What Jobs Are We Doing In The Garden Today 2019

I now have a gravel path. At least that's the way it looks from the house. I will tackle the bit around the corner another time.

G.

 

Cracking sunny day here, repotted 40 lavender plants (probably looking to sell off in a couple of months) thought I'd try and and clean off the worst of the dirt now all slabs are laid and mortar all taken out, just used some watered down bleach and a scrubbing brush, quite pleased with the result.

 

Really warm day. Did the final tidy and vaccing of the garage and rabbit shed.

Decided to take the back-up freezers out of the shed and put them in "The Room" The shed gets very hot in the summer as did the tea-house where they were before, The room is much cooler. It will also be easier for my wife to access them, as there isn't a big step up to get in.



Got the solar lights out. I recharged all the batteries last year when I put them away, but charged up eight this morning. I gave the contacts a spray with switch cleaner before putting them in a box. Checked these eight out and they worked fine. Now the big conifer has gone the shadow won't be a problem for them.








I put a lot of water on the garden today as it hasn't rained for over a week.

Pleased with our Stellar cherry. When we got it last year the branches were very unbalanced, (that's nature for you) and some were crossing, so I wired it in Setember to give some separation. I removed the wires today and they stayed in the position that I'd set them.



The two acer palmatums are looking "a little unkempt," but they aren't in full leaf yet, I'll wait until the weight of the foliage makes them a bit tidier, befotre I resort to any pruning of wayward branches.





This acer got "a light trim."



I need to keep an eye on it as it has a prodigious growth rate.

The first of our several clematis are starting to flower. Spent some time tying them up.


Amber



Pilu



Some of the assortment of bulbs we got from T & M.




Not a lot of colour in our garden yet, the first showing of our azaleas to the side of the patio.




Lots more to come.



Gave my two vinyl jukeboxes in the tea-house a good run out whilst I was working in the garden, played a couple of dozen "A and B" sides on each. Use is the best form of preventative maintenance on such machines. Fortunately our elderly neighbours are deaf!

 

Third batch seed sowing (Cosmos, dill, thyme and rocket), now the pots went directly in the blowaway greenhouse without windowsill phase. Their earlier sown friends are already there, looking very sturdy

Pinched the first batch Cosmos as advised by @Verdun . If it goes wrong, I know whom to blame

Took cuttings from a forgotten struggling Clematis which was in a "I wonder if this is a weed, I'll pot some up just in case"-container in the tatty corner, emptied the container and miraculously remembered that it's the garden bin day tomorrow so pulled it out.

Watered everything, it's that time of the year when you just water a bit of soil and then sit back and admire the things which spring up. Lovely.

 

Took most of my plants out of the greenhouse again today been up to 49°, nipped around my neighbour's and put her a water butt at the back of her garage, snapped the t piece that connects the drainpipe to the water butt (1 turn to many ) fortunately had a spare in my shed

 

Planted out sweetpeas ,potted on Cleome and again much watering...been a glorious day.Hope you've all enjoyed.

 

That was one of my jobs at the plot for today, but I boiled my head working in a polytunnel in record time and came home to pot on 121 tomatoes working outside in the shade of a tree.

The tall 600 x 600 x 1800mm shed next to the waist high shelf where our daughter's Guinea Pig's hutch sat and was used to store some things for them, is still known as 'the Guinea Pig's wardrobe'.

 

Garden today? plant wise NOTHING! made a mess though finishing off the kitchen "Rip Out", would have loved to have "played" in the garden but I did promise Carol I'd fit her new kitchen!:exhausted:

 

Moved insectivorous plants out of greenhouse. Weeded, fertilised and watered the fruit bushes. Dug up and moved an Anenome japonica, that'll teach it try and take over a bed. Dug out Ferula communis that was getting too dominant, there is another in the same bed.

 

Watered the pots and the polyanthus down the side of the path.

 

It's very difficult to dig up, the roots go down a long way, I've tried it.

 

Treeferns got a drenching,potted up a dozen strawberry hanging baskets,watered the reseeded lawn,gave the carpets the vax treatment,waxed the car.............Bought Beers :drunk: CHEERS !

 

Anything to be outdoors today... 20c and glorious sunshine! General odd jobs until groceries were delivered, and then a 45 mins walk to the local shopping centre to look at plants.

Wilko's has 50% off of nearly everything, I heroically resisted the £2.50 Date Palm and the £3 nice sized Cordyline. Morrisons pushed yet another Clematis on me and a nice Jasminium. They'll go to the spare obelisk in the back bed.

Morrisons are really good with plants, all are named and they have several varieties to choose from. They also look after them well. And for £1.79 for a sturdy, albeit small Clematis, can't complain.

Potted up the new climbers, sowed lamb lettuce and mixed lettuce (-50% at Wilko's), discovered that the hopeless Gladioli bulbs are actually alive and making roots in their pots, sanded the latest pottery attempts and got a Gardener's Tan. You know the tan that deeply browns your arms between the t-shirt sleeve and the glove, burns your neck and leaves the covered bits milky white. Otherwise I'm happy to display the tan, scratches et all, but I'm going to a black tie do thingy in some weeks time and this look might just not go well with the gown. It'll be a conversation starter though

Tomorrow it's the lawns day

 

Only potted up some seedlings as their roots were escaping the soil blocks. Took in two indoor orphans. A friend is moving 9 hours north so I took in his houseplants as he can't take them with him. Whilst picking them up, he also gave me boxes of dishes for when one of my grandsons gets his new apartment. So I still got a workout shifting things

Tomorrow my son comes over and we start rebuilding a cold frame skeleton. Switching from metal tubing to wood. I picked up the last of the wood needed, this morning.

And all of that after six hours of wage earning work. Still got my Christmas blubber so I need this type of day every day!