WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY - 2021

Held a funeral over the remains of the two Hibiscus that got frozen and which I had tried resurrecting without any luck. It was up to 33f so I was sorry there was nothing else to do out there as snow is still covering much of the gardens.

Filled in all proposed start dates on my mini calendar for my seeds. I note the number of weeks before last frost on each Sunday then fill in the names of seeds that should be sown on the days throughout the rest of that week.

I can't find any start date for the Allium seeds I collected so I'll probably give that a trysie this week.

And in a few minutes I shall run down to the cellar to see what has germinated. Always exciting to see new little green friends!

 

Not exactly gardening but have taken advance of the dryish weather for last two days to clean out and wash down all the guttering and down pipes on the house and garage. Quite cold here with the easterly wind.

I came out of the back door earlier to find a huge Buzzard sitting in the willow tree looking at me . Strangely the little birds didn't seem particularly concerned about it being there. It flew off. Husband said it's okay, they mainly eat worms. Later on I looked out of the kitchen window discovered that it also has a taste for Rattus Norweigus as it was in one of the rabbit runs eating one of the younger female rats .

I went to the hardware store this morning and bought some peat free compost and a yellow Scabiosa. I haven't grown Scabiosa for awhile and did not know they come in yellow - previous plants have been blue/lilac or white. Label says it likes a dry site, is this correct? The others liked it a bit on the moist side.

 

Looking at it wistfully from the kitchen window, longing for the time I can get out there again when I'm not at work and it's not dark!
Noticed the first new growth of snowdrops and crocus pushing through tho' the other day ....... oh how I love new growth

 

Us oldies wish at times, they'd be a bit slower.

 

I get a bit impatient this time of year , I'm itching to get on with seed sowing .But I know I have to wait till spring is a bit closer

 

Have you tried.....................Jam making??????????????????. Just a thought.

 

Not sure what event is or has been occurring down by the church this morning...flashing lights like a disco or a rave even..read about such venues


then the smoke screen appeared..funny I thought.....

 

I’m not doing much in the garden at the moment. Although we don’t have snow, the temperatures are near zero, and it’s damp and miserable....

I did do about 30 mins of leaf-raking though. Basically, and the leaves bed down in the two leaf-clamps, I top them up again! I should be nearly done now, so long as we don’t have high winds, which brings the leaves over from the woods on the other side of the valley.

 

Sowed some lupin seeds that i saved from my plants, not sure if they're alright I left them in the garage still in their pods so hopefully some will be alright. Don't know if they'll come true to type but they'll be nice anyway. Put them in a small propagater in the concervatory.

 

Don't mention wind please so early.....we have a calm day but can remember having snow here once...

Three trees in this photo are no longer..Elder back of the pond..storm took it a Wild Box Tree grow mad here so needed to remove it and the Very Tall Conifer in between the Car Port and the Summerhouse...

 

I

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Good idea Mike !!!!!

I shall take a leaf and maybe :spring:even a flower out of your Book


Maybe we can exchange recipes ???????:doctor:

 

Nothing this morning so far as it raining but have checked on my Orchid cuttings.

Some might recall that I was eager to attempt taking cuttings from a plant that I inherited from my Dad last year. The parent plant was and sadly still looks a tad poorly. I did remove all the dead parts back in July and thought I would take a few bits off from the tips of some of the stems that looked as if they had teeny roots emerging from them ( wasn't too sure).

The orchid by the way is a Dendrobium one.

I just put the cuttings into a small pot with some slightly chopped up ( can be quite lumpy) orchid potting mix and stood the pot inside another one with a little water in the base to create ( hopefully) a humid environment . I used small pieces of polystyrene to keep it above the water...you proper gardeners would undoubtedly use small pebbles!!

They have been kept in a cool but bright spare bedroom for 6mths now and are still green. Checking them regularly I have noticed tiny new leaves appearing at the tip and through the side of the pot I have now discovered what looks like a white piece of proper root !!. I am scared to be too hopeful but ...could be looking good!

Not too sure what the next step will be but for now I think I'll leave them be and wait to see if more established looking roots sprout.

I have posted this in a response to @Black Orchid , but obviously any input or suggestions would be much appreciated .

 

Oops forgot the pics!!!!


Pots used

Tiny new leaves

A root...I hope



Poorly parent plant.

 

Fingers crossed for you @Upsydaisy Ive got an orchid issue too. I read to encourage further flowering to trim off the flowers at a node...instead it seems to have grown a bit of new orchid!!! Shall i cut it off and plant it?!
I'm useless with orchids