Morning Light: The Fetchland Gardening Wire

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Hanneke Apr 2023 10:28pm, 8 Apr 2023 101,879 posts	0 Hanneke My BIL has cut the grass and a friend's gardener has been preparing my veg beds! I will be planting onions, spuds and seeds next week!
Columba Apr 2023 3:00pm, 9 Apr 2023 22,157 posts	0 Columba There is lots of lady's smock in my lawn, and as I think it's pretty I shall not be mowing until it's finished flowering. Local cats notwithstanding. Last year I planted daffodil bulbs intwo half-barrel kind of tubs, and had a lovely display. When the daffodils had finished I put some nasturtiums into the tubs. This year I expected the daffodils to come back, but no. Not a sign. Not just no flowers; no anything. Anyone got an explanation?
Fragile Do Not Bend Apr 2023 3:09pm, 9 Apr 2023 10,972 posts	0 Fragile Do Not Bend Have you had a look to see what condition the bulbs are in?
Hanneke Apr 2023 3:59pm, 9 Apr 2023 101,887 posts	0 Hanneke They may have gotten wet and rotted away. Or just not had the conditions this year. They may come back next year... I often have bulbs performing poorly alternate years. One year I thought I had lost all my snowdrops but they were too wet and hid under ground. The next year the had doubled and did well...
3M Apr 2023 8:12pm, 9 Apr 2023 21,006 posts	0 3M I seem to have suddenly gained a whole lot of Lords & Ladies, aka Cuckoo-pint in the borders. Anyone got any good tips for getting rid (or reasons why I shouldn't?). It seems that they can have very deep runners.
Cerrertonia Apr 2023 9:09pm, 9 Apr 2023 18,648 posts	0 Cerrertonia I seem to have suddenly gained a whole lot of Lords & Ladies, aka Cuckoo-pint in the borders. Anyone got any good tips for getting rid (or reasons why I shouldn't?). It seems that they can have very deep runners. Tough stuff to get rid of. The tubers can be quite deep and hard to dig out and they'll regrow from small pieces. Something to suppress sunlight - weed fabric or a thick mulch will do it eventually.
Turtlemama Apr 2023 10:07pm, 9 Apr 2023 1,893 posts	0 Turtlemama Finally joining for the year... Tomatoes, runner beans and courgettes all started in the greenhouse. Spring onions in a section of raised bed 1. Potatoes (King Edward and Charlotte) are in. Rest of raised bed 1 will be parsnips and beetroot when I get round to it. Raised bed 2 will be courgettes planted out. Other side of the garden will have the runner beans when ready, and peas. I also have rampant blackcurrant and strawberry plants. I also spent ages digging out a load of unwanted stuff including half a clump of tuberous somethings (pretty so I'm leaving some but they multiply too much) and a respawned rambling rose I tried to kill last year (it interferes with turtle's swimming pool) Productive day!
Red Squirrel Apr 2023 6:40pm, 10 Apr 2023 22,879 posts	0 Red Squirrel I’ve just taken over an allotment plot which is very overgrown. The previous occupant had permission to plant an orchard on it and the surrounding plot, then he gave them up after a while. Already on the plot are apple, pear, plum, cherry, blackcurrant, gooseberry, globe artichokes and maybe some other fruit … we will see. I’ve been taking out huge tussocks of grass, plastic sheeting and lots of wood. Made a compost bin and trimmings bin from the wood and managed to get a small shed on site + a container for tool storage. Now to methodically take out sections and plant them with ground cover, until I see what the year brings. Planted oregano today as the first bit of ground cover.
Columba Apr 2023 6:53pm, 10 Apr 2023 22,158 posts	0 Columba Fragile/Hanneke - no, I haven't dug up the bulbs. I'll leave them alone and see if they come back next year. Meanwhile I'll put some annuals in the tubs for this year. Cerretonia - I've had a lords-and-ladies plant come up in my garden for several years running. I left it there as I rather like it, and haven't any young children around to poison themselves with the berries. Hadn't realised they are hard to get rid of. Puzzled by mysterious appearance of what look like tulips (leaves only, no flowers). Finally remembered that last year I was sent a flat-packed bouquet of cut flowers, which included several tulips, each one growing from a bulb rather than cut. Having added the flowers to the vase I was going to add the bulbs to the compost (tulips are not my favourite) but then thought "might as well stick them in the ground as in the compost..." My gardening is a bit chaotic.
Cerrertonia Apr 2023 8:37pm, 10 Apr 2023 18,649 posts	0 Cerrertonia Cerretonia - I've had a lords-and-ladies plant come up in my garden for several years running. I left it there as I rather like it, and haven't any young children around to poison themselves with the berries. Hadn't realised they are hard to get rid of. I've always tended to leave them be too - they're not unattractive and tend to stay in shady spots anyway.