Yep, far damper! Total rainfall is higher, but more importantly it falls on many more days and humidity is higher year round. Rainfall rises rapidly as you approach the hills that surround Manchester to the north, east, and southeast, and it is extremely wet at altitude.

Summers are considerably cooler and particularly so during heatwaves. Winter temperatures depends on exactly where you are. Inner London warmer than even the city centre here, but temperatures in the surrounding countryside (eg. Cheshire and Lancashire) don't get as cold as the inland home counties like Hertfordshire and Berkshire. Again, it gets a lot colder as you get into the hills.

Everyone complains about allotment waiting lists but there are several local allotments that appear to be completely or partly abandoned. The ones at the junction of Kingsway and Didsbury road are probably completely abandoned and some in Stockport appear only partially used. The ones on Craig Road in Stockport are a good example where some plots are definitely active but others seem to be abandoned.

Thank you!
Well, the tree fern will appreciate the humidity. We've got other ferns which will flourish there - the new garden is quite shaded at the bottom by nearby trees. It's all an opportunity to try new plants, though I've got to remove the three large privets hogging the sunniest bit. The previous owner was very keen on shrubs but they've been too densely planted. There is a cotinus which I might keep and a contorted hazel. Also an aucuba but it's in the wrong place - as it's quite a young plant, do you think I could move it successfully, say in September? But two Pyracantha, flowering currant, chlorotic rhododendrons, two laurels, buddleia, ceanothus, two spirea, two tall growing cotoneasters - all a bit much in a thirty-five foot garden! I like shrubs more an more (they were edging out the herbaceous plants in my last garden) but those are not what I would choose.

As for an allotment, I think I could probably get a plot on a less popular site but Stockport is perhaps a little too far to go. Actually I rather prefer to garden on a site that is not too highly organised - my plot was on a large, fairly dishevelled site where you could dig away in peace and not get too competitive.... when the site secretary got too bossy she was ousted in a nicely anarchic coup! To be fair, she seemed to take it well and still gardens there..... but I digress. Will dust off my bicycle and explore a little further!

Christina

That sounds like my garden! Where Buddleia, Ceanothus, and Pyracantha do well, consider a smaller more choice shrub like a Daphne. I have a Laurel too but it is just too big for a small garden. Flowering Currant also gets pretty rampant and growing Rhododendrons on alkaline soil is a fools game although plenty try it :)

I have moved small Aucubas in spring. Usual rules, pamper it for the first summer. You could move it now, summers aren't usually too tough for a new plant here. Or take cuttings.

Daphnes = now they are very choice. Since my garden is fairly enclosed, fragrant shrubs would be effective. How big does D. aureomarginata get?

I'm in Manchester this week - does it ever stop raining here?!

It's not stopped raining anywhere in the UK for weeks. Or so it feels!

I'm sorry, but you missed summer. That was two weeks ago ;)

Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata' is an excellent choice. I think it has the best scent of any Daphne and that's saying a lot, plus its evergreen. The standard lists show it at 1.5m, but I've seen one twice that height. It grows fairly slowly, you'd have to wait many years for it to exceed the 1.5m. Usually it develops somewhat wider than it is tall. There are other species in a variety of sizes if you need something a little smaller, right down to true alpines that will never get bigger than a football.

Philadelphus is another fragrant shub which does well here, available in any size from a couple of feet up to small trees. Check out Didsbury Park in a few weeks time, the whole park is filled with the fragrance of these shrubs on a warm evening.

Blimey, small world. I live in Chorlton, and yes, allotments here are all pretty booked up. I gave up and got one 10 mins away in Stretford/Urmston on the Chadwick Park site - seems very friendly with lots of people/families/young women and crime seems fairly slim. And several vacant plots at the moment.

I think most of this area has acid clay and it's fairly damp, but being fairly close to the city it tends to stay a few degrees warmer than places further out. We have a walled garden and it's pretty sheltered.. the most awkward thing is keeping tender-ish plants dry over winter. Roses do very well here - just noticed that in your profile!

..and if you do move oop north near here, I'll happily do lots of plant swapping. :D

Melanie

Thanks, Shrubs n'bulbs. I agree Philadelphus has a gorgeous fragrance but it can be a bit dull out of flower (and get rather big). I had one in the last but one garden but it was a bit odd because I never could detect any scent from it at all. I also fancy a viburnum but which one.....?

Actually I think I've got problems - now the trees at the bottom of the gardens of the houses behind us are in full leaf I realise that I lose the sun by 2pm!! Why plant horse chestnut, lime and sycamore in a garden? And the shadow will only get longer each year. I'm tending now to think in terms of foliage and ground cover. My other half is happy - he likes ferns. I love roses, though - am scouring the catalogues for those happy in woodland conditions. At least I get a good window for spring bulbs.

Hello, Melanie. Thanks for telling me about Chadwick Park allotments, will investigate. I think I will invest in a little plant house to overwinter my tender plants - I like to keep my ger...sorry, pelargoniums, going from year to year and they will definitely bite the dust. My soil doesn't seem to be clay, though. We had a metre deep trench dug for a new water main and it's nice dark and loamy right the way down. Haven't had the chance to do much digging though as we're still frantically decorating.

Plant swapping - great. Especially if I get a plot, will have to grow all the things I can't in a shady garden! What are your favourites?

Christina

There is a lovely Philadelpus cultivar called Aureus which has bright yellow leaves and looks excellent in a shady corner. It grows to about head height although mine is only half that. The flowers are small and single and don't have the strongest scent but they do smell. I have some small plants from cuttings if you can't find it.

I don't know so much about Viburnums. The Burkwood hybrids smell good, also V. x bodnantense, but they are all pretty big. V. carlesii is very nice and a bit smaller. My favourite is V. opulus (not the pom-pom one) for the berries but it is big too.

I have a lot of shade but can't say I'm overwhelmed by most plants that I grow in it. Brunnera 'Jack Frost' is great, I like the ephemerals like Cyclamen, Bluebells, Foxgloves, and Snowdrops. Dicentra formosa is good with sufficient water. My best moist spots are reserved for Meconopsis, and I have a Cardiocrinum flowering this year.

If you don't mind me asking, whereabouts around here are you moving to? Can't help being nosy when you're local!

I think the more vigorous roses like ramblers tend to tolerate woodlands more, and the tougher species ones like R. canina.. Some of the ramblers would look spectacular if you had a tree you could grow one up.

Most of what we have is a good loam, really - it's on the clay side of things rather than sandy, but that does mean it's very fertile. As for me - I grow lots of things in a cottagey/wildlife garden stylee.. Fruit/veg, ferns, woodlandy plants, roses, clematis, the occasional tropical thing like Passiflora..

There's lots of little nurseries around here (ish) that I'd recommend, btw. http://www.shrubsdirect.com is out towards Knutsford way. http://www.chorltonnursery.com is a lovely little local nursery. http://www.primrosecottagenursery.co.uk/ is nearer Man. Airport. It's taken me ages to find out about all these independent nurseries - they're far better value than the big garden centres.

Hope that helps!
Melanie

Main difference one will notice when moving to Manchester from London is that you will no longer have to speak to your plants - the locals will actually engage you in conversation. Chuckle, sorry couldnt resist..