Gardening: Hints and Help!

😀

This is our Montana, I believe.

Nelliethehooker that certainly looks like Montana and it's going to be a picture 😀. Do you usually get to see it in its glory?

We lost ours, it climbed through the 'uninteresting' tree it didn't flower last year and it hasn't any leaves this year - been so dry for the last few years and just this winter was wet wet wet, we are desparate for rain now though 😯🤔.

Sadly the tree, named 'uninteresting' because it was there when we arrived, a salix of some sort probably wild, not pretty at any time of the year 😢 but it did serve a purpose for screening, seems dead. But my rambling rector makes good cover and is coming on strongly  again this year 😀. Last year it was magnificent for 24 hours before heavy rain bashed it about 😢

My first walk round the garden this morning revealed my grass seed is growing 😀😀. Didn't notice it yesterday! Given me the inspiration to go and potter again.

I have some pots, plants from Avon Bulbs and a friend, that need to go in. The soil is very dry, I soaked the pots yesterday and they're still in the water - partly as I lost momentum and I've lots of forget me nots in they way and want to plant with little disturbance. They'll also need daily watering once they're in. But I will do them today, unless I put it off until tomorrow or the day after 😱. 

We lost a montana clematis this year, Warwickshire Rose, nice pink colour but it was spindly and didn't do very well. Looks like Nellie has the good old fashioned strong variety.

I'm a bit worried our garden is going to look too tidy this year, we don't usually have time to keep on top of everything but OH is out there every day. It's keeping him busy but I'll have to remind him about the paint he bought for the kitchen...

That does look a nice healthy Montana Nellie👍 I pruned a monster back very hard last year, but it’s coming back fine thankfully. The one I bought in Aldi the other day is Montana Broughton Star, very nice semi double, not such a thug as the usual Montana’s, bit more controllable. Very nice, and good Aldi price as well £3.99 I think. Clematis can be expensive!😁

That’s one bed full already. Planted out the sprouts today and broad beans yesterday. While I wait for the timber to arrive (for the netting frames) I’ve utilised some old pop bottles to give a bit of protection. In other news, the parsnips have started to emerge, so will have to be planted out in the next couple of days.

Thanks for the info on the clematis. B2 we generally go off just as it is coming into flower so usually miss it at it's best, which we'll get to see this year. We took cutting off it and that's doing well too, growing over a juniper bush.

Tda, that one you got from Aldi looks a beauty. We noticed that they were sell them, with a 20% discount at our local store but didn't notice the variety. Perhaps they might still have them next week. 

Second order from Suttons arrived today, a few flowering plants for pots, battered and bruised, looking as though they'd been thrown up in the air (don't think Suttons intended them to arrived in poor condition) hope we've managed to save them minus a lot of leaves.

brue I hope you've managed to save them, in fact I'm sure you have. I'd let Suttons know if for no other reason than they should be aware. 

After my mum died a friend ordered a container of mixed pansies and violas from Waitrose for me. I was shocked at the condition they arrived in, knowing they wouldn't have been cheap. I fiddled about with them, after taking photos, including put one in the compost the right way up it was roots up and another side on. When I had finished the fiddling, neglected plants are a much milder form of child abuse in my mind and not to be tolerated! I then phoned Waitrose as I could see that the basket had literally been thrown together and no firming in or additional soil had happened. I knew, probably unlike Suttons, that it would have been completed by a 3rd party who would have been paid for doing a decent job. Upshot, would I like another basket? I declined as I'd sorted it although the only plant that had a bloom was the upside down on, needless to say it didn't look good 😢. They refunded the money to my friend, I had to text her quickly to put her in the picture. I nursed them through the winter in the conservatory and they are rewarding me well. I'm sure your will too 😀

Edit a swift change of posting equipment - tablet to phone, and a photo plus resize, ain't it easy on here?,  and they now look as they did on the website 😃

I had exactly the same from Sutton’s, years ago. Looked like my parcel had been used as a football either in the nursery, or in the post. I don’t order small plants now.  I do however buy very cheap neglected plants from garden centres, B&Q and other places that don’t seem to understand that water is essential. It’s a chief garden delight of mine, knowing how little I paid for certain now wonderful specimens😂