[franca]

Had to post this, it's the stump of a clumping birch we had to cut down because of snow damage..........lmao when I saw it.........

[Tuppence2]

Love the photo, Frank. Very interesting. I think you ought to slice a piece of it and teat and wax it. The grain would look really good. I've done that with a piece of weeping willow that used to stand in the garden.

Hee, hee - beat you, then! Hope you have a good day to get your grass cut. I've been moving wire around today to fence off a part of the patio, so the dogs don't get onto the muddy grass for a while. Schuee is most put out - he looked out the door and saw he couldn't go down the garden and was "miffed"!

The garlic I planted a few weeks back is shooting. Hope to get the salad potatoes in at the weekend.

[franca]

Originally Posted by Tuppence2

Love the photo, Frank. Very interesting. I think you ought to slice a piece of it and teat and wax it. The grain would look really good. I've done that with a piece of weeping willow that used to stand in the garden.

Hee, hee - beat you, then! Hope you have a good day to get your grass cut. I've been moving wire around today to fence off a part of the patio, so the dogs don't get onto the muddy grass for a while. Schuee is most put out - he looked out the door and saw he couldn't go down the garden and was "miffed"!

The garlic I planted a few weeks back is shooting. Hope to get the salad potatoes in at the weekend.

Good idea Penny, never though of that... we had avery nice sunny day today so we did manage to get all the grass cut, it took us about six hours, but it sure looks nice now it's all done.....

ttyl take care......

[Tuppence2]

I bet it does, Frank. The grounds always look immaculate after all the hard work you and Carole put in. I'm hoping this photo will post and that I've not used my quota. It's my little bonsai maple. The leaves are so pretty.

[Tuppence2]

And here are some daffodils (I didn't know you got double ones) and the dwarf cherry I planted last years. The daffs are the first I've ever grown. The primroses, Veronica, mahonia, and quince are amond others that are flowering.

[telecom69]

Hi all, Its good to see that franca has now come out of hibernation and getting HIS hands dirty,bet he ached a bit after doing 6 hours grass cutting after the long Winter lay off ...good to see you back franca its now been about 10 days since we last had any rain,but we are getting a few night frosts this week,they are not very severe and it soon disappears when daylight appears,yesterday was the only day we have not had long sunny periods and it was quite chilly,but the sun is out today and its very bright too,if you stand in it you can feel the warmth.....not got a lot to do in the garden at the moment,but have plenty to do in the greenhouse from next weekend when I shall be getting all my Summer bedding seedlings planted out in their trays,namely Begonias,Busy Lizzies, Pelargoniums etc . most of these go into the front garden and in containers on the back patio

Its nice to see some photos appearing too,well it would be if I could see them, for some reason all I can see are boxes with little red crosses in them and if I click on them it says we are currently doing our daily back up come back later,but I cant see that as Im on the site and typing this message,but I will check back later to see if they are there.

Not sure how I used to plant my Dahlias I bought earlier,it has been so long since I grew any,I know you can start them off into growth in peat or just plant them straight in the ground,but I think Im a bit early yet to plant them into the garden ....more soon till the take care ...

P.S. I see you didnt know about the double varieties of Daffodils Penny,you can get double and semi-double varieties of almost anything nowadays,so its worth checking when you buy if you want anything specific ....

[Tuppence2]

Thanks, Bob.

You can plant dahlias straight into the ground, I'm sure. I did that and I think that's what Frank does. I also grew some in tubs.

The double daffs really tickled me! I just hadn't though you'd get them in that form.

I bought two hollyhocks yesterday (a cerise double! and a white), sweetpeas to grow up the pyramids and arch where the roses are planted, and a variagated apple mint for a tub that need something to grow in it. Must plant them today. Want to get my very early potatoes in this weekend, too. It's been dry for a few days and is bright this morning (Saturday).

Have a good weekend in your gardens, everyone.

[kenziesmom]

Hi,
I can't believe I found a garden thread on a tech help site!! Hope you don't mind if I pop in once in awhile to see what's going on. I spend a lot of time on the National Home Gardening Club forums. Guess you can tell I'm a plant-a-holic...I live in Alaska and it is far from spring like weather here. I've been reading posts from people in the South who are digging in their gardens and I can't even find my garden buried under the snow. Oh well, I just learned about a really cool method of germinating seed. It's called Winter Sowing. Here is a link to the organization's website. Has anyone tried this method? I'm trying it now but have some reservations whether it will work, so I'm going to start some seeds inside the old fashioned way. Hmmm I just did a preview of this post and it didn't show the link I uploaded.. well, I'll just type it and you cn copy/paste. http://www.wintersown.org/
I'm curious for opinions about winter sowing. I'm excited about it. Just hope it works up here in the frozen North.

[telecom69]

Hi There, kenziesmom, and welcome to the Potting Shed,pop in as often as you like,its always interesting to read about peoples gardening ideas,especially from different countries ...we are not overpopulated with posters here,there are about 5 or 6 of us that post regularly and others pop in now and again for a chat ....as you probably know we are in the Random Forum and you night have to look for us sometimes as that is a very busy forum and our thread does get buried to page 2 or 3 sometimes you just have to remember that here in the UK, we are ahead of you timewise,by 8 hours....we are just coming into Spring here and will be putting the clocks forward 1 hour next weekend,and its time to start sowing and planting after a not too bad Winter....we always give commentaries on what we have done or about to do, and when appropriate post photos also...so feel free to post whenever you like,about whatever you like,or if you want to ask questions one of us will always be able to offer help or advice.

Thanks for posting the link to the site,it made interesting reading but I think I will stick to my tried and tested sowing in the spare back bedroom Tuppence2 is our most prolific Lady poster,her name is Penny and you will like her she is very knowledgeable and always polite and friendly ....so heres to looking forward to hearing more from you......take care ...Bob

[telecom69]

Hi all, not liking wha I heard on the weather forecast,seems we are to have snow and ice over the next few days which will be a bit of a set back after having such a mild spell lately,nothing we can do about it,so we will have to wait and see,maybe Winter is having its last fling Penny I know about planting the Dahlias in the ground,but I just cant remember how long it takes them to start showing above ground,as I dont want any late frosts to get at them,I guess mid to late April might be the best time perhaps ? I just noticed today that the Forsythia is starting to come out in flower,not taken much notice of it but Im thinking its a bit late this year ...I managed to get a photo of the frog population yesterday,just hoping that this coming cold spell doesnt harm the spawn ....more soon,till then take care ...Bob





The Forsythia is not yet fully out,if you want to see the pics a bit larger just click on them,if not please just ignore,see you soon....

[hannab]

Hi Telecom, I think forsythias are such a happy bloom thanks for the pic. Sorry you are going to get a frost....we just had a yucky storm here...snow, rain, etc....like I said before, in our zone we have to wait until May 15th to not be surprised by frost.

[telecom69]

Hi hannab, its not a good picture like I say its only just coming out,will post a better one, as soon as it is,...us too we are never sure that we wont be getting any more late frosts till late May or early June,its always a gamble whether to plant or not plant its just that we have had such a mild Winter,and everything is going great guns in the gardens this year,Im wondering how much damage this weather is going to do,the worst of it is forecast for the North of the country so we might not get it too bad hopefully ...

[Tuppence2]

Hello Kenziesmom, (who is "Kenzie"? ). We all have dogs and like to talk about them as well as gardening. Lovely to see you here and we're very pleased you found your way to the "Potting Shed" and hope you'll call in frequently to let us know how your garden grows!

Alaska is a very long way from here and it will be interesting to hear about your plants. franca (Frank) posts here, too - he lives near White Rock, Vancouver, but his climate is a milder one than yours.

Hello Bob.

Really nice to see the photos. It's very cold here today - the wind is from a cold quarter, I would think, but bright. I didn't get the potatoes in but will try to do that very soon. The Forsythia here is in full bloom or going over. I've just watered the little plants I put in yesterday.

Sorry, about "teaching grandmother to suck eggs" as regards the dahlias! I know you are knowledgeable about gardening. Silly me!

I found this information about planting dahlia's:-

"You can start them outdoors, but you will get much much better success indoors and you may actually get flowers before the end of the season (which will not be the case with dahlias started outdoors).

Why not try again indoors, but find out what you need to do different. Starting outdoors is not a miracle cure for seed starting although some of the testimonies on the winter sowing forum will have you think so. The only benefit winter sowing has compared to starting indoors is that the disease issues which you can experience has better growing conditions indoors in a warm room than outdoors in late winter, but the same can be said for the seedlings. I would start them indoors.

"When I start the seedlings some of them are up in 2-3 of days. Some of them take a couple of weeks-- they're all planted at the same time from the same sized dahlias, too."

Hope it's of use. I'm off to church shortly (I go to a village church with someone who plays the organ there) and there should be plenty of flowers around, it being mother's day. Must remember to take the camera.

Good gardening, everyone, when you can get down to it!

Penny

[Tuppence2]

This is the magnolia, photographed yesterday.

[telecom69]

Hi Penny, I know about gardening but I dont know everything,nowhere near it I asked for advice and you were kind enough to provide it,so thank you for that its been over 30 years since I grew Dahlias and was not sure when to plant them...I was a bit mystified about one sentence in what you posted though,it seemed to be saying that if you started them outdoors you wouldnt get flowers in the first Season,that cant be right surely ? because they do flower, do they not, in the first Season whether they are started indoors or planted in the ground .... this is the sentence "You can start them outdoors, but you will get much much better success indoors and you may actually get flowers before the end of the season (which will not be the case with dahlias started outdoors).