Carnations

[veggiechicken]

I may be being a bit urm........ but what exactly am I looking for VC. I have a spray carnation in front of me from the supermarket. It has a grey stem and knobbly lumps along it and leaves and then other stems growing from the side of the stem with flowers on the end. Which bit is the piping???

From memory, its a small sidegrowth just around the knobbly bit, or it may be just above a leaf. It will look like a little sprig of leaves (without a bud) and you can snap them off the rest of the stalk - and that's a piping! Can't find much on Google that would help.

[veggiechicken]

Try this They're tougher than they look - Telegraph

[stella]

Ahh now I get you. Off to have another look in the vase to see what I can pull off them. Many thanks

[Peppermint]

Try this They're tougher than they look - Telegraph

That's a really useful article. Thank you veggiechicken. I'm now going to be inspecting the reduced flower sections!

["GoingToSeed"]

I absolutely adore this idea VC, I will certainly be visiting my family more often now .....I've just moved into this property last october so not sure what will "pop up" this spring and summer....
but do you think they will cotton on when I ring them first to ask "Errm what you got growing in garden then?" think they will by summer with all the visits....

Most of my garden has been filled with free(ish) plants and flowers. The plants are renamed in the process too so there is Muriel's Red Robin and Ethne's Japanese anemones and so on. Both Muriel and Ethne were my husband's aunts, and both of them passed away some years ago. Their cuttings have become their memorials in my garden. So I can look around my garden and remember friends through their plants. So go and visit family and friends and take cuttings from their gardens and fill your garden with them.

[Newton]

The time you wil spend cultivating any plants is significant. If the seeds are only 29p but they are not as good as others costing more. The time and effort will be the same either way so but the best you can.

Saying that I bought 29p marigolds last year and they were fine.

[veggiechicken]

I absolutely adore this idea VC, I will certainly be visiting my family more often now .....I've just moved into this property last october so not sure what will "pop up" this spring and summer....
but do you think they will cotton on when I ring them first to ask "Errm what you got growing in garden then?" think they will by summer with all the visits....

Flattery is the key! If you go to the garden of any garden lover and admire something, tell them how much you'd love to have one of those in your garden and is it easy to grow, you can bet they'll say, here have a bit and try for yourself. Then you whip out the secateurs you always carry about your person and away you go. Carrying a spade around with you is not, however, very subtle!

[veggiechicken]

The time you wil spend cultivating any plants is significant. If the seeds are only 29p but they are not as good as others costing more. The time and effort will be the same either way so but the best you can.

Saying that I bought 29p marigolds last year and they were fine.

If I really really want to grow a specific plant/cultivar, I'll buy more expensive seed (NB I did not say better seed). If its a, "erm, they look nice" moment and they're only 29p. I'll give them a chance but probably not give them the TLC they might have if they cost £2.29.
29p seeds are for trialling - if they grow and you like the looks or taste, then maybe, next year, buy something more specific.

[stella]

Thats how I think VC

["GoingToSeed"]

Flattery is the key! If you go to the garden of any garden lover and admire something, tell them how much you'd love to have one of those in your garden and is it easy to grow, you can bet they'll say, here have a bit and try for yourself. Then you whip out the secateurs you always carry about your person and away you go. Carrying a spade around with you is not, however, very subtle!

I better brush up on "the ol' flannel trick soon then ...thanks for the tip on taking the secateurs with me, their's maybe old and rusty....only kidding.....and maybe a spade that just "Happens" to be in boot of my car ...

[veggiechicken]

.... and a couple of pots. boxes, bags to put your "cuttings" in.

[Jeanied]

Essential garden visiting items - something nice for the garden owner - (preferably growing and healthy, or nice to drink)- a pair of snips (secateurs are a bit obvious!) a plastic bag with wet kitchen towel inside, some paper envelopes / bags for seed heads and a camera and notebook.

[stella]

Methinks you have done this before J

[Datura]

Carnations/pinks

That's what I'm hoping. Lidl's seed packet doesn't have a great deal of detail. I have lots of veggie books but nothing about growing flowers.

I bought a packet of these from Lidl last year & they were about the only thing that grew (well nearly) they romped off . I started them in a cheap unheated propagator on a south facing windowsill put them in pots in the garden Planted a little line all along one border as well & am looking forward to the flowers this year. They completely dried out while i was on hols but were fine. A good tough old bunch

[stella]

Urmmm so did they flower the first year?