I’ve had a few emails about what type of Hosta, I have in my garden. So I’ve taken a few pictures of each plant and displayed it’s name for easy identification. I have a total of five different Hosta plants, two are a blue variety which are supposed to be slug and snail resistant – this is why I bough them (it’s not true!). I did have a sixth plant Hosta ‘Wide Brim’,but before I discovered Slug Gone by Grow Aid Ltd the slugs and snails ate and killed it. This plant and Hosta ‘fortunei Francee’ both have won RHS Awards of Garden Merit, but that doesn’t exclude them from being eaten by slugs and snails – hardy doesn’t mean slug and snail resistant.
Despite the Gardeners’ World 2009 Reader Awards voting the Hosta into the 3rd place as the Nations most hated garden plant, I like them. Maybe it’s because people who purchase these plants hate them because they look awful after the slugs and snails have attacked and eaten the plant! They’ve obviously not discovered Slug Gone by Grow Aid Ltd.
I’ve now been using this organic product for three years, and have fantastic results in my garden. I previously blogged about it here and here. It was only available mail order, but I’m now see-ing it appear in more and more garden centers. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time, and it will be in B&Q. If your local Garden Centre doesn’t stock it – REQUEST IT – stop using chemical slug pellets in your garden today!(rant mode off!) Otherwise order on-line at Slug Gone by Grow Aid Ltd, and tell Brian I sent you!!!
If you don’t believe me look at my prize hostas, “proof is in the pudding” and I’ve tried everything. If I don’t use Slug Gone, the slugs and snails in my garden eat it!
I’m not associated with Slug Gone or Grow Aid Ltd in anyway, I’d just like to recommend, an excellent organic product to fellow organic gardeners and Hosta growers. Your mileage may vary, it works for me in my garden.
We purchased a climbing rose from R.V.Roger Ltd Rose Nursery, Pickering last year, to add some colour to the magnolia tree in the summer, after the tree had long since flowered in the spring. The climber we purchased is called Rosa filipes ‘Kiftsgate’, described as a huge and very vigorous climbing and scrambling rose; with creamy-white scented flowers. We’ve been regularly checking on it’s progress last winter, and early spring waiting for it to flower, within the last few weeks the plant suddenly started to put on massive growth, which comparing the growth with the rest of the plant, I suspect this was a sucker from the host plant, which has grown from beneath the graft.
Sucker below graft
close up of sucker below graft?
I debated long and hard, and on inspection I think it’s a sucker, so proceeded to cut it off.
sucker removed
It’s almost four feet in length.
after - sucker removed
So I removed it, and also pruned out some other black wood. I chopped the sucker up into small lengths, and potted up in the greenhouse, and we will see if they root! (well it’s worth a try!)
The colour of these flowers are supposed to be deepest red-black, hence why they are called Nasturtium majus Black Velvet? I must be suffering deja vu, this happened last year, seeds sold to me as Nasturtium majus Black Velvet, didn’t come up with deepest red-black blooms.
Supposed to be Nasturtium Black Velvet?
This is what Nasturtium majus Black Velvet is supposed to look like:-
Nasturtium majus Black Velvet
Spot the difference?
Another email to Customer Services, I think…
Tags: Nasturtium Posted in All, flowers | Comments Off on Nasturtium majus Black Velvet – I don’t think so – Deja Vu
Well in this case the roses are white. (well we do live in Yorkshire!). This is the climbing rose at the front of the house, and despite neglecting it and not sure when to cut it back or prune it, it’s done very well this year with over 40 flowers, and still lots of buds. It’s an old fashion type, with a very nice scent!
White Climbing Rose
White Rose
I’m surprised Lindsey’s not started to paint them red!
An update of how the garden border is progressing two years on. In May 2007 we created a new border at the front of the garden under the trees, which is very shady. We planted hostas, fox gloves and geraniums, and despite the battle with slugs and snails, moving the geraniums, that didn’t do to well in the shade this is the latest update. This year in early spring I moved the fern to the back of the border, because it domninated the border when in full growth. I seem to have lost one of the original hostas, don’t know where it went. I’ve also now used, grit over the entire area to stop the slugs and snails eating the hostas!
When you use as much compost as I do, (I’ve already used 500 litres of homemade from the compost heap and now it’s empty) it’s always nice to be able to find a cheap bulk supply of multi-purpose compost. I’ve been visting the local independant garden centres, chains and DIY stores, the best deal around seem to be 3 (three) 75 litres bags for £12, of one brand of the other. I then notice this offer from Wickes, 4 (four) 75 litres bags for £11.74 (which makes me think, I think the garden centres are ripping us off, because the bags would have been marked up with £12 before the VAT cut to 15%!. So four bags were dumped into the back of the car. I thought it was a good deal anyway.
I’ve been a bit busy recently with the development of a new website for the newly formed Allotment Association in my parish. The allotment association calls itself Gravel Pit Allotments Association because it’s hoped the site will be developed on a field called Gravel Pit field. You can read what we’ve all been up to here on the websiteGravel Pit Allotments Association.
Impatiens ‘Blue Sky’™ is the world’s first multi-flowering, blue Busy Lizzie. Here are some pictures of them in the cold frame before I put them out after the threat of frost has past.
Busy Lizzie 'Blue Sky'™
I need to pinch out the flower buds before they flower, but missed this one.
Close-Up of Busy Lizzie 'Blue Sky'™
These are still available as young plants from Thompson & Morgan click here. (I don’t work for them or have any association with the company, I just think they sell great value plants!). Because Thompson & Morgan have applied for a PBR on this plant, I don’t think it’s available from any other source. Plant breeders’ rights (PBR), also known as plant variety rights (PVR), are intellectual property rights granted to the breeder of a new variety of plant (or to another person or entity that can claim title in the new plant variety by, for example, agreement with the breeder or inheritance from a deceased breeder).
I’ve always liked Busy Lizzies, especially this variety with blue flowers.
When the term blog wasn’t invented, I was “blogging” of sorts here with How Does Your Garden Grow? It was a few years ago, when a friend told me he was captivated by my blog, that he started to grow his own vegetables. (Thanks David!) I said “what blog?”, that’s not a blog, well I suppose it was!!!! If you not seen it, it’s still here How Does Your Garden Grow? (please be patient, it’s not bandwidth friendly and badly coded!)
So I’ve really been blooging of sorts since 2003! Which reminds me to why I posting…..
In Memory of Esme & Charlie, this is a piece of video footage I found on a DV tape, down the back of my desk. Where better to archive it, but on youtube!
It was shot in June 2003, what we didn’t know at the time this video was taken was that Charlie would fall seriously ill and die in September of that very same year. Esme died 3 years later in July 2006 of aspirated pneumonia. Esme is the soggy cat, that has just fallen in the pond, and Charlie is the white cat in the background that comes into frame.
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