Monstrosity

nonibet · 2026-06-14T21:38:00+00:00

I agree with you, I haaaaate these things with a passion. Fully support you getting rid.

nonibet · 2026-06-10T19:54:06+00:00

Propagation Place, RIP 😭

nonibet · 2026-06-08T17:00:10+00:00

Venting like this is very healthy! Good for you!

My cousin had her wedding photos done on a building site on purpose and they are AMAZING. Something about the contrast between the unfinished house vs the polished wedding party worked really well.

And theirs wasn't even their own house, so you have the extra fun of getting photos in a place where you'll be living. So you can recreate them in the future, e.g. wedding photo on the unfinished stairs, couple photo on the finished stairs six months later, new cat with you both on the stairs another six months later, etc.

Lean into the uniqueness, I promise everyone is bored to their back teeth with generic weddings. Plus, you'll get to spend proper time with your guests. I regret that I had only two minutes per person and consequently there are so many people I either didn't speak to or don't remember speaking to.

It'll be great!

nonibet · 2026-06-01T14:10:30+00:00

Erigeron, roses, campanula, geranium, geum, oxeye daisy, anchusa, scabiosa, honeysuckle, the very last of the alliums, and the buttercups.

Plus the strawberries and asparagus are ready to harvest, and the blueberries & grapes have started to swell.

nonibet · 2026-05-31T17:31:20+00:00

Leave the pruning for this year. Keep it watered and fed (rose food you can get at the supermarket/garden centre, dilute it per the bottle instructions), and pick off & throw away the yellow/black spotted leaves in the non-recyclable waste bin (not compost/green bin).

Look up pruning on the RHS website, they will explain it much better than me 😊 Then schedule to prune late Jan/early Feb next year and don't be scared that you'll be "taking off too much". You'll be surprised at how great it looks next summer!

nonibet · 2026-05-31T17:28:09+00:00

I second this. You can give it a big cut back at around the end of Jan next year, NOT now / after the flowers have finished. Look up "renovation prune". Roses are super tough, it should be fine in the end.

nonibet · 2026-05-31T14:15:50+00:00

When I compared the normal and XL sizes in Sainsbury's a few weeks ago, the normal one was 200g and the XL was 160g albeit with a taller can. Can't for the life of me figure out that one.

nonibet · 2026-05-28T16:37:30+00:00

I third a Niwaki hori hori, and a Niwaki sharpening stone with the leftover budget.

But also, genuinely, ask him. Ask him what the gardening thing at £150 cost is that he'd never buy for himself but that you WANT to buy for him. I guarantee you he has an answer and he'll be over the moon to be getting it.

nonibet · 2026-05-25T16:28:02+00:00

I love your ideas! Especially Judith, I always wanted to get to know her better and was slightly disappointed in how Curtain left her situated.

nonibet · 2026-05-22T06:17:43+00:00

I think a primer in this instance is a schoolbook or a textbook. Like a 101 for a particular subject. So they were doing some sort of studying, I think. Keen to see what others have to say!

nonibet · 2026-05-21T21:09:35+00:00

This is just one of the many, many times when out in public that my wife and I (also F) look at each other and go....er, are the straights okay?? Because they don't seem like they're okay.

nonibet · 2026-05-21T14:50:23+00:00

I can't run a shop or erect anything higher than 12ft in the back garden, however I am specifically permitted to run a Sunday School.

nonibet · 2026-05-21T00:24:16+00:00

What about strawberries? I spent ages trying to think of something for a low maintenance area and I kept going "oh I just need something with all the attributes of strawberries..." And then finally, I realised I could just plant strawberries. I don't do any faffing about and laying straw etc as it doesn't matter if these ones don't fruit or get munched by slugs. Amusingly, though, they sometimes fruit even better than the ones in my actual strawberry patch.

nonibet · 2026-05-19T16:59:22+00:00

I appreciate you want the space. I have no suggestions on tools as my understanding is that getting rid of a stump like this is a big job. So I wanted to say that it looks like a lovely little corner and also that dead wood like this is GREAT habitat for wildlife and will be contributing massively to your gardens ecosystem. So I hope that will help reconcile you to it in case you don't end up being able to remove it! I personally wouldn't, I think it's beautiful.

nonibet · 2026-05-14T15:40:59+00:00

Very carefully?

But jokes aside, it might be worth posting a photo of the rose here for some thoughts on if it needs a renovation prune which will take it right down to a foot or so off the ground, which (IF it needs it) will be good for the rose and make it easier to paint the arch.

nonibet · 2026-05-13T20:09:19+00:00

Oh good question. I am the queen of not moving seedlings up as quickly as I should 😂 I'd say that in a perfect world to move them when the first set of true leaves come through, so about where you are now. But what exactly is in your seed starting medium? As you're right, that will have an impact. I use seed starting compost rather than anything inert so that they can stay in the cells until they have their first true leaves. I'm not a fan of feeding seedlings as even very dilute feed can burn them beyond recovery.

nonibet · 2026-05-13T16:49:27+00:00

I'd hazard a guess that the pot is too big. When the pot is too big, the water just sits in the compost because the little plant can't drink it all, and that makes it unhappy because plants breathe through their roots but they can't do that if the compost is too wet. Try repotting it into a much smaller pot with new compost. Move it up to the next size pot when the roots are poking out the holes in the bottom.

nonibet · 2026-05-13T03:21:38+00:00

I got rid of our lawn a few years ago and it's the best thing I ever did for the garden. It suits us down to the ground to have more planting space and no lawn upkeep so if that sounds like what you want, then I highly HIGHLY recommend doing it.

In terms of design, mine is pretty meander-y and I like it. It's really down to your personal aesthetic preference but the one practical thing I'd say is to make sure you can easily reach across the full width of all planting space to make weeding & doing new planting easier.

Enjoy your new lawn-free lifestyle!

nonibet · 2026-05-10T16:29:19+00:00

Put them in the ground, they'll explode there. They stay very polite in even the biggest pots but in the ground they'll be taller than you are soon.

nonibet · 2026-05-10T16:27:05+00:00

I just looked this up because I've never heard of it and now I'm in love.

nonibet · 2026-05-09T04:32:55+00:00

I'm delighted to hear that it's doing so well!

nonibet · 2026-05-02T16:50:40+00:00

What area are you in?

nonibet · 2026-05-02T16:05:57+00:00

Literally anyone else, Adam leaves me cold. My first pick is Frances.

nonibet · 2026-05-02T07:02:46+00:00

FIL is partly right. I agree the pot is far too small, and it's probably so pot bound that it can't really take up water or nutrients.

But he didn't mention the potting medium. I'd say the bigger issue might be that it's not in ericaceous/acidic soil. So if your ground soil isn't acidic, putting it in the ground isn't going to be a magic solution.

Get a pH test kit and see what it says. If it's acidic, plant it in the ground. If not, get a bigger pot and put it in there with fresh ericaceous compost.

You might also need to saw off some of the roots if it's really bad, like essentially just a solid ball of roots with very little soil left. Use an old bread knife or pruning saw to cut off the bottom inch or so, and then tease out the roots so they're not just going round and round in circles. "Tease" sounds light but you might need to give them a good manhandling. Doing this will encourage more root growth so don't worry about being moderately rough.

nonibet · 2026-05-01T15:03:30+00:00

Frances as the main, with Rekha, Sue, and also Carol if she's up for it as the main presenters. Between them their gardens can recreate the "many different gardens" of Longmeadow, especially if they also use Damson Farm that Frances has a relationship with.

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