buddleia Black Knight

That is the trouble with buddleja Fran it will flop around a bit. Mine is weighed down with water at the moment and dangling over the lawn, but well in bloom. I should think all my plants are delighted to get a good watering at last.

I've never grown it before (apart from the mini-Buddlieah "buzz" which didn't take to it), so I've no idea what's right. I sort of imagined it to be more solid, shrubby foliage with the spikes coming out of that.

I could corral it a bit, put some support round it attached to the fence to help it stay upright. but i plan to move it so it'd need similar support in its new home

My buddleja is in full bloom. Best so far. About 6 ft tall in spite of being cut well back. It is supported loosely with a support pole and an elastic luggage thingy,pole knocked in with a rubber hammer. Seems to work OK. I don't want it to become a raging beast like the one next door! Buds will grow anywhere, out the top of the chimney if they can.

I've corralled mine with string from the fence post to thee decorative metal hooks in the ground, and back to the fence: added another, lower, length of string for the shorter spikes, that's got most of them off the ground. it'll do for now. maybe later I could do something more permanent and stronger. This is my first go with Buddleia, so I've no idea how it'll go

Haven't been on GOY for a while Fran. No troubles just busy in the garden, trying to keep it getting too dry. Even had some beans last night as part of evening meal that I grew in my last minute beanery, very tasty. The buddleja is very colourful this year. I have had to hose water even the shrubs as so little rain.

oh, wow, growing your own veg - somthing I've been thinking about - on and off, a bit more "on" recently. startign to build my own raised bed from old bricks I've found around the garden; could build quite a tall one, the number I've found!
I've got four water butts, 100 litres each; no idea hoow long they'll last with a full growing season, i mean with more than a fwe plants. hope i find out soon!

Hi Fran, nice to hear from you again. I have some potatoes in a corner where I put soil out of pots. Somehow potatoes started to grow there. The naught y fox has had most of them. Leaves claw marks in the ones she doesn't eat too. The ones I have eaten were tasty served all ways. I usually buy those tiny ones you can get now. Chives is another crop as well as apples pears and blackberries.

lol i first gtrew potatoes when i lived in a flat with a built-in window box! i had some spuds that were going hairy, so i planted them, and forgot about them. Some of them actually took. when i saw something growing, i remembered, and pulled them up; had enough small potatoes for one meal.

have tried it a few more times, with less success. have read that you're supposed to get proper seed potatoes, not hairy ordinary ones! I'd like to try properly, but oh, the problem i had finding out when they should be lifted; plenty of advice about how to plant and look after them, nothing on when to harvest. eventually i emailed the site and asked "WHEN" and found out, got it written down - somewhere!

I'm going to plant some spring onions i bought and see what happens there; apprently if you leave enough stem on the root, they'll take. these are whole ones i haven't yet got round to munching, so i might try those.

i'm building myself a raised brick bed - rebuilding cos one side turned out longer than the other by about half a brick! gives one end an elegant curve which isn't quite what i had in mind. then i can try some home-grown; but how to store? can't see me being able to grow a year's supply of fruit or veg!