What are we doing in the garden 2024

Not a lot, a bit too cold for me. Just took photographs of the revamped sleeper bed and new steps which we will have to finish off next week. Checked my wood stash as I need two planks for the step sides but found nothing to suit - I might have to go and buy some wood!

 

A great day! During the rain this morning a large cardboard box was delivered, containing some really well-packaged plants I wasn't expecting yet. The nursery had promised an email when they were ready to despatch them, but I'd heard nothing... then the rain stopped, and I was able to plant, prune and water my new Autumn Bliss raspberries before it got dark.

 

Today I planted a new standard rose in a bed and another rose in a container. The standard was a pain as I had a lot of trouble getting the stake far enough in. I don't think it's straight but it's firm so should be ok. I figure when it's full of blooms I won't be looking at the stake.
Bodge it and hope is my other name.

 

I had an eye clinic appointment first thing. Later indoors I soaked the orchids using rain water that I had warming in the sun inside. This afternoon I used the leaf vac to lift and shred some more of the leaves that are down now. The Bramley apple is stubbornly holding on to many leaves. Two sacks of shredded compressed leaves now. Hopefully I will get more as once rotted they won't go far.

 

All I did was chop up the rest of the stuff I'd removed from along the fence - cotoneaster and clematis, while it was dry. I'm revamping that area, so everything's getting sheared back so that I can tackle it in spring/summer next year. If anything doesn't survive, I'm not that bothered. It's just plants, and they can be replaced.
Nothing much will happen today, as that's the only thing that really needs doing. If I cut any more back, I'd have to store it somewhere until the garden bin gets emptied next Friday.

 

Rose and shrub pruning on the driveway bed today, with a bit of weeding. Since I've got hold of some lovely, sterile mulch and chop prunings in situ (apart from rose stems) there are very few weeds apart from grass brought over from the neighbouring field by birds and cats.

 

Potted about in the polytunnel. Picked the green chillies (late sowing so not going red) and pulled up the sad looking plants. However left the peppers in for the moment as the plants look very sturdy. Weeded around the salad leaves and kohl rabi. Then we cleared out the pots that had the sweet peas in and before that supposed to have been different bulbs but the squirrels took all but one!. Put some broken clay pieces in the bottom and mixed up the compost for the different plants.....dwarf rhododendron, an acer and a variegated Yucca. Then just finished and cleared up and the rain started again.

 

Cut down the Amicia, it gets frosted every year but gets so tall before it flowers, must have ben at least 10ft.
I'm still clearing the end of the allotment of rubbish and wondering what I can use the extra space for, hopefully next summer.
Cut back a fairly large fig bush, bush rather than tree, its never ripened any fruit but its quite a good foliage plant, so I keep it.

 

Today I was most adding & replacing border edging, and also I prepared a spot that I plan to move a rose to in a couple of weeks. Both me and the garden are covered in mud at the moment, and looking worse for wear...

 

That was me yesterday, had so much mud on the soles of my shoes I could hardly walk. Decided against doing anything involving digging today as it had rained again overnight. Cut down an old straggly pyracantha instead.

 

I'm now back in my French house after 2 months in Norfolk, OH's house. My handyman has health problem so only came twice to mow and collect the post. Usually he's really good, he mows, strims, prunes, rakes leaves and it's all tidy when we return. Sometimes he's over enthusiastic with the strimmer.

This time the grass is long and there are masses of weeds, handyman never did weeding. It was cold and frosty then warm and very wet and windy. Dahlias are black but everything else has grown like mad.

I spent 2 hours this afternoon, mostly raking and sweeping leaves. Back is protesting a bit. It was already stiff after the long drive yesterday.

 

A free day + warm weather + no rain = I did gardening for 1 hour today.

 

Busy morning into this afternoon today cutting back the numerous perennials I had a slight thought cross mine mind that I've got to many then I come back to my senses . I do have a small physocarpus lady in red in the border told myself do not cut it back , probably less than a minute later half of it had been cut back while cutting some salvia now it will look odd half cut back so off with the rest . Stacked it all up ready for shredding with the lawnmower when I dig one back out . Did some wood chipping to finish the day off , unfortunately the woodchipper doesn't really like green waste it can clog it up.

I have done any bulb planting yet still got loads of pots to empty yet , I've barely bought any either I've stayed strong but I'll relent next week when they are cheap to buy .

 

I took advantage of the dry weather yesterday, and carried on chopping the stuff on the fence. I filled one of the green dumpy bags I had, so that can go in the bin on Friday. The clematis stems are woody, but not hefty, so I cut those all up and put them in the compost bin. Just the rest of the cotoneaster to cut back hard, I might get some of that done before Friday as well.

 

Just used the minute of no rain and cut down the geraniums and halved the gladioli.
Watch out for ladybirds. I found one sleeping on the base of a geranium. I covered the fella with some leaves.