[Riala]

So I moved into my new property yesterday, and I was greeted with this Garden. Bees and Butterflies everywhere, but I can not actually move out there!

[Riala]

[joyfull]

What a very very pretty garden, bit like an old fashioned cottage garden 

[Bernard]

Well, they all look like ultra-reliable plants. Perhaps a touch overgrown. You could dig out all but selected plants of each species, then it can develop without losing anything.
I have foxgloves and I have to remove seedlings from all over the garden endlessly.

[Riala]

I would love to keep it the way it is, but I have no idea what to do with plants/flowers.

The Lavendar was clearly cut back a lot, can I do that again, or do I have to wait till the end of the year?

The Floxglove are dying now, do I cut them down?

There are sage, lemon and mint plants in there somewhere too!

[DIGGER]

Brilliant,do what you want. This time of year you can see what you want,thin it or get rid,it will all come back next year.

Get a little wheelbarrow for the little boy,he seems able to help,as for the reflection in the window on the last picture,confused man in red shirt,give him a beer and tell him to sit on the bench.

Enjoy

[Riala]

Hehehe, Man in a red shirt is my allotment partner and my son's godfather, oh, and my hired photographer hahahha!

Yep, definitely getting the wee man some more gardening tools, he loves helping out at the allotment.

[barney rubble]

looks lovely and colourful and cottagey.
Hope your move wasn't too stressful - I usually end up living out of boxes for months, never being able to find anything, and never having the time to find anything either, so usually end up buying duplicate items!

[Riala]

Not as stressful as previous moves to be honest.  Already unpacked nearly everything, just need to go back to the old house for a few other bit's and pieces.

Thanks!

[sclarke624]

Riala bear in mind Foxglves are poisonus, so watch the little one.  Have long sleeves and gloves on if you are going to cut them down and watch out for the little one.  Touching it can give you an allergic reaction i.e. hives.  Obviouly ingesting it could be fatal, not that you are likely to.  Hope I caught you in time before you did cut them back.

I do have them in my garden, they were there when we moved in.  Since grandson was born I do take them out as he has a thing about smelling flowers.  He is just 20 months old, better safe than sorry.

[Riala]

I wasn't going to cut them back... should I?

I do watch him when he is out there, but I have never seen him attempt to eat flowers, although he does like to smell them!

[mumofstig]

Riala bear in mind Foxglves are poisonus, so watch the little one.  Have long sleeves and gloves on if you are going to cut them down and watch out for the little one.  Touching it can give you an allergic reaction i.e. hives.  Obviouly ingesting it could be fatal, not that you are likely to.  Hope I caught you in time before you did cut them back.

I knew foxgloves were poisonous if eaten, but causing an allergic rash..........never heard of that one before
and did you know that even the daffodil is poisonous and a skin irritant............so IMO it's no good panicing about everything that grows...just make sure they don't eat anything without asking first

[Riala]

Never heard of Foxgloves causing rashes either, and he has brushed past them loads of time.

Going to start cutting back soon, as some of the flowers in the garden are looking a little sorry for themselves.

Dead-heading and weeding, nothing too drastic.

[sclarke624]

Ok so long as I have passed the info on I feel I done my duty.  Two of my friends got very bad rashes from touching them from gardening.  You can also get headaches and nausea from touching them.

[catllar]

Lovely jumbly garden - some people work for years to get one like that! It looks to me that your foxgoves are biannuals, so if they've finished flowering they are now going to set seed before they die off, so I wouldn't waste time cutting 'em back, just hoick 'em out if you don't want a proliferation next year.