"AngeTheUnsure" wrote in message
...

Welcome to URG Ae......are you a child if the 70's ? Your name instantly
made me thing of the Rolling Stones :~))

Hi All, Just found this forum so hope it can help. This is the 2nd year
I've actively been 'doing the garden' - leaving it to Husband in the
past to get on with it. I convinced him last year Perennials were the
way to go - come up year after year, might be expensive at first but
well worth it in the long run. Now I've managed to get myself into
trouble by not knowing how to look after this stuff! Example:

Hardy Geraniums - Cranesbill - Just cut them back for new growth, as
reached 4' high and leaning sadly to the side. Do I cut them back again
in October'ish?

I tidy them up a bit for the winter and you can always do it again in spring
before they really take off. You can use bits of twiggy branches to support
them (and other 'floppy' stuff) Stick the twigs in before the plants get
going and they will cover the twigs as they grow up through.


Rose bush - I planted it last Summer, it's called 'Rhapsody in Blue'.
He's told me to cut a particularly long stalk, saying It's a Sucker, as
there aren't any buds on it ... so I cut it and now discover according
to the 'Expert' book it probably wasn't a sucker...

He Ho - never mind. It will grow back :~)) Suckers grow from the root stock
that the rose is grafted onto. Here's a site with info about suckers, so you
can tell the difference:
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/r...202028813.html
and here's one about rose pruning:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...26as_qdr%3Dall


Achillea - a Red/Pink variety that grows to about 4' tall is now more
than 5', in full flower and listing badly. Do I cut them back in
Autumn please?

They die down in winter so tidy up once the plants get messy looking.

w do I gather seeds from Delphinium - do I wait for them to dry ON
the plant, or take them off now and put 'them in a paper bag to dry off?

Leave on the plant as long as possible to ripen. Then tie a bag around the
seed head before cutting it off. This way you won't loose any seed when you
tip it upside down :~) Hang up somewhere dry so that the seed is 100% dry
before sorting.

See? Sooo many questions that I don't expect to all be answered here,
so if someone could suggest a GOOD book, I've a couple of Readers'
Digests that don't really go into stuff for beginners like me, the
Expert' soft backs - got a couple of them, again not really for the
Beginner..

Pop down to the local library and see if they have a book you like to look
of. You can then order it or try to get one from eBay etc if its out of
print.

Thanks all in advance,
AngeTheUnsure