What Jobs Are We Doing In The Garden Today 2020

My life long Pal and I bought a cabin on a Farmers field by a lake in a place called Tilton on the Hill several years ago, Perki, and we'd decided last month to open it up and have nearly two weeks fishing in Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Peterborough, Norfolk and Suffolk. So two weeks ago I took up some vital supplies, (two bottles of "The Balvenie), my Fishing Gear, and we opened up the Cabin and had nearly two glorious weeks of catching Carp, Roach, Rudd, Tench, etc in some "in the Sticks" areas where we had Deer, Foxes, Grass Snakes, and Rabbits wandering past us while we also watched the Red Kites soaring in circles in the skies. My neighbours looked after my Kittens and the Garden for me and we're going to do it again in September with some luck.

 

You know me so well, Sheal, but instead of sleeping I'd gone fishing!!

 

Well, we're pretty secure in the small cul-de-sac where I live, Sheal, as nothing goes unnoticed in it and one neighbour even takes the licence numbers and times of vehicles entering. There's probably more security cameras on the Houses than anywhere else in Town and, of course, with every House being alarmed and with everyone taking it on themselves to keep an eye on Houses where they have gone on holiday and even doing evening patrols and some having keys to neighbours Houses as in my case. The neighbours like looking after any animals and having an amble around my garden and I usually get asked for a division or cutting of any plants they fancy

 

After a quick cuddle with the Kittens I had a amble around the garden and got some pictures and what has been growing and flowering while I was away.........

Rose "Orange and Lemons"






Rose "Kings Ransom"




These Alliums are "Summer Drummer" and are now well over 5' in height plus being planted on the hump of the walk around border also makes them tower near 7' when you're standing on the paths.


Rose "Regensberg"

 

This was the Bearded Iris staging in it's early months with just two tiers and two rows of pots lined in front of it later on





But this is the new 4 tiered staging that I finished just before I went fishing and lengthened to 13' which now gives 52' of staging on which to put the new pots of Bearded Iris when the 25 new varieties arrive later this month.

 

It's mainly the usual jobs around the garden here. Mowing (yesterday they, finally, came to pick up my mower to do a repair under warranty - new mower and the gasket was leaking ), edging, weeding, squishing and spending quite a bit of time tying in or winding up the beans.

The beans are growing like mad but the multitudinous (I like that word ) side runners are waving around everywhere and not climbing where they should. Typical youngsters. The overhead runners always need training across the top of the frames and they're gradually forming a roof.

One of our plum trees lost a 20ft branch which was due to a combination of strong winds, old age and about 100lb of plums on the branch and side shoots with that large branch growing almost horizontally. I have now finished sawing it up and putting it on the bonfire heap.

 

Hi Tim, its a Leycesteria Formosa commonly known as a "Pheasant Berry", which was used by Game Keepers to give cover to their Pheasants. I really like it as the Bracts look really unusual and exotic.

• Other common namesHimalayan honeysuckle
  flowering nutmeg
  
  
  
• FamilyCaprifoliaceae
  
  
• GenusLeycesteria are deciduous shrubs with hollow stems, simple leaves and terminal and axillary racemes of tubular flowers, followed by fleshy berries
  
  
• DetailsL. formosa is a vigorous deciduous shrub with erect sea-green stems bearing long-pointed, ovate leaves and pendulous racemes of white flowers with showy red-purple bracts, followed by deep purple berries
  
  
• Plant rangeAsia
  
  
• So it's hardy and grow, like mine, to around 6' in height by around the same in width and, like all plants, like a feed every now and then.