanted to keep chickens, my OH wanted bees, so we decided to ask the landowner if he would rent us a bit of the orchard so that we could fulfil our dreams. To our surprise he agreed to a 12 month lease to a bit of land behind our garden with the proviso that he could redeem it at any time. This doubled the size of the garden, gave us a few old fruit trees and along came the chickens and 4 hives. 
For 10 years we tended that land, surreptitiously planting a few more fruit trees and hoping that the owner wouldn't notice and object. 

Then, in 2005 everything changed. My OH was diagnosed with cancer and we were given an option to buy the orchard and another piece of land beyond it. I knew I had to buy it so, whilst I cared for my OH I was also negotiating the land purchase. I lost my OH a few weeks before I bought the land. This isn't a sob story, and I'm not looking for sympathy - its a long time ago now.  The point of telling you this is that, suddenly, my garden had tripled in size and I was the only one around to care for it.

As you can imagine, I couldn't and a lot of it was reclaimed by nature. Freed from the horses's mouths and hooves , the wild flowers returned, including the "ugly" daffodils that grew here many years before.
The hedgerow was full of birds, saplings sprouted, the brambles threatened world domination and it was a struggle to reach the end of the garden.

Now, 15 years later, with the help of a lot of friends and some tree surgeons, its becoming my sort of garden. It'll never be neat and tidy, no straight rows  and many people wouldn't even see a garden, just a wilderness. My neighbours' have lawns and grow grass, I grow food for humans and wildlife and a lot of contentment. I wouldn't swap with them, ever!

The End.

Photos to follow. ]]> We moved to this house nearly 40 years ago. It had a normal sized back garden backing onto an old orchard that was used for grazing horses.  I always wanted that orchard even though the trees were in need of care, falling over, top heavy, unpruned for decades and chewed by horses - but all I could do was watch, as the trees fell and the brambles grew and the horses pushed the falling trees over.
25 years ago  (1995) we both had the chance of voluntary redundancy with pensions paid early. After much thought (about 10 minutes) we decided to stop working for others, pay off the mortgage with our redundancy payouts and live more frugally on a much lower income.(not that we did!).
I'd always wanted to keep chickens, my OH wanted bees, so we decided to ask the landowner if he would rent us a bit of the orchard so that we could fulfil our dreams. To our surprise he agreed to a 12 month lease to a bit of land behind our garden with the proviso that he could redeem it at any time. This doubled the size of the garden, gave us a few old fruit trees and along came the chickens and 4 hives. 
For 10 years we tended that land, surreptitiously planting a few more fruit trees and hoping that the owner wouldn't notice and object. 

Then, in 2005 everything changed. My OH was diagnosed with cancer and we were given an option to buy the orchard and another piece of land beyond it. I knew I had to buy it so, whilst I cared for my OH I was also negotiating the land purchase. I lost my OH a few weeks before I bought the land. This isn't a sob story, and I'm not looking for sympathy - its a long time ago now.  The point of telling you this is that, suddenly, my garden had tripled in size and I was the only one around to care for it.

As you can imagine, I couldn't and a lot of it was reclaimed by nature. Freed from the horses's mouths and hooves , the wild flowers returned, including the "ugly" daffodils that grew here many years before.
The hedgerow was full of birds, saplings sprouted, the brambles threatened world domination and it was a struggle to reach the end of the garden.

Now, 15 years later, with the help of a lot of friends and some tree surgeons, its becoming my sort of garden. It'll never be neat and tidy, no straight rows  and many people wouldn't even see a garden, just a wilderness. My neighbours' have lawns and grow grass, I grow food for humans and wildlife and a lot of contentment. I wouldn't swap with them, ever!

The End.

Photos to follow. ]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=178 Tue, 02 Jun 2020 10:34:43 +0000 Scarlet]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=178
This is my garden diary in photos - something for me to look back on to see in the non growing months what is growing where and when the plants were in flower- I often dig up stuff accidentally! Hopefully this will remind me what worked and didn't, what I can improve on, add to or change. But also a reminder on what flowers I liked that can be started from seed and when to sow them. 

Rambling rose. Just flowers once in June. Definitely needs some old stems removed. Currently have a Viticella Clematis - Abundance - growing through it that should flower in July. I would like more verbena popping up..should take more cuttings.

The geranium underneath I love - grows like a weed - flowers for ever but its getting very dry and droppy at the moment.

City of York Rose - I love open roses and this rambler is a beauty. Currently also has a purple clematis - The president ( group 2) growing through it. Not sure why the rose hasn't got that many buds on it this year compared to last? 

Orlaya and cornflowers! I love these two together and fill a large spot. For next season I would like to try both a autumn and spring sowing for the Orlaya so I can rip the ones that start to look past their best and replace with a fresh plant.

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This is my garden diary in photos - something for me to look back on to see in the non growing months what is growing where and when the plants were in flower- I often dig up stuff accidentally! Hopefully this will remind me what worked and didn't, what I can improve on, add to or change. But also a reminder on what flowers I liked that can be started from seed and when to sow them. 

Rambling rose. Just flowers once in June. Definitely needs some old stems removed. Currently have a Viticella Clematis - Abundance - growing through it that should flower in July. I would like more verbena popping up..should take more cuttings.

The geranium underneath I love - grows like a weed - flowers for ever but its getting very dry and droppy at the moment.

City of York Rose - I love open roses and this rambler is a beauty. Currently also has a purple clematis - The president ( group 2) growing through it. Not sure why the rose hasn't got that many buds on it this year compared to last? 

Orlaya and cornflowers! I love these two together and fill a large spot. For next season I would like to try both a autumn and spring sowing for the Orlaya so I can rip the ones that start to look past their best and replace with a fresh plant.

  738CFB0F-AD9C-4D26-A146-A2BAD2B00FD4.jpeg (Size: 114.22 KB / Downloads: 35)

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  16240603-E47E-4DB9-A56D-11F1B07E4FD8.jpeg (Size: 207.17 KB / Downloads: 39) ]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=140 Wed, 27 May 2020 21:17:58 +0000 Small chilli]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=140 So I thought it only fair to give it a little space in the diary.

When we moved in it looked like this.



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Today it looks like this.


  579FA42D-CAD8-4841-A479-AE2DFCD76F2B.jpeg (Size: 674.57 KB / Downloads: 47) ]]> So I thought it only fair to give it a little space in the diary.

When we moved in it looked like this.



  6292068E-28DA-4A74-9F66-E8B690D3F1D5.jpeg (Size: 975.88 KB / Downloads: 54)


Today it looks like this.


  579FA42D-CAD8-4841-A479-AE2DFCD76F2B.jpeg (Size: 674.57 KB / Downloads: 47) ]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=43 Tue, 19 May 2020 16:30:25 +0000 B-M]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=43
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eSRSmplOeg

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eSRSmplOeg

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