WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY - 2021

Its been a lily day for me - finally got around to doing more than just thinking about relocating a couple of Puruvian lilies when the new ones arrived this morning (I kind of thought they were all dwarf sized when I got them last year... apparently they're not - oops). My lily of the Nile also arrived today so that's now planted up too.

I think my daliettas and chocolate cosmos didn't make it through winter Stupid question: could any of you good people advise when they should start or have started showing new growth if they did make it? I don't want to dig them up if they have survived by some miracle but I'm not sure how long to leave it. Thanks in advance

Best wishes to everyone and their gardens

 

@Snorky85 The sweet peas and Heuchera are probably ok to go in the cold frame, probably best wait till next week when the weather supposed to be better . you can leave them outside the GH door during the day and put them back in over night for a few days.

@EmmaJane Its to early yet for Dahlias outside mine aren't even showing yet inside the greenhouse . The Chocolate cosmos are similar to dahlias forming a tuber they look like white cream fingers / sausages they should be firm to touch if they are soft they are rotting . A lot depends on how free draining the soil is, if you are on clay they may of snuffed it I don't hold out much hope for your CCosmos over wintering this year its unlikely it would of formed a big enough tuber to overwinter. If you know exactly where they are dig them up without chopping them up and have a look and then possibly pot them up , I am very impatient with dahlias I am always poking around with my fingers ( safest way to inspect them ) to see any sighs of life.

 

@Perki thank you for this - I will have a cautious prod at them tomorrow

 

more and strong winds for several days. Yesterday was and strong winds ( 45 mph ) so went for a bike ride . Not much done in garden. Cleaned out hedgehog feeding station as at least one visiting ( must put camera out ). Cleaned out bird baths.

 

Potting up tomato, chilli, dahlia and lupin seedlings.
In the greenhouse some of my dahlia tubers are showing signs of growth, D excelsa has shoots about an inch above the soil.

 

spent the afternoon in the front garden. we had new tree ties delivered so we reinforced all the pleached trees, move a few of the supports and got them all sorted-they seem much sturdier in the wind now.

I emptied a few old troughs and potted up some bits and bobs-was annoyed that vine weevil grubs were in there

I decided to weed the front border and scraped out loads of stones. Wasn't sure where to put the stones but then remembered the huge pig feeder troughs I bought to use as planters so all the stones went in the bottom of it for drainage. got a few buckets of weeds out which was good. going to give it a bit of a dig over (rather than just hoeing) and will order a bulk sack of compost to top up the border.

shattered now

 

This is sort of gardening, been watching this video on old rose plants that have gone out of fashion and maybe become extinct.

 

currently sat in the shed on the lotty waiting for the sudden rain downpour to pass. i can hear the rain trickling into my water tank

Wish Id brought a flask of tea here with me

 

Just ordered strawberries for my new patch. 30 plants, probably overkill... definitely overkill actually. But I'll be making jam for the next year!

Ordered from this local nursery we have which is usually commercial-only but they started selling to the public as a result of the pandemic last summer. Everything is incredibly cheap as it's wholesale cost, and they deliver direct!

Posted some tomatoes for sale on Next Door and everyone has gone crazy! A few people coming to collect seedlings (which gets them out of my hands, great news!) and quite a lot requesting to collect end of April so have got a good list of names.

 

Potted on 8 sweet peppers, 12 lupin seedlings and sowed some beetroot seeds.