What Jobs Are We Doing In The Garden Today 2019

I've done quite a bit in the garden over the past few days , most of the spring plants are over now. I am eyeing up the delphinium to chop down hoping for a second flush later in the year.

Remove a veronica crater lake the other day , nice colour of blue but as soon a a bit of rain/wind its on the deck flatting everything else around it. I'll keep a couple of clumps and give the rest away. Planted some nerines there and moved some salvias and aster monch around.

I've been planting like mad as well trying to rid of the paths of pots and the greenhouse. Went and thinned the grapes yesterday after seeing R Federer somehow lose the Wimbledon final .

I am admiring the veronicastrum fasination through the window now , brilliant plant

 

Collecting seeds. So far I've got pink, salmon and yellow nicotiana seeds, red and maroon coloured salvia and some basil seeds.

The heat is making everything a little sad but I've been giveing them long drinks to help compensate.

 

Bug Clear Ultra Gun 1L | Wilko

Is the sort of thing I need for vine weevil. To the best of my knowledge it's only in that one pot. I dont want to buy anything that needs diluting before use.

G.

 

It’s not vine weevil killer Gary

 

Hi @Jack Sparrow , you need Bug Clear Vine Weevil Killer. What makes you think you have them, a picture would help. Vine Weevil killer is usually used just twice a year in Spring and Autumn when you see the grubs ( these are C shaped grubs with a brown head ). The beetles themselves are usually only noticeable during the Summer when they make half moon shaped holes in leaves, the easiest way to get rid of them is to squash them. They very rarely breed during hot Summers, hence the treatment being used in the cooler seasons.

 

Have you seen a lot of ants lately ? They look like ant eggs. They've not got the C shaped bodies of Vine Weevil grubs or the brown heads.

 

@Verdun sorry to hear you're having a bit of a rough time with your brother. It must be a difficult time for you at the moment.

@Upsydaisy Sebastian had his tear duct flushed out at the vet as Dave thought it might be infected as a little swollen. It's okay though. He also has some eye drops and I will continue his anti biotic and anti inflammatory course. He was such a star about having a needle inserted into his eye and the whole procedure. He was running about tonight, so I think he's feeling a little better.

Watered the back gardens last night. Noticed some of my cherished plants are suffering from my absence. In particular my Scabious, which has dead bits on them and looks very sorry for themselves. Not sure if the problem is lack of water or maybe the tap water or perhaps mildew . Not sure what to do about it either. Should I try to cut out the dead bits or cut all the plants right back ?? One of my Veronica's has died too .

This morning I netted more blanket weed from pond. That's suffering too. All the potted pond plants have got brown spots on them. Maybe they need repotting or maybe water is too warm ??

On a more positive note ( I think ) the Doves are nesting in the cherry tree next to the conservatory again. Two eggs although they are not sat on very often . Doves seem to be spending most of their time in the garden eating or preening. I didn't see a dove sat on them at all today but maybe they did when I was at vets.

 

Hiya Lucius...thanks
Sounds like it could be mildew on your scabious.....dry at the roots and scabious is susceptible.
Cut back foliage and flowers and clear it away. A good watering then a mulch will set your plant up for the rest of the season
Liz the pot, I am interested in your opinion on how your new lawn food does over the summer

 

Hi @KFF we always have a lot of ants. The pot on the picture also had a lot of ants in it.

G.

 

I think a tub of ant powder from Wilkos or the Poundshop will do you more good then Jack .

 

So glad to hear that Sebastian is doing OK, brave bunny to cope with having a needle inserted into his eye!!!

I have the same problem too @luciusmaximus , I actually binned 3 of my Scabious plants this afternoon, gutted now that @Verdun says they would have been OK

 

Get them out of the bin Upsy, trim them back, pot up/plant out and water well.
I grow scabious now without any mildew problems. It helps too to add plenty of compost etc in the planting hole.
You can forestall mildew problems by soaking the plants during hot dry weather....ideally before such conditions.

 

..... I chopped them up as well

 

Upsy, wot u like???