Does the UK have a winter growing season like we do in So Calif?

Winter growing season? You mean plants that grow/flower in the winter? Not really, it's too cold and there are no insects about to pollinate the flowers.

In So Cal. you grow your lettuces and greens, broccoli, etc during winter. In summer the go straight to seed, its too hot. The nice part is you always have a fullgarden and veggies year round.

I'm so looking forward to rain, you miss it when you don't see it for 9 months at a time, and a good deal of your gardening time is taken up by watering. Since there is no cold snap, many apples do not grow well. Do black raspberries grow over there? They are my favorite. I grew up with those on the East coast of the US. They do not grow well in So. Cal.

Does anyone know where I can get the seed packets for bringing seeds into the UK? I'm trying to get seeds for Giant Sequoia. Something unusual to bring over. I also want to brig some of my favorite veggies and flowers.

What are the rules for bringing bulbs and plants from say, France to the UK? If I'm visitng or shopping over there, can I legally bring such things into the UK from continental Europe?

Most seeds can be imported without restriction. Though Giant Sequoia is readily available over here anyway.

"What are the rules for bringing bulbs and plants from say, France to the UK?"

Within the EU, there are very few restrictions. A very small handful of economically important species are restricted where there are pests or diseases which are present in France but not found in Britain (e.g. Potato Beetle).

Resin

No . . . faucets don't exist over here. We use taps ;-)

Resin

Attitudes and nomenclature are rather different over here as I have discovered from watching these forums for a while. Your 'garden' is everything around your house, including lawn, and is regarded as permanent, not something you 'put in' for a season. We grow most things direct in the ground rather than in special beds and don't make such a fuss about 'amendments.' Tell us where you will be living and we can give you more ideas.

So what is a hose pipe? Is that the equivalent of a garden hose? Does a hose pipe ban mean there must be an underground watering system in place? Southern California is actually a desert. We get water from the Yosemite Valley Dam in Northern California, and from Colorado. Shipping all my garden stuff will be cheaper than replacing it all when I get there.

How is the snail situation? I can't plant simple marigolds without the snails eating them.

Is there a ban on cutting Christmas Trees?

For instance, we don't do much canning, probably because we don't grown enough surplus produce in a normal-sized English garden.

There is virtually no land that isn't owned by someone, so going out and cutting Christmas trees isn't normal here. Large expanses of common land, e.g. Dartmoor and Exmoor, are usually for public recreation rather than public use. You can't just go out and bring a lorry-load of rocks back for your rockery, as you would in the US.

As flora also said, we usually work with things as they are, and we don't go in much for changing the soil we have in our gardens. It isn't common to put in an underground watering system, either. If we have a hosepipe ban, we usually go out in the evenings with a watering can.

With regard to plants, Cannas are usually regarded as tropical, although they might do OK in the south west. Although it stays warm in the winter, it is a long winter compared to what you're used to. For instance today, at the end of May, it's less than 60 degrees Fahrenheight. It will also be a lot less bright than you (and your plants) are used to.

In the winter, we grow cabbages and brussels sprouts. We pick them in the snow. Black raspberries aren't commonly grown over here, but you can buy plants.

We don't have gophers. These are members of the Geomyidae family, and they eat plant roots. We have moles, which are similar small rodents in the family Talpidae. They eat earthworms and insects and aren't usually much of a problem to gardeners.

From what you are saying here I think you really need to come and find out what it's like. Some of your ideas are way off beam, I'm afraid, including your concept of 'cool' if you think cannas like cool. Your succulents will likely end up as a slimy mush after a British winter of cold and wet. One thing you will have to get used to is the lack of sunshine, especially in winter. Temperatures may look similar to you but you need to remember that grey skies are to be expected. Any christmas trees you see growing will be sombody's crop, not wild native conifers, so for goodness sake, don't go chopping them down! Snails love our climate, as do slugs. I don't want to quell your enthusiasm but I'm afraid you are going to be rather shocked when you see just how small everything is here. Unless you are rolling in money you will find yourself with a very small area of garden in this area. (I live quite near Bristol) There are many compensations to living here but you need to come without preconceptions.

Also, you don't say whether you are student or faculty. If the former how long will you be here? Will it be worth investing a lot of time and effort in a garden? I find it really hard to believe that it is worthwhile bringing all that stuff with you. You are moving to a nation of gardeners and you will find everything you could possibly need to garden here, with very little trouble. You may even find that the range of plants available is greater than you are used to. What's more it will be suited to the local climate. I have been looking at these forums for a while now and the whole concept of gardening seems very different in the UK to the States. We tend to view our gardens as long term fixtures which we tweak and maintain, not seasonal projects where we start from scratch annually, moving things around and altering them radically.

Instead of trying to reproduce a Californian garden here, why not try new things? For example, make the most of our long springs to grow bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, snowdrops, crocuses etc and the many spring flowering shrubs and perennials.

Best of luck. Flora.

Snails are a sore point with me right now - I'm downright embittered. Let's just say that one day I had young runner bean plants newly transferred, canes in place. And then there was none.

Have fun, anyway - I spent a short amount of time in your country and it's such a different experience being the other side of the pond, in either direction.

Marianne in Sweden