WHAT JOBS ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY 2018

Nothing much done in the garden today, it's been raining at long last so just fed the chooks and ferret, picked a few more tomatoes (yep, still got some) and a nice cauli to pick tomorrow.

Anyone else noticed NO blight this year? Outside toms and spuds unaffected!

 

More putting away jobs today. Brugmansias pruned and in the inner polyunnel. Succulents dug out of pots that stay outside and repotted in the tunnel. Glad we started early as there is still lots to put away for winter.

 

Our Brugs are still flowering like mad!

 

A strange day. Got back to find literally hundreds of orangeish coloured mushroom on the back lawn. In 30 years ive never seen anything like this here before.
You could hear the rideon mower starting to struggle in parts. Onto the compost heap they went but left a few squashed ones here and there too. Will have to get a photo up tomorrow to see if anyone can i.d. them.

Picked up some nice looking garlic in Asda. 5 plump bulbs for £1.50

So planted up 32 cloves in a rootrainer. Will bring them in come the winter as they are Spanish and will likely struggle in our harsh winter.

Just couldnt bring myself to paying daft money for the proper seed garlic again. Ive done that many times ending up with very average garlic despite giving them a lot of care.

Fingers crossed

 

I've got lots to put away for winter but they say it will be warm next week so I'm holding off.
Raining today 12C, 21C and brilliant sunshine yesterday when I was at work.

 

Not much done in the garden recently , the grass seed germinated finally so that restricting me walking around the garden. Picked some dahlia flowers for the house, moved the pots which can be moved in the GH for tonight. It getting cold outside and frost is forecast, I were going to leave the dahlia's to be frosted due to how much damage they sustained over the past 4 weeks are so, but I am not ready for winter to get them yet

 

The last hurrah for our tomato plants, the frosts are getting heavier and our greenhouse heater is still the best part of a week away. I'd almost forgotten what the back of the greenhouse looked like.



Not counting the really small ones, that pushes our total haul for the year well into the 80s. Not bad for a first attempt that only got going because the old man got gifted two plants on one of his post rounds. Way, way, way too much for a household that only contains one eater of them, mind.

Hopefully the old trick of putting the green ones in a paper bag with a banana to ripen them still works.

 

I managed to get round to this @Logan..
Made with 12 Carolina Reapers at its core...see Chilli Thread for full details
Its Super HOT!...think Molten Lava

 

Prepared for the summer by planting white Delphiniums grown from seed this summer into the borders. They are way too young but hopefully stand a better chance in soil which is still warm than in pots. Fingers crossed! (And if they don't make it it's just an excuse to buy something new next summer ) Once again, I miscalculated and had a good grouping of 5, 3 a bit further, and was left with 4 to go into the front border... 4 of anything never looks good to me. I wish I had a bigger space to plant dozens instead of small groups. Ah well, I'll call it "repeating theme tying the borders together" or something as fashionable as that if they all survive.

Planted small Alliums and managed to cut the grass 5 mins before the rain started. Grass cutting is like a strategy game now, bagging enough dry time to let the grass dry and aiming it all on a weekend... felt very smug with the successful timing today

Dahlias and Gladioli are still going strong so the rest of the spring bulbs will have to wait.

 

Just in from the garden as it's raining for the 1st time in god knows when. Not a sign of frosts so most things are fine still. Pulled about 50lbs of carrots. They will win no prizes for their looks but oh boy do they taste completely different to shop bought, delicious. I have just finished storing all the unblemished ones in damp sand in cardboard boxes. I did this storage method last year and it worked really really well. We were still eating my home grown well into May and they hadn't spoilt really at all so repeating the procedure. I have saved all the carrot tops as the horse quite likes them but better not feed him the whole mound of foliage in a oner as I've a suspicion a huge belly full would give him a very sore stomach

 

Intended to plant out a few groups of wallflowers but changed my mind.......planted perennials instead......they were large and growing on in 5 litre pots and the soil is so warm so I reckon I have a few weeks yet for them to make lots of root growth before the winter comes. Put plenty of compost in the planting areas, watered and mulched. Makes for less work in the spring too.

Giving up on leonotis leonorus ......they did flower but not well enough to earn their place here so they will be consigned to the compost heap. Will give them until the end of the week to produce something better. Ditto muhly grass.....supposed to turn pink but no sign yet of that

Still a summer's day here

 

Leonotis @Verdun .
Have you tried Leonotis nepetifolia?
It flowers much earlier and looks very similar.

 

Ah! Thanks Pete
Sounds excellent. I will try it

 

Busy day here!
I've cleared most of the annuals, some still looked good but I needed the space for lupins, honesty and aquilegia ( lime sorbet, they look great, did anyone else sow these freebies?)
A leycestria ( thanks,@UsedtobeDendy, if you're still around) and a pieris swapped places.
A blackcurrant was seriously put back in its place
Lots of nettles, creeping buttercup and docks where dug out aswell as brambles, couch grass and never ending amounts of speedwell.
Oh, and the grass got cut!