A trip to the garden centre....

[Riz]

Not really much happening in the growing world outdoors, so i went to the garden centre which is only 200 metres from my house ( lucky moi) . took my camera thought i share some pics, they don't have any spring flowers yet so,, i just went window shopping...






http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC01904.jpg


A nice array of conifers and alpines...


http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC01917.jpg

[Riz]

these pots are a ridiculous price £2.99 i thought we were in a global recession :)

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC01910.jpg

[Riz]

I need to get some slug killer as well for next season, but in this place its too expensive £3.99. If you have a " Wilkinsons" in your area it only cost a £1.00 for the same product.
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC01908.jpg

[Riz]

galvanised pots, still a rip off

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC01912.jpg

[Riz]

and the only thing i purchased was this bonsai compost, ill be growing a "bonchi" plant as in a bonsai chilli plant, the one i have is in its second season so it has the woody stem that looks like a miniature oak tree, i saw a website and was inspired by that mans creation , more deatils to come over at the "indoor section"
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC01920.jpg

[Kirsten]

200 meters!!! I would be there every day (and would definitely go broke super fast!)

[Tania]

You are indeed lucky to have a garden center near to you (i have to take the buss to can visit one). I like the conifer area of the center :).In romanian money the pot its really expensive.

[Riz]

200 meters!!! I would be there every day (and would definitely go broke super fast!)

lol.. they would love you kirsten, the place is full of students that work there part time :)

[Riz]

You are indeed lucky to have a garden center near to you (i have to take the buss to can visit one). I like the conifer area of the center :).In romanian money the pot its really expensive.

hi..

yep the terracotta pots are way too expensive, i have lots of small clay pots which cost a £1.00 but the bigger ones are really expensive.. but people do buy them, just not me :)

[Kirsten]

lol.. they would love you kirsten, the place is full of students that work there part time :)

I would happily work there if they would pay me in compost/plants/seeds :D

[Riz]

^ ill get you an application form then :) workers get a 20% store discount on all plants and soil ....

[Riz]

some palms

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC02027.jpg

[Riz]

lots of different types of compost and soil

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC02028.jpg

[Riz]

the seed rack

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC02026.jpg


http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC02025.jpg

[Riz]

more pots at ridiculous high prices

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC02032-1.jpg

[Riz]

fruit trees 3 for £10 now thats more like it :)

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC02029.jpg

[~Obsidian~]

Aye but those are the fruit trees that nobody really wants to buy! At my local B&Q (two bus rides and a trot away) they were doing apple trees etc for a tenner each.

I almost went broke just looking :(

[Kirsten]

What is a tenner?

[Riz]

What is a tenner?

awww..

A tenner is slang for £10
A quid " £1
A fiver " £5
A score " £20
A ton " £100
A monkey*" £500

monkey*

quite interesting history behind it, when the British empire were running INDIA the Indians had a monkey on the 500 rupee bill(indian currency) "monkey god" so when the Brits got back to *blighty ( slang for *england) they called £500 pounds a MONKEY.

apolgies to the MOD for straying a little..:eek:

[~Obsidian~]

Nobody really says 'score' or 'monkey' :p 'ton' is only used rarely

[Kirsten]

Oh wow, I had no idea :eek: I think here we just call our money fives and tens and twenties... maybe the 1 dollar bill might get called a "Washington" since that's who's on it, but otherwise not interesting at all.

[~Obsidian~]

I hear numerous film references to a 'benjamin franklin' :p isn't that a fifty or a hundred?

[Foz]

[QUOTE=~Obsidian~;3102]Aye but those are the fruit trees that nobody really wants to buy! QUOTE]


i brought some last year lol

[Tania]

I can't understand why are holes in the pots. Here the holes are only at bottom. Its good to have a friend in this garden center. He could buy for you with 20% discount :)

[Riz]

The holes are there so people can grow different herbs in the same pot, like small individual containers in ONE pot,

LOL yes Tania i do have a friend who works there and he does use his discount card when i need something in large quantities..:D

[Kirsten]

*embarrassed* I don't know...

OK, googled it and apparently he is on the $100 bill. I did not know that. I think Grant is on the $50.

But yeah! Gardening. :D I don't actually know of any garden nurseries near me. Most of our gardening stuff comes from the gardening section of the Home Depot, which is kind of our build-it-yourself store - it sells lumber, carpeting, plumbing, paint, etc, and then usually has a segment for lawn and yardwork. But nothing nearly as expansive as your wall of seeds, that just makes me swoon...!

Ours don't even label them by type of beans (it looks like you've got a LOT of choices there). We get one package of seeds, labeled, "Bean". So last year (really the first year I got into growing) I ordered my seeds online, where there was a bit more variety ;)

[~Obsidian~]

LOL :p

B&Q is kinda of like the british Home Depot, they're just rather excellent with the plant stuff too!

[Tania]

Regarding the palm trees from the garden: i think its more safe to grown your own tree beginning from the seed, than to buy one because may be you will can't provide the same care - like he got until then and he will die. I heard about that on tv.

[~Obsidian~]

Regarding the palm trees from the garden: i think its more safe to grown your own tree beginning from the seed, than to buy one because may be you will can't provide the same care - like he got until then and he will die. I heard about that on tv.

Yep good idea, I usually prefer that so that they become acclimatised...don't want any shop bought stuff dying on me!

[farah]

Ooooh gonna hafta thread jack ever so slightly cos my local Hurrans is so lovely and randomly placed its almost surreal they have a nice selection, big sale on atm, cafe and yeah clay pots cost a bomb but they look so niiiice, B&Q, Focus are really good for out door plants/trees :)

http://i44.tinypic.com/20keqo0.jpg

bargainious ^^

http://i43.tinypic.com/2z9acg3.jpg

dream garden item^

[farah]

http://i41.tinypic.com/2cp9h4y.jpg

tanks set out in an aquarium style^

:potflowers:

http://i40.tinypic.com/1413vvd.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/eqwb40.jpg

on the walk to the centre ^

[~Obsidian~]

I went to my local garden center today (not B&Q but it's decent!) and I looked at all of the plants, really wanted to buy a fruit plant but they were so expensive, plus the only proper fruit they did have was a lemon tree, which was 15 pounds. I didn't buy it because it is an indoor plant, I really want some fruit trees for outdoor!

[Riz]

^

http://i43.tinypic.com/2z9acg3.jpg

dream garden item^

Thats a beauty i would love that, what was the price tag!!?

[Riz]

It gets really exciting when the spring bedding plants arrive in march, then you get really vivid colours everywhere,

[Kirsten]

Oh my gosh, you guys have to stop tempting me!!!

For some reason I'm getting loads of seed magazines in the mail - I have no idea why as I certainly didn't sign up for any of them ?? I ordered seeds from a company in the summer, but they're not the same name and not even coming from the same state, but that's the only place I can think of. Weird! And BAD! Because now there are SO many amazing gorgeous seeds that I want to buy..

[Riz]

Oh my gosh, you guys have to stop tempting me!!!

For some reason I'm getting loads of seed magazines in the mail - I have no idea why as I certainly didn't sign up for any of them ?? I ordered seeds from a company in the summer, but they're not the same name and not even coming from the same state, but that's the only place I can think of.

sometimes seed vendors sell your details on to other websites who then market you with same style products.. its mass address harvesting, companies through out the world do it, its big business


let me know what you need kirsten, i may have them in my seed collection, in a PM if you wish....

and merry xmas kirsten... :)

[farah]

Thats a beauty i would love that, what was the price tag!!?

Because its actual stone it cost £89.99 (not in the sale) but yeh i instantly fell for it and there was a bench like it as well

[farah]

I went to my local garden center today (not B&Q but it's decent!) and I looked at all of the plants, really wanted to buy a fruit plant but they were so expensive, plus the only proper fruit they did have was a lemon tree, which was 15 pounds. I didn't buy it because it is an indoor plant, I really want some fruit trees for outdoor!

Pear trees!

[~Obsidian~]

Aye they had those too..conference pear or something like that..but my garden is nowhere near big enough for giant trees, I need dwarfs!

[farah]

Dwarf trees... plum tree? Apple tree...? Our neighbor has grown a conference pear tree... the fruit from it is sweet and so fresh... we all have tiny gardens here so it does lean in to our garden but it doesn't matter and it leaves them with loads of fruit to share :)

[Riz]

some great bargains on pots and stuff at the diy hypermarket..

these green plastic troughs were 3.00 pounds last season and because its January they are down to 1.45 so i bought 4 maybe ill plant the garlic seedlings in there and sow some radish seeds in the troughs as well... bought some soil as well, dunno why !!!

[~Obsidian~]

AAAAAAAAAAH!!

I went to B&Q....

Bought a 150L bag of compost (thank God for cars and brothers!) and some dahlias, these wierd looking flowers (can't remember the name will check in a mo), four rose bushes (4 for a tenner, got a pink, red, orange and yellow), collection of sunflower seeds, and sweetcorn seeds.

Also got 3 x 5 packs of 4" pots, and a pack of 5" pots.

:tree-huggin:

[Riz]

nice shopping trip oby..

i have jars of sunflower seeds, all kinds all strains.. single large headed, multi-headed, african queen ( reddish flower) :sunny:

[~Obsidian~]

:D there were about 4 varieties in there? Some red ones too :D

[~Obsidian~]

I am attempting to put pictures up straight from my phone. My goodies (minus compost):

no working, sorry :(

[~Obsidian~]

attempt 2

[Tania]

The flowers are beautiful(i didn't expect the dahlias to look so good-when you said weird flowers). And, in the sunflowers pack you have 3 types :)

[Kirsten]

bought some soil as well, dunno why !!!

because gardeners can always use more soil :)

[~Obsidian~]

The flowers are beautiful(i didn't expect the dahlias to look so good-when you said weird flowers). And, in the sunflowers pack you have 3 types :)

The dahlias are loovely, the weird flowers are the dutch ones below, the bluey yellow ones. I have 5 types in the sunflowers pack :D

[Tania]

The dahlias are loovely, the weird flowers are the dutch ones below, the bluey yellow ones. I have 5 types in the sunflowers pack :DNow if you mentioned, the lilies are strange flowers indeed. I like the way in which are packed the flowers. Here we don't have seeds mixtures.

[Riz]

nice shopping trip.. i still have a few dahlias culms/bulbs laying around, and i bought the same pack of sunflower seeds you have but 2 seasons ago and i have been collecting seeds ever since, now i have around 5 jars full of seeds :)

[~Obsidian~]

I bought a couple of Dahlia flower bulbs yesterday...the Arabian Night ones!!! :DNow I've got the same dahlia bulbs that I grew years ago, the red/white ones and these red ones :D

And I bought a mixed bag of Gladioli toooo :tree-huggin:

Gonna have some colour in my garden this summer inshaAllah!
:sunny:

[tahir_phoenix]

Obsidian and Riz - I was so impressed with ur early gardening shopping that I couldn't wait till March to do mine!! I had a mini shopping spree whilst down at the local wilkinsons store which has just this week stocked up with millions of seeds. The plastic cups were from the local morrisons and everything came to just under a tenner!

Do u think I have enough radish seeds? :rolleyes: I read Riz's thread on Radish and the health benefits of this veg and am totally hooked!

Also has anyone grown sweetcorn yet - I can't find any info on muslimgrower!

[~Obsidian~]

:eek:

GO TAHIR!!! :D Awesome shopping trip dude! I LOVE WILKINSONS!! Thats where I did alot of my shopping last year.

Is that mooli I see?! Didn't know you could get the seeds here.

Hmm yeah I'm attempting sweetcorn this year too, sajid tried it last year but it didn't work out well for him.

:sunny:

[UmmZubair]

I tried sweetcorn last year; not very sucessful. From what i've read you need about 10 plants (and the space to do it). Plant in a 'block' formation to allow for wind pollination.....takes a lot of space and only a few seetcorn. Personally wont ry again. Dont know about the small ones tho, the sort you see in stir fries :confused:

[~Obsidian~]

Hmm..I wasn't planning to have that many plants..
The feedback from growing in the UK isn't very encouraging, but I'd still like to try it nontheless!

[tahir_phoenix]

I tried sweetcorn last year; not very sucessful. From what i've read you need about 10 plants (and the space to do it). Plant in a 'block' formation to allow for wind pollination.....takes a lot of space and only a few seetcorn. Personally wont ry again. Dont know about the small ones tho, the sort you see in stir fries :confused:

Yes I read in my gardening book they need wind to pollinate but it didn't say u needed so much space - I have enuf space in the garden but becoz the soil is very poor quality for veg growing I was thinking of growing in a big container - I'll have a go seeing as I already bought the seeds :)

[tahir_phoenix]

:eek:

GO TAHIR!!! :D Awesome shopping trip dude! I LOVE WILKINSONS!! Thats where I did alot of my shopping last year.

Is that mooli I see?! Didn't know you could get the seeds here.

Hmm yeah I'm attempting sweetcorn this year too, sajid tried it last year but it didn't work out well for him.

It sure is Mooli - even called Radish Mooli on the pack :p I agree wilkinsons is brilliant, we used to have a NO FRILLS place which was even better, especially for pots and quality compost but sadly it closed last year :(

[tahir_phoenix]

i bought the same pack of sunflower seeds you have but 2 seasons ago and i have been collecting seeds ever since, now i have around 5 jars full of seeds :)

:eek: 5 jars of sunflower seeds!!!! you've got enuf to grow a whole field of sunflowers - how many seeds do u get from one sunflower??:confused:

[~Obsidian~]

I'm going to this 'No Frills' place this weekend inshaAllah :sunny:

If this branch is still open :eek:

[Riz]

NO frill does not exist anymore its called "hypermarket DIY " now !! i know i go to it all the time :)

[Riz]

:eek: 5 jars of sunflower seeds!!!! you've got enuf to grow a whole field of sunflowers - how many seeds do u get from one sunflower??:confused:

the sunflower head was 2 foot radius, so around 500 seeds from one flower head, bloody huge and 12 feet high.. lots and lots of seeds, given hundreds and hundreds away to friends in america/canada/itlay.... and still have jars full of the stuff.. if you need any ( you know what to do ) :)

[~Obsidian~]

2 foot radius?! :eek: SubhanAllah!

[Riz]

^ i had some in the front of the garden, so huge unreal, my laptop crashed 3 seasons a go and all the pics went with it.. sometimes i use to open the front door and i use to get people staring at them, "did you grow them" they would say, LOL. i had to tie them to the fences as the head would get so big it would swoon to one side...

[tahir_phoenix]

I forgot to mention Wilkinsons are doing an offer on seeds, buy 2 get the 3rd one free, not sure if that applies to the London branches but its worth checking out!

[Riz]

One more thing Wilkinsons sell "liquid sea weed extract" for only 1.99 and thats the cheapest i have seen online , and at B&Q its 2.99. it will be great for your chilis and tomatoes and its all natural..

one more thing the slug and snail killer( blue pellets)in wilkinsons is the cheapest around, so make sure you grab them if you go there next time...

[farah]

Wilkos are superb for gardening supplies, they have a massive selection

[edibles]

lidl have got fruit trees for £4
and seeds for 47p(large) and 28p(small pack)

[~Obsidian~]

Aye my mum was saying lidl rocked in the garden dept I should go there, planning to get some fruit trees!

I went to Focus DIY today (formerly known as no frills) wasn't really impressed, B&Q were cheaper for pots, and the plant prices were pretty average.

[Tania]

The seeds for the vegetable garden:
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/8891/legumelf3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
and the flowers seeds:
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/6717/floriiu2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Riz]

very good tania :)

you are going to have fun in the spring :)

you got some garden peas as well :GreenThumbs: :12:

[tahir_phoenix]

Thats excellent choice of veg and flowers! Is that pumpkin I can see in the bottom left corner??

[Riz]

So after work today,, took my camera with me to see this seasons bedding plants and to see if they had any offers :)

I visited focusDIY first..
plenty of bedding plants are now in.. and lots of vegetable seeds. some as cheap as 99 pence :)

[Riz]

rows and rows of bedding plants , and lots of various troughs and containers

[Riz]

lots of garden compost/soil and lots for growing tomatoes :)

[Riz]

bought a few seed packets and nothing else, then i decided to drive up to B&Q to see what they had on offer..

the garden centre looks packed with all sorts of flowers and fruit trees and palm/bamboo plants..

[Riz]

indoor palm trees ( i think) and some orchards..

[Riz]

bamboo plants quite big really....

[Riz]

bought some chicken manure/pellets and a bag each of compost and top soil.

[Tania]

very good tania :)

you are going to have fun in the spring :)

you got some garden peas as well I bought the peas after you told me about them :) I am ready to begin my garden work soon after the winter pass-the soil its frozen now. I bought a pack of gladiolum and an orange climbing rose too.

Everything look so good in your pictures, I didn't know there is soil for tomatoes.

Thats excellent choice of veg and flowers! Is that pumpkin I can see in the bottom left corner?? Yes, i like pumpkins. They are delicious cooked in oven.

[Riz]

I bought the peas after you told me about them :) I am ready to begin my garden work soon after the winter pass-the soil its frozen now.
.

are you going to use a trellis or some sort of bamboo fixture for your peas to grow up.. !?

[Riz]

i had this as a sticky in the garden shed, and it didn't get many views so now i have moved it into the flower section as a sticky.

Its very interesting read and i think we should all read it with a nice cup of tea or coffee..

http://www.muslimgrower.com/discussionforum/showthread.php?t=123

[Riz]

well, went shopping today..

got a big bag of garden mulch, slug and snail killer and some tomato nutrients... took my camera to the store, they had some new bedding plants, taken around 10 pics and then remembered the memory card wasn't in fully and no pics were taken.. ha ha!!

[Riz]

everyone should get some slug and snail killer, no point of leaving it until they are munching on your new shoots huh !!

the slug killer and the tomato feed both cost 1.99 pounds each from hypermarket diy formally known as no frills

[~Obsidian~]

No frills is still no frills near me...

Also it's focus DIY...

[rainbox]

I have a garden centre about ten minutes walk away:) I often got here when I'm bored to window shop, but most things are so expensive there! They have some nice herbs though, £1.99 each or 4 bigger ones for £10... Hmmmm... :D

[rainbox]

the sunflower head was 2 foot radius, so around 500 seeds from one flower head, bloody huge and 12 feet high.. lots and lots of seeds, given hundreds and hundreds away to friends in america/canada/itlay.... and still have jars full of the stuff.. if you need any ( you know what to do ) :)

Do you have any dwarf ones that would work in a bucket? :D

[Riz]

Do you have any dwarf ones that would work in a bucket? :D

you know something !!!

I did as well, miniature sunflowers, i collected loads of seeds aswell 2 seasons ago but the seeds moulded in the glass jar because i dint let them dry out....

i have lots of veg seeds though !!?

[rainbox]

you know something !!!

I did as well, miniature sunflowers, i collected loads of seeds aswell 2 seasons ago but the seeds moulded in the glass jar because i dint let them dry out....

i have lots of veg seeds though !!?

Oh well:rolleyes: to be honest I think I probably have more seeds than I have room for anyway, so it's probably a good thing. I just can't resist free seeds:D

[rainbox]

I went to the garden centre today and did some window shopping, I found some cool things!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3653/3327773429_e51d928a47.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3639/3327771473_637be57e77.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/3328605506_6c20373278.jpg

Yummy thyme, which one shall I buy?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3574/3327792601_61f33b1a9a.jpg

[rainbox]

And yes, they have over prized pots too!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3391/3327794177_7abf13b57d.jpg

This lavender is the only thing I bought in the end, it was in the bargain plant sale and cost me £1.50

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3639/3327796721_2757525059.jpg

Now what do I do with them, can I cut them down completely and let them grow new shoots, or is it better to just plant them and hope for the best?

[Riz]

pic 2 is excellent :)wish i could do that

and the pots just by looking at them, i know they are over priced....

the lavender is probably ready to be planted, you could if you wanted to cut one or two back and just pot the rest , just to see if it makes a difference..

ive seen pics of narrow boats on the net with flowers growing in special bags that hang on the side of the boat, they look really cool... just like a floating garden :)

[rainbox]

pic 2 is excellent :)wish i could do that

and the pots just by looking at them, i know they are over priced....

the lavender is probably ready to be planted, you could if you wanted to cut one or two back and just pot the rest , just to see if it makes a difference..

ive seen pics of narrow boats on the net with flowers growing in special bags that hang on the side of the boat, they look really cool... just like a floating garden:)

Thanks Riz! Do you mean the processing or the photo in general? Because I bet you could do the photo as you seem to know your way around a camera and the processing is really easy too^^ I just use Gimp (http://www.gimp.org/downloads/) which is a free program, check it out!

I've cut three of the lavenders back, re potted them all into bigger pots and potted one of them in its final position. I thought I might stick them around the other vegetable containers later to attract bees:)

Hmm that hanging flowers over the side is a really good idea, I'll have to look into that! :D

[Foz]

we went here the other day

http://www.baytree-gardencentre.com/index.html

didnt actually buy anything..just had a look around..so much stuff!!

and they had peacocks walking around...

i was tempted to buy some chickens lol

[Riz]

there is a great gardening sale at LIDL, right now, lots of nutrients, fertilizers , plant ties etc... and gardening tools really cheap.. even compost and soil.
here is a link to the lidl magazine were you can browse on-line... pages 12 and 13


http://flip100.net/scripts/showbook.asp?ID=10000213_581080&OpenDocument=

[Riz]

I ran out of compost and soil today, so i went to focus DIY to pick some more up.....

i decided to not buy the soil from them and picked up some nutrients and fertilizer for flowers and veg, really cheap 99 pence each :)



some pics i taken

[Riz]

drove up to B&Q


lovely hanging baskets..

[Riz]

lots of seeds on the rack at my local BnQ along with other great plants and fruit trees..

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC04572.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC04573.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC04571.jpg

[noora]

thank you RIZ

[~Obsidian~]

Give it a couple of weeks and they'll vanish! Hmm...I have to buy some compost, but my closest shop closed down...what to do, what to do, what to do..

[samcanbe]

And .... which ones did you buy, Riz? :)

Talking of garden centers.... am I lucky or what? Just got hired at the largest nursery in Ontario to look after the aquatics and tropicals sections! weeeeeeee

http://www.gardencentre.com/

Hopefully I get employee discount once I start working :D

Samie

PS: one of the interview question was like, " do you often shop here?"
I was like, "Duh!" ... I prolly almost spent ~85% of my biweekly paychecks there last summer.

PPS: Here is an amazing section of another nursery in Ontario, a bit away for me to travel so I often just mail order stuff from them; http://www.richters.com/show.cgi?page=./SeedZoo/seedzooindex.html

[Riz]

aquatics and tropicals section thats awesome, congrats on your job too...

hmm i got a few fragrant seed packs, like nictonia and some scented stock, but will go back and get some veggie seeds to :)

[Foreveryoung]

some palms

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/DSC02027.jpg


omg
omg
omg

How could I miss this amazing thread :wub: Well Done Riz. I love those clay pots btw :)