OT Ping Chris Hogg - Wildflowers

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

The display in my front garden flower bed was quite spectacular, people walking by complimented me. After 8 years of utter and humiliating failure using bulbs and bedding plants I finally won one. They have lasted for months, but look a bit poorly now. I will be digging them up soon. Same as I did last year when the display was sort of okay - sort of okay ... I do have pics of them, but can't be arsed using Dropbox. Next year the same seeds go down. Look out for me on Gardener's world! And, thanks to Mr Hogg for his help.

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

By the time you get the kettle out to the driveway, the water is no longer boiling. Aldi: 27p for a tub of salt has killed all of my weeds.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

It'll be 95C. Hot enough to kill any plant.

I guess that would work, I see salt on people's drives a lot. But scalding them is fun :-)

[Chris Hogg]

Not half as much fun as a flame gun. And no, I don't mean one of those namby-pamby little gas efforts, but a proper paraffin flame gun, like a giant paraffin blow-lamp.

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

Yes of course, some merkin mouthing off the usual shit.

As Mr Hogg correctly stated, it only kills the top growth, not the roots,

Fun?

Salt works as far as I can see. I have taken photographs, measurements and dates of where and when I put the salt down, this over the past four months. No weeds have returned. I have entered this data in to a spreadsheet and review it on a daily basis. I inspect my garden every day at 4am for weeds. If they come back they will have to deal with me!

[James Wilkinson Sword]

Only done it once, I'll see if they come back.

That I can believe.

I think you may be exaggerating with the 4am part.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

A kettle is far far cheaper.

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

Don't encourage him.

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

The elderly sleep badly, they stand guard.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

I already use a flame thrower to torture spiders.

[harry]

Yup. Salt works well. But do in dry weather, the rain leaches it out. The longer it stays there, the more effective it is.

IME if done in early Summer the effect is good until Autumn when we get a whole load more seeds wafting about and the salt has been washed out.

[harry]

Sounds like you have a slug/rabbit problem.

[Simon Mason]

Also had to pay someone to remove large plant from gutter which had grown fron seeds dropped by bods.

[ARW]

He already has plastic butterlies. A quid from Pounland

[Bod]

He's got his own shops? Pounderland.

[Simon Mason]

These are a bit more interesting - I got 3 in Germany.

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

I come across the occasional slug whilst weeding, I've yet to see a bunny around here. I'm just not very good at gardening.

[harry]

Both come out at night. Slugs will machine seedlings off as they appear. Poison them.

There are no great mysteries about gardening. There's a reason for everything.

To succeed, look at neighbour's gardens. What does well there should do well in yours. Watch when they plant and what else they do. Pick their brains.

Having said that, this year has been a bad year in the garden.

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

Ahhhh. But they did not eat my wildflowers. Hmmmm. I've never seen any rabbit droppings. I've some roses. They seem to do okay, but *I* did not plant them.

Oddly enough just about everybody on this side of the street has their front garden flagged. The bloke next door gave up this year and used blue slate, his lawn was a scream. Mine is not like a bowling green, but it is very acceptable. The back lawn is south facing and grows like mad, lovely and green. The dog (bitch) pisses on it and does not kill it.

This side of the street does not get an awful amount of sunlight, I suspect that this is part of the problem. BTW, I also had the wildflower seeds in pots in the back garden and had a brilliant display for months. Pulled them out today as they were knackered.

Thanks for the tips, especially about poisoning the slugs.

[harry]

Many of our native plants are repellent to slugs. The none native plants may not be. Hence your wildflowers did OK. There is constant chemical warfare been going on for millenia between grazers and plants.