General Chat

I would put this on the hobbies board but I doubt anyone reads it these days.

I am re-doing part of my garden. It has been gravelled and next year it will have plants in pots. given the summer we have had here with a lot of days over 30 degrees. has anyone got plants in pots that have survived well in a similar climate (I am (as obvious by my board name) in Gloucestershire. We have had no rain except for a couple of light showers in about 6 weeks.

I sometimes have a look at hobbies Ann, has anyone sorted Bob out yet?

I had an email from Premier regarding climbing French beans 'Blue Lake'. Good in drought conditions it says - now they tell us!

Can't help with hot/dry pot plants. I think a lot has been lost here, just have to see if anything comes up in the spring :-(

I am compiling a list as daughter has had some success but she lives so far North of me that it is not a good comparison.

Interesting about the beans but a bit late!!

I haven't checked the hobbies board myself lately it was good when there were a lot of people on here but people mainly stay on this board now unless researching

Island, in answer to your question re Bob no he doesn't seem to have received a rely. But it was gratifying to see there were recent posts re bird watching.

Won’t a lot depend on how able you are to do all the watering.

Cacti come to mind at the.moment ;-)

I have herbs that are flourishing Ann and also the Lavender has had loads of flowers and a beautiful scent. I also have a very large Agapanthus that always thrives in the heat

Hmm. Some of my herbs are really suffering, my Agapanthus is not happy yet I am watering well. My bit of Lavender in a pot gave up early. However the lavender ( which has finished)in the ground is doing ok, so far.

my lavenders in pots also gave up but the very large one in the ground was great.

Yes it will depend on watering which is why I need to know what has survived with the minimal amount of watering we all tend to do.
My herbs have done ok. I was thinking about agapanthus as I love them but they are an expensive outlay so I need to be certain about them.

Thanks for replying.

my herbs, coriander, dill and I don't recall what else have gone extremely leggy. Basil, which was doing ok until I potted it on outside gave up a while back. I also sowed chives, which germinated but came to nothing.
Geraniums (Pelargoniums) seem to do very well in hot conditions abroad.

I think it may help that I use a lot of herbs in my cooking so it keeps them throwing up new shoots and leaves. I only water them sparingly as too much water makes them go to seed very quickly. :-)

I didn't know that about too much watering LG. I am very bad at actually using them, just love the scent when you touch them. then when, occasionally I decide I need some for cooking, they have gone over :-(

My dwarf geranium seems to have survived better than any other and now has a 2nd set of leaves which I havent seen before so maybe a 2nd flowering. Apart from that my roses always survive somehow.

I do regularly use a fork to break up the soil in pots to keep it soft otherwise in dry weather the water just runs off and isnt absorbed that well.

Florence in the hebrides

Ann
Do the plants have to be in pots? Watering plants in pots has been a full time job this summer.
The only things that haven’t been watered are the succulents and have done well.

Maybe looking at Beth Chatto’s gravel garden may give you some suggestions.

if you are looking for pots, rather than get clay/porcelain ones ...wickes were doing an offer on buckets

I got 5 for £3:50 and have tomato plants 4 feet high growing in them..

drilled a few holes in the bottom.....for drainage ...

mind you they took a lot of compost.

Ann, I've just remembered Derek Jarman. he lived at Dungeness. I don't know about weather but he grew plants in shingle. Google 'Derek Jarmans Garden' if you don't already know of it.

That's a bargain Bob. I believe some supermarkets which sell flowers give them away or used to as they have no further use for them once they are empty.

Ann, on the teatime news, advice was given that plants with silver foliage do better in pots in very hot weather.

Thanks for all the advice.. I will be just using pots and am trying to find plants that survive on a little water. There are some. I am doing this on the assumption that the summer this year is not just a one off.. I have a friend with a small garden and every plant (and there are a lot)is in a pot not the ground. With minimal watering twice a day they have survived really well.

Thanks for that Island I will try and look at that.

Ann I’ve just found this
https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/low-maintenance-summer-containers/
Might be useful.

Thank you Von. That is helpful.