Morning Light: The Fetchland Gardening Wire

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3M Apr 2023 10:41pm, 10 Apr 2023 21,013 posts	0 3M I've always tended to leave them be too - they're not unattractive and tend to stay in shady spots anyway. True! I'm just a little bothered about their poisonous nature with grandchildren around. Besides which, if I didn't plant it/cultivate it, I'm just a bit suspicious of it! I think I'll try digging it out over the next couple of weeks.
Eynsham Red Apr 2023 4:23pm, 18 Apr 2023 9,604 posts	0 Eynsham Red Does anyone have any experience of ponds? I have a small wildlife pond which has been great for many years but over winter the water has turned into a green soupy colour and there is some sort of coating on the foliage of the underwater (oxygenating) plants. Any thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated. I don’t really want to have to drain the pond and start again from scratch if it can be avoided, and I don’t expect that the frogs, tadpoles and newts don either.
Mrs Jigs (Luverlylegs) Apr 2023 6:11am, 19 Apr 2023 37,531 posts	0 Mrs Jigs (Luverlylegs) Blanket weed?
Eynsham Red Apr 2023 8:17am, 19 Apr 2023 9,605 posts	0 Eynsham Red Blanket weed? Thank you for that thought. No, it’s not blanket weed. We do have that sometimes but it’s manageable. I think that it’s an algae. If I dip a jam jar in and look at the water, there are lots of minuscule particles.
3M Apr 2023 9:08am, 19 Apr 2023 21,113 posts	0 3M Will it sort itself if you leave it out? From memory most algal type things do. A couple of good days of bright sunshine might alter the balance in the pond? I guess you could help it on it's way by adjusting light/dark, oxygen levels etc., somehow?
Eynsham Red Apr 2023 2:04pm, 19 Apr 2023 9,606 posts	0 Eynsham Red I’ve not seen it like this before. I removed a considerable amount of oxygenating weed at the end of last year as it had become overwhelming and suspect that might have been the start of the problem, so I might put some more new plants in. I can’t really do a great deal about the amount of light but have read that a dark coloured dye can reduce algal growth.
Serendippily Apr 2023 11:09am, 24 Apr 2023 28,411 posts	0 Serendippily Hello gardening thread i have a question if that’s ok
Serendippily Apr 2023 11:11am, 24 Apr 2023 28,412 posts	0 Serendippily theres a plant of some type growing here. Is it something terrible? Usually it is, but occasionally something i plant comes up and i ruthlessly take it out
Elsie Too Apr 2023 11:13am, 24 Apr 2023 4,855 posts	0 Elsie Too Looks like a peony to me - I'm no expert but I have one in my garden and it's got to about this stage of growth. Should continue to grow up maybe twice the height of what it is now and then have beautiful flowers.
Serendippily Apr 2023 11:15am, 24 Apr 2023 28,413 posts	0 Serendippily Hooray thank you, now i have looked it up i can see i have a red peony further up so it must have sportingly selfseeded