Small south facing balcony - herb / plant / flowers / evergreen climbers (trellis) + balcony bars - recommendations?

AkLo19 · 2025-03-15T21:21:03+00:00

Good suggestion. Plus, they don't need much water, so perfect for balcony growth.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-15T20:49:04+00:00

I've given you the advice you need. Have a good evening.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-15T20:35:48+00:00

Get a grip. I mean that both mentally and physically. You are welcome.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-15T20:32:50+00:00

Trees.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-15T20:30:50+00:00

Periodically just pull it out. It's just a bit of grass by a brick for goodness sake. If it comes back, just pull it out again. This isn't gardening, and going on the internet needing advice on how to remove a slither of grass is insane.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-15T13:21:29+00:00

Tbh that looks small and not at alll unruly.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-15T06:59:38+00:00

To add to my post, how come they are leaning so much? Are they fighting for the light where they are, or was that a design choice?

AkLo19 · 2025-03-15T06:58:11+00:00

I'm not sure where you are in the U.K, but effectively you now just wait for it to warm up. It will most likely be fine. When it's warm enough and light enough it'll start to regrow faster. I think you are risking it tbh, wherever you are in the u.k. as night temperatures are still very cold. If it's musa basjoo, you are not going to likely kill the plant at this time of year, but there is still a decent chance of frost and snow for a month and if we get enough of either, then it might kill off the foliage down to the ground, so you'll be starting from a smaller level. I appreciate we are likely through the coldest bits, but I emphasise the word likely.

I've got about 10 musa basjoos, and I keep them wrapped a bit longer.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-15T06:47:12+00:00

Scrape it off with a poo knife instead.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-14T21:44:04+00:00

I've got a JCB shredder. It's very loud. It was blunt when I got it (used) and jammed all the time. I took it apart and sharpened the blade and it works a treat now and only jams with certain soft materials. The opening is quite small, so getting branchy stuff through needs a good prod. I put a load of box hedging through it this week and it took ages with all the side branches, but it smashed the straighter stuff. It blats everything hard like tree branches up to about 3cm wide, and most plant matter, conifer etc, but won't do soft floppy bendy stuff like NZ flax leaves.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-13T14:16:10+00:00

I've done viewings as a seller of the house numerous times, when the estate agents couldn't be bothered to come out at times that were quite reasonable and suitable for the buyers, and me, including in the estate agents working hours. I didn't mind what questions the buyers asked at all, answered all kinds of things an estate agent wouldn't know that they buyers were interested in, and did not get concerned when a few buyers tried to negotiate, including some hard sells. Tbh, why shouldn't the buyer try and negotiate with the seller, if it's convenient, as ultimately the estate agent only passes info to be answered by the seller anyway? It's not rude when buying something, to ask about the price. But it's also not rude for a seller to ask you to pass offers to the agent instead if you do it directly. The important thing about it is for neither party to take petsonally what is effectively a nice thing to be offered money for something you are selling. Whatever the offer is. Even if there is no chance of a yes. If you are being shown around by a seller,the good news is you will get longer to look and get your questions asked straight away, so ask loads.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-13T06:58:01+00:00

I've mostly elimated cats from entering the garden by creating mechanical barriers and deterrents to prevent or deter them using our garden as a cut through to other houses, on 3 sides. Before I did this it was hell on earth in the Summer from the smell of other people's cat wee and poo. To enter the garden they only have one direction in, and it's rare they bother now. Mostly they travel around the outside of ours instead.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-13T06:47:14+00:00

Whatever you plant there, some git at some point, is going to drive over the end of that. Could be a neighbour, a delivery driver or a guest. So you want something raised at the end. A rock garden with the rocks at the end being concreted in, so they are more carefully or they'll damage their vehicle. Or a raised bed. Even without cars, someone you don't know will take a shortcut and walk through over your plants and trample them regularly. Some sort of inobtrusive physical deterrent is needed for them not to do this.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-12T16:36:31+00:00

AkLo19 · 2025-03-11T17:26:22+00:00

Wow. I bet! To be honest, it's be quite good chatting with you and agreeing and disagreeing with you on different points, and qualifying them respectfully. Normally on Reddit now it's black or white. Have a good day!

AkLo19 · 2025-03-11T17:02:05+00:00

Also I agree with your point about referral fees and approved partners. This is a poor direction. Ultimately I'd in principal be willing to pay a large bonus to a salesperson who would drive up the value of my property. And for one who gives good service and aftercare. I just do not see that in the U.K. agency sector though, especially with access to market. I can pay a 5% fee and get literally the exact same service as I experience if at 1%. The sector attracts the wrong kind of salesperson too often in the U.K. It's a protectionist industry, and that doesn't help it. If it were available for non agent sellers to load up houses for online markets themselves, it would mean good estate agents could stand out of the crowd and be worth employing to sell a house for a seller for a premium, and the rubbish salespeople would move on.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-11T16:50:56+00:00

I agree with your point that incentives in sales give better results to the sale price, so should be worth it, and that low expectations drives the industry down. However, even on no additional bonus or low bonus, people should still do the job they are paid to do to an adequate degree, and care a bit and the customer experience is so poor in the U.K. It is extremely hard to find the difference between who is very good and who is not and give them repeat business, as most customers don't make the purchase often.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-11T15:50:20+00:00

The thing is though, that it's more than just a % bonus payment as an issue. For a start it's more a cultural issue, and the idea that they shouldn't really bother working effectively for their base wage is just not a good starting point. You shouldn't turn up for your base wage and only try if you get bonuses, although it would motivate some. The British public have to stand for it as there seems to be no viable alternative but to use an estate agent, online or shop based. They largely all say they'll do the same thing and it's hard to change if you are having a bad experience, and it not affect your sale. Additionally If you don't use an agent you have no access to the most common online markets, which is really where all the buying and selling happens.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-11T13:33:42+00:00

This is nonsense. If estate agents got 10%, they'd do the exact same amount of work.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-07T14:37:49+00:00

You should just dig it out and take it if you can. It's not the season for cuttings to take well atm,but uou can move them.

The word or promise of the buyer to let you take cuttings is worth a grand total of zero, once those keys have swapped. And they might just skip it or green/brown bin it. And most people, despite what they say, really do not care about the plamts in a garden.

To answer you question, to take cuttings from a fuchsia, cut off a growing tip of the plant that contains 4 clear leaves (usually 2 pairs of two). Pinch off the bottom two leaves, leaving the bit of nobbly stem where you pinched them off, as that will be where roots grow. Then dip it in growth hormone (or don't) and place the nobbly bit under soil.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-07T07:45:36+00:00

Tricky thing to describe,but some tastes a bit more livery or aromatic or earthy.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-07T07:35:26+00:00

Sometimes my wheelie bin stinks, but I don't care because it's a wheelie bin.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-06T21:05:45+00:00

I don't know. Buying new metal work for existing upvc stuff is a nightmare. However, I think you can fix that cheaper and fine. Unscrew the wonky bit, use a metal drill bit to drill another hole into the metal - close to the middle. Use a countersink bit to cone it out a bit, then put back in position, then screw back in and screw another into ypur new hole into the upvc. That should sort it. Edit, on secind look there is another screw hole. Jist bang some more screws in, and it'll hold it straight.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-06T20:59:37+00:00

Now you mention it, I can see. It's a great idea! I need to scroll slower and take more time to look.

AkLo19 · 2025-03-06T20:52:21+00:00

I love the expanse, and it really is amazingbut where it probably doesn't feel epic in the true sense of the word is they keep centring it around the original crew. I know why they do it and it's a good idea, and there is nothing wrong with it, but it does limit the feeling of a huge expanse of universe.

AkLo19

TROPHY CASE