What are we doing in the garden 2024

Thank you fairy girl, I will have a look.

 

Not exactly "doing in the garden". I sat with my Queen of the Night succulent for 5 hours in the conservatory, with a book and a glass of wine to watch the 3rd flower bud I found hiding amongst the segments, open.
Success at last. It was amazing.
The outer sepals, the palest of pink slowly opened out, they measured approx. 6 ins from tip to tip. The central tube, transluescent white, eventually opened out into a tube approx. 5ins long. before opening out almost flat. I kept smelling it for the claimed wonderful scent but practically nothing, until I sat a couple of feet away when I could smell an elusive sweet perfume. The flower when fully expanded was huge and very beautiful. There must be nocturnal moths and zzy things with extremely long proboscis long enough to reach the nectaries in its native growing location.
That kind of experience more than makes up for all of my gardening disasters and renews my wonder at what Mother Nature can do.
I can now understand why some people hold flower opening dinner parties to watch the spectacular event. Having seen lots of pictures of the flowers nothing prepared me for the size of the flower. Hopefully, now that the plant has had 3 flowers, there will be even more in years to come.

 

That sounds amazing @Goldenlily26, so pleased you were able to watch it flower at last.

We've had a fair bit of rain overnight and it's drizzling but forecast to dry up late afternoon.
Chap's coming then to zap the wasp nest in the airbrick and as he says they will get very cross, don't think I'll venture out! I get a very bad reaction from bee and wasp stings.

 

That sounds amazing @Goldenlily26 - I have never heard of dinner parties for such things but I approve of it!

Stay inside @lizzie27!

I’ve hardly done anything in the garden this last week as either too hot, too rainy or too busy! I need to catch up on deadheading and then hedge trimming.

 

Talking about wasps, recently, on 4 separate occasions I have had very large wasps in my house. Almost double the size of "normal" wasps. Rather scary things. I managed to catch one in a folded handkerchief to put outside, I could see it busily stabbing the fabric for all its worth. Obviously very cross with me manhandling it. I do not think they were hornets but I am a bit concerned there might be a nest around somewhere.

 

Wasp man has been and gone and I'm staying safely indoors.

Glad ours were just normal size @Goldenlily26. I would keep a cautious eye on any wasps in the house to see if you can spot any indications of a possible nest. Last year, we had a nest up in the soffits above the dining room, they'd got through a plastic vent which had fallen out.

 

Before anyone asks - hedge trimming!!

 

The bay tree with all its suckers had to be tackled today in between the drizzle. Collected some apples for storage (ALREADY!). Pick a ridiculous small number of blue berries.
The the cornichons that were supposed to be cucs, pickled the smaller ones and then for the first time have started some wine with the larger ones. Experiment that may go very wrong but they was no way we could eat or pickle them all.

 

On my way back from the office I had a grand idea on what to do with the compost in the grow box that has housed my Toms and assorted things over some years, and started to carry it to the front to deep mulch everything.

The beds with Hydrangeas and other shrubbery take any amount of compost mulch and it might actually do the plants some good.

In any case, a thick layer will hide the weeds for long enough I hope

Once empty, the box (ex Degu cage) will go to scrap metal guy and the liner to bin.

I was very pleased with my cunning plan but after six double- bucket load trips admitted defeat and retreated for supper. Apparently I'm not quite as young and fit as I'd like to think.

 

Asian Ladybird (or Lady Beetle)


In the garden this evening.

 

I had some small wasps sitting on my hand yesterday, early evening @lizzie27 , and there were plenty of them tootling around beside me while I chopped some more hedging for the 'cooncil' bin collection tomorrow.
I needed to do that after my outing, because it wasn't going to be very favourable for outdoor jobs today.
Think it'll have to be housework instead. Not sure I can remember what that is....

Had to look up degu cage @Selleri! We just had fairly ordinary ones for the various rats/chinchillas etc that the girls had. That's a good use for the contents though. Mulching's always good for shrubs.

 

On a recent visit to a LARGE garden centre we were drawn to a walk-in Grow House produced by Smart Garden. Realising that the price was a tiny fraction of what we paid for a "proper" greenhouse at our last property and with much more space inside, we took the plunge and bought one. Son constructed it yesterday, it just fits behind the summerhouse so is sheltered, it's fab! Can't wait to sow seeds, root cuttings etc under cover

 

Pruning yet again the vine that just gallops away. Think come the winter it will have to go.
Picked a huge amount of pea beans. At least those are faithful and producing.
Then in the polytunnel....lots of space now we have removed the cornichons (supposed to be cucs). So in for a penny...we sowed some squashes, lollo rosso lettuce, parsnip and chinese cabbage.
I know it is late in the season and what are we doing? But being a new tunnel (polycarbonate one) we decided we needed to experiment more.

 

Guess what? Hedge trimming!!
And pruning the jasmine.

 

6.30am this morning I was outside putting in extra stakes around my tomato pots before securing fleece wrapping. It took a while as there was only me out of bed at this time... but it was worth it in the long, as the high winds and rain would have meant disaster to all of my toms.

Mascot Bush, toms have nearly all turned white and it looks like there is a lot more to come if weather gets better.

2 Baby Boomer Bushes have plenty toms on them but again only just turning light green.

Lufchoise multi flora (cordon) - I like the best so far (taste is juicy, sweet and delicious)
I've included 2 photos because I don't really know why I have a heavy crop at the bottom of the plant and as when you look further up the main stem ( second poto) I think the plant might have suffered blossom drop as hardly any have produce fruit.

Feeding once every week, tickling trusses, keeping soil moist!
Will it all be down to the unsettled weather we have been having?