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Today's dilemma
* Red Dahlia *
Posts: 694
in Plants
Afternoon all. Well again after a trip to the stables I get home to another challenge/suprise that the boyfriend has decided to join in my gardening hobby! Not only do I have 500 g of onion sets for 1.15 on bargain price from aldi. I do not have a clue where to plant these! My raised bed is all due to be taken. So my only option is to put them in my flower beds, I wanted to fill the spaces with bedding plants not onions!! Any ideas? How much room do they need, will they grow ok if plants flop over them when indeed they grow! But the next challenge is a wheelbarrow. It was on the side of the road so he knocked on the door and asked for it. It's an old fashioned heavy envelope sided one. Concrete type wheel. It's handled are rusty and rotted through but he salvaged it so I could plant it up at the front! Any ideas what to put in it. Do you think I will have to use just bedding plants and change over winter and summer!!
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No idea about the onions, but the wheelbarrow should look lovely with some cottage garden plants in, maybe some pinks, wallflowers, sweet williams and snapdragons, and some trailing plants like lobelia or fuchsias cascading over the sides. Remember to drill some holes in the bottom so it doesn't get waterlogged - hoping we don't have a deluge like this year, but hope for the best, plan for the worst.
Hi, poor fellow, I guess he means well!
Perhaps you could put the wheelbarrow at the back, drill some holes in the bottom, fill it with compost, and plant your onions in it, spaced about 10cm apart.
Back to work on tues so that's when the random gestures will slow! He looked like a proud puppy I can't help but say thankyou and smile inside.
Buy some plastic troughs and fill them with potting compost. Plant sets, fairly close together, water regularly and feed with tomorite or somesuch as you go. You may not get giant onions but you will get a crop of worthwhile onions. This method is easy since it is space saving, you can move them around to suit weather etc. and weeding is a doddle.
Tell BF he is a genius and say welcome to gardening. Then give him all the jobs you are not very keen on.
Thinking some round plants and some in pots or something.
Treat yourself to a new washing-up bowl. Then you can use the old one for your onion sets!
It's all about training 'em RD..my recent OH liked multicoloured pots of pansies. Soon got him out of that
Not that I don't like pansies but the pots were too small and all spread out so I gradually moved it up a gear or two.. and got them all one colour and in big pots. 
We always had a laugh about it though. He liked cutting ...grass/hedges etc so he got on with that quite happily. The house we bought together had masses of grass and hedges but we did it together and were a good team. I miss that. Your hostas in the barrow sounds a good compromise!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...