WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY 2023

I have outsourced lawn care. Starlings, blackbird and sparrows are kindly de-thatching it and carrying the dead grass and moss into their nests.

They are hard workers, especially considering they are paid peanuts.

 

More like 'what we've been doing for the garden' this morning. Took the trailer to get loaded up with an enormous bucketful of beautiful soil improver. A very enterprising local cattle farmer has created a sideline of accepting green and wood waste, shredding it, adding manure, composting it and selling the result for €15 m3. The heaps are massive but he still sells out by the end of April. This is exactly what the municipal tips should be doing but don't. Instead, whatever arrives there ends up being burned or in landfill
I reckon another 4 or 5 trips should be enough to get the borders mulched and the soil in the polytunnel improved out of all recognition Barrowing it around is going to provide useful exercise too

 

Potted up 14 chilli plants and pricked out 40 tomatoes.

 

Tidied up two pedestal pots of Nepeta that flank the front door and got a hanging basket ready for trailing succulents (Mesembryanthemum cordifolium/Aptenia cordifolia) arriving Monday.

 

Can put some in the mail please.

 

Planted my first Potatoes in a bag.
I also have quite a few Toms not germinating, I'll sow a few more tomorrow.

 

Moved some more plants out into the greenhouse.

Potted up the Peas into their final pots.

Gradually shifting certain plants out from the bubble wrapped enclosure inside the greenhouse ( will fleece in varying layers overnight if required).

Continue moving a few things around in the borders to more suitable places.

 

Potted on 45 more dahlias. About 50 or 60 more to pot. Potted up 34 lilium. Sowed yet more cosmos (cupcake and double dutch rose) and sowed three lots of zinnias (left half of each packet for direct sowing in May as they don't normally grow well for me in greenhouse for some reason) Used 6 bags of MiracleGro peat free so emergency compost run will probably be needed tomorrow as only 1 bag left.

 

Oh, and dug up a load of Oxeye Daisy seedlings for a friend who wants some for her garden. Moved them so quickly they didn't realise they had been stuffed into a big tray. Warned her they are pretty but a thug! And, Remus Nautilus helped in the greenhouse and even let me use the potting bench. He was in charge of checking seed germination.

 

Hmmm nearly forgot this task......thanks for the memory jog Andy.


Job for tomorrow is now.....dividing some of the Hostas!!

 

Gosh Oxeye Daisies......my hubs has never really forgiven me!! I sowed some about 5 years ago and boy did they take over our garden!!

Still quickly digging them out of our borders as soon as they emerge, and our lawns.....well that is a very sore subject with hubs....can't mention the O D word here.

 

They are such a thug, but do look lovely. Gave some to parents (after saying they will spread everywhere) lawn full then following year they had to dig loads out. I hid up and laughed I’m afraid

 

Potting on with The Baby. She's increasingly keen to gardening as long as it doesn't involve worms or slugs.

I had my warm "mother teaching her daughter"- moment on showing how leggy Cosmos stems are buried in a loop in their new pots leaving just the baby leaves above the soil.

The Baby sowed some dwarf beans and cucumbers in pots and helped me to re-hang the rather vigorous Ipomoeas a bit lower so that they are less likely to twine around the electric cords for a few days.

For the record, The Baby is 21 years old and in charge of any heavy lifting and hedge pruning.