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

Collecting leaves (for a change) humping bags of gravel around for the path on my little veg plot and 'muck spreading'...found a few more pots that needed emptying and noticed some nice new growth on some Nemesia and Verbena so took some cuttings...now the fun bit...keeping them alive....bitter cold but loved every minute of it

 

And me , at least 99% dropped off now after last nights very heavy frost , also picking off slugs from the bottom of pots in the greenhouse with the robin waiting in the hedge as I threw on the grass for him/her
Spruce

 

Did a bit of tidying up. I've got calendulas and nasturtiums still flowering. They orange and yellow colours still look really good so I think I'll leave them alone for now until the frost does them in.

 

The raking of ye olde leaves again.
Bought some blood red cyclemen for the front window boxes and planters round the front door and put those in to replace sad looking summer flowering plants.
Potted on some small evergreens that I'm growing to replace any winter kills and perhaps to find their own place in the garden once they've matured.
Dug over some of the veg raised beds.
Nice little bonus of gazania, fuchsia and osteospermum still flowering quite well.
Picked plenty of chard and made some soup.
Really parky here but enjoyed it once I got going and aclimatised.

 

Just a few minutes of pottering in my mum's garden today....
Deadheaded the geraniums, unburied a lavender and an autumn cyclamen that had been covered by a compost mulch, and put the removed mulch around the base of a young Passion flower plant. Hopefully that few minutes will have saved at least three plants!

 

Yesterday, the window box fuchsias were discarded and new compost with the mini Tete a tete daffs planted in there. They've been stored on the garage floor since last Spring -in the dark. They were sprouting new white growth. How did they know it was time?.... Trimmed the border fuchsias back and pulled up some of last years wallflowers that looked too sorry for themselves.

 

Shiney....are you sure Sarafi's not propagating something in there?

 

Using steel-wool to clean plant labels - so satisfying with gardeners' question time podcast playing in the background

 

Welcome to gardeners Corner Craig.

Isn't steel wool a little harsh for plastic? I use a sponge with neat washing up liquid.

 

It wasn't too bad and quite speedy. It does remove the top layer of plastic and you can see the small pile of dust created (prob best to do it somewhere well ventilated ). However, I've never found other methods able to take the label back new. I've ended up still bring able to read what's underneath!

 

What do you write on them with? I use a pencil and my labels come completely clean with washing up liquid. Some labels I'm using are eight years old and the only marks on them are soil stains.

 

With the snow forecast in mind, on Monday I rushed to plant the last batch of shrubs I received from a Polish nursery: two kalmias, one red hydrangea serrata, a Japanese styrax, a schizophragma, 3 Artemisia ludoviciana pots and two amsonias (hubrichtii).
The week before I lifted the dahlias, cannas and tigridias, which would not make it through Bulgarian winters. Planted several dozens of late-blooming tulips (which I ordered specifically to combine with some long-established ferns). I also collected all seeds I thought necessary; and dipped in water some coleus cuttings for rooting...


I also picked the last small tomatoes in the summer greenhouse and cut all the parsley, which had self-seeded among the strawberries (it's a whole field, I almost froze in the icy wind!!)

And yesterday it snowed! I'm done for the season...




Hydrangea macrophylla


Cornelia rose



Have a nice day!

 

Wow Angelina. Winter really HAS arrived for you hasn't it.
Keep snug and cosy now, it will soon be Spring,
thank you for showing us your garden this morning,
Jenny Namaste