What are we doing in the garden 2025

Well that's one way of getting rid of them.

 

Well today in the garden didn't happen as I had a phone call from my optician telling me there was a cancellation this afternoon which I accepted and wish I hadn't. An hour's drive each way, with a follow up appointment next week. I was told all my lenses will need replacing (three pairs of glasses) and one frame replacement. It would have been cheaper to stay at home.

Back out there to tackle the Hebe and the Laurel stumps tomorrow hopefully.

 

I made little identification necklaces for some of my zinnias. I read that they have to be all dried out before harvesting. I want to collect seeds by colour and whether single or double. Yup, a rainy day really kicks up my A levels...

 

A free seeded elm grew near our gate since I was about 6 and it got about 7m tall before kicking the bucket, probably elm disease. Its been fully dead since 2023 and I decided with my minor forestry experience I would take it down.
It was a nice perch for birds and there were probably grubs in it but it was so sketchy and blocked light so goodbye!

Took about 3 hours sawing into peices with a crappy amazon pole saw that kept unscrewing itself. exhausting! big pile of wood to deal with tommorow. ill probably make a pile in a wood nearby for bugs to eat it. theres no elm there anymore so no risk of spreading.

 

A pricey trip @Sheal , but worth it if you drive. Eyesight has been in the news a fair bit recently, so it pays [literally!] to have your sight checked and new glasses bought if you need them, especially if it's for distance. My daughter has to have them for driving, so she was at the optician a few days ago too, as it was a couple of years since her last check up.
I sorted out a little area right at the back corner of the boundary yesterday. Not an urgent thing, as such, but I had a few bits and pieces which could fill it and cover up a bit of rough slope. I've got a piece of tree branch which will also cover the little board I used to make a tiny bed, so I might do that today. Other than that - more feeder filling, deadheading, and feeding the sweet peas. One pot has got quite a lot of spent foliage, so I tidied that a bit too. It's suffered a bit from the unusual heat, as it's in a sunnier site than the rest, although you always get some manky stuff when they're potted. Ironically, this year it's been so dry here compared to our normal weather, that I could have put loads in the ground without worrying about them being slugged. Such is life!

Not sure what I'll do today. Like yesterday, it's cloudy just now, but it's to be sunny later, so I might get some stuff planted that I haven't done, and I have some groundcover to clear from around a hydrangea, and some mulch to add there. I have a few pots of V. bon that need a home, so I'll see if I can find one. Yesterday was very pleasant as it was cloudy most of the day with a breeze, so it was lovely for working outdoors.

 

The only thing I did was go out and look sadly at my large pot of sweetpeas, sown very late, just coming into flower. The plants have been battered by over flowing wheel barrow loads of brambles lashing them as they were being taken down the path to the compost heap by the sulky strimmer chappie. I have given the pot a good watering and am going to see how many plants survive.
I haven't had the heart to do anything else yet, just balefully eyed the debris left around the garden and on my new steps. GGGRRRHHH!

 

I have been picking sawfly caterpillars off my roses - horrible things!

 

Checking the pots with the new seeds and it looks promising.

 

The one remaining Hydrangea in my garden has lost all its leaves and the flowers have gone brown early due to the heat and drought. I had planted it where I thought the soil would retain more moisture, in a shady corner in the bend in my steps but it never looked happy. After three years it had to go. Today I'm replacing it with a Miscanthus (M. Kleine Fontane) which will fill the space nicely. Miscanthus don't object to my sandy soil, don't suffer from pests or disease and keep the garden alive with interest over winter, all big plusses! I'll add some compost to the soil and cover the area with bark afterwards.

 

May I ask if anybody has ever had a professional soil analysis done and or/ a tree survey?
I'd like to get an idea of potential costs if possible.
The Council's insurers are insisting on a variety of professional surveys, plans, measurements etc. and tell me I must prove my claim by supplying them - sounds very expensive!

 

Sounds complicated, might be worth starting a new thread giving details as to why the council wants a survey of such things, sorry if I've missed an explanation earlier.

 

@lizzie27

I had two tree surveys carried out around 2022 by an Arboricultural consultant one was for a stand of 4 large spruces cost around £350. Later I had a second survey carried out by the same company covering some 15 trees that cost just under £500.
I'm intrigued as to why the council insurers want this done is it for your private garden or some more public space you are involved with.

 

@lizzie27 Soil analysis, the RHS offer a reasonably priced soil analysis to members, but it would be an idea to ask what components they want analysing for. I wouldn't be surprised, depends on the site and it's history, if they wanted heavy metals, or organic contaminants or even asbestos. I'm not sure they'd be interested in pH, organic matter and nutrients which you would get from a typical soil analysis.

 

The Laurel stumps are still in the ground. With the best intentions of starting on them today, diversions happened. Typical!