[ SECRET POST #3371 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3371 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 059 secrets from Secret Submission Post #482.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

For UK F!Sers, a gardening question?

[(Anonymous)]

Everyone says the Easter break is when everyone heads to the garden centre and stocks up on plants. I'm actually going to one tomorrow for my first garden, which is just tiny (imagine two tesco parking spaces long and one wide) and already has a dwarf holly in the southeast corner and has a pretty substantial wall blocking most of the morning light all year round. It is pretty scrappy soil, which is mostly dust and stone left by builders, so I could use some suggestions. What should I put in this little garden space, and what have you put in yours? I kinda want a rose of some sort, one of the rich smelling ones.

Re: For UK F!Sers, a gardening question?

[(Anonymous)]

If this is your first garden, I would stay away from roses as they're notoriously difficult to cultivate. If you have your heart set on a rose though then really do your research, tons of research.

More general advice - seek advice at the garden center on plants that would suit the amount of shade, soil type, etc. If you really want to be specific then test your soil to see what acidity it is, and make a record of how much sunlight parts of your garden gets during the day, etc.

Just don't plant mint in the ground. Pots yes, soil no. Unless you want a mint only garden. ;)

Have fun, anon! I'm very jealous. I live in a flat with no balcony and no garden.

Re: For UK F!Sers, a gardening question?

[(Anonymous)]

Buy compost, grass seed, and any potted plants you like. Spend this year conditioning the lawn with the compost and seed without planting anything else. Just arrange your potted plants around the garden however you like and move them as you please or needed for their optimum light/shade needs. Then next year you'll have good soil to work with and a much better idea of what you want to plant and where.

Re: For UK F!Sers, a gardening question?

[(Anonymous)]

Yay for a new garden!

As well as buying compost, make your own out of kitchen waste (plant material only, like vegetable peelings or scraps of cotton or wool, if you sew or craft.) Turn the compost at least once while it's rotting down. Compost making is an art, but the end product is always useful. Then look up "plants for dry shade" because it's going to be a tough environment no matter what - the wall will form a rain shadow and the clinker in the soil will make it fast-draining.

A quick look through my Garden Plant Directory gives me the following. Flowering currant, Liriope, Male Fern, Eastern Bleeding Heart, Bishop's Hat, Common Polypody, Cyclamen (species, not hybrids), Euphorbia, Lamium (this can take over, so be careful), Greater periwinkle (ditto). Also, from personal experience – spring bulbs, Hellebores, Ivy, Honesty, Foxgloves. Also worth a try: Hydrangea, Wood Anemone, Yew.
You can probably get away with a rose in a large container in the sunniest corner. The David Austen varieties have the old-fashioned rose scent, but they'll repeat flower, unlike old rose types. The bush will need careful feeding, but will repay handsomely.

TBH, Easter isn't a good time to buy tender plants anyway because you can still get frost. Which is why the garden centres put them out in enticing displays, of course!

Good luck and keep applying the home-made compost!

Re: For UK F!Sers, a gardening question?

[(Anonymous)]

SA: Sheep are not vegetables. I know this. It's early morning, right? Basically you don't want to compost anything that might attract rodents.

On a happier note, David Austen has a good FAQ section which might help you make a choice:

http://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/help-and-faq

Re: For UK F!Sers, a gardening question?

[diet_poison]

Hostas are great in shade and don't require much maintenance! Pots are also a good idea especially if you're just trying things out.

Re: For UK F!Sers, a gardening question?

[(Anonymous)]

Unfortunately, most of the scented roses aren't low maintenance types, so if you decide you want one, you'll need to be prepared to baby it regularly. Rich soil with lots of organic matter that drains well, likely some sort of fungicide. It'll need sun and air circulation, because damp and humidity leads to black spot.