WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY 2023

Planted 30 snowdrops in the green and potted up 9 lilly bulbs that arrived this morning.

 

I'd say it depends more on what the summer temps will be like in there than the minimum in winter. You won't be able to move it outside when it hits 40°C
It would certainly be less 'trouble' planted in the ground from a watering point of view, though. Where is it now? If you do decide to keep it potted, in the long term a half-barrel on wheels can work really well if it's kept on a hard surface like a terrace. That allows for mobility/protection but would give it a wide, fairly shallow root run which is what citrus prefer.
The only other thing I'd mention is to keep a close eye out for leaf miners and scale insects. Tackle them straight away, as it's virtually impossible to get rid of them once they're established.

 

You could always roll the polythene back.
Scale insect is a bigger problem when they are undercover all summer.

 

Stuck some more elephant garlics in grow trays another 24 ish. Too many planted already around the 120 mark but i just cant chuck them out. Life would be easier if i could just dump excess plants bulbs seeds etc.

 

I find it impossible to do that
(except weeds, and I even leave some of those alone)

 

@Loofah we had citrus in the conservatory, had to move them out in the summer. Scale insects were a problem. They say that they should be outside in the summer. In the end we kept them outside in a sheltered corner and covered them with thick fleece.

 

Yesterday afternoon planted the Lilium henryi in a couple of different places and did more weeding.
Today: Carry on with the weeding.

 

China probably.

 

Full day of making horrendous mess. I do have garden clogs and always slip them on when going out to play (apart from quick nips for a smoke or taking the rubbish out or just a weeny peek at something) but as the clogs are very comfy I rarely remember to take them off when coming in.

The Child keeps telling me off, apparently the freshly scrubbed floors are now "her" freshly scrubbed floors and ought not to be soiled with natural debris, or, come to that, with any mess whatsoever. A piece of garlic accidentally dropped whilst creating a wonderful lunchtime meal is sternly pointed out and the dropper spoken to.

Anyways, Sweat Peas and some herbs have been sown, and I have made a start of clearing out the perennials overwintered top growth plus gathered ivy leaves and chopped back the Erigeron.

My grandmother told me never to cut perennials back until most frosty nights are over, as the stalks will protect the crowns and birds and insects love anything left over the winter.

Yes Madam, last night was probably the last officially frosty night so now it's time for the spring jobs to start

 

I shoveled a path through the snow to the greenhouses and brought in some (14) of the hanging pots I had stored out there. Then did a mini inventory of the larger pots, noting their colours as well so I can plan which tubers will go in them. I like colourful pots and even though my gardens don't have any symmetry, I do like to have the flowers in the pots not clash with their container.

I'll bring those big ones in in a couple of weeks and water them thoroughly with mosquito bite treated water to kill off any soil gnats that may try to rise up.

@Loofah I know the feeling. I just came across some heat mats that I had bought years ago. Totally forgotten all about them because I had replaced them in the grow tents with two larger mats. I've got 8 of the ones that fit the 10/20 trays and really have no place to put them to use. Well, I'll have a think on that one.