What are we doing in the garden 2025

I'm trying to do the same @wiseowl but the rain has rather stopped procedures lately. I've just bought a packet of wallpaper paste which Pete? recommended to mix with weedkiller to paint on the leaves but I need a dry day or two or three. My problematic ivy is destroying the fences it's climbing on and I have plants in front which I've got to protect so the plan is to paint on the weedkiller/paste solution to kill the top growth off before I get on my hands and knees to sever the roots at the base. I'm about 2 to 3 months behind with this project!

 

Stupid stupid Lori! I forgot to bring in the canna lillies and they froze so I put them at the back of the garden until a nicer day when I can pry them out of the pots. Then pulled the last of the chillies I had brought inside last month. That was after stripping their fruit. They joined the cannas. At least they slipped out of their pots with no fuss.

 

@wiseowl we have always let ivy grow as it is so beneficial to wildlife. However we have had to remove so much ivy from plants/fences etc over the last few years as the original plants were being taken over.
And following on about your fence...yes we had to demolish a fence that was really only held up with the ivy. As this is between us and neighbours we were able to take done the "ivy" fence and put in a new fence without ivy...at the moment

 

Bummer @CanadianLori . Hope you can revive the cannas. I did a similar thing many years ago when I used to grow them. Sudden drop in temp from reasonable ones in the preceding days, and I'd forgotten they were still outside. I think they can take a bit of frost, but if they're wet and then freeze, that's a bigger problem. It's common here, so it can be difficult with them and things like dahlias.
I didn't do anything yesterday due to weather, and today's meant to be decent....aye right.
It looks like it might clear a bit though, and the rain's stopped. Only some bits and pieces will get done anyway, although I might try and swap a couple of things around that are in pots. I've got another container that's had marigolds, and I can probably take those out now and get some narcissus back in there.

 

Yesterday - picking up leaves.
Today - picking up leaves.
Tomorrow - picking up leaves.



I enjoy it, though using the grabber makes my hand cramp after a while, so a short burst of half an hr per day works best.

 

Hi,

I was reducing the couch grass population at 9 o'clock this morning and have enjoyed two hours hard graft resulting in the eviction of a lot more of it; I reckon if I can do two hours daily I might clear the middle meadow in a couple of weeks time.

The garden was soaking wet again; as I kneeled my wellies wanted to visit the valley bottom. I'm making progress and two hour sessions is plenty before I've had enough. Heavy rain forecast again for this afternoon but dry so far. Meal time comes round rapidly.

Kind regards, Col.

 

Hi,

I ignored the Met office warning of rain and dashed up the garden after dinner; working flat out I managed an hour and a quarter before being driven indoors by the rain but it's an hour and a quarter bonus and more couch grass evicted. Three and a quarter hours grafting today; it's not all bad.

Kind regards, Col.

 

I joined in with your fun @ViewAhead. I don't have huge ammounts to collect, mostly the old bramley Apple and the Acers plus a few that blow in from ndn silver birch. A good way to collect them is use a light plastic rake to get them into lines, then run them over with the lawnmower, it not only picks them up but shreds them at the same time. It can take abit of fiddling to get the cut hight right, a balance between pick up and not cutting grass too low especially at this tome of year.

After that more pot clearing and bulb planting- too many bulbs/pots this year.

 

Cut back the Catalpa, the stems are at least 10ft long and a good inch in diameter, where it gets the energy to produce about 25 of these each year is a mystery, but it does.

Then I raked up all the big leaves from it in my front garden and the neighbours.

Then got the mower out and cut front and back grass, should be the last cut this year.

 

This afternoon I went outside and raked up the leaves on the drive at last. I haven't felt at all motivated to do gardening recently. I'm not a morning person so I usually do gardening in the afternoon but it gets dark so early now. I filled the garden bin and 10 compost sacks. I'll keep the compost sacks for mulching next year.

 

Not a lot, just checked the salvia cuttings, watered and shuffled the pots around.

 

Raking is tricky, @Allotment Boy, as my leaves mostly fall on gravel. Plus I no longer have a mower, just a strimmer. So, I contentedly potter about picking them up one or two at a time. If they are very dry, I might get quite a fistful in one grabber movement. Always a cause for celebration.

 

I use a very soft broom on our gravel area to sweep the oak leaves up. I have to go out every other day otherwise we would be knee deep. Then it's a hand job for the tricky to reach bits, but that can go on for months. Otherwise we could chop the tree down!

 

I've been raking maple leaves too. Mixed with snow. It was a bit heavy to shift but everything on the lawn is now clear and ready for the next drop. There's still about 1/2 the tree to drop and they are huge leaves. Usually huge are easier to shift but unfortunately, they had hidden a thick layer of keys.

And dosing all of the houseplants with mosquito bits water. I saw a couple of small black flies and I'm not taking any chances on letting a herd of them breed.