What Jobs Are We Doing In The Garden Today 2019

Feeling shattered, and it’s only 3pm!! At least it’s cool enough to work outside today. The temperatures of 34-35c over the past two days have been crippling!

I decided it was time to tackle our snowball viburnum, now it’s finished flowering, as it was smothering its neighbours, and needs to be reduced in size. I wrestled my way into it, so I could see what to cut, from inside the canopy. Boy, does it grow strangely! Talk about convoluted and intertwined, it has also self-rooted all over the place where branches had touched the ground. I’ve got three huge bundles of prunings ready to be collected with the garden collection tomorrow, but I don’t think I’m even halfway through the task yet!

It started to spit with rain, so I paused in my task and cut the grass. I started near the bottom this time, as I wanted to get a few important bits done first, if rain stopped play. I’ve cut about half, leaving the rest as there are lots of flowers at the moment in the grass.

Having a breather, and then have to decide if I have a nap, or go out and tackle more of the viburnum...

 

Felt ashamed of admitting possible defeat, so went back out there, and finished the job.

It involved standing on some steps (I’m terrified of heights), hanging onto branches - not the one I was cutting!, and at one point, catching a cut branch in my bra!!

But it’s done. 2 metres shorter, and a metre narrower too.


Tools of the trade...!


Spoils of my efforts, take 2.

All tidied away


Why do I worry about creating habitats for wildlife?
A forgotten pot, half-full of stinky water, and hidden under the laburnum, with a resident frog (he’s dead centre in the photo)


Finally, a question. This is the first year we’ve successfully grown lupins. Am I correct in thinking that the first spikes need deadheading now?
In preparation for one of tomorrow’s tasks - there’s no way I’m balancing along the edge of that bank, above a thicket of nettles, to get to them at the back of the border....

 

Started to plant out the pot marigolds around the path and watered the polyanthus.

 

Well done Sian...job finished is contentment
Those lupins.......yes, looking at those pictures, take off the spikes immediately they start to go over. It activates the plant to send up replacement spikes sooner and more of them. Here lupins will flower for many weeks treated this way. Oh! Watch out for snails

Cut lawns and planted out more salvias, divided and potted up astrantia divisions (I wanted to replace it with something else) and took cuttings of phlox Nora Barlow

A delightful and warm day for being outside and the forecast overnight rain will settle in new plantings

 

Stripped out some dead stems from the "bamboo forest," about a dozen or so.
Then tightend the wires that are stretched across the lot, that stop them flopping

Put a lot of water on the lawn and turned on the leaky hose system that feeds the borders. Will let it run overnight. Watered all the pots.
It's been warm and a bit breezy, that takes a lot of moisture out of the ground.

 

Thank you - I’ll get out there first thing tomorrow!

 

That was my job today Lupin deadheading, loads more spikes waiting their turn to bloom.
That was all I did as we've been out all day.

 

I went out again about an hour after I'd watered everything to check on the sambucus, as the top of a couple of branches, I'd noticed were wilting a bit.
But by then they'd recovered!

 

Trying to be a bit humorus. Do you think, I. Yes me, do you think I need repotting. I have managed to spend some time in the garden and have to admit. I enjoyed it, then this confounded rash whelled up. Today my intention was to resume my gardeneing. Truly, not wishining to offend anyone. I awoke and needed a pee. Wowee my legs felt like they were made of concrete. I managed to stand upright and, yeoww the pain in my legs and feet. This paiful episode lasted all day, so no gardening. To be honest. I refrained from using the stairs. Oh for the joys of getting old. Please enjoy your gardens.

 

Still windy yesterday morning. Rather amazingly my Poppy fortifications held up. Had to go shopping, which is always guaranteed to stress me and put me in a bad mood. I had every intention of doing some gardening when I got back. Instead I got a zero g out and laid in the sun all afternoon listening to the birds, the wind and the sound of water . In the evening I recut the paths through the grass in front garden and dead headed the baths. Cut some Herbs for the buns and Chippy's dinners.

Forecast is for most of the day from 8/9 am so doubt there will be gardening time today. Glad about rain

 

Makes me feel very lazy Shiney....where do you and Mrs. S. get the energy ?

Raining heavily here now and for most of last night...pleased with that cos it’s not cold besides it looks like a dry day tomorrow so a good watering today appreciated

Despite the rain, the stipa gigantea and thalictrum Elin are still standing tall and proud....although catching up fast the stipa is still shorter than the 9’ tall thalictrum.

Hopefully I will get some jobs done in the garden later ....I will be moving a phlox, a big plant so will need to get a large rootball. Also dividing bergenia purpurea to make a group of them

 

Rain cleared to leave a sunny afternoon
Planted out a few more agastaches, salvias, sanguisorbas, variegated phlox and cannas. Plenty of local compost added to planting areas plus generous mulch
In my haste I pinched off the growing tip of a tomato plant.....grrrr! Hopefully I can tie in another leading shoot

 

Have spent the last couple of days tidying up and making a mess again. Dead heading, sweeping paths, sorting out toms in the greenhouse etc etc.

I also bought some sulphate of ammonia as its supposed to be good for greening up shrubs etc. I thought my christmas box plants were looking a little yellowy so gave them some, dug a little in around last years box hedging and also under my new portuguese laurel hedging at the front. I’m desperate for them to grow well and very quickly. The nightmare neighbours have taken a turn for the worst so I want them to grow before I end up putting a fence up to block them out of our lovely open low walled front garden.