Aquariums and gardening.

[esoxlucius]

I'm on holiday for a couple of weeks and the weather's quite pleasant so I've been tinkering in the garden. I always keep the tags that come with plants for care guide reference. I was reading through some of them today and it surprised me just how far afield my collection comes from. Many originate from Europe, Asia, the Americas, all hardy variants of the originals of course to cope with the UK climate.

Very similar to my eclectic aquarium stocking really, lol. And as you can see from my back garden photo I'm trying to cram as much in as is possible. What is it with the huge selection of damn plants and fish. I just can't help myself.

I've asked the wife if we can make this planted section bigger.......she said NO!!!! I'm beginning to get a bit sick of that word, lol.

 

[Deadeye]

Nice garden!
I love the palm! Chinese Windmill? Do you have to bring it in for winter or is it warm enough in jolly old England?

 

[esoxlucius]

Nice garden!
I love the palm! Chinese Windmill? Do you have to bring it in for winter or is it warm enough in jolly old England?

I'm not sure of the variety. That palm was a rescue from a friends garden when they moved so I've no label for that one. I liked the look of it, so they told me to dig it up and take it, lol.

It's not doing that great really, which to be honest is exactly what I expected! Maybe I should have put it in a large pot and, like you say, bring it in in winter. If it recovers this summer i'll need to have a think about what I do with it during future winters.

 

[Deadeye]

I'm not sure of the variety. That palm was a rescue from a friends garden when they moved so I've no label for that one. I liked the look of it, so they told me to dig it up and take it, lol.

It's not doing that great really, which to be honest is exactly what I expected! Maybe I should have put it in a large pot and, like you say, bring it in in winter. If it recovers this summer i'll need to have a think about what I do with it during future winters.

I tried the palm tree thing. It was one of the cold hardy ones (Chinese windmill), but I live right on the zone that it cannot tolerate below. It made it to February before finally giving out. I don’t exactly have a green thumb though lol.
Potting it for winter is probably a good idea for best chances of growth.

 

[esoxlucius]

There are some real similarities between keeping plants and keeping fish.

The acidity/alkalinity of the soil plays a huge part, as with fishes water. The temperature also plays a big part, as with fish, and you'll eventually get to the stage where you can't fit any more plants in, as with fish in your tanks. There are all kinds of variety and colours, as with fish.

Two great hobbies to be interested in really. Thing is, i'm not that brilliant at either, but I enjoy trying, lol.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Nice garden!
Looks like we have a lot in common.
I love my gardening, unfortunately I don’t have a soil garden as much as a concrete one so everything is in pots.
Winter is always a fingers crossed time when we hope the palms ( windmill and Cordylines), will survive, as I am up north in the harsh UK weather, again a bit like inheriting those unwanted fish from a friend and hopeing they will survive in your harsh cichlid community as it’s the only space you had.
Thing with both hobbies is that you have to be either an eternal optimist or a sadist to want to do them!
I still don’t know which I am ………or in deed which I prefer to be! Optimist I am not!!!!!!!

 

[esoxlucius]

Nice garden!
Looks like we have a lot in common.
I love my gardening, unfortunately I don’t have a soil garden as much as a concrete one so everything is in pots.
Winter is always a fingers crossed time when we hope the palms ( windmill and Cordylines), will survive, as I am up north in the harsh UK weather, again a bit like inheriting those unwanted fish from a friend and hopeing they will survive in your harsh cichlid community as it’s the only space you had.
Thing with both hobbies is that you have to be either an eternal optimist or a sadist to want to do them!
I still don’t know which I am ………or in deed which I prefer to be! Optimist I am not!!!!!!!

Even plants planted in the ground have a hard time in winter. Anything planted in pots and it becomes a lottery. They dry out quicker in summer, are more prone to frosts in winter and generally don't do as well anyway because they easily become pot bound so I know where you're coming from on that front, lol.

I find it is very similar to a planted aquarium really. Some plants don't do well whatever you try, so you just stick to the hardy tried and trusted varieties. That approach has served me quite well so far in the garden......and my fish tanks, lol.

 

[Fishman Dave]

Is the sycamore tree in a pot one of your hardy tried and tested types?!!!!!

(Guessing it’s not what it looks like)

 

[Stanzzzz7]

I'm not sure of the variety. That palm was a rescue from a friends garden when they moved so I've no label for that one. I liked the look of it, so they told me to dig it up and take it, lol.

It's not doing that great really, which to be honest is exactly what I expected! Maybe I should have put it in a large pot and, like you say, bring it in in winter. If it recovers this summer i'll need to have a think about what I do with it during future winters.

Your palm looks like trachycharpis fortuni, spelling is probably wrong from memory. These are one of the hardiest palms you can get for the UK.
They can suffer when small so I would add fleece and straw in the winter. Once they hit about 4 foot they become a lot tougher. Should survive uk winters OK.
I'm also a keen gardener and grow palms, bananas and tree ferns amongst others. With a little work and research it's amazing how tropical you can make a UK garden look.
Fish keeping and gardening are great hobbies and the two can become intertwined. I fertilise my plants with dirty pond and tank filter water and collect leaves, fronds and botanical from my garden for my tanks. Also have a turtle pond in the garden so both hobbies are very much linked.

 

[esoxlucius]

Is the sycamore tree in a pot one of your hardy tried ants tested types?!!!!!

(Guessing it’s not what it looks like)

Lol, well spotted. There is a nice little story behind that. At work we have a building with big diesel tanks in which we use for fuelling our wagons, fork lift trucks and loading shovels. There is a huge old sycamore tree at the side of the building, and the "helicopter" seed pods fall, and then begin to grow in spring. But over the years the whole area has become diesel soaked due to spillages.

So basically the seed pods start to grow but quickly shrivel and die, there's just no nourishment for them at all....but a couple of years ago one seedling grew, it was pretty wimpy and wasn't doing well at all. I noticed it and when autumn came and it's couple of wimpy leaves fell off, I thought that was it, it would die and not come back this spring. But I was utterly amazed that this year, in may, little buds opened and tiny leaves popped out. I sort of felt sorry for the little guy and so dug it up and put it in that pot you see, and it is thriving.

As you well know, I can't possibly plant it in my garden, they are huge trees, honestly i don't know what to do with it, maybe keep cutting it back every year and sort of turn it into a "dwarf" variety. But well spotted on that one, lol.