Yeah, I really didn't think I'd have any luck with them especially since my willows were just a couple of years old but I did something right or they're as easy as growing hogweed.
Have you fairly damp soil around your willows Jim? The only place I've seen toothwort was by the river in cambridge. Don't know if they're still there, that was years ago, didn't work out what they were for ages.
My willows are all high and dry once the water table goes down in (most) summers.
Yes, it has been very wet, the water was puddling just a feet away from them since it had nowhere to go, and I dug shallow channels in their direction to get the water away from other things that wouldn't have coped with it; even my gravel bed became a pond. I hadn't thought of that. Maybe had the weather been dry I'd not have had such good luck. Hopefully they're established now and could ride out any dry years. Fingers crossed.
i had the smaller native one which i got rid of, by cutting down to the ground then using one of the awful poisons (which i detest resorting to) then covering the stump with black plastic. it may not work with the big one,but might be worth a try! if it saves digging.
Just thought I'd drop you a line to let you know my wildflower garden is
now flourishing nicely. Cornflowers, corn marigolds, red campian, poppies, red
clover and lots of unidentified ones which I've lost the tags for, but they are pretty!!
Lots of bees, also moths in the evening - not seen too many butterflies yet though! Do I need to keep watering the garden in this hot weather every night?
Also can anyone tell me how I get a photo out of my gallery and post it on here
so I can show you some of the flowers? I'm not very computer literate as I only
use it for storing photos, emailing, shopping and research. Many thanks for
I wouldn't water your meadow. It can take the dry no problem. Treat them mean. You'll only encourage robust grasses and weeds cosseting it. My best bits are where I've added lots of grit and the bits where I buried the tops soil two or three spits down well out of the way of any long tap roots. A bit extreme perhaps but I wanted to see what would happen. The gravel has worked as well. I wouldn't encourage the red clover. It will add nitrogen since it's a nitrogen fixer along with other legumes. I've avoided them for now but red clover has got in and it is very pretty. I'm not sure what you mean by 'gallery' so I'll leave that part to someone else.
How are the Cowslips or did you hold off sowing them? Can you find any local ones? they're just about ready for collecting where I am. I'm going to sow fresh this year but where I just collected seed and threw them around, pods and all, they've come up well, even in the grass. Obviously you'd get a better germination rate by sowing into plugs but it is natures way so I thought I'd give it a go. By the way, where I put plugs of Cowslips in to grass they haven't grown very much Even after two years, they did flower this year but the ones that were planted into a border are huge and fully mature. I'm not surprised but I didn't have enough room to grow everything on for a year before submitting it to competition from grasses. The grass really does suck the life out of the soil.
I drive through Rotherham evary day where the council have planted up the roundabouts & central reservations with wild flowers, they look amazing and are a massive improvement on what would normally just be grass. The seeds were supplied by Pictoral Meadows who are in Sheffield..
Posts
I'd love to get toothworts going, have never considered them, plenty of willow here, worth a thought.
In the sticks near Peterborough
Yeah, I really didn't think I'd have any luck with them especially since my willows were just a couple of years old but I did something right or they're as easy as growing hogweed.
Have you fairly damp soil around your willows Jim? The only place I've seen toothwort was by the river in cambridge. Don't know if they're still there, that was years ago, didn't work out what they were for ages.
My willows are all high and dry once the water table goes down in (most) summers.
In the sticks near Peterborough
Yes, it has been very wet, the water was puddling just a feet away from them since it had nowhere to go, and I dug shallow channels in their direction to get the water away from other things that wouldn't have coped with it; even my gravel bed became a pond. I hadn't thought of that. Maybe had the weather been dry I'd not have had such good luck. Hopefully they're established now and could ride out any dry years. Fingers crossed.
I hope they'll be OK it's a great thing to get something like that established
In the sticks near Peterborough
Hi nutcutlet
about the hogweed,
i had the smaller native one which i got rid of, by cutting down to the ground then using one of the awful poisons (which i detest resorting to) then covering the stump with black plastic. it may not work with the big one,but might be worth a try! if it saves digging.
good luck
Just thought I'd drop you a line to let you know my wildflower garden is
now flourishing nicely. Cornflowers, corn marigolds, red campian, poppies, red
clover and lots of unidentified ones which I've lost the tags for, but they are pretty!!
Lots of bees, also moths in the evening - not seen too many butterflies yet though! Do I need to keep watering the garden in this hot weather every night?
Also can anyone tell me how I get a photo out of my gallery and post it on here
so I can show you some of the flowers? I'm not very computer literate as I only
use it for storing photos, emailing, shopping and research. Many thanks for
any input you can give me!
Hi WaF,
I wouldn't water your meadow. It can take the dry no problem. Treat them mean. You'll only encourage robust grasses and weeds cosseting it. My best bits are where I've added lots of grit and the bits where I buried the tops soil two or three spits down well out of the way of any long tap roots. A bit extreme perhaps but I wanted to see what would happen. The gravel has worked as well. I wouldn't encourage the red clover. It will add nitrogen since it's a nitrogen fixer along with other legumes. I've avoided them for now but red clover has got in and it is very pretty. I'm not sure what you mean by 'gallery' so I'll leave that part to someone else.
How are the Cowslips or did you hold off sowing them? Can you find any local ones? they're just about ready for collecting where I am. I'm going to sow fresh this year but where I just collected seed and threw them around, pods and all, they've come up well, even in the grass. Obviously you'd get a better germination rate by sowing into plugs but it is natures way so I thought I'd give it a go. By the way, where I put plugs of Cowslips in to grass they haven't grown very much Even after two years, they did flower this year but the ones that were planted into a border are huge and fully mature. I'm not surprised but I didn't have enough room to grow everything on for a year before submitting it to competition from grasses. The grass really does suck the life out of the soil.
I drive through Rotherham evary day where the council have planted up the roundabouts & central reservations with wild flowers, they look amazing and are a massive improvement on what would normally just be grass. The seeds were supplied by Pictoral Meadows who are in Sheffield..
http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/news/article/972/rotherhams_river_of_colour_has_arrived
And heres one of the roundabouts...
Many thanks for all the good advice - I do appreciate it! Will let you know how
it goes with the cowslips and primroses. I have one huge cowslip plant which
I bought as a plug and was one of the first plants I put in the wildflower garden.
Will this survive the winter (roots and all) or will I have to rely on it having dropped
it's seeds (there aren't any in the pods) and getting lots more close by to the
mother plant?