Hello, I am a 72 year old living on a hillside in Wales we have very sloping land (not garden) with a thin covering of shale, therefore most of the flowers need to be in pots. I have a 10x8 greenhouse, not heated, its shaded and down 13 steps so carring much is not on, The Good points are that we have a long leanto on the North side of the house where this year I have had some success with geraniums, (but not enough) We also have a Balcony 55ft long by 12ft at tree top height on the South side of the house, its open to the sky, this area gets very as you would imagine.

Now my question I want abundance of colour next year , I would like to have some stimulation through the winter growing plants for colour and scent also pot plants for the home and stuff my wife can cut for arrangements. I cannot heat the undercover areas but I can fit soil warming cables if required.
What can any one suggest. I love scent and colour, cant lift much and digging is out of the question, perhaps I should take up stamp collecting or train spotting. Proff

In article , prof prof.1tijk0@gardenban
ter.co.uk writes

Hello, I am a 72 year old living on a hillside in Wales we have very
sloping land (not garden) with a thin covering of shale, therefore most
of the flowers need to be in pots.

haven't you seen what they've done at the alternative technology centre
in Macchynlleth? That used to be nothing but shattered slate ;-)

Now my question I want abundance of colour next year , I would like to
have some stimulation through the winter growing plants for colour and
scent also pot plants for the home and stuff my wife can cut for
arrangements. I cannot heat the undercover areas but I can fit soil
warming cables if required.
What can any one suggest. I love scent and colour, cant lift much and
digging is out of the question, perhaps I should take up stamp
collecting or train spotting. Proff

Geraniums will carry on flowering through the winter if you keep them
frost free - I have one in an unheated porch. They're also easy to
propagate from cuttings, which gives a bit of amusement over the coming
months.

Otherwise, look at extending the season for 'garden' plants, and giving
shelter to borderline hardy plants, rather than looking among
'greenhouse' plants. Nicotiana sylvestris gives knock-out perfume in an
enclosed space and will take you a long way into winter (and will come
up again next summer and repeat the process). Sweet peas also. Early
daffodils will be even earlier under cover and again you can go for ones
which are scented.

Nasturtiums are good for colour and again will just keep going way into
winter if you can keep the frost off - try some of the neater non-
trailing varieties, there are some with variegated leaves if you like
them, others with attractive blue/grey leaves, and colours through from
orangey-yellow to deepest red. Eccremocarpus is an easy climber from
seed (but susceptible to greenfly) - again, try some of the varieties as
well as the plain old orange one.

You might be able to manage Brugmansia in the lean-to, moving it to the
balcony in the summer - hanging trumpets nearly a foot long, heavily
scented, in various shades of pale pink, yellow, cream and white. You
can grow it from seed, or pay large prices for ready grown plants.

I have a heated greenhouse which I use partly for cacti and partly to
amuse myself learning more about plants. I sow most of my seeds in the
spring, and use the greenhouse to give a little more protection to
plants over their first winter (and to keep the slugs off), and also to
start off spring bulbs in pots. I grow mainly perennials which means
there's always a satisfying amount of tending required during the
winter. Sweet peas do well planted in the autumn, and things like
primula are best sown fresh, so that is something else to do at that
time of year.

For pure scent don't forget obvious things like wallflower and night-
scented stock. Some people are enthusiastic about Zaluzianskaya -
strongly scented tiny white flowers backed with purple - but I'm not
fond of it, and it's susceptible to red spider mite.

Someone else will be better able to advise on pot plants and flowers for
cutting.

My husband has been shoulder surfing and says that it's a good idea if
you can manage it to have room for a couple of chairs in the greenhouse
- it's nice to sit and have a cup of coffee in a colourful tropical
oasis in the middle of winter.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"prof" wrote in message
news

Hello, I am a 72 year old living on a hillside in Wales we have very
sloping land (not garden) with a thin covering of shale, therefore most
of the flowers need to be in pots. I have a 10x8 greenhouse, not
heated, its shaded and down 13 steps so carring much is not on, The
Good points are that we have a long leanto on the North side of the
house where this year I have had some success with geraniums, (but not
enough) We also have a Balcony 55ft long by 12ft at tree top height on
the South side of the house, its open to the sky, this area gets very
as you would imagine.

Now my question I want abundance of colour next year , I would like to
have some stimulation through the winter growing plants for colour and
scent also pot plants for the home and stuff my wife can cut for
arrangements. I cannot heat the undercover areas but I can fit soil
warming cables if required.
What can any one suggest. I love scent and colour, cant lift much and
digging is out of the question, perhaps I should take up stamp
collecting or train spotting. Proff
prof

Hello Proff,

You could try some bulbs. They are easy to grow in pots and come into flower
earlier in a greenhouse.
Hyacinths and narcissus smell nice in spring and In summer lily's smell amazing.

I'll look up some more for you later today.......
Jenny

Kay wrote:
[...]
My husband has been shoulder surfing and says that it's a good idea
if
you can manage it to have room for a couple of chairs in the
greenhouse - it's nice to sit and have a cup of coffee in a
colourful
tropical oasis in the middle of winter.

I must have mentioned it here before, but I'll carry to my organic
grave a sight I saw from the GWR (may we Brunel fans call it that
again?). There was a greenhouse, and there was nothing in it at all
except a bloke in an armchair reading a newspaper. I don't do heroes,
but if I had to, he'd be one of them.

--
Mike.