Planting Flowers, Fruit & Veg

[50sGirl]

Anyone have any suggestions for an evergreen shrub/small tree I can grow in a pot, that ideally flowers in the spring summer? That i can purchase and plant now? I have a small courtyard garden and the only perrenials/evergreen I have are a fern and some ivy.

Evergreens would be Camellia, they flower late winter/early spring or Rhododendron, they flower spring. Both need ericaceous soil but if they’re in pots that is easy to do.
Hydrangeas are lovely but are not evergreen and die back over winter. Same with hardy fuchsias and roses.
Someone also mentioned Acers - again they will lose their leaves in autumn.
Holly is evergreen and you’d have lovely red berries over winter - if the birds don’t get them first!

 

[Thank(space)you]

Thank you so much @WeepingCassandra & @Purrrrrrr

 

[soymilk]

Most of my garden is in pots. What about roses, hydrangeas, dahlias, lavender etc?

your garden looks really lovely!

 

[50sGirl]

Harvested the sweet corn today.
My husband chose the variety this year and I’m not too impressed. Only one cob per plant and some of those weren’t pollinated. Back to my tried and tested Swift variety next year I think!

 

[unidentified]

your garden looks really lovely!

Thank you. I’m really proud of how I’ve got it coming together.

 

[unidentified]

Can anyone recommend something to keep the slugs away?

 

[Irry345]

First time posting here- I really enjoy reading this thread as I don't know many people who like gardening.
I started growing veg/flowers in lockdown
Today I harvested my first cauliflower

 

[Whatspopping]

Can anyone recommend something to keep the slugs away?

I've found having Nasturtium, garlic and other herbs dotted around my veg has made a difference this year with slugs. I also tried using broken up egg shells and creating a border of thorns that is cut from a blackberry bush and this has been somewhat effective.

 

[Purrrrrrr]

Can anyone recommend something to keep the slugs away?

keep some very tasty things in the compost, you need a compost where they can easily get I. I've tried everything else and now just keep lush things in my compost to attract them. You could go out every morning and pick them all out and dispose of them or leave them there to help break down the compost.

before that, I was making them their own dining area filled with cucumbers and salad leaves etc under some wet cardboard and then going out in the morning and picking them up and putting them elsewhere

 

[50sGirl]

First time posting here- I really enjoy reading this thread as I don't know many people who like gardening.
I started growing veg/flowers in lockdown
Today I harvested my first cauliflower

Looks great.
I’ve never had any success with cauliflowers.

 

[Renegadedancer]

Emptied some of my summer pots that have seen better days and replaced with some gorgeous pansies and cyclamen in my front garden. Have cut the grass and trimmed down the lavender and done some light weeding. There’s something lovely about a refresh of pots this time of year. The front lawn is recovering but needs a good feed and some more rain to get back to its best self. Now to do the back garden!

 

[Xales]

My strawberries are all flowering/fruiting again.

 

[50sGirl]

My strawberries are all flowering/fruiting again.

Mine too but I took the netting off a while back so the birds are getting them!

 

[unidentified]

I only got a small amount of strawberries. Very disappointing. I ate my first ever home grown produce tonight, just some lettuce but I am so chuffed.

When do I cut my roses and lavender back? I’m so fresh to gardening

 

[Renegadedancer]

I only got a small amount of strawberries. Very disappointing. I ate my first ever home grown produce tonight, just some lettuce but I am so chuffed.

When do I cut my roses and lavender back? I’m so fresh to gardening

I’ve cut the very top of my lavender as it was all starting to part in the middle due to the weight. You can trim the dark flowers and then in the spring reduce it down to a third. They like a good chip. As for roses you can dead head the spent flowers but don’t cut it right back until the spring. If you look on David Austin website there are some videos on how to prune your roses and where to make the cut.

 

[50sGirl]

Potted on the rest of my strawberry runners this weekend. I think I’m going to change the bed they are in because my strawberries didn’t do so well this year (new bed).
I also removed a lot of my tomato foliage so that hopefully the sun can ripen the remaining tomatoes.
I’ve just had a notification that my bulbs are on their way - tulips from Amsterdam! I‘m far more excited than I should be!

 

[Purrrrrrr]

Potted on the rest of my strawberry runners this weekend. I think I’m going to change the bed they are in because my strawberries didn’t do so well this year (new bed).
I also removed a lot of my tomato foliage so that hopefully the sun can ripen the remaining tomatoes.
I’ve just had a notification that my bulbs are on their way - tulips from Amsterdam! I‘m far more excited than I should be!

I always ripened the last on my window ledge my granddad always did that.

 

[50sGirl]

I always ripened the last on my window ledge my granddad always did that.

Thanks. Mine are in a greenhouse so fingers crossed.

I love that so many of us have memories of our grandads growing tomatoes!

 

[Purrrrrrr]

Thanks. Mine are in a greenhouse so fingers crossed.

I love that so many of us have memories of our grandads growing tomatoes!

My parents didn't do or make anything but both my grandads were gardeners and I learnt a lot or inherited a lot from them

 

[50sGirl]

My parents didn't do or make anything but both my grandads were gardeners and I learnt a lot or inherited a lot from them

My Dad was an avid gardener, although he only grew veg when I was a child.
He loved his garden and his pots. He was disabled in his latter years and he had over 100 pots on his patio so he could access them more easily. I used to moan when I had to water his pots as it took over an hour each night but I lost him last year and inherited his pots. I’ve planted the majority of his plants in my garden borders and there were hundreds of bulbs under the plants too. I’m so grateful for them as I have a perpetual reminder of him in my garden. I always feel closer to him in my garden.