What are we doing in the garden 2024

Nothing much just picked some more currants and do some watering.

 

Way too hot today to do anything but water the pots and my "nursery". It's still 30C on the north side of the house at 9:40pm.

 

Last autumn I dug up a Verbascum chaixii which kept blowing over. This spring and summer, every time I've passed the border where it used to be, I've been digging up bits of verbascum sprouting all over the place, from broken bits of root which I left behind. So... anyone wanting to increase their stock of verbascum chaixii can do so very easily from root cuttings...

Apart from that, I've been deadheading roses, watering stuff in pots, and spending some time just sitting enjoying watching the insect life on the wild carrot flowers.

 

My wife dug over a bed of Japanese anemones, and did a lousy job of removing all the bits of root. She planted a hydrangea, but I'm going round weekly gently digging up bits of broken roots that have sprouted.
So the same thing applies.
I've never been able to deliberately increase my stock of any plant this way. I wonder how many it works for?
I also wonder how many pieces of root my wife left behind. I'm gently removing the new plants as they appear. All come up with old roots.
Now, what are the chances of that happening with a plant I want to reproduce?

 

I do like them, @shiney , but this particular one (I grew a batch from seed) was planted in the wrong place. A bit of a wind tunnel. We do have others - but in our climate they grow very tall, so tend to need staking wherever they are.

Perhaps you should go into commercial production of Japanese anemones, @RowlandsCastle . It doesn't sound as if you'd need to take "official" root cuttings - you could just dig up the bits your wife left behind...

 

I'd not considered that, @Liriodendron
Given that we have another bed dedicated to those flowers, except for a couple of lilac trees and a cherry tree, I've plenty to experiment with. This bed is triangular, but about 20ft long. We also have other varieties of the Japanese anemones elsewhere in the garden. They attract the bees, but are invasive.
Problem is that so many gardens in the village have them, I'd have to advertise further afield.

I think we are stuck with them forever!!

 

Jap. anems aren't particularly troublesome here, so I'm happy if they spread a bit. All comes down to conditions, as with most plants. The pink ones seem to be worse for some reason, in certain areas [not here] but I don't grow those. They've been earlier into growth this year though - again, the warmer weather earlier in the year.
I didn't do much yesterday other than finishing the bit of the shed round the window, which was fiddly and time consuming, another section of concrete for the shed bed, and then starting on recycling a little wooden box to make a sparrow nestbox - also fiddly. A few bits and pieces of deadheading, some despairing of the budding dahlia shoots chewed off by slugs [] and tying in of sweet peas.
The best thing was -I then spent time watching a little warbler enjoying the fennel right outside the kitchen window. I even got pix and a couple of videos. Absolutely delightful. Must remember to put them on the wildlife thread. That was easily the highlight of yesterday.

 

I love the smaller birds. They have so much character, and are a delight to watch.

Our Japanese anemones are mostly the pink ones, although we have another (smaller) bed of the white ones further down the garden - but I can't enjoy those from the house.
We hope to (try and) replace the pink ones with a bed containing callicarpa and hydrangea. The weedy cherry tree can go, and perhaps the lilac trees will flourish more.

 

Finished the cutting of the road side hedge that was done poorly by someone we paid a lot of money. Just wish drivers would be considerate about those of us who live here and need to do work on their hedges.
Continued with the ivy removal but thankfully the main part is done and now the replacing of an archway which now looks down onto the Dicksonia (looking fabulous and hope that it doesn't mind suddenly having more light) and the Gunneras and many different ferns.
Weeded an area long overdue between the pea beans and last year swiss chard. Far too long so took a long time. Tried then to dig up the old swiss chard. Not a chance! Ground like concrete.
Weeded the N side of the outside of the new polytunnel and the path next to it. Looks a lot better.
Pruned part of the fig tree which (like all our plants) is determined to grow over the path. Only pruned back those that didn't have figs, but already the blackbirds have been in.
In all the last 2 days I think we have managed a lot......but the national collection of bindweed continues to increase.

 

I like the idea of the "national collection of bindweed" idea. We have only three types.

Would you like some for your collection?

 

Do you have any traffic cones you could put out when hedge cutting, @On the Levels ? We found some in our local river when we lived in the UK! An advance warning triangle from your car might work, too.

We're not allowed to cut hedges here between March 1st and August 31st. I see the point, but if it's a little hedge in your garden and the birds have finished nesting, I doubt if it's much of a problem...

 

Our neighbour's garage has a very tastefully draped festoon of bindweed in his gutter. I know it grows anywhere but how the hell did it get up there?

I've just asked NDN's gardener if she would come and cut back our front hedge (she'd made a good job on his hedge this morning). She can but not till 23rd August - it will be twice the width by then but needs must. OH won't be able to do any work like that for a bit until he's recovered from last week's hip replacement.

 

@Liriodendron we always check about nests before we do any cutting/pruning. The person who "cut" the hedge poorly for us did use cones and this caused much anger from drivers of cars/vans/lorries. The best ones were the tractor drivers but then they did have to wait until the cones were moved back to allow them to pass.