Posts by: akingsho

There is a book called "Gardening in small spaces" (I think)... you would be better off going to the library and having a look...

A very good book is "what plant where"... you are going to need to know what your soil type is, which way the garden faces etc...

I also would find help from a local nursery rather than using a garden centre as they are much more knowledgable and helpful (I find)... although there are some rare exceptions...

Good luck

I believe gardening which had a look on this subject and had some information about how easy the patio heaters are to use... I am not sure how useful either will be as you have to be facing the heat to benefit from it.

Chimeara on the other had you can cook on and are rather like having a large outside oven... my worry would be the materials stability in frosty conditions...

Hope this helps a bit...

I have inherited a semi-mature garden when I bought the house... and tried to give plants away (mainly Achemilla Mollis, otherwise known as Ladies Mantle, without much sucess).

For trellising - you could make your own from roofing battons - go to a sawmill or timber yard and ask for a bundle - the cost about 50... ask them to split some for you... you should then be able to make enough to divide you garden into rooms if you want to or to create planning bays up against your wall..

As for plants there are several ways of doing this... the expensive way is to go to the garden centre or nursery and buy established plants - however, if you are clever you do this with strategic plants and look for specimins that you can split... with a large pot you could get upto 4 or 5 separate plants... a less expensive way is to grow them from seed - try searching Plant World Seeds - very useful and lots of types... then there is the local horticultural society and swapping what you dont want for what you do...

If you are interested in Perenial plants then I would recommend you join the Hardy Plant Society - they have a free seed distribution system whereby every member is entitled to so many packets but more if you contribute...

Hope the information helps...

Angie

You could try growing your own cut and come again type - there are many mixed seed versions on the market so it is just a matter of choise - may not be enough time to grow one this year though...

However, you could try growing a crop in one of those underbed stores - with wheels so you could move it around the garden and out of sight of visitors if necessary - the lid protects the crop from birds and slugs etc. until it gets going... I haven't had enough time to do one this year... but will probably do so next... the idea of going out and picking a few leaves sounds wonderful to me...

You should also try growing Nastursums - you can eat both the young leaves and the flowers... use borage flowers (but not the yellow bit, just the blue) and remember to add some raw vegetables for crunch... try sprouting your own beans to add as well not forgetting the old fav of mustard and cress..

Here's to tasty salads...

Oh and why not grow your own new potatoes?. I tried for the first time - really easy to do...

I am a fan of orchids - I know they are expensive and I must warn you they are addictive but they just go on flowering.

I grow the ones with rounded fat leaves which are quite fleshy - Phaeolio... they are also called Moth Orchids... I have tried the ones with strappy leaves and the ones which look like pansies but with no sucess... but I have several of the others but the real tip is in selecting them in the first place - look for firm leaves which stand proud of the compost with a minimum of two flowering stems... they love warm rooms out of full sun - I stand mine on the windowsill behind nets and they do well - try not to water the crown and if you do mop it up otherwise it will rot... then its just a case of watering every 2-3 days - but if you forget its not a worry as they are very tollerant... sometimes mine go as long as 2 weeks without suffering any damage... the trick to keep them flowering is to know when to cut the stem back to the top most nodule... if this is done before the last flower starts to fade then within a short period of time a new branch will spout out and it will be flowering in no time.

I can honestly say that one of my orchids has been in flower continuously since last November and is still going strong...

The other plant I would choise is gernaniums - I would start with something easy like a bedding plant - try to cadge one off a friend or acquire one when the Council change the bedding display over for the winter... if you like this then there are many specialist ones to choise from - some easier than others... I have never had much luck with a type called "rosebud" but it is doing really well on the patio... just water when they are looking droppy and then just a little - otherwise you will kill them with kindness... they can flower all winter long if you let them or otherwise cut them hard back in the autumn to keep them in check.

Try one of the scented leaved varieties in the kitchen this winter and when you have one of those smells just brush the leaves - it is better than any airfreshener...

Please dont prune your vine now as it is totally the wrong time and it is likely to "bleed" to death. You will have to wait until the sap is no longer rising - late autumn to early winter and then cut back hard... within three buds of the old growth - but not into old wood. Ideally you are looking to promote two leaders - the rest can be binned from which all the growth will stem... in spring you tie in you two leaders horizontally then train in the rest of the growth...

Remember to look out for the Greek receipe for Dolmedes - stuffed vine leaves and enjoy what you have got...

There is a Craft Shop which is off the A5 between Lichfield and Tamworth which is great to visit but I am not sure exactly where it is situated - which is probably not a lot of use... otherwise try Birmingham Tourist Information - they should know of it.

Oh definately Posh - Chris Tarrant summed it up recently when he called her "Lady" as she thinks she is royalty and we should all be bowing to her...

As for Kylie - do the lyrics in one of her song really say that men like her because she has no bum?...

I have just entered two competitions - one to win a room make-over - I elected one of my bedrooms but should have entered my kitchen as its 1980's white units with brown carpet tiles... the second is a pilot for a new gardening series called garden arguements and I have asked them to replace the tree in the middle of the lawn with a water feature... so here's hoping...

If house invaders did come around I would be okay as the previous owners left me lots of paint and pine cladding as well as lots of pine shelving... I also have yards and yards of materials - but whether they would be able to use it on such a show is questionable - might make some lovely cushions out of some of it though...

If its of any help my friend runs an art show once a year at his Annual Wine Festival which includes a craft fare and art show... some people exhibit year after year - some years they do very well... then in others not so well... It is however somewhere to exhibit and he does have wealthy people attend every year so you never know.

It is too late for this years event which is on this weekend... but his rates for exhibiting are very reasonable as is his commission... if anyone is interested you can contact him at Newhall Vineyards, Purleigh, Nr Chelmsford in Essex... not all at once or he will probably kill me

You could keep the arch by hanging a number of smaller different sized blinds in it... there is a specific name for them but for the life of me I can't remember...

The other thing he makes little mention of is requiring Planning Permission for his telly tubby inspired hills and caves - not to mention his walls and some of his buildings so if anyone is inspired please check with your Council before embarking on any such works...

I enjoy some of his works but I would like to see them revisited now they have been up a couple of years just to see how they have lasted...

I noticed that some of you mentioned about why they didn't do up ex-council houses - well it is the cost... I did look up home fronts web site and they expect the house owner to put up 1/3rd of the total cost which can be as much as 30,000 - there is no way I could come up with 10,000 as there is no way it would add that much value to my house because at the end of the day it is ex-council... although the rate things are going the whole estate is going to be private soon as there are only a couple of council tenants left in the whole road...

Yes there are different types of masking tape and it is very confusing when you are standing there looking... you need a soft masking tape but its fiddly getting it to stick where you want it because obviously its tacky and designed to come off easily - still you do have to remove it when they say otherwise you are still likely to take paint off and more besides...

There is a cheaper way of doing this if you have a tile supplier nearby and that is to have the cheak to go and ask for their broken tiles - they just get thrown away... the best table I saw done had used swimming pool mosiac tiles from a builders merchants and had sealed them with a swimming pool water proof sealer which had survived their family unchipped for over 2 years - I must say I was impressed - not that I have the room for a kitchen table.

What you really should be looking out for if a craft fare or look for someone organising a "Christmas Fayre"... there are a lot of people out there painting on glass so you have to be different and unique to sale well or to command more than a few pounds per piece...

I would love to own a craft cafe where local people could exhibit their wares and I could sell coffee and cakes (home baked of course)... but it would probably only do well at certain times of the year...

I am artistic... but have little time to draw, paint, sew or do tapestry or embroidery... then there is the garden to look after - the cat to feed and the house to run - at least I don't have a partner or children to stop me watching UK Style...

I lived in Council accomodation for years before I got a place of my own.

1. Lino clean it carefully mark up with squares and then paint it... you can also paint the cabinets...

2. My bathroom has a grey suit which is complimented with a mirror with the frame painted black... you could also then paint the tiles black and colour the grout - it does look very chique...

3. Living room be careful with reds and crimsons as it can make a room very dark... unless the room has very good lit stick to sandy colours on the wall and sumptuous floor cushions - splash out on the fabrics as you can take them with you...

The only thing to remember about them is not to overwater. Its a splash now and then... if you do overwater then just leave them on the draining board to drain... I have an orchid at work who had decided not to have flowers on the new stem but to have offsets instead... I am just waiting for them to get a little bit bigger before I will cut them off and pot them on... three for the price of one can't be bad can it?...

I would try Orchids - see message I have already posted on another topic on brightening up a flat - the Phaelo**** types can be neglected... but if you are not into watering much I would go for geraniums - lot of lovely varieties out there and they thrive on neglect - it is usually overwatering that kills them... I rarely water mine - maybe once a week in summer and once a month in winter and they bloom their heads off for me - remember that they originate in the med... if they get out of hand you just cut them hard back and they soon start sprouting again... I've tried air plants and they dont like being on hard surfaces but prefer back etc... and in centrally heated homes need misting from time to time otherwise they tend to dry up and die...

I am also a winner... I am one of those who has spates of winning minor things like slot machines and raffles... so maybe my luck has changed... I will have to do the lottery this week...

I am looking forward to the book because whilst I haven't always enjoyed the programme he does have some different ideas which I might be able to adapt... most of his projects would dwarf my garden but I do have a decent patio which is in need of a makeover... as when we had that hot weather the concrete slabs heated up so much that you couldn't sit out there because of the radiated heat...

Be careful about moving the fish they could die from the shock of the move... take expert advice on this from a good fish stockist... - if they are fish lovers they should be only too happy to help...

You see its no good putting them straight into clean water... you will have to move them into some of the old water then gradually change it over several days... then there is the temperature change - fish cannot tollerate quick changes of temperature so will have to be introduced to the temperature of the clean pond over several hours... some people add half of the new water to half of the old in a plastic bag and then float that in the clean pond before adding it... of course this will re-introduce the stuff which caused your pond to go horrid in the first place...

You also need to find out why its gone stagnant... is it in full sun? does it have enough oxygenating plants? are the plants in it planted in aquatic soil? also with barley straw it is no good just chucking it in... it needs to sit about a foot to 6 inches below the surface of the water... Norfolk Lavender supply a kit with twine and weights to do just this and it may be worth having another go at working out just how much barley straw (theirs is mixed with lavender) you need for the size of pond... sorting out the oxygenating plants and cover from the sun - only 1/3rd should be open water... or do you have trees overhanging which have caused leaves to drop in... in which case you will need to net the pond from end of August onwards to stop the leaves dropping in or alternatively rake them out every day...

Hope this helps... if you really get stuck try your local nature wardern who should be able to help or will know a man (or woman) who can...

I have never watched it but it looks like I have been missing out... will have to make a point of catching one of the shows

I have a tub which I planted up early this year which is still going strong... its centre piece is a Pieris and then it is edged with winter pansy's, viola's and sweet violets - all have done exceptionally well in this funny summer and have flowered really well, in fact the viola has climbe all the way through the Pieris... remember if you are using an acid loving centre piece (as most are) then you will have to use ericatious compost... I would normally recommend Viola's over winter pansy's as they tend to flower over a much longer period and in much harsher conditions

From what you say it seems as if the area is in deep shade - in which case you should use tough plants like Hostas, Ivy and ferns - and for colour what about the humble periwinkle...

The catepilar munching time should be over soon - with the first frosts so continue to pick off as many as you can be hand - put them on the bird table if you have one - "waste not, want not" as the saying goes...

I have just returned after spending 5 days away and the blessed things are making a meal out of just about anything with leaves on - even the geraniums but especially the verbascums - but I haven't had time yet to give the plants a real work over - so I have very lacey looking leaves...