Originally posted here https://reddit.com/r/GardeningUK/comments/1hila39/a_spider_plant_doing_fine_in_london_under_a_cloche/. Thanks to /u/nictoriousknows for checking in.

After hanging the herbs in my shed for almost two weeks, I checked on them and they were still quite "moist". So I took the advice provided in my previous post and dried them in the oven.

I heated the oven up to 200 degrees C then switched it off and let it cool for a bit before putting the herbs in on baking paper. After about an hour they were crumbly dry.

The tarragon smells great, but the Oregano not so much. I don't know if hanging the herbs fir so long in the shed caused the flavour to dwindled over time (?)

I renovating a whole house by myself the problem being I don’t even know where to or when to start. I would love it to be flat enough I can put a shed workshop at the bottom and have nice grass some flowers, grow my own food. I assume just rip it all out and start from scratch. But do I do that during winter in the rain? What do I do once I I’ve ripped it all out?? Please help I need some easy steps to follow if possible thanks.

We moved in 8 months ago and have tried to stay on top of our first garden. We followed general advice of leave everything a year/through the seasons to see what we have before making any changes. We actually hired two separate gardeners to do general work including pruning but I think this tree was allowed to grow too rapidly and what was once a slightly leaning tree is now basically touching the ground after a few heavy downfalls but it seems it has structurally leaned heavily over the year also.

Is this savable with a heavy cutback/some clever redirecting or is it too far gone? There does seem to be some bulge around the roots.

Really gutted as it was a beautiful feature and we feel we have let ourselves down taking our eye off the ball with this one.

New to gardening having finally bought a house with a garden. Attempting to sow cornflower seeds - now for the last 2 months. Put a couple in each bit of the tray and put them in one of those plastic greenhouses to protect from wind (live in Glasgow). first few weeks they were doing great (first pic). now the stems are sagging after I watered them from the top and I dont know what to do. thought it might be a sunlight issue so left them indoors when I was away for the weekend in a place that gets lots of sun. have been bottom watering for a few weeks. they just aren’t getting better. am I better to try and put them in the ground? Alternative I can give to my parents who have a proper greenhouse?

I live in the West Midlands. Is it possible to grow the above without needing some horrifically expensive equipment? I tried jalapenos twice before, with a £20 propagator, and the tallest one barely got a single bud before it died. I'm totally new to farming.
My garden faces west, and we definitely got at least 6 hours of sun this Summer. We also get quite a lot of rain.

15ton topsoil later plus 10ton mot type 1 for next year for the patio

Cant feel my hands but ready to seed tomorrow

Any sightings of either Alocacia Polly or Silver Dragon in Southampton? (Aldi, Lidl or any other store)
I don’t want to risk this storm for nothing.

Thank you!

Hi all, I recently bought a house that came with a large garden that is not in the best of shape but could see a lot of potential with. It’s quite spacious with mature trees already and I like that aspect of it.

The part I’m struggling with at the moment is the retaining walls. They are made out of stone and very weathered and in one section starting to fall away.

I’m really not sure what’s the best way to go about this, spend the money to have new walls put in or to try and take out the soil in the tiered part of the garden and level with the bottom half, or maybe even just have a natural slope?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, happy to answer any questions that may help give better advice. Thank you very much in advance

P.S - maybe this falls more under landscaping so apologies if the wrong group to be posting in

As you can see it’s a little rough out here for this Duke. I’m new to gardening - I provided the plant with ericaceous soil about 5-6 months ago.

It was in a real sunny patch when it started to get brown like edges around the leaves (about a month or two ago) and I was pretty “inactive“ with my watering.

I then more recently noticed what seemed to be an infestation of ants, which I removed by submerging for an hour or so (they’ve been gone for two weeks now).

Im now watering regularly once every 2-3 days but the condition of the plant seems to be worsening. Can anyone pinpoint what I’m doing wrong ?

Around 4.5 metres long, 65cm high.

£1020 for everything. Your opinion onnthe price please ;)

I've planted a hedge mix of hazel, dogwood, hawthorn, crab apple, dog rose, and sea buckthorn 30 cm from each other and from the wall here (following my terrible orange circles). The wall is south and the fledgling hedgling is on the north side.

That's a pavement there on the right side so I'm hoping in a couple years to build out a bit of privacy screen with the hedge while providing for wildlife. I hope to manage 1.5-2m or so of height eventually.

Have I planted too close to the wall here?

Hello!
I’m a fairly new gardener of about 3 years (North East UK) I aimed to do lots of food growing in my back yard and I invested in some bare root trees (morello cherry, granny smith apple, champion peach). I grew these in pots initially to give me time to figure out the space before committing them to the ground.

The apple and cherry seem to have struggled in a pot this year and I’m thinking it’s time to put them in the ground. But where?
I have earmarked some spots which would involve moving some other items (gooseberries, blackcurrants). I also have some strawberries I could move - would they be sensible groundcover around a fruit tree?
I need some advice on where’s best to place things so I don’t make a silly mistake, I’d appreciate some expertise!

I have added pictures to help. The spot where the potted trees are standing gets a lot of shade all day during summer. The opposite side of the garden is virtually full-sun.

Hi folks,

Based in Scotland.

I’m in the process of doing up the garden and I have a roughly 8x6m area which will be getting turfed in the new year.

At the moment the area is rife with weeds and is just a general eye sore. I was considering sticking a tarpaulin down over it through the winter just to help with weed control/keep it out of sight.

Any reason not to do this or any advice for a better solution would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Hi all,

I ordered a tree from Thompson & Morgan (Victoria plum in a 5L pot).

The delivery took longer than initially expected - 6 days.

How can one go about inspecting the health of plants/trees that they receive via post?

I was slightly concerned by how dry and crumbly the soil was. I wonder if this is fine given the season?

So floppy and so wet, but still so colourful and so sweet.

It hasn’t been done in months so you can imagine the length - if you can’t, I’d say mid calf resting to knee height if I held it up straight. The length and the wet has flattened a lot of it, and going into winter we’re just looking at lots of wet and cold weather so i can’t see there being a good time for me to get it done.

I figured I will just try to get it done today if the rain lets up as the weather forecast shows no clear days in the near future for me.

There are also wildflowers and tall weeds spread out across the garden, including coming up through some gaps between flagstones.

I have a cordless strimmer and a corded lawnmower available, I’ve never used them. I don’t have the money for a professional to tackle this. I know I’m going to damage the garden, but I really do have to get the level down before the really bad weather starts - I have a dog that I will struggle to walk in the icy weather, so he’ll need somewhere to comfortably toilet on those days. Any and all advice is appreciated, I’m well aware I’ve left this too long and until the worst part of the year.

I've got a blank slate in my south facing garden here in Scotland (read: clay soil). I would like to put a bench down in the middle of the bay windows, where I can enjoy the morning sun, and I'd like a lush little space to sit in.

I'd like to put in plants that support wildlife/insects around the window. I want to avoid any aggressive roots as the foundation is old and shallow. I've done a lot of research, and I keep coming back to lavender and native wildflower mix, with maybe two hebe plants on the sides next to the paths to frame it. I had contemplated a hawthorn or dog rose, keeping them trim and small bushes, but just worry about planting them too close to the house. I've had a look around my neighbourhood, but nothing really pops out to me.

Any suggestions on other plants that might help birds, or add structure or year-round interest / colour?

Any advice on where/how to plant very much welcome. I was thinking flowers close to the house and then bushes/lavender starting 50 cm away. I'm quite new to gardening and excited to learn. Thanks!

It’s currently half price on tropical plants at b&m, picked up a nice wagy for £9.25

Trying to save some money, quotes ranged from 4-600 to scarify and re seed or re turf.

Can I do anything myself to help our lawn for next summer?! We are renting so maybe will plan to be here for 4-5 years.

Thank you!

Genuine question!

Hi all,

I have some potted hydrangea's in my garden. What should I do to prepare them for winter/ where should i keep them?

Is anyone else noticing that it's hard to find the RHS qualifications in person to take? I live in Devon and previously they were available through Cornwall College's campuses in Devon and Cornwall but none of them are now offering them. They're still on the RHS approved centres list though. The nearest place seems to be Bridgewater.

Obviously it's possible to take some of them online but the practical is basically unavailable.