What are we doing in the garden 2025

An old work colleague of mine had the fossil paving put down a few years ago. She came back from work to find the workmen putting the fossils face down as they thought she wouldn’t want to see the “all them messy marks and blemishes”

 

Frustrated ! Dry weather but my back is playing up and its bitterly cold so have taken decision to take a step back from the garden for a few days. Spending time planning gardening rather than cracking on. Still getting daily visits from goldfinches which has been going on for a couple of weeks now where the drift of rudbeckias has been left to seed. Its like an all you can eat buffet and loads of seeds left. Tempted to cut the stems down intact and ram them into some pots containing spent compost to maintain the food source for them and let the air get to the soil for the rudbeckias to regrow afresh . Each year the drift of rudbeckias grows larger and the floral display gets better and better so this is giving us , and local wildlife , year round interest .
Really want to crack on……

 

Too cold for me to want to do anything but I did go to a GC and stocked up on bark mulch and manure for future jobs I have in mind.

Am I unique in having a dedicated 'Compost Gate'?!! Our side boundary is so long that when we had the fence replaced a couple of years ago, I had a 2nd gate added at the top of the hill so we could unload the compost bags etc. near to my potting area. Saves OH from having to get the sacktruck out and heaving them up all the steps.

 

An in-and-out day today, as it was soooo cold!

I lifted about 20 primrose plants, ready for the Freecycle person to collect tomorrow.
A few really nice primrose plants were side-lined into some flower beds that should escape the building disturbance.
The garage was resorted, so that I could store the 2 yorkstone pavers already lifted, and 4 more were added to the pile. 2 larger pavers were lifted, but I can’t move them on my own, so they are waiting the arrival of “muscle”.
This afternoon I filled in more of the holes and channels in the lower garden. Hopefully in a move towards reclaiming it from the brambles and nettles. I also spent a good hour wrestling with the Russian vine that has spread from the neighbours garden, across our shed (damaging the roof in the process) and up the Cypress tree. Please say that this is a battle I have a chance of winning!!?!
Time to go down to the Beer in Hand, a local independent watering-hole, for a pint and a pizza!!

 

@lizzie27, my “estate” doesn’t really warrant dedicated compost arrival zones, but I like the idea!

 

Not sure if you call it gardening but we were out in it. Cutting primroses, periwinkles, lung wort, dog wood and viburnums stems for different displays for our village hall spring get together tomorrow. Not a competition just having a lovely display. Hope to add some orchids but so many are either not at their best or their flowers are not truly open.

 

Dug up 10 old currant bushes, some were small. Got 3 new redcurrant bushes to put in their place. There were too many for the space and they stopped fruiting.

 

I put a thick layer of bark mulch on the border I cleared of bluebells on Tuesday. They’ll no doubt be back but it will keep any weeds away for a while. I renewed the grit topping on my six pots of hostas and gave the outside of the pots a clean. I noticed that some of my fencing was going green with algae so I treated it with Patio Magic. I haven’t had to do this since repainting the fence about three years ago. The algae usually disappears overnight on fencing after treatment, a couple of days on paving. I removed two Verbenas that were in demise and moved a Helenium and a Geum from elsewhere to replace them. I’m trying to leave more space between plants this year and have removed all of my tall grasses that collapsed in the winter wind, rain and snow, replacing them with shorter bee friendly perennials. My choices are limited as I won’t grow anything that slugs like, or leans towards the sun, or needs staking .

 

I got my baby battery Husqvarna hedge trimmer out and swung that around for all of 2 mins cutting back a honeysuckle I suppose that counts

Dahlia tubers arrive yesterday with a few achillea terracotta for the front garden

 

Still battling the bindweed on the Allotments. Pruned the 3 roses that are in a bed just off the edge of where we park. It's one of those everybody, somebody jobs at the plots that tends to get left or forgotten.

 

Yesterday was spent lifting and moving stone pavers, lifting primroses to give away, raking over the ashes from the bonfire to remove any metal before it finds a lawnmower blade, filling holes and channels in the lower garden, and watering the hedge I planted last week.

 

I must be feeling my age. I have always withstood cold days well but after an hour i gave up yesterday , i had even double gloved my hands and was still perished. Still i managed to tidy up a couple of beds of dogwood and weed a bed i created last year before i threw in the towel. Today will be an international rugby day so the nearest i get to gardening will be to see the grass on the pitches. Tomorrow looks marginally warmer so i live in hope….

 

Today I am mostly painting fencing. It takes so long, but it's such a good feeling when the colour changes from algae green to a nice vibrant BLACK, perfect for Spring