What are we doing in the garden 2024

Over the last few days I've had some plug plants arrive, cosmos "Apricot Lemonade", rudbeckia "Sahara" and thunbergia "African Sunset". The latter is going to be joining sweet pea "April in Paris" on a willow obelisk when the time is right. Seedlings are still more or less doing OK except for nicotiana "Bronze Queen" which has gone from about six seedlings to one. I assume this has something to do with the poor germination this year mentioned on the pack. The other nicotianas ("Deep Purple" and "Perfume Blue") are doing well so far. I've sown the remainder of "Bronze Queen" and will just have to wait and see. I've also sown the remainder of scabiosa "Fata Morgana" as I didn't didn't get as many decent seedlings as I would have liked.

Today I've removed some of the compost from my container potatoes since I filled it to the top when I planted them. I've also sown my broad beans, "Sutton Dwarf" in a 15 gallon container and used a combination of used compost, some bagged compost that's gone anaerobic and some multipurpose. Fingers crossed they'll be alright, I used some anaerobic with the strawberries as well to get rid of it and they seem to have done well so far. Tomorrow the plan is to dig up some bits from the front garden to take to work and, all being well, sweep and pressure wash the patio as it's an absolute mess. We shall see how that turns out though.

 

Been over to my bungalow in Lincoln today. Havent been for a couple of weeks as been busy working.(I’m getting it ready for long term rental). My friend came with me and helped cut the well overgrown grass whilst I did the weeding. I’m absolutely shattered. Need to go back tomorrow to do some decorating etc.

Also need to take some of the plants out to have at my home. The cornflowers and heucheras and blue bells were looking lovely.

 

It been a busy day in the garden . Had a job on this morning but after popped to the GC got a couple of plants and divided them when I got home , Divided many more plants today and potted up . Been moving plants here there and everywhere , I've replanted a area rear to the kitchen window , my choyisa goldfingers has more a less snuffed it so out that come . Had to remove some alliums I love them to bits but I've got so many they smothering other plants. Attacked a Eupatorium which is hell bent on taking over no doubt the wet weather is to its liking , I've had to raid next door skip for some slate and use it as a barrier to stop it going into next door.

Done quite a bit in the bog garden as well took some clumps of eupatorium and planted them as well as some persicaria september spires a bit of weeding while I were at it , its starting to fill out now . I bought some primula candelabra hybirds mixed last year , I rarely don't want mixed colours but this time I did and they are all the dam same colour

 

That sounds lovely. Looking forward to some photos when it gets going.

 

I potted on some onion seedlings.
I finally completed Phase 2 of cleaning the greenhouse. Took the pavers out and brushed them, lifted the weed matting and shook it outside, then relaid it. I have bare earth flooring. Replaced the pavers. Wasn't going to do any more but bullied myself into resurrecting an old, very bright blue, tatty, smelly, holey plastic tarpaulin as shading. We fought with each other for some time while I shook debris from it, opened it out, folded it and then tried to get it over the top of the greenhouse before tying it down to prevent it sailing into the ether during the next gale.I was determined to get a final years worth of work out of it. By the time I had tied some of the holes together and tested my shading skill by sitting on the cat's chair inside the greenhouse I was bushed. No more was done for the rest of the day.
Now I have to move onto Phase 3 of preparation which is pot washing ready for the tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and loofah to be planted and installed.
It is very satisfying to note the slow demise of the brambles and nettles I sprayed last week. A long lingering death is what they deserve!

 

Do you not collect the nettles for a feed @Goldenlily26 ? It's very useful.
I've just spent ages collecting some of the relentless slugs and dispatching them. I did some yesterday as well. Must have been at least 60 or 70 just in a short space of time this morning after I took daughter to work. Shredded hyacinth foliage, wallflowers, daffodils, hellebores, lettuce [of course] and their favourites - clematis and ligularia.That was just the stuff I looked at first.

It's becoming pointless growing certain plants - especially if we're not going to get proper winters any more here. That, at least, keeps them at a more manageable level.

 

I haven't got around to making nettle feed yet. I have thought about it, along with garlic spray to deter bugs. The idea of a stinking bucket of goo has put me off.
The slugs seem to have been rampaging this last week or so, perhaps the dryer weather is making them chomp on plants, my primroses have been decimated.

 

Spent the morning preparing the greenhouse for the summer. Mixing soil and peat free compost together, then filing buckets and moving to greenhouse ready for tomato planting.

 

Just finished putting the runners in. They are the only veg I do. They are planted in a space saving, high rise position on top on the side wall. Have been doing this for nearly 40 years! Still have to put the canes in.


To get to the runners to pick them I can either get on the wall, use a chair, get the steps out or use the loppers! Depends if I'm feeling lazy.

Last year's photo below shows them fully grown. We did lose alot of flowers in some heavy storms. Plenty of small bumble bees here to pollinate them.


We always plant Lady Di and usually have so many that they fill a whole shelf in the fridge. So we do let the neighbours have a few. Never get any stringy ones!

 

Moved the calendula out of the greenhouse and put them outside. I put most of the snapdragons in the greenhouse in place of the calendula.
Yesterday i dug up a old lavender that had died and today i planted 2 lavenders in it's place. Watered the bedding plants in the conservatory.

 

1.5 years ago, I collected leaves and left them in the bag until last month. When I repotted the chillies and tomatoes, I took much of the leave compost. Two weeks later, I was wondering what is looking out of the soil, and found at least 100 germinated seedlings per pot! Shortly after that I found a piece of a seed head, and remembered that I had indeed grabbed an Echinacea head with the leaves in that Autumn but couldn’t find it in the bag. I totally forgot about it.
This morning I repotted the chilli and tomato plants and removed most of the compost and potted them into soil that I had bought yesterday. My order of 8 bags has still not been delivered.
I also planted the last self-grown plants.
After that, I went to a local forest and found a few branches that fitted to replace the rotten ones of my borders.

 

For family reasons we weren't able to do much in the garden last year. This year we have just really maintained the bare bones. The last 2 days we have worked hard and removed so many plants that have taken over. Wood avens and ivy are just 2. The ivy is a good plant but as always in our garden in the wrong place and taking over so much. Can't dig it out and pulling not easy so having to cut back and ...yes I know it will come back with more vigour, but that is all we are able to do at the moment. At least we have been able to do the work albeit under a grey sky but no rain.

 

This morning i went to the garden centre and bought a strawberry plant (to replace one that has died), a tomato plant (as insurance in case my seed grown ones stay half an inch tall all season) and a new pair of gardening gloves. When I was planting the tomato I opened a new bag of compost with my scissors and managed to cut the end of the thumb of my new gloves! Oh well, at least it was just the glove.

 

Have spent the morning battling ivy too @On the Levels so can sympathise. Mine is in an area I inherited and haven’t really done anything too in the 8 years we have been here so monster ivy roots and stems to tackle. If it would flower and fruit as groundcover i would leave it for the wildlife. I know I won’t eradicate it completely so hoping to develop a tapestry effect with a mix of ivy, other and woodland plants, it’s a north facing bank so very shady and dry.

 

Oops! Still ... at least you didn't have to spend the rest of the day in A&E!

Tipping down here. No gardening and the plants I've been bringing in at night are sitting inside by the patio doors. Have finished a library book and cleaned the floor.