Tuesday 27 February 2007

FANCY A CUPPA?

Quickly come on in out of that rain...can't believe you made the journey over here in this weather. The tea's poured so sit yourself down.


Try some of the cake I made for Manda or, if you're dieting, have some fresh fruit instead.


Isn't the weather dismal here at the moment. Mick & I spent a very brief spell out in the garden yesterday but we soon had to hightail it back inside.


It did give me a quick chance to take a look in the shed-cum-greenhouse. The cannas are looking ok...even a few new shoots coming up. I'll be bringing them inside as soon as I can wangle some space! We've four more pots like this and a trough of them.




I was happily surprised to see that the pelargonium cuttings (from last September) I'd left in there were actually alive. Usually I would have brought them indoors for the winter....that space problem again!. Even the mother plant in the basket is looking fair.






I tidied up the non-hardy Fuchsias. Just a case of clearing up any dead leaves and checking the roots to make sure no vine weevil had overwintered in there. All seemed ok and I gave them a little misting to help them start shooting. Once I'm sure they are alive I'll prune them back and give them some fresh compost. This one in the photo has already started putting out some new growth.






I also realised that although I'd seen to the hanging basket begonias I'd forgotten all about the pot ones. Even the corms of these are getting larger now. They are lovely plants and the flowers can be up to 6" across. I'll start these in a tray of compost until I decide which pots to put them in.







Outside the Euphorbia is starting to put on some colour







and the pink Dicentra is starting to come through, though no sign of the white one yet;






the Hyacinth buds are getting bigger








and the snowdrops are still doing well. This is actually a Hosta pot but snowdrops help to extend its seasonal colour.







This little chap passed us as he made his way towards the pond







These FRITILLARIA persica shoots have come up almost overnight. I'll be keeping a keen eye out for slugs and snails now.










Finally a glimpse of a crocus that isn't purple!






The Daphne odurata is coming into flower; just this single flower has the most glorious scent.



I really hope that next time you drop by the sun will be shining and we can dust the parasol off!

13 comments:

CG said...

Thanks for the tea and cake, Ruth, I had a great time touring the garden with you :)

talj said...

always nice to share a cuppa with you Ruth :o) I am so looking forward to summer in your garden!! You will be my very own ray of sunshine if I am still unable to get out!! :o)

{{{HUGS}}} to you and Mick :o)

Libbys Blog said...

I enjoyed my tea and cake! I hope we can have tea outside next time too!! I wondered what you did with your Canna's, I will check mine tomorrow, they are at the back of the greenhouse somewhere???

Claire said...

Gardening post is up!
You will be impressed (not!)

Claire said...

Tea and cake was yummy!

Bob said...

I wonder what the Fuchsia you have there is called? I like Fuchsia's beacuse you can treat them bad but they still love you the same next year. I've been in the potting shed most of the day potting stuff up and sowing seeds. Bob.

Peaceful/Paisible said...

oh yes please tea...I'm wet and cold...not nice weather, the little tod is very cute...
I wonder why I only had one snowdrop this year!
give Manda my love, she's such a beautiful mum...happy birthday dear...
love Ruth
Mousie

Anonymous said...

Hi Ruth,

Jo here. I posted a couple of weeks ago, saying that I was a new gardener, and you said you would be happy to give me any advice I need!!! Boy, will you regret those words,lol.

I bought a small 4 x 6 greenhouse at the end of last year and have been overwintering some plants in there. The greenhouse is unheated so I have wrapped the plants in fleece. Sunday was lovely and bright here so I went out to check on my little flowers in the greenhouse.

Firstly, I am overwintering some Geraniums which were in large glazed pots last year. I potted them up into plantpots for the winter, but they're now in flower!!! Am I looking after them too well wrapping them in fleece? Should I cut off the flowers or is it ok for them to flower now, will they still flower in summer?

Secondly, I have some fuscia's in there. Again they were in large glazed pots last year. I have left them in-situ and wrapped them in fleece. When I unwound the fleece the poor little fuscias look dead!! All their leaves have dried out and died and the stems of the fuscia look like wood and look dead. Is this right? Will the poor things spring back to life?

Thirdly, (it's ok this time, no questions, just an observation,lol). I bought some crocus's from Wilko's last year and popped them into pots. The packet showed beautiful yellow and purple crocus's. They've all bloomed gorgeously, except that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM are yellow!!! Oh well, it'll teach me for looking for bargains in Wilko's!!!

Love your blog Ruth. Give my love to Mick (remember I'm one with the soulmate called Mick too)

Jo.

RUTH said...

Glad you all enjoyed your visit. Come back soon.
Jo...nice to have you back. Well done keeping your geraniums in such good growth. You did ok with the fleece; just the winter wasn't as cold as usual and better to use fleece than not. Don't get too complacent though as you never know when we will suddenly have another cold snap. If I were you I'd nip the tips out of your geraniums if they've got a bit leggy; even cut them back by half if you want. Don't overwater them but think about repotting them in fresh compost as they will have taken all the goodness out of the compost they are in. Add some feed pellets if you have some and nip out the flowers too if you can bear to..they will flower fine again this year. Don't waste the stems that you cut back..try propergating them to make new plants. Let them dry off a bit on the cut end and pop them into a open (sandy) compost, water once and leave them in a warm place out of direct sun. DON@T put a plastic bag over geraniums. You may be lucky & get some to root.
The fuchsias I would EXPECT to look dead. Clear off any dead leaves; Give them a SLIGHT water, mist the stems now and again and see if any shoots appear after a few weeks. Then you can cut them back a bit to give a bushier plant and again repot in fresh compost.
Rx

Parisienne Farmgirl said...

I have always wanted to over-winter a fushia!!!

Pat said...

What a lovely visit through your garden. I sure enjoyed it and it makes me long for spring.

Thanks for the tea and the cake too! I'll come back for more--rain or shine!

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}

A wildlife gardener said...

Gosh, your season is well ahead of us in Scotland! I so admire your diligence! I look forward to seeing all these survivors when they are in full bloom. Well done, Ruth!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your help Ruth.

Jo.

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