What are we doing in the garden 2024

You can in that the shrub itself will not sulk ... but if you do it at any time except just after flowering, you will lose next year's flowers, as I can attest from experience.

I would describe it as mainly upright but with long arching branches as well and you get the majority of the flowers on these. It wants to be about 2m high and the same wide.

 

Yes - but if you just remove/cut back individual stems/branches [as with many shrubs] it's fine. I probably didn't make that clear
It's such a forgiving shrub though, so it doesn't mind being treated harshly!
I've often seen info stating it can/should be cut back in late winter/early spring as it's technically summer flowering and vigorous in habit, but mine always flowers throughout May and into June, so I don't usually do that.

It's just getting some buds about to open, and there's plenty on it. It'll be good in a few days time.

 

I know. I try to avoid asking after the fate of plants passed on to others. The guilt is too much.

 

Yesterday I looked at one of my favourite Mahonias, and saw a new flush of leaves on one branch. Then I realised the other two branches had no flush of leaves. Closer inspection showed that theirs had been munched by molluscs.

 

Managed to get my Petunia Red Velour potted up. Hoping for SPECTACULAR results

 

Heavy rain, I may need a boat to get to my shed

 

There should be a thread for "what are we not doing in the garden" because there's very little I can write on this thread so far this year.
On it I would put 'I haven't sown any seeds yet, although I've usually done it by mid April, and I haven't weeded the garden or pressure washed the patio, and I haven't tidied the perspex shelters where I do my sowing and potting - it's all still as it would be in February.'

As for the seeds I may not bother this year because it's going to take a while to catch up with all the 'not done yet' jobs, and the date on most of the packs is 2025 or 2026 ...
And the weather doesn't look as if it's going to improve very much soon
And I'm getting old and running out of energy so everything takes longer

 

Nothing outside it's raining again. So i sowed some wallflower seeds in the toilet roll tubes and put 3 seeds in each.

 

That's a great compliment @simone_in_wiltshire, thank you! I've found that Geums start to sprawl when the soil gets dry so I water them when there's been no rain for a few days.

 

Recovery day one after yesterday's lawn attack. Come back moss, all is forgiven !

 

Planted a clematis sieboldii to scramble through a Continus. It’s been languishing in its pot for a week because weather has been wet. Finally a better spell coming up. Raised beds still half done as awaiting some longer planks which have been delayed. . Base for shed completed. Away for a week in Cornwall so fingers crossed daughter doesn’t swamp the greenhouse…… or forget it entirely!

 

Managed to get petrol for mower and get my grass cut and my friends grass cut before it started chucking it down.