tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post475869166155921110..comments2023-10-14T13:02:44.014+01:00Comments on BAKLAVA SHED COALITION: THIS YEAR IN THE GARDEN?emmathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03914805260939907394noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-60150447835569541262009-03-02T07:55:00.000+00:002009-03-02T07:55:00.000+00:00Colleen's wish for sun came true!Colleen's wish for sun came true!emmathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03914805260939907394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-18560927438579613242009-03-01T13:49:00.000+00:002009-03-01T13:49:00.000+00:00Well, I reckon I'm not a gardener at all, really, ...Well, I reckon I'm not a gardener at all, really, just a project manager. And this year I reckon I might get the sack for being rubbish at that too.<BR/><BR/>I need some sun.colleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02484411878651364981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-9706364039129930692009-02-26T20:39:00.000+00:002009-02-26T20:39:00.000+00:00Thanks Emma. I didn't mean to make you feel sad t...Thanks Emma. I didn't mean to make you feel sad though - sorry. I think this year I'll just get on with it and work with the garden I've got, change things, plant new plants in it - then we probably will manage to move at last ;)Juliethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14861589817615423847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-41404127432402437712009-02-26T09:28:00.000+00:002009-02-26T09:28:00.000+00:00And ps Juliet's post is really poignant. God the y...And ps Juliet's post is really poignant. God the years roll by, while you imagine you are going to be leaving any minute. The image of all these plants ready to go makes me feel sad and I hope you get your move together soon!emmathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03914805260939907394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-8643555744537371602009-02-26T09:27:00.000+00:002009-02-26T09:27:00.000+00:00I love how often a glass of wine comes into the pr...I love how often a glass of wine comes into the prescription for actually enjoying the garden. i would like to hear stories of people drinking the glass of wine, then another, then deciding that what really needs doing is to pull out that big patch of crocosmia, and then you spear yourself in the foot and have to go to casualty. Because that's what would happen if I got drunk in my garden.emmathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03914805260939907394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-53606654883960443182009-02-25T23:40:00.000+00:002009-02-25T23:40:00.000+00:00Emma, you're not alone. As VP said, we had an awf...Emma, you're not alone. As VP said, we had an awful wet summer last year - we also had a very early winter, so there was very little time in the autumn to do all the gardening jobs which would normally get done at that time of year before it got too cold to do them. I had an enormous list of things I had planned to do before the end of November, most of which I still haven't done.<BR/><BR/>Because my energy levels fluctuate quite wildly anyway though, I'm used to carrying things over. I just write another list, star the things which are urgent, do them as soon as I can, and everything else can wait until I get around to it. There are very few things in a garden which have to be done at the supposedly right time for doing them - most of them will wait another week/month/year. The important thing is to enjoy the garden, not let it become a chore.<BR/><BR/>I have unplanted things in pots everywhere too. We've been planning to move for - I don't know, it seems like forever, but I suppose it's about four years now. I started taking cuttings in 2005/2006, while we got the house ready to sell. In 2007 we nearly moved, so I dug up lots of perennials and divided them - then the purchase fell through. I'm not supposed to be buying more plants until we've moved, but you can't always resist them, can you? So I spent last year trying to tend my ever-increasing collection of pots, and at the same time maintain the garden without spending any money on it, feeling that it wasn't worth changing anything because it wouldn't be mine much longer anyway. So frustrating!<BR/><BR/>I want a good gardening year this year too. Ideally in a new garden!Juliethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14861589817615423847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-90039168963383290012009-02-25T13:39:00.000+00:002009-02-25T13:39:00.000+00:00I am a haphazard gardener with lots of mini projec...I am a haphazard gardener with lots of mini projects (and one big project) going on at the same time.<BR/>When we moved into this house the garden was all green - no colour, even the flowers were all shades of green!Pleasant but bland.<BR/>I buy or acquire plants thatI like and stick 'em in where I think they'll look nice - but it can take me weeks or even months to get around to planting them.<BR/>My vegetable garden never lives up to my expectations because I'm not organised enough to keep up with it- oh, and I forget to water!<BR/>And I always think everyone else's garden look far better than mine - so my plan for this year involves making sure I spend more time just sitting in it, preferably with a nice glass of wine close at hand!Nutty Gnomehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06146296943319504785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-83022039270906666442009-02-25T10:45:00.000+00:002009-02-25T10:45:00.000+00:00Having moved into my house in August I feel a bit ...Having moved into my house in August I feel a bit sad that I've done so little on the garden yet, but with a plan to demolish the garage and turn it into a garden office later in the year there's not much point in doing a lot until that's done - builders trash gardens!<BR/><BR/>And money, there's the other rub - spending it all on boring stuff like furniture and plastering, not plants. However my plum and pear tree are both fab and exactly the fruits I'd have chosen myself so I can't complain. <BR/><BR/>I'm definitely a bedtime gardener - once the nursery door shuts at 7pm I'll be out there this summer. Must make sure I make time for that glass of wine, though.Jane Perrone, Horticultural bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07183045617973859404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-63670805719515857732009-02-25T09:22:00.000+00:002009-02-25T09:22:00.000+00:00I really like Esther's point about how gardens are...I really like Esther's point about how gardens are meant for you to be happy in. I'm beginning to think that is the key to what is making me unhappy. I spend much more time thinking about "jobs" than about getting quietly drunk. <BR/><BR/>And Lia's suggestion about having somewhere to watch the rain is so evocative and genius it makes me get a tear in my eye. Mr McGregor's Daughter saying "one of the three always dies" has made me chuckle a couple of times now...<BR/><BR/>I don't know about the whole 'Beth Chatto does it so it must be alright' argument though... I think Beth is saintly, but I don't think that makes her infallible. Old-fashioned gardeners are often okay with the idea of homeless, straggling plants, but I don't have 4 acres and I have got no excuse. I feel there's a moral case to be made against killing things. That's how I feel anyway! <BR/><BR/>Anyway thank you to everyone especially Victoria because I thought my Bloom Day thing was garish and gross compared to everyone else's so it cheers me up to think somebody was actually even slightly jealous.emmathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03914805260939907394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-42727332684620113182009-02-24T21:24:00.000+00:002009-02-24T21:24:00.000+00:00Everyone says 'growing your own vegetables is easy...Everyone says 'growing your own vegetables is easy!' It's a big fat lie, there is so much to it. <BR/>The problem with my garden is that i change my mind so often. i have just made lots of big decisions, and am feeling very happy about them, but i live in fear of some beautiful Gardens Illustrated catching my eye that makes me think 'Damn! I should have done that!'.<BR/>But, last year i mainly learned that... everyone should have a covered place in the garden where they can sit during rain. Magic.Lia Leendertzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13549596565650113378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-22442482163420345822009-02-24T15:08:00.000+00:002009-02-24T15:08:00.000+00:00Impulsive plant buying and squeezing them in somew...Impulsive plant buying and squeezing them in somewhere is the norm in my garden. Making allotment sowing lists/plans and then forgetting about them is another. Are you telling me there is a better way?<BR/>I tend to organise some mini project (a container bog garden for carnivorous plants this year) to stop myself wanting a new garden. Being a lazy gardener this suits me quite well (lol).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-6163264754200882932009-02-24T12:33:00.000+00:002009-02-24T12:33:00.000+00:00Oh dear you do sound down in the dumps. You shoul...Oh dear you do sound down in the dumps. You should see Spring as the start of a new year full of possibilities. Dont worry about what others do - you will always feel inadequate if you do(I do). You should garden for you - grow what you like, how you like.<BR/><BR/>We all how plants that we have bought and not planted out. I read something by Beth Chatto the other day and she referred to her collection of homeless plants so if its good enough for her.....<BR/><BR/>Most of my garden friends are retired so they have immaculate gardens whilst I like you grab 5 mins when I can. So you arent aloneHelen/patientgardenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02164036792673009326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-91335785922211378352009-02-24T11:19:00.000+00:002009-02-24T11:19:00.000+00:00I do sympathise with you and wonder if you have th...I do sympathise with you and wonder if you have the same problem as me. I don't find my garden a challenge any more. It is a small garden and essentially 'done' as far as any garden can ever be done. It peaked a couple of years ago and since then I have merely tweaked bits here and there (usually making things worse) and maintained what is. The structure of it doesn't really allow for a change in concept. Although I love it I really want a new garden to design but at present we don't have any plans to move. Hence the obsession with getting a greenhouse - if I can lose the shed and squeeze one in there it will open up a small, but new dimension to me. Unfortunately that will leave you as the only blogger in the entire garden world without a greenhouse - still at least you've got Kew!Arabella Sockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10936438011119860497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-80430693171416317192009-02-23T22:00:00.000+00:002009-02-23T22:00:00.000+00:00PS: Remember when you did your lovely pink Bloom D...PS: Remember when you did your lovely pink Bloom Day slide show last year? I was so jealous! And that's what you call a particularly bad year.Victoria Summerleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05055381807236106596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-22817587186181628532009-02-23T21:58:00.000+00:002009-02-23T21:58:00.000+00:00I agree with Julia; grow the things that do well f...I agree with Julia; grow the things that do well for you. And exotics are soooo satisfying: there's nothing like a big green leaf to make you feel that you've got big green fingers (minus the odd bit of finger in my case, of course ...)Victoria Summerleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05055381807236106596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-29211193671347940602009-02-23T20:10:00.000+00:002009-02-23T20:10:00.000+00:00I learned last year that if the garden gets way mo...I learned last year that if the garden gets way more than the average amount of rain, it looks truly wonderful, regardless of what I do. If we have a drought, it looks truly terrible regardless of what I do. If it's a normal year, parts look good and parts look bad regardless of what I do. I much prefer the laissez-faire attitude to gardening. Things spill out into the paths, one of the group of 3 always dies, ruining the design. So what? I don't grow moisture loving plants because I can't be bothered to remember to water them, oh well. I've determined that I am a plant collector. I'd like to be a garden designer, but I have such a hard time saying no to a plant just begging to be taken home from the nursery. And if it doesn't get stuffed into the ground until fall, so what. That's what potting soil is for; it can always be moved up to a larger pot. I enjoy each little piece, and over look the ugly bits, the toys strewn about the lawn, the balls lost in the border. I enjoy watching the bees, the butterflies, the toads and even the occasional frog. I'm not out to impress anyone and I'm not trying to win any awards. It's not perfect, but I don't worry about it.<BR/>I hope you can find contentment in your readjusted attitude.Mr. McGregor's Daughterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05911409327006498766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-72222793053059830982009-02-23T16:58:00.000+00:002009-02-23T16:58:00.000+00:00I have yet to create the perfect garden and if/whe...I have yet to create the perfect garden and if/when I have done I will be instantly bored with it. :-) And I don't think I ever will because I'm too lazy a gardener anyway. LOL<BR/><BR/>Last year I'd made a long list of stuff to sow in/for my veggie garden. I think I made it half way through and then completely forgot about it. I still had lots to eat and enjoy from my garden. Less than if I'd followed my sowing scheme to the letter but hey, I'm not perfect and so is my garden.<BR/><BR/>And if other people don't like my garden, too bad. For them. ;-)Yolanda Elizabet Heuzenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02506031220151023088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-82905047398605892122009-02-23T14:30:00.000+00:002009-02-23T14:30:00.000+00:00Thanks for becoming a follower of ESTHER IN THE GA...Thanks for becoming a follower of <A HREF="http://estherinthegarden.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">ESTHER IN THE GARDEN</A>, Emma.<BR/><BR/>About yout post - rather than finding it gloomy, I think it sounds rather liberating. Gardens are meant for being happy in. If you worry about what might be (or what might have been) how are you going to enjoy it?<BR/><BR/>My garden - it depends on the time of year. (Which is meant to be a flaw . . . but I think it leaves scope for imagining.)<BR/><BR/>I admit I get apprehensive about what people will think of it though. Which is silly. However, I've found some people look at it in a bewildered way and sort of go 'oh' in a flat 'what a let down of a garden' kind of way. Whereas others come in and go 'Wow! and stand in amazement . . . and keep saying 'I do like your garden Esther'. (Perhaps I should chose my friends more carefully on this basis.)<BR/><BR/>What I've learnt / realised this year - that to fill the garden with shade so it is pleasant for me to sit in doesn't go with growing lots of tomatoes and basil - which is what I like to grow best.<BR/><BR/>Ah!<BR/><BR/>EstherEsther Montgomeryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05412078991551799972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-66417221723825112202009-02-23T13:24:00.000+00:002009-02-23T13:24:00.000+00:00No honestly my garden definitely had a particularl...No honestly my garden definitely had a particularly bad year last year. I think the whole thing needs a real rethink which is going to have to happen sharpish or everything will have started growing again and then I feel like too much of a mass murderer to do anything. <BR/><BR/>But both your comments are slightly consoling! so thank youxxemmathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03914805260939907394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-29380166161151530432009-02-23T12:44:00.000+00:002009-02-23T12:44:00.000+00:00PS Don't forget we had a bummer of a summer last y...PS Don't forget we had a bummer of a summer last year.<BR/><BR/>Onwards and upwards!VPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02732971362066784175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-44418783530788552512009-02-23T12:42:00.000+00:002009-02-23T12:42:00.000+00:00Organised allotment routine? Moi? I'm just glad it...Organised allotment routine? Moi? I'm just glad it's not the worst plot on the block. AND I'm waaaaaay behind with my autumn digging never mind this year's jobs.<BR/><BR/>The thing is, I think if you're a true geardener, you're never really satisfied. People look at my garden and go 'wow!' and I have to bite back a looooong list of jobs that would make it truly perfect.<BR/><BR/>But then if I did that long list of jobs I wouldn't have time to enjoy my garden and that's the whole point isn't it?<BR/><BR/>So don't be too hard on yourself - I bet you've achieved a lot more than you think.<BR/>xxxVPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02732971362066784175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355728004231211515.post-60391290353176599462009-02-23T12:38:00.000+00:002009-02-23T12:38:00.000+00:00Last year I learned that, for all the wholesomenes...Last year I learned that, for all the wholesomeness I felt, I have absolutely zero talent for growing fruit and veg. Green tomatoes, hardly any tomatilloes, a pathetic potato crop - I shall stick with my exotics, which are by comparison a piece of cake!Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04695173188736074202noreply@blogger.com