The Good Life (gardening chat)

[H1ppychick]

Please can someone remind me of the plant finder app or alternatively tell me what this is? It’s a perennial, dies back completely, grows to about 5ft tall or so and has inflorescences of small flowers that are just coming into bloom now

[smalex]

Aqualegia (granny's bonnet or something?)

[H1ppychick]

Glad that’s useful to your mum PG. I’ve bought plants from them before and they’ve always done really well in my garden.

[H1ppychick]

It’s not an aquilegia smal, it grows far too big and doesn’t have the same flowers. I do have quite a few aquilegia though!

[smalex]

I can see now the buds look different. Hmm. No idea then! I don't recognise it

[Mountain Goat]

It keeps the pink! Also, Anna Jones has a recipe for elderflower fizzy wine (which I've never got round to) in her first book, which would be very pleasing in pink.

[H1ppychick]

I also have another rose in the back garden that grows up through my solanum

[Cerise]

All looks fabulous! I’m thinking of going to Homebase because I could do Sainsbury’s too. I need canes for my sunflowers and tomatoes but I’ll probably come back with more! Actually I have questions but I need to take photos first.

There was a big queue the first week they opened, before the bank holiday weekend, but when we did C&C last week at around 10am on Thursday it looked much quieter.

Thanks. Did you go to the one that’s not Wyevale anymore?

[Rebel Pebble]

Yes. They've reopened the entrance into the outside plant area straight from the car park and that's where you have to start (basically as it was when it was Wyevale), which creates a natural one way system.

It was very chill, everyone was trying to be considerate and staff were all quite cheery.

[smalex]

Is your Wyevale now a Dobbies? I've always wanted to go to a Dobbies (there weren't any near here, they seem to pop up in magazine suggestions quite often), the Wyevale by my mum changed to Dobbies not that long before lockdown.

[Rebel Pebble]

It’s not an aquilegia smal, it grows far too big and doesn’t have the same flowers. I do have quite a few aquilegia though!

I have one!

IMG_20200520_133046.jpg

Only I can't remember what it's called. So I'm no help.

[Rebel Pebble]

Is your Wyevale now a Dobbies? I've always wanted to go to a Dobbies (there weren't any near here, they seem to pop up in magazine suggestions quite often), the Wyevale by my mum changed to Dobbies not that long before lockdown.

No it's been taken over by a small local family company that runs the garden centre within Clandon Park grounds. They only took it over late last year, poor sods, and now this! They've done really well though, getting delivery up and running and doing click and collect from the Clandon site.

My Mum's local Wyevale turned into a Blue Diamond.

I've always fancied a trip to a Dobbies too.

[emma_p]

I’ve picked 25 heads of elderflower and am attempting to debug!

[Mountain Goat]

[Cerise]

Here are my tomato plants (Three cherry and another type). Can I plant them out? Do they have to go in grobags? I vaguely remember something about “pinching out” but can’t remember when that applies. Grateful for instructions!

[smalex]

I've planted mine out. I tend to put them in plastic pots, I never use gro bags. I pinch out the little third sprouts that grow between the main stem and the branches (I'm describing this really badly). I'm not a tomato expert though and sometimes have lots of success and sometimes little, so I'd be interested in other advice too!

[baargain]

I don't use grow bags, I put mine in big pots. I worry that grow bags are too shallow.

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Water frequently, but don't make the soil too soggy as the bottoms of the toms split and rot if you dry em out and then flood em.

They really need to be warm, I used to have some in the greenhouse and some outside, and the greenhouse ones always do so much better.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=315 seems like a fab overview.

[Cerise]

Thanks, chaps!

[Duophonic]

That's really helpful, thanks Baar.

My local family run garden centre is doing deliveries only so I bought two potted tomato plants. I've looked them up and found that they're determinate so I don't need to pinch out any lateral shoots.

I'm waiting on a delivery today which I'll have bigger pots as the two plants we have have shot up and crowding their pots. Ours will be greenhouse only as I'm sure they'll not do well in our garden.

My sack grown potatoes are coming along too as are my roses. I'm really pleased with my David Austin roses they've came on leaps and bounds after planting.

[Shoe]

Are you guys ordering from David Austen online?

How do I know when it's safe to plant out? I've still got all my bulbs in little pots so I can take them in if it gets too cold. We must be past frost risk now though? So they should be ok to go outside full time, I think? Can anyone confirm?