General Chat

My garden was just grass, with grape hyacinths and Spanish bluebells when I moved in. I've removed most (but not all) of these. the 'centre point' of the front garden was, under a window, a clematis growing through a bramble - that had been trimmed to look like a bush!
I'm still trying to dig these out!
Daughter dug a circle around the other side of the front garden - carefully avoiding the now defunct 'Virgin' cable, that was 3 inches below the soil leaving a large circle of grass in the middle.
The dug over bit has been planted with teasles and comfrey - that are doing very well (the excess comfrey will end up on my compost heap), and other plants my daughter brought over.
There are also loads of purple poppy seeds that accidentally ended up everywhere, when daughter gave me some dead poppy heads for a flower display
:-D
I've planted some wild flower seeds as well, but I think the birds are eating these.

The Yuccas I brought from the last place are doing well - these were indoor plants that became too big, so I planted them on a bank I had. They flowered, and started producing young plants, so I brought some young plants with me.
Three are on the overgrown bank I have out the back, here, one is in the front garden.
I need to rethink the bank, as I have slow worms on it, (I can't strim the very long grass) and there's a hedgehog around there as well.

I'll see what plants survive, and carry on in that theme :-D
I like gardening, but it has to be 'easy' gardening :-D

Island ............ bluebells are our "weed" that we love

We bought this house 50 years ago, as we re-planned the garden I wanted some lily-of-the-valley and bluebells to be planted in a very small area next to the fence between us and neighbours.

The lily-of-the-valley have done well, expanded a little but still in the same otherwise useless area.

However, we now have beautiful bluebell areas in several other areas of the pretty small back garden, as well as the original planting! Some have even mutated (??) to white bluebells! This year, they have almost obliterated the crocuses in the back corner.

But they bring back so many memories of going to collect bluebells in the "bluebell wood" near my childhood home!

I'm with you there Sylvia - I do NOT want bindweed or brambles because they suffocate gardens. Aquilegia I can tolerate but it is pretty invasive. I'm just starting to pull out forget-me-nots as they're now going to seed and were 'everywhere' but they have a special meaning for me. I'll reclaim their tenure on my veg bed :-D

I love plants that just 'arrive', where's the harm as long as they aren't thugs?
Not for me clipped lawns and bedding plants - wild is better for wildlife.
I have a knapweed which just turned up a few years ago, it dies back and survives me pulling it up only to re-appear in the same spot. It'll be buzzing with bees in the summer, what could be better?

I could contribute plenty of 3 cornered leeks.... very invasive, but the bees love them!

I was once told that a weed is a plant that is growing where YOU do not want it to grow.

Hence. for some people, a foxglove is a weed but to the person next door it is a lovely plant to have in a herbaceous border!

Japanese knotweed is a good example of a plant that was thought to be a good garden plant, was taken to the UK, and that found a place that was ideal and hence has become a weed.

Weeds or wildflowers? fine line I know but for example Japanese knot-weed is a weed, Herb Robert ( I have loads of this and Green Alkanet and Wood Avens etc) are 'wild flowers'. My garden's what most people would call wild lol but it is intentional.

Where's the back up story?

Maggie, I have a variety of birds that visit my garden for "breakfast" evryday. I had 24 rock pigeons, now 23 because next doors cat caught one, pulled all its feathers out and is no more.

I have hundreds of starlings and blackbirds plus 2 greedy seagulls. The odd robin & a few finches but the pigeons rule :-D :-D

The seed is mega expensive though so only a scattering once a day on the lawn. Oh, forgot the crows, they make a racket when fighting over the seed with the gulls.

A wild garden can be trendy but doesn't mean its full of weeds just areas of unmown grass to attract the bees and butterflies etc.

That film The Birds still scares me and its in black & white!

Florence in the Hebrides

I have a 60 plus aged tortoise who was daughters pet who stayed with us when she married and moved out

Harold is a female Greek spur who is very happy every year to wander around the patio and eat like mad on her food put out
She is a vegetarian who eats all types of green veg

She has her house on the patio with hay in it she takes herself in and out of and hibernates over the winter

Ideally she needs soft grass areas to wander and bury and weeds she can eat but we just don’t have that

But that she is still with me now and happy and eating like mad to me means she is well and happy with her environment

I absolutely love her and every year when she emerges from hibernation and then starts eating is a Phew she is still with me

I would be devastated now to lose her

Plenty here! I'm slowly convincing my neighbours it's a trendy 'wild' garden :-D :-D

The idea of 'wild' has been exacerbated by my daughter buying me a bird feeder.
She bought peanuts, seed and suet balls, and the necessary holders.
It was okay for the first few weeks, the suet balls lasted a week, the peanuts a month, the seeds even longer.

Generally, I had half a dozen sparrows and starlings, 2 wood pigeons and 4 collared doves in the garden

Then, it seems, word got around, about the same time starling fledglings were leaving the nest.
I've run out of peanuts, and couldn't find any yesterday, so this morning I filled the seed container, and, as the sun wasn't out, put 2 suet balls out.

Anyone seen Hitchcock's 'Birds'?

At least 2 dozen starling fledglings - and their parents - then 8 Jackdaws appeared :-S All squawking loudly!

The sparrows - and their fledglings were there, but keeping a low profile.
Half an hour later, the suet balls - and covids - had gone.

Now it's a tranquil scene, sparrows on the seed feeder, and a pigeon and dove, ambling around picking up dropped stuff off the grass

Um why do people want weeds in their gardens???? :-S

"Build it and they will come". If you have the right conditions for the type of weeds you want that is. :-)

Apparently people are willing to pay vast sums for clumps of weeds to put in their gardens.
I know where you can get them for free ;-)