What are we doing in the garden 2024

I did the same job yesterday. It was amazing how much thatch I was able to remove from my small front lawn, enough to half fill the green bin. Lots of moss there too; when I cleaned out a bird box the other day I found the top half of the nest was dog hair, and the bottom half a lovely soft moss. That moss could well have come from my lawn, it looks exactly the same.

Rather overdid it yesterday so today was just some gentle pottering in the sun. Planted some snakes head fritillary bulbs in a border and some dwarf iris in pots, planted out my new salvia and aster in the front garden, and pricked out some foxglove seedlings.

 

It has been beautiful here today, but sadly I have not been able to use it gardening as there were other calls on my time. Just a bit of watering and some mental notes about what needs doing when the weather next allows.

 

Dug up a couple of Arisaemas and moved them to a spot where they might be happier.
Then did some weeding, while listening to the T20 World Cup; dug up numerous pieces of glass, a metal fixing pin, a broken painted terracotta pot and a mangled plastic container.

 

Finally got around to trimming the lavender all around the drive. The actual cutting is quick but it takes forever arranging the long sheet to catch the bits. No wasps nests this year Then raked, trod and raked again over what was formerly the asparagus 'bed'. I got a bit carried away when we moved over here and planted 250 crowns the length of the veg plot. 17 years on, they've come to the end of the road, so they've been ploughed up to create a mowing strip which was sown with grass seed today in expectation of rain tomorrow.
After our forecast damp spell, we'll prepare a new trench/ridge further down the plot for the new asparagus. It's going to need lots of sand and peat to lighten the soil for them, but oh-so-worth-it! Perhaps not quite so many crowns this time though
Got everything under cover that should be, ready for the deluge

 

I started off with what I thought would be a simple task today, removing a 10 year old multi stemmed Portuguese laurel. It has looked increasingly sickly over the last two years with yellowing leaves and no improvement after mulching and feeding. No sign of disease but, like two others I had, it just didn’t like my garden. Sometimes you have to admit defeat . It came out after a bit of a struggle with a spade, mattock, loppers and pruning saw. There was a lot of mess as it’s on a bank in my lower garden below the Sorbus tree which has been dropping berries and leaves for several weeks.

Whilst working in the area, I noticed that the variegated Phormium close by was looking a bit flat, not the usual upright habit. Looking closer, all the growing points within the crown were covered in a thick mulch of decaying leaves and fermenting berries, like cold porridge . Not a pleasant task to dig it out by hand. Many of the Phormium’s leaves also came away without much resistance and were rotting at the base. I’m hoping that I’ve cleared it in time to dry up and recover.

After all the trips to the bin, the steps and paving were covered with a muddy, glutinous mess so I got the hose and deck brush out to clean up. I spent two hours more in the garden than I was planning . Looking at the results, the Phormium does look a bit more upright and the gap where the laurel was is giving it more light and air. I was going to plant something else in the gap but will leave it as it is for a while.

 

You moved the lawn??

 

Shiney is in touch with his inner Finn I regularly move the lawn and sew seeds

This has been an athletic weekend. Cleaned the greenhouse glass and took stock of what is broken and what needs to be replaced urgently and what can be fixed in very near future

Some things just need to be left as they are.



My greenhouse ambitions are not very high, if I can overwinter the hardy perennial plugs I bought and get some toms and chillies next summer I'm happy.

Then it was time to dig out the middle fence post I sawed through last week.

Now, if anyone needs a fence strong enough to stand any amount of hurricanes, asteroid impacts or whatnots, just let me know and I'll ask the previous owner of this house.

Seriously, if the fence is waist high and there apparently just to keep the dog on one side, do you really need to concrete 4x4 posts knee deep? The photo is what was underground.



Anyways, this is abouts where the pond will be so a good start.

There are four more posts to dig up, but I have a winning plan. Once I retire (in about a decade or so, or, judging by my pension fund letters, when I'm 106 ) I will finally have time to start the fitness and healthy eating regime and will surely be able to whisk the concreted poles out like feathers by the time I'm 65. So I'll leave them in for now.

After another bit of the middle fence was gone, I sort of sketched with the plentiful paving slabs where the gravel path will go and daydreamed.



Ooh, nearly forgot to boast, I also cleared out the shed and discovered very interesting things (as one does when clearing out sheds) such as a machete knife in a handy carry holder and an electricity socket. The garden doesn't have leccy power (I sincerely hope) so perhaps it's just for decoration.

Decided not to touch it nor investigate any closer.

 

Are they concreted in though @Selleri, or just knocked in? Stock fences are done like that with one of those devices I can visualise but can't remember the name of. If they're definitely concreted, you'd surely have seen it by that point. If they aren't, you should be able to rock the posts when the ground's wet enough, and pull them out.

Talking of concreting, I'm redoing a border under my bedroom window, so decided to take advantage of the drier weather and did a small base for the timber to sit on, along to where it'll meet a corner bed, and the return to the house wall. It was due to be damp overnight so it was all covered later on. Will take a look at it later, but I doubt I'll be able to do the timber today as it's to be wet later. At least it's prepped.
More pot painting done, some feeders washed, sweet peas and dianthus deadheaded, a couple of things potted on, and some tidying of wayward branches on a few shrubs etc.
Doubt I'll do anything much today - might get a couple of things after my walk, before the rain appears, or it'll have to be inside jobs instead.

 

@fairygirl , yes there was a nice, sturdy concrete boot around the post. Thankfully it broke in half, otherwise I might not have been able to lift it out. No half measures or cutting corners in this house!

We are off to Dobbies now, they are closing down so I'm hoping for clearance sale or at least bangers and mash.

 

Did lots of running around yesterday, but called into a garden centre and picked up a load of 3 inch pots and four, two foot planters for £3.99 each. I'll use them next to my cold frames, for bringing stuff on before it gets planted out to wherever it ends up. Could be flowers, could be veggies!



Today, I gave the lawn a cut, which depending on the weather, could be its last of the year. It's a two mile walk to strim and mow and now one garden bin is full. Trying to decide whether I've got the energy to plant the 36 daffodil bulbs I got the other day. Perhaps I'll think about it over a coffee!

 

What a PITA @Selleri, but at least it was helpful that it broke! I've got a couple of bits of concrete like that - but they were from a washing whirly which I inherited on moving in. Like you, I was changing the back garden, as it was all just slabs and gravel, and I had to move the whirly, so I lifted out the base, and concreted it into a bucket, sunk it in the ground as a temporary solution, with the idea of putting it back into the ground properly [ and securely] when I got the right spot. Unfortunately, the thing rusted and broke off so I was back to square one.
The other bit was from a temporary fence, and I turned it into one of the toadstools I have in the back garden.

Didn't do much yesterday due to weather, and something else that cropped up and took my attention. May not have much time today either, and the weather's to be duff later, so outdoor jobs may have to be put on hold again. The little concrete edge is all fine, so I'd like to sort out the timber for that if possible, and work out how I'm sorting it all.
The garden's pretty much self sufficient now for the rest of autumn and through winter, so I'm just treating myself to some fresh bulbs as many rot here in the ground, and some of the small ones get taken by those grey tree rats. I've already done a few pots, so will look forward to those in spring.

 

Planted some of the tulip bulbs, first i weeded the area.