WHAT JOBS ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY - 2017

That's a good idea Sheal.

I was supposed to have started working on the new bed yesterday. I did have a trip to the hardware store for compost and bags of extra soil. Also bought a large pot thinking that I can put two or three plants into it, which will help with reducing my pots. Then hubby says he wanted a bike ride so we cycled over to Llynnon Mill and had coffee and cake.

When I got back it was too late to start on the new bed so I started shifting pots around to make room for the large pot, painted a bit of the patio wall that had flaked a bit, dismantled the garden arch which has corroded ( should have known better than to have bought a cheap one ).

Today I really want to make a start on the new bed.

 

Went mad last evening and cut almost 3' off the top of a holly....Handsworth New
Silver. Had to use loppers for thickesf stems. Trimmed sides too. Surprisingly looks good. Still tall at about 7 to 8'. Wanted to be able to keep it at a manageable height. Hey! What's more prickly than a holly?
Glad its done.
Made my own arch luciusmaximus. Used galvanised iron. Robust and permanent.....20 years old, plus. Seen so many arches collapse when the plants are fully grown!

 

Instead of spending my time working on this new bed I spent it digging up plants from pots and the baths and repotting them . Not quite sure why I did this . I was most industrious in my efforts and used up 3 70l bags of compost. I'm telling myself its all part of my grand plan to downsize on the pots. I now have 2 less pots to water . I did prise up 2 of the patio slabs where my new bed will be and move them aside.

@Verdun the salt has corroded both arches as they were quite cheap. I'm not clever enough to make them - I wish!

 

So, I'm currently sat on my bed in the conservatory with a coffee having just finished cleaning the pets and hedgehogs. Avery has decided that its a very good idea to poo in her sleeping box and spread it around all over the box and herself . She has been doing this for 3 days, it's a sort of dirty protest as she hates being in captivity. Also, I suspect she is simply too lazy to get out of her box and use the toilet. Hog poo is just horrendous stuff to deal with .

Anyway, I'm looking at the new bed to be and contemplating whether to go and buy some more Verbena so as to keep the continuity with the existing stuff around the Cherry tree or not. The Verbena does take up quite a lot of space and new bed will not be huge. I'm wondering if totally different flowers without a bit of Verbena mixed in might look odd. Or maybe not. I'm also tempted to go buy more Heleniums and use those with some Fleabane around the outside. I just can't decide. Can you tell I have a disorganised mind

 

Avery may be protesting she hasnt got a coffee too....besides isn't that what we all do when feeling a little lazy?
Not sure about the fleabane luciusmaximus
Astilbes go well with heleniums....nice foliage right now but early spring coppery colour in spring and superb flowers in early to mid summer if you want to spread the colour
But for a wow impact in summer check out aster frikartii Monch as a partner for heleniums.
Bear in mind heleniums can make large plants and in a couple of years require a metre width
Right, postman has been so I'm off . Have good day folks . It is sunny

 

I've not been able to do much this week as had plenty of bookings to keep me occupied. Last evening and this I finished cleaning up under the front hedges. I hoed away all the rubbish and strimmed back the grass verge. (Earlier this week I turned away free edging stones because I didn't have a use for them. I found a use for them today. DOH! ) My hedges should stay weed free for the foreseeable future.

Afterwards I had another go at digging out the roots of the sumach. It's an on going task that will have to be done in short bursts. Today I dug up a piece of root that looked like this.



I'm so glad I joined the forum when I did.

G.

 

Just take your time Gary......slowly and surely get every piece out. The ground will be better for it esp if you then turn in some compost

 

Are you on Uber?

Lesson learned: never refuse anything which is "free" (my favourite four-letter "F" word); even if you discover you don't actually *need* it after all, you have the option to get rid

We're glad you did too

 

Hi @M. The problem is we have stuff everywhere. Our outhouses are full as well as the house. I already have bits of paving slab, concrete posts, rocks and pebbles and various other items of rubbish cluttering up my garden. I have to keep moving things around when I want to do any work.

At the moment we are having an ongoing saga with decorating the spare bedroom. A number of people have said they would help but have failed to show. I have done everything so far I can do. The next job is feature wallpaper which I have no experience of. I would gladly have a go but it would mean taking time off work. In the meantime all the bedroom furniture is in the shed and the house is a jumbled mess. Once the bedroom is sorted we can start taking stock of what's what.

G.

ps. My wife is good at finding free things online. It drives me nutty as I'm always the one that has to fetch them. Maybe I will should embrace it more readily.

 

@Verdun I'm finding that some of the roots are undermining my garden structures. There's not a lot I can do about those ones.

G.

 

Gave the garden a good watering a short while ago ... this morning, everything looked dandy; by this evening, everything was looking somewhat parched Out with the hose, in with the dog (he loves to chew the end of the hose as I water :rolleyes and voila! The plants are now going/(growing?)

 

As thoroughly as you can and ......horror of horrors to some but get some super strength glyphosate and use it on any shoots/suckers you see. There is no other alternative

 

I'm hearing you! I can empathise
Sometimes, just sometimes, you have to be ruthless and cull things (Ebay them if possible or donate to charity shop/s)
Good luck with your spare room .. just hold on to the thought it is a "spare" room and not the end of the world if it isn't completed by next week

 

I'm sure this doesn't belong here but this is where I happen to be at the moment. I was flicking through my old photos and I found this.



This was May 2005. I must have only just moved into this house. I noticed the conifers and the red robin to the left of the picture. This summer I cut those down as they were huge. I assumed they had always been that way. Its a shock to discover that it was my bad house keeping that made them that way. As you look around this garden as it was then it was really rather nice. :rage::sorry:

G.

EDIT: SORRY
I'm on my iPad now so I can add the later photo.

 

Don't let my wife here you say that.

G.