Helloo from Wales. :)

[Marie]

Hello all, My name's Marie, but call me Mazz.

I love gardening.. (Well, why else would I be here..) I've never been too good with flowers, but fruit and veggies are my forte. Despite the 'Great' British Summer, that consists of rain, rain, fog, wind and the very occasional glimpse of that big, orange ball you guys call "The Sun", I'm not doing too terribly with my veggie patch.

I have a huge garden, in which I have an assortment of fruit trees, a greenhouse, and roughly half is now dedicated to my vegetable growing. After 6 years in this house, and 4 years of attempting a veg-plot, I have finally reached a stage where I consider myself self-sufficient in terms of veg. Whilst there are some types I still would like to try out (pumpkins, aubergines (eggplant) and sweetcorn to name a few), I very rarely buy any veg in at all, as I'm stocked up on seasonal produce all year round. It's time consuming, but very much worth the effort.

I'm here to learn, to share my own experiences and tips, and hopefully soon, I'll have a fair understanding of flowers too, and why I can't seem to even keep a simple plant alive, never mind thriving and blooming. I'd love for my garden to be both practical and beautiful..

So wish me luck!

 

[Jed]

Well hello there Mazz. Welcome. You are certainly well set up and well versed in fruit and veg .I'm sure you will have lots of advise for many of us.

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome!

 

[Marie]

Thanks. I certainly hope I can help out as many as possible. Everything I know has been a result of trial and error and more recently, subscription to a magazine called "Grow your own", I'm not sure if it's available in the US, or even if it would be as useful, as it is based around the UK climate and what can be grown here. (I know there are different zones in the US as it's so huge, but I've no idea where the UK comes into this..)
www.growfruitandveg.co.uk

There's still a lot for me to learn, and I'm sure this forum will help immensely.

 

[zigs]

Bore da Marie & Croeso

 

[Marie]

Aha. Heyy!
Diolch yn fawr.

zigs, looking at your location, it says USDA Zone 9 for Somerset; would this be the same for me, in Snowdonia, North Wales? I've always wondered how it's worked out. Makes no sense at all to me!

 

[zigs]

iawn.

Used to live in Blaenau Ffestiniog, not much good for gardening between the slate heaps though, sun doesn't come out till 10.30

Depends what part of Snowdonia,

http://davisla.wordpress.com/plant-zones/

 

[Marie]

Blaenau Ffestiniog? Wow, small world. I'm in Manod!

I know what you mean, but we have an ideal spot here, the house and garden are just at the right angle for where the sun comes up, so the plot gets sunshine from about half 8-9ish til 3pm (Would be later, but we have the cemetery opposite, and the sun goes down between the trees)... That's when we actually get sunshine! Summer.. my favourite day of the year

Thanks so much for the link, that's perfect.

 

[zigs]

Blimey, I was in Rhiw, other end of town Do you know Gary Richardson, used to go out with Mair? Think she lived in Manod.

 

[Jed]

Looks like an interesting magazine Mazz. If I was in the UK it would be a consideration to subscribe.
Not sure what what my area of coastal Tasmania would be on that scale mentioned in the link. The colour coding was a bit confusing and I'm sure the temperatures were not correct. I guess it's more what we have learnt from our own gardening attempts and I'm sure Marie you would be an expert by the sounds of it. Looking forward to your posts.

 

[TheCrazyPlantLady]

I just love Wales! I lived in London for two years in my early 20's, and I spent some time in Clwt-y-bont and Cemaes Bay while I was there. I visited one of the old castles, which was amazing, and got a chance to wander around the ruins of an old round stone house near a dig site. I'd love to go back one day

 

[Marie]

I love all the heritage around here too, castles especially. You get huge castles such as Caernarfon, built by the English trying to keep the Welsh under control, but my favourites are the little ones; Harlech, & Dolwyddelan, built by the Welsh as a rebellious streak back.. There's so much history in everything around here that I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Especially when most of the castles haven't been capitalised on yet and it's free to wander around with no barriers or restricted access etc.
If it was Anglesey (Cemaes Bay) you were visiting, it may well have been Caernarfon or Penrhyn Castle that you saw.

Where are you living now?

 

[TheCrazyPlantLady]

I think it was Caernarfon, the name sounds familiar. I loved living in the UK - for me it was like living in a fairy tale with all the ruins, old houses and pubs, it was great. Being in Wales inspired me to buy (and read!) the Mabinogion. I loved the old stories. I'm currently in Eastern Canada - in Ottawa, Ontario. But we will be retiring back to the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. It's a beautiful area, with a number of huge lakes, acreages, wineries. But very little history. I love Canada, but sometimes I wish I still lived across the drink.