What are we doing in the garden 2025

Have had to move HF Young clematis as it’s not grown at all since I planted it. It did have one flower on it but after that died off, nothing, zilch growth. I do know that some clematis take a while to settle, creep and grow but this plant was showing no signs of growth at all. Leaves were turning an odd shade too. Think our sunny border is maybe too hot for it. When I took it out of the ground there was a very poor root system on it. I’ve potted it up in a deep clematis pot and hope it does it ok over the coming months.
On the plus side, our clematis Piilu is absolutely beautiful and full of buds and flowers. I stopped counting buds when I reached 70.
Planted out a new, small hardy geranium that I got at a local GC this morning( went to get some more compost) and OH bought his first Canna Lily. He’s so pleased with it and has read all about it regarding care etc. It’s

 

Spent a few hours yesterday planting out my annuals into the garden and did a couple of my summer pots. Also made a note to myself not to grow so many Cosmos and Rudbeckias, I’m running out of spaces to put them in. I sowed extra this year as germination was so erratic last year, of course this year germination and growth since has being spectacular and

 

It's always the way isn't it @Butterfly6 ! I had the same problem with tomatoes, and they aren't reliable enough outside here, so I'm having to give some away. I might manage to cobble together a bit of shelter for a couple of them.
Only potted on a few things yesterday, planted out some borage and divided/planted some aquilegias, as I was at my daughter's for a while. Spent most of the time I had watching the birds bathing in the pond and laughing at their high jinks.
I've now made a list of things to do, and hopefully will get a few of those done today before the weather changes back to more normal stuff.

 

I think that what we bought is better than old CDs but have to have a lot because we have a lot of bushes, yes they'll eat them before ripe.

 

I had problems with mine too @Songbird. It started off OK with a couple of flowers, then started to flag. I moved the pot into a shadier location and it remained ungrateful so it's now gone .

The only clematis I've ever had success with here is Etoile Violette. It never complains and flowers reliably every year. I've recently planted a climbing Hydrangea and a Lonicera which have settled in well. We know who our friends are .

I hope your clematis improves @Songbird .

 

While not a clematis grower I believe that they do best when planted in soil (not pots). They are an 'undergrowth' plant and emerge from shady circumstances to enjoy the brighter sunny conditions as they flower.
Pots likely get too hot/dry; the mean soil temperature for Uk is around 13 deg C (max 16.6deg C at 1metre*). Old fashioned gardeners would plant clematis under rock pile to shade the soil surface; guess a paving slab might do.
*see British Geological Society for more info

 

You are right @infradig, they prefer a cool root run. All the clematis I have tried to grow in the past have been planted in the ground on the opposite side of the arch where my Etoile Violette is, apart from the recent disaster of H F Young. When I rang the supplier, a well known specialist, I was told that as the plants are raised under glass where the temperature can reach 30 degrees C, they can take a while to adjust and need to be acclimatised for three weeks when planted in spring. I did this but it still wasn't happy. Too fickle for me, I've given up .

 

Mine was planted in the ground @infradig and still performed terribly, like @Plantminded . I’ve shifted it to a shadier spot but it will go the journey if it doesn’t buck, just like @Plantminded ’s one did .

 

My one and only peony flower

 

That's just gorgeous @Penny_Forthem. My peony in the front garden has 3 good blooms, the one in the back garden has none.

I'm cream crackered having worked nearly all day digging plants and roots out of a narrow border. I've also dug the excess soil out and bagged it up to use as mulch after the forecasted heavy rain tomorrow. Then I can put the 3 obelisks in and plant the sweetpeas as a temporary stopgap.

 

My white peony is just opening too @Penny_Forthem. P. Duchesse de Nemours. It's not got too many stems unfortunately, as I had to alter the bed it's in, so it'll be a year or two before it's looking decent.
I'm going to disagree with some of the clematis posts. I've decided I'm growing virtually all of my Group 2 and 3 clems in pots or specially constructed, small raised beds. The only ones that do well reliably are right up against the house wall. It's just too wet for them. Some are very easy - like E. Violette, and Rouge Cardinal, but others just get annihilated as soon as they appear due to slugs and rain. They need to stay longer in pots before planting too - even ones which are several years old, to let them strengthen up, and for the stems to get woody and robust enough to withstand the rasping. I'd also never put rocks/stones etc around the base. Just another place for those slugs to sit and wait for that lovely soft new growth, and they don't need any encouragement. The record breaking spring we had here made a big difference- too dry at soil level for them to be as problematic as usual.

 

Clematis . Funny isnt it how where we live can make such a difference. I had a summer flowering clematis against the northwest corner of the house , beautiful purple flowers , maybe jackmanii , prolific anyway. It was too prolific on that corner so i excavated it , chucked it in a big plastic pot intending to put it somewhere new. That was 3 years ago , the past two years with insufficient soil and an abundance of neglect it flowered reasonably well across the gravel . This year i planted it in the spring in a spot , south facing but shaded at the base and its repaid me with a load of flowers.

 

@Penny_Forthem My paeonies have gone over now. The photo was taken on May 6 and i was delighted that over a two week period i had about 20 flowers on that one plant. I have 5 and each gets bulkier year on year and produces more flowers. I do very little to them , some mulch twice a year and a sprinkle of growmore and a supporting hoop. I did put plenty of grit in the base of the planting hole and maybe that is paying dividends but i am sure next year you will get more flowers and that one is a beauty.

 

Beautiful paeonies @Robert Bowen.

Found a big hole in the garden this morning, much to our surprise! What kind of animal made this overnight? I fear a rat is most likely but was it digging itself out or in?

It's right on the edge of the lawn, on top of a rather rough wall.

 

@lizzie27 I wouldnt like to say what has made that hole whether rabbit , rat , fox , badger etc but it wont be beneficial in your garden. Droppings might give a clue.