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Sarah

@poddersgardenpottering

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🌸. Discovering the magic of gardening
🌸. Planting all areas. Pots/gravel/lawn
🌸. Seed sowing & saving obsessed
🌸. Staffordshire, UK 🇬🇧

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My back garden is a completely paved area, so everything I grow here has to be in a pot or container.
You’ll sometimes hear that certain plants can’t be grown this way, but as you can see from the photos, I’m here to tell you that they can! The possibilities are endless, and this year I’m trying even more varieties of flowers, plus trying to expand the veggie area in pots and raised planters too. Join me on my journey @poddersgardenpottering
🪴🌼💚🌸

#containergardening #pottedgarden #plantsforpots #gardengram #iggardeners by @poddersgardenpottering

After showing you my back container garden last week, I wanted to share the front garden with you too. Although I’ve always loved flowers, I didn’t start gardening until my late 40’s, and since then my whole outside space has completely changed. The side gravel garden has been transformed from a practical bricky area, with literally no plants other than a huge bush and dead tree in the middle - to one that bursting at the seams with blooms. As well as the borders around the gravel, I also have 2 raised beds there now, which last year became a dahlia bed and a pollinator paradise! The front lawned area has also been completely overhauled - and each year I seem to lose a bit more lawn to create more space in the borders 🤭. Last year we also added a small island in the middle for a new magnolia tree. And the fenced area down the side of the driveway became my nicotiana wall, which looked amazing when they were all in bloom.
It’s now become my passion and it really is the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. It’s also wonderful that Mr.P has been immersed into it, so it’s something we do together. We’ve got lots of plans for the gravel area this year, which hopefully we’ll manage to achieve, and I really hope you come along for the ride with me @poddersgardenpottering 🌸.
Happy growing my lovely gardening friends 💚 by @poddersgardenpottering

I’m enjoying my dahlias so much right now, so there’s no way I’m chopping them down yet!
Once the first frost arrives and the stems turn black, that’s when I’ll start thinking about it. Even then, I’ll keep the tubers in the ground for 1 - 2 weeks (as long as the ground isn’t frozen). Apparently, this helps the tubers cure & develop eyes for next year’s blooms, and also means we have a bit more time to start lifting!
I do understand that gardening panic that we all get - thinking that everything needs to be done as soon as the weather turns a bit colder. But due to illness over the past couple of years, I’ve really had to slow down and stop gardening like a whirlwind. I’ve been lifting my tubers later and later and in that process have learned a very valuable lesson. That is ‘stop rushing’ - your garden will survive a mild frost, and no damage will be done to your tubers until temps reach -2° and below. That’s when the soil will freeze and your tubers wont have the protection of being underground.
So enjoy your blooms while you can, and please try not to panic if you get a mild frost. The flowers and foliage can look scary when they turn black, but it’s just your first sign that it’s time to think about getting out the tools and start storing for Winter.
Are your dahlias still in bloom like mine, or have you already lifted the tubers?

Follow @poddersgardenpottering and I’ll show you how I lift and store my tubers when the time arrives 🌸.

#dahlias #gardenjobs #tooearlytochop
#inmygarden #ﬂowerlover by @poddersgardenpottering

Hello October 👋. It’s one of my favourite months in the garden with loads of flowers now looking their best, like the dahlias, cosmos & anenomes.

Even as some plants are dying back such as the echinacea, teasel & agastache, their seed heads are joy to see - adding interest to the garden & seed for the birds 🐦 🍂.

Happy October #gardengrammers - I hope your gardens are still bringing you lots of pleasure 💚.

You can follow along with me @poddersgardenpottering to see more of the garden throughout the seasons 🍂🌸.

#octobergarden by @poddersgardenpottering

Yesterday the weather was terrible so instead of being in the garden, I stayed inside and started on some autumn wreaths instead 🍂.
I’ve been asked to make one with lots of purple included, and here’s what I came up with. I’ve made it using a mix of my own dried flowers, orange fruits, honesty & ivy - mixed with faux flowers & foliage so that it lasts throughout the season. I’ve started on a couple more, which hopefully I’ll finish by the end of the week 🤞.
Follow along with me @poddersgardenpottering to see my other creations as the seasons progress 🍂🎃🎄.

#wreathmakingseason #homemadewreath #makeyourownwreath
#floralcreations #craftlover by @poddersgardenpottering

I’ve seen loads of these wreaths over the internet which are made using any old material you’ve got lying around, so I thought I’d give it a go!
The first one is an old pillowcase, and the second was a tatty jumper that was ready for the bin. Just be aware that the thicker the material you use, the more time it takes to push it into the foam ring, but the effort is definitely worth it.
You could add little pumpkins or acorns for an autumn vibe, or baubles and holly for the Christmas look 🎃 🎄.
The options are endless, but I really like them just plain, with a nice ribbon at the top to hang.
What do you think - would you try this one yourself? I’d love to see your creations if you do 💚

Follow along @poddersgardenpottering for more garden & crafty ideas 🌸💚

#crafting #makeitmonday #viralwreaths #reducereuserecycle #makeityourself by @poddersgardenpottering

We’ve just come back from our caravan break, and while we were there I collected a carrier bag of washed up seaweed from the beach. I last did this in April too and have only just run out of that batch of fertilizer I made. Hopefully, this batch should take me right through winter and into spring 💦.
I’ve used seaweed as it’s easy to get hold of, but I’ve also used banana skins & potato peelings in the past. You could also use comfrey, dandelions, nettles and loads of other things to make your own.
As wonderful as it is for our plants, it can be a really messy and very stinky job when decanting it, so I found this lidded filter bucket which holds 55 litres of water and separates your ingredients. This isn’t an ad, I just thought I’d show you incase you’ve been thinking about getting one too.
Do you make your own plant food? I’d love to know what you use and how it works for you 💚🌸

Follow along @poddersgardenpottering for more hints and tips when growing your garden 🌸.

#makeyourownfertilizer
#gardeningonabudget
#gardeninghintsandtips
#flowergarden
#plantfood by @poddersgardenpottering

This week we had a death in the family, and I was asked to make a floral tribute for the funeral.
Making something like this feels very special, so I tried to make it as beautiful as possible for my cousins final farewell.
🙏💐

#floraltribute
#funeralflowers
#funeralcross
#flowersfrommygarden
#finalfarewell by @poddersgardenpottering

Over the past few days we’ve finally had some lovely downpours of rain and it’s made such a big difference in the garden already. The flowers look brighter, the foliage looks greener and the soil no longer looks like the Sahara desert 🏜️. So here’s a few stills, captured while the raindrops were glistening on the flowers & making them look even more beautiful 💧🌸💚.
Has the rain reached your garden yet?

@poddersgardenpottering #raindropphotography #raindropsonflowers
#flowerstagram
#gardengram
#gardenglimmers by @poddersgardenpottering

If you’re looking for a plant that gives unbelievable value for money, then Thunbergia has got to be on your list! Theres only 1 plant at the corner of both my barrel planters, which I’ve trained to grow up the string and along the top of the shed to meet in the middle (for reference, my shed is 13ft long and 9ft high).
This year it’s spreading even further as it seems to love the hot weather, so I’ve had to add even more string for the tendrils that have grown from the middle of the plant!
Last year, it was the end of September when both sides met in the middle, so this year I think the whole shed is going to be covered by time it’s finished growing!
Such an amazing plant - which were £2.99 each from our local garden centre. So if you’re looking for a climber for next year that will cover a huge space for you in late Summer/Autumn and lasts for months - then I highly recommend this little beauty! 🌸💕

I’ll keep you updated here @poddersgardenpottering so follow along if you’d like to see how it does 💚

#climbingplants #thunbergia #pinkflowers #containergardening #fyp by @poddersgardenpottering

I’ve been saving these flower heads in envelopes for months now, and finally got round to sorting a few of them out into seed packets.
Such a satisfying job, hopefully meaning lots of free plants in 2027 🎉.
Have you starting saving your seeds yet?

@poddersgardenpottering #seedsaving #collectingseeds #freeplants #gardeningtips #cutflowergarden by @poddersgardenpottering

It’s taken a few weeks, but this weekend we finished our new pond 💦.
I couldn’t be happier with how it looks, and it’s such a lovely place to sit and relax. With the sound of running water & watching the fish swimming among the plants, I think this has got to be our favourite garden project so far.
What do you think? 💚💧🐠

#gardenpond #makeyourownpond #pondplants #inmygarden #fishpond

Solar waterfall gifted from @poposoapsolar
Pond plants brought from @kidsgrove_tropicals_
Wood purchased from our local wood yard.
Pebbles purchased from @bandq_uk
Pond pump purchased from @allpondsolutions by @poddersgardenpottering