Moving... Pots Everywhere

I am digging up plants that I want to take with me to our new home. Recently I went to The Vintage Emporium in Stockport and picked up some old buckets and such to use as containers for my plants and veg. Speaking of which, it seems like I'll only be getting 3 peppers this year. I think, like the courgettes, I will have to make sure I pollinate the flowers next year.

I am loving my rudbeckias, their colour is so intense at the moment.

I have trimmed the lavender, it's looking rather sorry for itself but I have made a point of finding and cutting above new growth.

I have repotted one of my heather plants.

My rosemary has died. I guess moving it stressed it and the poor thing has dried up completely. I think I'll put some sage in there instead. I have thyme in that bread bin as well. I repotted the Aster into the galvanised bucket and have taken some "offspring" to give to friends.

I have pruned the geraniums. They did OK this year, but I kept neglecting them and forgot to water them. They threatened to dry out a couple of times but I have managed to keep them going.

I was going to leave these 2 heathers behind, but I bought them after a long day at my previous work and they have me great joy. So I decided to bring them along for the ride.

All in all a nice little family is coming together. A bit mismatched, but when we move and I put everything in its place I can then arrange and plan to my heart's content. I actually have a couple of ferns I was going to leave behind, but after the seminar I attended on Sunday I might just take them with me for that shady spot in the garden!

Bud - Gardening Seminar

Today, my friend N and I went to the Bud Garden Centre in Burnage for a seminar imparted by Severine Cochard, a local garden designer. We paid £6 for an hour of her knowledge and to get our questions answered. This session was targeted to borders, which I won't have when we move, but I still wanted to go and learn. It was nice to be reassured on things I had learned the past year, but I did learn that bright, tropical colours give the illusion of being closer, while blues and pastels seem to be further away. Thus, if you have a long garden and have hot colours at the bottom, it will bring the garden forward, whereas if you use pastels in a couryard, it will give a sense of more space. I will certainly be using this colour scheme as I am drawn to pastels in any case.

We did an exercise where we had to select 3 plants from the garden centre and explain why we had chosen them. I went for these 3. I chose the spotty Pulmonaria 'Sissinghurst White' because I had initially seen and fell in love with it in Bodnant Gardens in Wales but couldn't find one for sale in their shop. Then, I chose the Lamium 'White Nancy' and finally the lovely fern Athyrium 'Applecourt'. I chose this plant combination to carry the silver through the foliage whilst having different textures. They also happen to be great for shady places in the garden, but note they are deciduous and so will die down during the winter months.

After talking about our choices and sharing stories and asking questions we had a quick cup of tea and a browse around the place. I was very well behaved and resisted buying any plants as we are moving in a week and it would only mean shifting more plants. Once we have settled in, however...

Bud is the same business who organised the Levenshulme Open Garden Day which I documented on the blog a few months ago. The owner is lovely and knows her stuff. She finds plants that will do well in our neck of the woods (i.e. Manchester/the North) and will give sound advice. I also love that she supports home grown produce :)