My hubby always goes for bright red or jazzy coloured flowers like gazanias which I hate. Today he came home with red crocosmia bulbs. I have a feeling that they might not come up (particularly if I don't plant them).
With me and the missus it's the other way round. I like the more subdued colours but she'd have bright, contrasty stuff everywhere. As I do the gardening she has no chance.
Mine is a retired farmer, he can’t see the point in a flower garden, if he had his way he would leave the lot to do it’s own thing,  the grass would be a meadow, probably of docks, nettles, and dandelions, but he does take note of what I want done, and doesn’t do anything without asking first. he cuts the grass and strims the edges, but  only because I like it tidy, he will go round wild flowers, primrose, oxeyes etc.Â
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.Â
I don't mind the shape and size of sunflowers tho with some you have to have an awful lot of stem and leaf for just one or two flowers.  It's the whole gaudy yellowness I 'm not keen on so I reckon the red brown chocolate thing would be fine.
OH likes Cosmos so I always try to find some or sow some for him. Keeps him happy. He's also a bit strimmer happy but we have now agreed an area where the nettles and wild apple mint are left for the critters.
Yes. It's the yellowness. I also find the shallowness of forsythia jars in the spring but I'd have no problem with it in the summer - but I still wouldn't grow it!
Well that was an afternoon wasted On my list was repotting the strawberries as they seemed to be struggling to get going this year. I blamed the weather but the ones growing in the ground seemed fine so I assumed it was the soil. Turns out there were close to 300 vine weevil grubs in less than 10 pots. Plague levels of evil weevils.
It took less time for the birds to eat them all than it did to sieve all the soil and salvage what I could from the mess. Now I'm wonderibg what else they might be lurking in...
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I am trying to reduce what l grow in pots (without much success if l'm honest) because of those blasted things. I have become paranoid about checking over plants before l repot them. Thanks for reminding me, l need to order nematodes . I feel your pain.Â
I have a list of jobs to do, "order nematodes" was heading to the top, then Spring was put on hold Today is chilly and it's raining and tomorrow looks the same. Trying not to think about those grubs possibly munching away....... Edited to add,bit of a long shot, but does anyone have any idea about the peachy coloured peony that was shown on GW on Friday? There were several lingering shots of it, but to the best of my recollection they didn't show the name. That makes me curmudgeonly , they do that so often, unlike Beechgrove , who are really good about naming the plants that they feature.
I'm surprised they don't issue a plant list on the website. It would seem pretty basic info these days, even small Youtube channels do it.
As for nematodes I'm still not convinced. I haven't been able to source a full list of the species they target and I find the marketing misleading as they suggest they target one species. From the sound of it they could be quite devastating to soil health and reduce other insect numbers quite drastically. I'd be really interested to know if they've been proven to be safe for things like stag beetle larvae and chafer larvae too.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I only use them in pots, not the open ground (touch wood I've never had a problem with them in the garden). It's only a problem l've had in the last few years, and l have found them to be effective. I appreciate your caution though @wild edges
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he cuts the grass and strims the edges, but  only because I like it tidy, he will go round wild flowers, primrose, oxeyes etc.Â
OH likes Cosmos so I always try to find some or sow some for him. Keeps him happy. He's also a bit strimmer happy but we have now agreed an area where the nettles and wild apple mint are left for the critters.
Thanks for reminding me, l need to order nematodes . I feel your pain.Â
Today is chilly and it's raining and tomorrow looks the same. Trying not to think about those grubs possibly munching away.......
Edited to add,bit of a long shot, but does anyone have any idea about the peachy coloured peony that was shown on GW on Friday? There were several lingering shots of it, but to the best of my recollection they didn't show the name. That makes me curmudgeonly , they do that so often, unlike Beechgrove , who are really good about naming the plants that they feature.