What Jobs Are We Doing in the Garden Today... MK3.. 2013

Planted up a load of pots to sit around on the patio (10 of them if memory serves); various sizes, and planted up completely randomly with any selection of nicotiana, petunias, geraniums (pelargonium), trailing geraniums, trailing fuchsia, dahlia, malva zebrina, and the odd trailing lobelia;

Then, it was on to watering stuff, and having a general inspection of the tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes and my Caribbean peppers which are coming along nicely



Whilst clearing last years remnants out of the pots, I found a few fuchsias that I would have sworn were only annuals, but they have sprouted again this year so I cut off the old wood and replanted them into the pots as I went along.

I also came across what I believe to be a hazel tree which had taken root in one of the old pots:



I'm assuming hazel because of the nut type seed that is attached to the stem?



I have potted it up into a 15cm pot for now - no idea why though, nor what I will do with it.

I found another one earlier, but managed to strip it bare before getting it out, and the seed attached to its stem was more of a walnut sort of texture? I lobbed that one without taking any pics.

 

Looks very much like hazel to me as well

I shifted a couple of 20" hanging baskets from the greenhouse to the patio (use them for standing in the top of large pots). One is full of fuschias and the other is full of some plants that I haven't the faintest idea about (I'll have to ask Mrs Shiney).

Then I shifted and tidied up some of the trays of plants in the greenhouse (someone came round to buy a load of plants in the morning) and cleaned up the mess of loose soil and weeds that had collected on the plastic membrane over the year. This gave me space to pot on five Black Russian tomato plants into large pots, put canes in for them and tie them up.

After that I spent a couple of hours doing more weeding in the wilder veg plot and removed lots of strawberry weed (most with roots over 12" deep) and loads of buttercups, bindweed, dead and dying forget-me-nots and violets that had gone mad. As our ground had been rock hard and impossible to dig, the plot had been given six hours of sprinkler and then a day for it to become less claggy. It worked perfectly and the dug area has 30 more runnerbean plants and six squash and courgette plants. They should take off quite nicely now

I then wound up more of the runnerbean plants on the ShineyFrame. Most have reached at least 5ft and some have been running away and reached at least 10ft. Flowers are, at last, forming on the beans . Most years, the first of the beans have already formed by this week.

As my last job out there yesterday I went round the garden taking out over 100 plum suckers

 

Cleared out the second wee wall with inset border, getting shot of about 3 cordyline in the process - leaving only two for a bit of structure, and so it isn't as noticeable at first glance if/when we get an inspection from our letting agent or landlord. Having said that, I doubt they would be too bothered anyway, as the garden is getting more attention than it has had in years, and I don't reckon that there will be many tenants that put so much into a garden?

Anyway, I then planted it up the same as the other one, with hardy fuchsias and malva zebrina; then I topped up the back border with the some of the last few (slightly leggy) African marigolds, cramming them quite close in the hope that the visual barrier will keep the dog off. Then it was onto the border to the right of my buddleia (between it and the rescued hollyhock), which I filled following the FCRP protocol; liberal amounts of chicken manure were then thrown around (including some on my peas and beans which are looking a tad unhappy) before putting the sprinkler on to try and turn the dust on that side of the garden back into soil.

I will go out after dinner and water everything else.

 

Well, that is everything suitably drowned, with the hope that the stuff in the smaller pots will make it through the heat tomorrow.

Whilst out there, I came across a new visitor, apparently taking a wee rest on my front wall:





He is quite a size, and must be pretty tired after dragging himself up the side of that wall; I didn't have the heart to let him know that another few steps and he would be on an almost horizontal surface that he wouldn't need to cling to.

 

Well, I suppose you had to bury the armoured cable as it would have been a Health and Safety hazard if it was left lying on the surface! Actually making use of it afterwards is just being efficient and thoughtful about recycling it into something useful.

Also, I applaud you on making the birdbath and shower work so that the local wildlife have a first class service.

 

That can be a future project as it will get warm enough this time of year.

For that small a space you could rig up a solar collector to heat the water and site it so that it can shade the birds if they feel too hot.

If you carry on being so good you may be up for a New Year's Honour.