What are we doing in the garden 2025

@lizzie27 thanks yes I've used old CDs before but they're heavier.

 

The flatten part in the wildflower - raised bed wasn't done by a cat but a little fox. Since then, this fox comes every night into the garden and destroys something. Last night, it broke both lavender that were planted into the upper part of the raised bed and all soil from the bed was lying in front of the raised bed. I had to sort this out.
Another issue is that my neighbour to the right doesn't take care of the bindweed. I had to take out two older ferns on the left side. Since then, I have to dig out daily on both sides and take out new bindweed shoots.
I wonder why I spent money and efforts to create my 'Japanese' border (which is to the right of the compost) if a careless neighbour and little fox can ruin everything.

 

Had a week away in Devon and came back to an infestation of ermine moth webs on my cordon apples so i spent some very satisfying time removing the webs and their contents and after a good squishing consigned them to the bin. Looks like a hefty crop this year. Apples that is !
Whilst away we visited RHS Rosemoor which far exceeded my expectations and the roses were stunning and also picked up some good general ideas. Bought an unusual rose whilst there called “ Eye of the Tiger” which has hibiscus like flowers , very unusual .
Since getting back i have had several long days in the garden and finally starting to feel that the neverending list of jobs has reduced to a list as long as my arm.I hate the situation where , at every turn, everything you see needs attention.
The blackbirds are still in residence in the woodshed, theyre wedged into the nest like sardines, 4 youngsters i can see and they are clearly very comfortable and not ready to fledge yet. The amount of insects the parents are bringing in suggest local gardeners are doing a grand job.
Anyway a lighter day in prospect today , some seed sowing , climbing borlotti and courgette and some direct sow annuals .
Expect to sample my first attempt at first early potatoes very soon.

 

I'm sorry about your fox damage @simone_in_wiltshire . Not something I've experienced tho I did once see a very raggedy looking fox lurking near our bird feeders. That's OK except we have chooks so I let the dogs out and it ran.

No dogs now so I looked up ways to deter them - Gardeners' World Nederland: tuintips, adviezen en inspiratie Might be of help to you.

I'm just having my morning coffee and building up to another day of hard slog but today the plants are smaller - perennials rather than shrubs - so no deep mining needed tho there'll still be some big stones.

 

Maybe when the young fox matures he/she wont treat your garden as a playground.
Neighbours are an entirely different animal !

 

I don't particularly like having foxes in the garden as they dig, but I'd rather have them than some of the feral weans round here @Robert Bowen....

Nothing much done yesterday apart from putting some mulch down around the new hedge in the back garden, as it kept raining, and got a bit more persistent by mid day, so had to resort to indoor jobs. Hopefully, today will be better as it's to be mainly dry and sunny. Have to go out later to see daughter, but might get the grass done when I get home as it should have dried out a bit better by late afternoon. I have a few more plants to put in, and various pieces and bobs [as other daughter used to say when she was little] to attend to. Front garden needs some plants put in to the bed there. I have a Rowan grown from seed which I need to find a place for.

 

I have never liked feral weans , sadly most places are badly infested nowadays and there appears to be no effective treatment for the critters. A fox trots through the garden most nights but apart from leaving the odd deposit theres been no digging and clearly en route somewhere more appealing.

 

That’s my hope, Robert. Once grown up, the fox will be too heavy to jump over the fence.

My neighbour rents the house and the owner avoids additional costs. Funny enough, he has a garden waste removal company and could use a digger, but wants to be paid by the house owner.

 

Started weeding and digging up tulip bulbs in another border.

 

@CarolineL The orchid is Brassia verrucosa. The photos show the original plant which is in flower now. The parts that had been potted on and now potted on yet again are in Westlands orchid compost. Not brilliant but the best we can find these days.

 

Interesting @lizzie27 and @Logan we used old CDs on the plums and cherries in the orchard. The pigeons, blackbirds and magpies took no notice and just cleaned us out of the fruit even when they were green.

 

That's looking great @On the Levels ! I must admit that I've found the bags of orchid compost so poor, I just make my own. I buy bark chips (2 different sizes depending on plant type), lump wood charcoal to snip into little bits, lava stone (the white stuff like large perlite) and slow release fertiliser.

 

I painted the remains of the clematis stump with SBK and covered it all with plastic to keep the rain off while it works - hopefully.

I then tackled another clematis, this time in a pot which hasn't looked too happy for the last couple of years. Tipped it out with great difficulty and found what I suspected, totally potbound and extremely dry (despite me keeping it watered. Had to hack the rootball to pieces before I could dispose of it. Tipped what was left of the dry soil into the compost bin and watered that well.
Felt so guilty, I watered all my pots thoroughly and resolved to do better.

 

I’ve never had a Clematis thrive in a pot. The roots are really big and tough aren’t they @lizzie27. I had to ‘retire’ one this year too.

I’ve potted-on all my poly greenhouse plants and some are in their final pots. I’ve faffed about with a Californian Lilac which was flopping and sprawling - not sure if I can cut that back a bit harder, after flowering, this year to keep it a bit more compact.

 

I fed my Foxes tonight, watching them feed, well the football
was quite boring.