WHAT JOBS ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY - 2017

Been a funny old day.......beautifully sunny at times, windy and wet at others
Not cold
Got some nice pots .....bit of haggling, of course. Never be nervous of haggling folks....nothing to lose
First thing in the morning the sea was angry and Brian huffed and puffed .....

 

since early hours of today ( around 12.30 - 1.00am ) and stopped about 3/4 hour ago. Back garden flooded by back door and the corner by the conservatory. Wind speeds gusting at 54 - 52 mph. Apart from venturing forth a few times to feed the birdies I sat on sofa and ate lots of junk, which I don't actually like, but not in mood for cooking. Watched some stuff with hubby. Storm is moving away now and weather should be better for tomorrow, so maybe some gardening then.

 

@Verdun we need pics of those pots and your thoughts what you are going to plant in them

 

Ok lucius, daphne Perfume Princess in both of them....a fantastic scented new odora/bholua hybrid .... one for my niece in her new build and one here. pics tomorrow if I can pot the second one then.
Snowdrops too maybe but the daphne has lovely lush foliage, the pot nice clean lines so simplicity is the aim. Blue anemone blanda too perhaps....delightful dwarf blue on fine foliage

 

Nothing *in* the garden, but something *for* the garden: bought a packet of seeds (it was all alone and looking lost, so, I rescued it ) plus, found the other seed head, which I helped myself to from a pub planter barrel last week following my oldest, dearest, friend's funeral, and have carefully put it away ready for planting in a pot in the next few days. I did confess my misdemeanour to a member of the local constabulary but all I got was a and NFA
Didn't need to water the garden today but, methinks, after the rain coupled with the (still) mild temperatures, there will be much weeding to be done

 

A windy day here, but mild and sunny so we got a few odd jobs done today, not 'proper' gardening but things which needed doing.

We're keeping an eye on things garden wise for one of the neighbours while they're away for a while, so I popped round and swept their front drive to keep the place looking 'lived in' and stop the leaves from blocking the drain.

Got to play with one of my new toys this afternoon. Our new abode has solid fuel central heating, powered by a wood/coal burner, so I've been gathering as much firewood as I can lay my hands on to provide free heat.

This afternoon was spent playing with my new chain saw, cutting up, chopping and stacking firewood. Very satisfying work.

Meanwhile, Mrs Trunky went round with the mower clearing up all the leaves from the lawn, then set about removing some of the ivy from some of the hedges which run all around the outside of the garden and down both sides of the front drive. This is going to be something of a long term, ongoing project as the ivy has in places totally engulfed the original hedge, to the point where the ivy 'hedge' is beginning to topple over under its own weight.

Got a big pile of ivy to burn now.

 

@Trunky nice to hear you & Mrs.T getting familiar with you're new garden

 

From a decision to just cut back one helenium....still with flowers....I cut down 4 dahlias, 2 bonariensis, persicaria polymorpha, a couple of acteas and several hellebores. Masses of msterial for compost heap
Lots of new growth on hellebores, daffodils and alstromerias so they will be mulched.
Warm day with good sunny spells.....the odd shower threatened but passed over

 

I've not had time to do any gardening today. I did manage to take an up to date photo of the space I'm clearing.

All this talk of acers makes me wonder whether I could grow one behind and left of the water feature (summer house side). It would help fill the gap between the barrel and the crab apple tree. I believe there was an Acer here before that was killed by the wind. I wouldn't want the same thing to happen again

G.

 

Today, got to prune the hydrangeas, cut some grass, back yard this time. move two hydrangea babies. But still trying to figure out where. BTW. I did scope out a nice big hole in those three stumps, and planted hardy geraniums in there. now going on 4 weeks they are looking good. And I have a viburnum that does not like where he is, have to chop that thing in half, and move it. again, now where? Also have a pine tree that needs to come down. bottom half is dying, don't matter to me much. just have to get to it.

 

Started lifting the cracked slabs in a hidden 10x10ft corner of the garden. Then I had to dig out all the rubble that the builders had put under them 60 years ago, all ready for a skip. It is going to be grass eventually as I work my way around the garden getting rid of the old ugly hard features and turn m9re and more of it into living space. Next weekend....digging a 3m hole 1m deep for the trampoline!

 

Weather can't make up its mind here either - downpour one minute, bright sun the next. I've spent most of the day darting in and out of the house to get odd jobs done without getting completely soaked. The garden was completey overgrown when we moved in last November but I still had hopes that a few bulbs would poke up come spring; in the end there wasn't a single one, not a daff or snowdrop to be seen. So I stocked up a few weeks ago to make up for the disappointment - daffs, crocus, tulips, alium etc - but it's now turning into a race to get them into the ground. Back in September it felt like pleanty of time but now November is looming and I'm barely halfway through the pile.

Two cats followed me home from work over the summer, a stray old boy who no one claimed and a tiny girl kitten abandoned under a hedge in the rain. The old boy is now settled in enough to start going outside but we're having ongoing battles about digging in my freshly planted pots, so used one dry patch today to secure some netting. Fingers crossed...

 

Ordered a few lilies.....will pot them up for planting out in spring.

 

Had a tidy up in the greenhouse



Trying some micropropagation with cacti