I would probably give Alan Titchmarsh a stroke if he came to see my garden, but I have been trying. I have even made my roses grow (although one died before it even started). Look - and it even sticks to the wall.

I love my plants though I'm not a good gardener at all.

I live in the middle of a town in a rented house so there's concrete everywhere, I've got some pots outside with herbs growing, another plant which I'm not sure of what it is, and a couple of hanging baskets. I did have carrots and beetroot planted but my cat got caught short outside one day and decided that she needed to use that pot as her litter tray the little monster that she is, so my seedlings are

I have a couple of questions about what I've growing but to ask them a couple of pics would be best posted so I'll take them as soon as I can and come back on here.

Ah haaaaaaaa!!

Next door finally got a gardening firm to come in and attack their ivy. Now this was only 2 days ago and I'm not sure if they are finished but by the looks of things I hope they will be back. You should see the state of her garden!

I have just been out into my garden and attacked the ivy that is trying to take over. Sadly I can't reach on top of the shed so that will wait for Mr Mouse to attack. I have stripped the back wall of the dreaded stuff and so now will go on the hunt for the any little shoots that dare to show their faces.

Can anyone give me some tips on getting rid of the damm stuff??

I did have some planted in my garden (yep, bad move by me!) but am now being taken over by that and next doors giant ivy too. I have chopped all my ivy at the roots and am waiting for it to die but next doors keeps on marching into my garden. I did get bold last week and sprayed the ivy with some week killer but it seems the stuff runs off the ivys shiney leaves and does nothing

So, short of using a flame thrower has anyone got any tips for removing the dreaded ivy??

Oh what a great group to find!

I am what I call a "I'll do it in a minute" gardener. This means I am full of good intentions but never get around to doing whatever needs doing. Result....one bedgragled looking garden!

A few months ago I decided to rip my garden to bits and gave everything that was a staying a severe haircut. The bushes that were going go dug up and put on the council compost heap. I had a bay tree that I go with no more than 7 leaves on a few years back that was now 6ft tall. Sadly we forgot to dig the roots up and here it comes again. See, something else I never go around to doing!

Well, today saw me get my self ready to plant up some beetroot and runner beans. Have I done it? Course not!! I have been out there, hung the washing out, brushed the dog, read a magazine, inspected the roses and come in. Well, I have the seeds so that's a start

Hello All,

First off, I would like to say that I have not the greenest fingers in the world so, what some may see below as shocking, I see as a major achievement.

The patch in front of my house to the right of the front door has always had roses in it. The garden is overgrown to say the least (and that is after the major clearance operation last year) and I have decided to put up some white climbing roses (the lounge window is above). I have chosen two different types:

White Night and Iceberg I can't find any reference anywhere for 'White Night' rose which I bought in Homebase this morning, but it apparently produces clusters of semi-double white scented flowers. We shall see.

The problem I have that our soil is very dry and rubbly and roses like a well drained soil, so I will have to keep an eye on the watering I suppose. Any further suggestions for taking care of roses?

I know it's a little late to plant roses, but they're still available, and I'm thinking of getting another type, perhaps a different colour. I like the idea of roses climbing up the wall. Here are some pics:

BEFORE (scuppered by a couple of thunder storms)

AFTER (I got all the weeds I could  - I know I will have to keep an eye on them, the dandelion roots are quite deep and anoying)

It's not perfect, I know, but I need to settle them in. You can see what awful soil I have to put up with. Methinks working some more compost would be good. And once the (inevitable) third thunder storm hits, then I can reassess the weed situation.

Here is the Iceberg:

And here's what I'm hoping it will look like in full bloom:

Right, now all I have to do is tackle the area to the left of the front door, which currently looks like this:

Gil. x

So because of the wonderful advice (especially this gem ) I got after this post, I finally got around to repotting my plants last week. Unfortunately this has not resulted in their miraculous recovery as I was hoping for.

Still, check out Bruno and Sidney in their damn swanky handmade Czech pottery. (And yes, the tiny pot beside Bruno is the one he used to live in. I know I'm a bastard )

So any more advice on how to prolong their miserable lives would be muchly appreciated.

So this is my tree. I bought him about a month ago, and since then he has been looking increasingly sad-looking. Which upsets me, as I don't know how to cheer him up. I talk to him, I gave him a name, I water him every two days and feed him plant food stuff every week. The care instructions were rather limited, vaguely telling me to keep the soil damp. There's also plenty of sunshine and the room is nice and warm. It's a Pachira Green Star, dunno if that means anything to anyone...

So here you can see that he looks all droopy and sad...

And here you can see that pot that he lives in. Maybe it's too small?

And a close-up of the discolouration.

Do you have green fingers? Help other gardeners out.

Do you have a beautiful garden? Show us the pictures.

Are your plants feeling poorly? Ask other gardeners for some hints and tips.

Or do you just want to talk about your motivations for gardening, how it makes you feel, or share some stories? All are welcome here in the BCUK Gardening Group.