Online help and tips for those new to gardening.
Contact me using the comments form below
I will be sure to reply
Aberdeen Gardening
Plant profiles and information for the amateur gardener
Online help and tips for those new to gardening.
Contact me using the comments form below
I will be sure to reply
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Hey Alistair!
I am glad to tell you that we’ve featured your blog on our website review for the best gardening blogs of 2017!
Your blog is super awesome and we just love it! and appreciate your work.
You can check out the full article here [http://ratingle.com/blog/best-gardening-blogs-of-2017/] and tell me if there is anything you would like me to modify in your blog paragraph.
If you’d like, you can use this html code to feature “Ratingle’s Best” badge on your website.
Thanks! have an awesome day 🙂
Wow, I feel truly honoured, thanks.
Alistair
Will you have any begonia flamboyant for next season. I am also looking for the white variety if you have them
Hi John
I don’t actually sell plants. Ben Reids of Aberdeen usually stock Flamboyant Begonias.
Hi I have a 26. Foot by 3ft north facing border in Shetland I would like to reorganise the whole bit what plants would you advise
Hi Winnie
I could rattle off names of shrubs and perennials which have a preference or can at least tolerate North facing positions. However, Shetland that is outside of my experience. best talk to the locals.
Could you please be so kind and send me an email ?
Thanks
Hello Annette ?
I found your site when looking for advice on abutilons, and a really good site it is too. We have a tall red abutilon that may not survive the winter even although we have put it into our unheated greenhouse. I am going to try cuttings even although it is now late autumn.
I read your comments about your abutilon dying back after a hard winter, this has happened to me too despite our Gulf Stream climate. A visitor told me this year that abutilons need to be very well staked as wind is often behind their downfall and that 3 stakes would not be excessive.
Liz
Hi Liz
I think the Abutilon which we had is the hardiest of them all. Interesting point about the staking. Good luck with yours.
Hello!
I came across your blog and I find it really awesome. Being a blogger myself, I can feel the passion and the dedication that you possess. It takes a lot of talent and creativity to come up with such amazing articles.
Having said this, I am happy to announce that for this year, you are being included for the Top 20 Gardening Blogs 2017: https://sparpedia.no/top-20-gardening-blogs-2017 on our website.
Our team has been on the hunt for the best blogs and we have decided to include you on the list. And to better promote your blog, we have created a badge that you can post on your blog: https://sparpedia.no/banners/top-20-gardening-blogs-2017
If this interests you, you can send me a message and I am more than willing to answer your queries.
Thank you and I hope to hear from you soon!
Sincerely,
Lisa Kok
Junior Project Manager
Sparpedia.no
URL: http://sparpedia.no
Hi,
I live in Fife (central) and have purchased some clematis plants recently. I think they were just slowly dying in B&Q (clearance) and I decided to give them a new chance to survive. They are in a fairly good state , given that it is nearly December soon. I do not know if I can plant them into big pots now and leave them outside. Is it not too late? Shall I water them over the winter period?
Kind regards,
Stan
Hi Stan, you can plant them at any time of the year as long as the earth is not frozen. Would really be better if you could plant them in the border. However planting in tubs should be fine. When you plant them make sure you bury it about three inches deeper than the current level which it currently is. Clematis prefer being planted deep. Water them in lightly after planting, take care not to over water throughout the Winter.
Thank you, Alistair, for your quick reply. I have got quite large terracotta planters for them, decent compost (I hope). Frosts here in Scotland are not bad when compared to some days of frost in Poland (the country I am originally from). However, the global warming has made winters very mild in Poland too, with few days of real frost. Once again thank you, Alistair.
Kind regards, Stan
I found your site when researching Golden King holly, great information! Some labels on this plant say it’s self fertilising, so do I definitely need a male to get berries? And how near does it have to be – I think they have one a couple of gardens over. Also, how quickly do they grow?
Thanks, Sue
Hi Sue, many self-fertile plants are true to their word. Golden King fairs better with a male plant, like silver Queen. Best planted within your own garden area, doesn’t have to be right beside it.
What a beautiful website about gardening. I live in Aberdeen and will be starting to plant this year as we have space for plants and flowers. I find loads of useful information that can help me here. I bought seeds of lavender , cosmos, nicotina, snap dragon, mask flower, sweat peas , lupin,lobelia,calendula, cerinthe, euphoria oblongata,Scabiosa, Zinnia’s. Im still wanting to add Ammi majus, sunflower, larkspur ,Eschscholzia ‘Ivory Castle’,Gypsophila ‘Covent Garden’. Looks like im too ambitious for a starting. Whats your suggestion?
Thanks
Wow, you are enthusiastic, reminds me of how I was when I first started gardening many years ago. I can only say, carry on as you are doing and you will learn from your mistakes.
Thanks for encouragement. Im sure some of my choices above will succeed. Will keep you posted
If you are successful growing lavender from seed I will be seriously impressed.
I have put them in fridge for cold stratifying. Will take them out end of this month and leave it in window sill for them to germinate. Im so anxious but counting on endless videos and blogs I watched to reap some success. Fingers crossed. Im still contemplating to buy few more seeds. I have vegetables to grow as well. So I will super busy in my garden along with two little daughters. Bring on summer.. My daffis and Tulips are showing their heads. I have never grown them in my life. Super excited.
Wow, you seem so organised, we also have two daughters. If any of my blog posts give a little inspiration please get in touch directly from the post. Alistair
Sure will do alistair.
Hi, I just came across your blog when searching about Tropaeolum Speciosum and you have an amazing garden. And had amazing gardens too. I am hoping to tap into your expertise as I am a novice gardener. I want to grow the Scottish Flame onto the front wall of an old scottish cottage in Leith, Edinburgh.The house sits right smack onto the pavement so the climber will have to grow from a planter. The house faces south east and the top half of the house gets sun – when there is sun! I can see from your site and others that the Flame only grows if it likes you – I like that! And I also like that it is originally from Chile. I am from Singapore so I am always on the look out for exotic origins! My question is how deep a planter would I need and growing it froma rhizome would be better than getting one already potted?
Many thanks and your blog is now a fave bookmark. Many thanks
Once Tropaeolum takes a hold in your garden it finds its own way ending up looking good wherever it appears.
In a tub, I did have one grow along with a clematis not sure if I planted it there or not. Good luck. I rcall answering this message before, suspect a bit of a glitch.
We moved in to our Aberdeen house, on 2nd November last year. One of the features that attracted us to the property was the garden, particularly at the back. The previous occupant was obviously a very keen gardener but unfortunately she developed dementia and had to go into care. Laterally the grounds were being cared for by contractors. We have been married for over 40 years but we have never had responsibility for such a variety of flowers, plants and shrubs – not to mention the greenhouse. I was wondering whether you could help us identify what we’ve got if I forwarded you photos of the garden. On the other hand perhaps you could direct us to someone else who might be able to help. We have been doing quite a bit of work to the house – e.g. a project to upgrade the wiring has turned into a complete rewiring so I am faced with lots of redecoration etc. Up to now the garden has not received much attention.
I’ve never been a blogger so I don’t know where to go from here in that regard.
Thank you for reading my plea for help.
Duncan
Hi Duncan, I will be delighted in trying to identify your plants. I am sure there is a lot still to come through Send me photos anytime. Alistair
Hi Alistair i have a large cherry tree in my garden and the previous owners had planted about 6 shrubs underneath.Do you think if i tried to remove them it would make the tree unstable.
Hi Anne
Hard to judge without seeing it. Cherry trees aren’t that deep-rooted. However, if I were in the situation where I didn’t want the shrubs I would take the chance.
Alistair, we live in Aberdeenshire and have a beautiful blank slate of garden. The kids play football so up to now we have not planted anything. However I put up hanging baskets last year and they survived the balls.? We were thinking of plants shrubs on a north side of fence. Do you have any recommendations of plants that will look beautiful and green all year and withstand footballs.
Hi Rebecca, so your border faces North making it a pretty shady border. Its not going to look beautiful all year round. You need to get a structure going with shrubs.
shrubs
Aucuba
Camellia Donation
Holly Silver Queen
Mahonia
Skimmia Kew green
Viburnum Tinus Eve Price
Pieris
Acer palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’
Some of the above shrubs require acidic soil If rhododendrons grow well in nearby gardens you should be fine.
Perennial plants for the front of the border
Hostas
Heuchera
Tiarella
Erythronium Pagoda
Snowdrops
Lily of the valley
Leave space for Begonia bedding plants for the Summer
Thank you for all these great suggestions. I will look into all of these and see what we like the best. We have two beautiful rhododendron in the front garden but saying that I did treat the soil before planting. Thanks again!
Hi Alistair, What would you recommend as an annual feed for the soil? I’m not new to gardening but have always struggled with this.
Just recently found your site and finding it very informative.
Kind Regards, Miriam.
Hi Miriam, overfeeding can be more harmful than not feeding at all. In Autumn always let the plants die back fully before cutting away whats left. In early Spring I feed with blood, fish and bonemeal. I continue to feed only the annual plants for the rest of the season with a liquid feed, good results with Richard Jackson flower power.
hi Alistair,
I live in Aberdeen and our north facing front garden annuals are very slow in growing even though they get 3-4 hours sunlight. Does any feeding will help?
Vidhya
Did they get off to a bad start? Were you too early in planting them up, beginning of June is fine for Aberdeen. Regular liquid feed is good for annuals.
I wanted to let you know that I was successful to get 5 lavender seedlings. These are very small now and very slow in growing.fingers crossed.
Yes I planted calendula in mid April and other annuals just now. But what I see is there very slow growin. I’m using liquid seaweed . Will that be ok?
Your annuals will not look up to much as yet. Liquid seaweed is fine, follow the instructions carefully.
Hi we have just had a wall and planters built but have no idea what to plant. We stay in north Aberdeenshire. I could post photos and sizes if required. Thank you
Hi Janet, you need to give a rough idea of what you have in mind. Pictures would be helpful. Alistair
I have just received a free camellia with an order, but it just says ‘red camellia’ so I don’t know whether it is one that is likely to thrive in Aberdeenshire. The leaves are about 2″ long but the plant is only about a foot high, so that could be because it’s still small. Would you be able to tell its type just from that meagre information?
Williamsii do best in Aberdeen area, others have been known to survive. Impossible to tell which variety. Could you possibly pot it up using ericaceous compost, place it outdoors in a position that doesn’t get sun all day (best without morning sun) Come November place it in a greenhouse or cool bright area indoors.
alistair,your courtyard garden is beautiful.You certainly have a magic touch.What compost and feed do you use for your plants?We have really sandy soil,water just runs off it.its very poor.What could i feed it that would enrich it.Not manure because my little dog is attracted to that!.
Hi Anne The borders just get a good mulch with Garden compost in late Autumn, then in early Spring, I feed with blood fish and bonemeal. For the tubs and baskets, I use a garden compost with a John Innes mix through it. I give them a liquid feed once a fortnight.
I have a laurel hedge that looks a but sick (yellow) it is about 20-30 years old. But several plants have fied. While trying to treat it late this summer I spotted a beetle on a leaf. Checked the internet and I think I have vine weevil It would explain the dead plants. Need some local advice on treatment or how to replace hedge and not get same problem. Any local experts available for professional advice that I could engage? I treated with nemotodes, but quite late in the season.
The very dry season could result in yellowing of the leaves. It would take a very serious infestation to kill off mature plants so quickly. If it is vine weevil then you will see severe notches in the leaves.