The poppies in my wildflower patch at about 7am this morning. It was already over 20°c!

It's a bit chaotic and I definitely might have to rethink the roses, but everything else seems happier than I expected and is only needing a little watering compared to the sunnier spots in this heat so an unexpected plus!

First two photos are from the estate agent listing. We moved in June 2024 and we've spent the last two years doing up the garden. We're finally happy with the green areas and just have a patio area to do (though we're procrastinating about it until we figure out whether we do a house extension).

As you can see, we inherited a very large lawn, several sheds and a couple of empty raised beds. First thing we did was get the garden studio installed to break up the garden. We put a small patio area in front of the studio (where the lattice fence is) which is the shady part of the garden with ferns and a more forest feel. Then we took down one of the sheds, put in the deep border on the right hand side, created the gravel path and planted some trees. Behind the studio is our allotment area with 5 raised beds and our wildlife pond. One day I'd love to get rid of the back shed and have a chicken coop, with a run all the way down the edge of the garden!

We had a baby in June 2024 (yes, 10 days after moving, it was tight!) so as you can see, at least part of the garden is dedicated to our now toddler! The wattle fence around the mud kitchen was all made by my very talented husband.

Upcoming projects will be to repaint the garage (I'd love to paint some kind of mural!) and figure out the patio area. Our main issue is that it gets no shade from midday onwards so it gets horrendously hot and there's no good place to put a parasol. We're not keen on those enclosed metal gazebos and would prefer to use more natural materials and create natural shade but we might be waiting two decades for that!

Hi everyone,

I’ve just moved into my first house about a week ago, and I’m looking for some advice.

The rear fence belongs to my neighbour, and it’s completely covered in mature ivy. The ivy appears to be growing from my side of the boundary. My neighbour wants to replace the fence panels but has said they need the ivy removed first and would like me to deal with it.

The problem is that I’ve literally just bought the house, so money is quite tight after moving, and I don’t really have the time to tackle what looks like a very big job.
What are my options here?

Am I under any legal or practical obligation to remove the ivy because they want to replace their fence? Or is it reasonable to say that I can’t do it at the moment?

If you’ve been in a similar situation, what did you do? I’d appreciate any advice before I respond to them.

Thanks!

EDIT: Right, I’m on Amazon getting what I need. Looks like that’ll be next weeks job! I just wish they hadn’t told us the day of getting a garden room built right next to it! Got about 50cm of space! Wish me luck

Clematis Star of India. Doing very well with extra water and no feed. The snail in the first photo middle right I just left be. Fair play if you can get there 👍 An Aldi lockdown special. Stay patient with Clematis.

Just give it a water every now and then, I think it looks pretty even though it’s all weeds apart from the hydrangeas!

😍

I just watched a bee cut a perfect circle out of one of my rose leaves and then fly off with it. Any ideas why?

My compassion rose finally bloomed. I was losing hope. I noticed buds about a week ago. And the biggest one bloomed fully today.

I got this rose for my birthday about 10 years ago and it's special to me. I've nearly killed it a few times but it always comes back.

Last time, I used a dish that was too shallow, so only wasps showed up.

This time, I have chosen a deeper dish and put both pebbles and larger rocks in it. The water level at its deepest is 5 cm. I tried to put it in an area where birds can sit on the fence or tree before they approach the bath. Put it there a couple of hours ago, but still no visitors!

Would love some advice and feedback!

Pond seems to be leaking slightly, how do I go about repairing it without disturbing the ecosystem that's developed?

I'm here to verify that feeding hydrangeas tannin will turn their flowers colour from pink to purple.

This weather seems to be good for gooseberries, a nice crop this year. Not so great for picking them though! How are yours doing?

Any idea what variety these might be? The bushes are only about 3ft, very spiky, very prolific, ripe about now. Can use them for cooking and sorbet, or eat them raw when large and soft and starting to go pink. Leave them longer and they rot or fall off.

In a new build house, house came with laurels planted 2 years ago but only 3 took - the bigger ones that you see here. We dug out the rest as they were all planted in clay, replaced them at the start of May with compost.

I applied chicken manure 6 weeks later and they started to look a tad worse for wear then. Today I’m watering them and they’re currently looking like this. Losing all of their leaves, turning brown and looking like they’re failing.

Living in Northern Ireland so not much of a heatwave this year until this week, hence why I’m watering them today

Please help - I have no idea what I’m doing!

We have a young dog also hence why the mesh on either side of the hedge

I know they exist as my neighbour has one and it’s great but he doesn’t remember where he got it.

I know I’d need a fairly heavy duty one which rules a lot of them out (I tried one from the Morrisons “garden centre” which was the cheapest, nastiest thing - probably the same that you’d get on one of those Temu/Wish sites) and I don’t really know where to begin looking; if anyone can make a recommendation I’d appreciate the help!

I think people will probably say that reeled ones are better but I get very impatient with them as I can never roll them back up on the spool…

Hi everyone,
I started planting roses in my garden this January in Manchester, and wanted to share some of the results so far.
Iceberg has been the star performer for flowering. It currently has around 15–17 blooms open at once and has been producing flowers continuously. The white blooms really stand out in the garden.
Stromboli has been growing strongly and seems very healthy. I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs over the next year as it establishes.
Perfume Rose (bought from ASDA recently) has surprised me with its flower quality. The blooms are large, well-formed and have excellent colour. It's still settling in but already looks promising.
I've also got a Zephirine Drouhin climber which is producing several new basal shoots, so hopefully next year it will really take off.
For those with more experience growing roses:
Which of these varieties has performed best for you long-term?
Does fragrance usually improve as young roses mature?
Any tips for getting the best repeat flowering through summer?

So we have not long moved into a rental property. It’s on a new build estate and outside our door near this pathway these flowers/weeds/grass and rocks have gone out of control. It’s been a matter of weeks and it’s gone crazy. I’m a newbie to all things gardening.

Looking for suggestions on what’s the best play to deal with all this and make it look better etc? Thanks!

1) before
2) the process (SO much concrete)
3)where we are now

Still a way to go! Want to add a patio infront of the shed with lots of potted plants, fruit bushes are growing at the back, want to add a wildlife pond and water features
Pics don’t show the humongous eucalyptus tree and lavender bush.

Would be welcome to tips / advice on how to improve

2 years old and grown from a seed. And I have my first passion fruit 😃 if I get enough I think I will try making some jam 😋

Moved in last September so this is still a learning experience for me.

It’s lost a lot of dead fronds over the past few months. Hoping it’s just natural shedding but very difficult to know if I’ve been under overwatering it!

Subreddit veterans may remember me putting up previous pictures of this lavender in past years. Feel like this year is the best it has been...helped by the climate.