garden novice needs help

[bk1]

oh Fli I had not realised you were a mixture of Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh rolled in to one. I bow to your
horticultural genius and can only hope that my meagre efforts will bear fruit and flowers in the future.

[Ali]

Sept 24, 2012 7:31:49 GMT 1 bk1 said:

My geraniums at front are just all foliage now and I think the lady I bought them from said they were annuals (they have a more spidery flower and are used a lot in town displays and balconies )I guess I will just compost those.

NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO don't compost ! The French consider them annuals because if left outside they will die in winter. These are probably ivy leaf geraniums, the trailing type with masses of little petals. These ARE the ones you can keep for next year (along with other types) Leave them in their 'pots' and put them somewhere suitable (as above post)

Why not try a few cuttings too? Easy peasy. Just take off a piece (about 3" long) cutting at where a leaf is growing out of the stem, strip the first leaves off leaving about 4, take any flower buds off and either put the cutting into a glass of water (so you can see the new roots coming) or straight into damp compost.

[Ali]

PS: Don't heed the fli. I arrived home some years ago and he was grinning like a cheshire cat having apparently done some really good work in the garden. This worried me. He claimed to have cut all of the IVY off the rose arch. That CLEMATIS was about 5 years old

[bk1]

oh that is good news as they were a great size and I was loath to let them just disappear into the compost. At this rate I will have great displays next year like my neighbours. just need to get Mr BK working on making me new containers. We do not have a front garden and all my lovely ceramic pots were stolen this year. He has promised to make me long wooden containers
which will not be so portable.

I guessed Fli was being tongue in cheek whilst declaring himself a horticultural genius!