Don't buy plants in pots in the Autumn with the intention of putting them in the ground in the Spring.....they are invariably dead by then,not just dormant but dead, some pots have no plant whatsoever in them!!! Buy in the Spring and plant them pronto!
âEvery day is ordinary, until it isn't.â - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
Oh yes, acanthus mollis. It seems to multiply quicker then anything else I ever encountered. And it gets a lot bigger than you expect and proceeds to swamp everything else in its vicinty.
Donât say yes please when the manure delivery driver asked if you would like a bit extra without checking how much extra he is referring to. I have now 3 cubic meter of well rotted manure sitting on my drive and maybe space for 1. I guess I will share with anyone who brings their own wheelbarrow.
3 cubic metres of manure. That's a lot of sh sh sh shovelling ahead.
When the garden is basically green with the odd splash of yellow and purple do not open any of the plethora of emails from plant sellers. Their websites are a joy to behold and just suck you in, bad enough in an ordinary year but at the momentÂ
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."Â Sir Terry Pratchett
I read somewhere that learning by experience was/ is the norm for child rearing in some Native American tribes. A child will only touch a fire once. Not sure how that would work with deadly poisons, though.
Exactly the same way as with fire - they'll only do it once.
Best tip I ever got as a new gardener, years ago, was that you can never get an instant garden (well, not unless youâre Chelsea Flower show or something). Appreciate it as you go along, see it as a work in progress, check out the light every week, every month, be prepared to move things around and accept that youâll make mistakes! Some plants will probably fail or not thrive, but itâs usually because theyâre not happy where they are, whilst others may surprise you and turn out incredible.
@pansyface  I have done it but once!  I knew about putting rakes down properly but as my middle name is Clumsy - it was an accident waiting to happen.  Didn't feel a thing but raced inside and put frozen peas on it straight away.  Felt it tighten afterwards!! Wore a frown for about a week!!
@Meomye I put in a tap when I was having under floor insullation work don't in my front room (by the wall where the tap would go) and having led piping swapped out. In my front garden arrangement it happened that the water pipes come into the house bang on where I wanted a tap. It took a few hours to put in the tap, as the floor boards were up anyway. So, I was lucky.
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Buy in the Spring and plant them pronto!
3 cubic metres of manure. That's a lot of sh sh sh shovelling ahead.
On things to avoid, I should not like rust in my curly endives.
Appreciate it as you go along, see it as a work in progress, check out the light every week, every month, be prepared to move things around and accept that youâll make mistakes!
Some plants will probably fail or not thrive, but itâs usually because theyâre not happy where they are, whilst others may surprise you and turn out incredible.
Don't plant giant artichokes of Laon! Â