What are we doing in the garden 2025

Not much today as it's cold grey and miserable again. I have been busy at Allotments the padt 2 days so having an easy one today. Moved some things out of the propagator, I over winter some plants there, set to just +5 to keep them frost free. They will have take their chances in the main (unheated) GH now. I need to crank up the temperature and get seed sowing soon, maybe at the weekend.
In the main garden, as well as snowdrops and daffodils, some pots of tulips have started to flower-absolutely mad. Whatever happened to a successional display!!

 

The little seeds I had sown during this recent fools spring have germinated and so they don't cook in the heated propagator I've moved the into a basic one.... a cheapo but good from wilkos about 15 years ago and still going strong.
Hopefully my tiny first leaved tomato plants will survive.

This half hour was long enough to chill the bones, Id planned to re allocate some bearded iris to the border but I could be cruel and left them where the roots were warm. so inside for rest of the day sorting out seed for veg patch.

 

Managed to squeeze in an hour of potting seedlings up after work. I had to, as the Pennisetum Rubra "seedlings" are now over a foot tall and thickening up madly on my home office desk.

Welsh onions also were very crowded so I gave them a Chives treatment and cruelly ripped the seedling thickets in half, potting each half up. We'll see what happens, it's my first time for them too.

Don't you just love that spring feeling when first seedlings have grown well, get re-potted and suddenly you realise your house could do with a window or two more

Cacti from the south facing office windowsill have been perilously balanced on any free surface to make room for seedlings. Lasagne is off bounds for a while as all suitable receptacles are serving as drip drays.

Spring

 

where did you get the Pennisetum rubra seeds from @Selleri ? I assume its the one with purple foliage

 

Guilty! I remembered Rubra but they are Glaucum Purple- apologies

I'm planning to plant them behind the pond near the fence and hopefully they'll bring some winter shape too.

Grass - Pennisetum Glaucum Purple - Premier Seeds Direct

 

It is an Echium!

I messaged guy who gave me the plants today. He said it can take a few years to flower. Didn't mention about it only flowering once or collecting seeds. It will have to go in a pot as no where else to put it. Same for the little Cottoneasters. For time being anyway The borders are narrow and shallow and still getting a lot of deep shadow even though garden south facing. The high fences no doubt responsible.

Popped into Kilkeel garden centre today, just to have a coffee, but cafe was very busy, so navigated towards the plants. Just to have a look to see if any new stock arrived.



It had!! Lots of it . The bees were all over these Alpines , so had to have them and two pots. I spotted some Tete a Tete at the garage when I stopped for fuel, so grabbed 3 pots for the other pot. My patio is,looking quite springlike now

 

@luciusmaximus
Definitely an Echium, I have a number of these. They regularly reach 10 ft tall when they flower although mine are in the ground.
Definitely needs a much bigger pot, if for no other reason than it will keep falling over in that pot..

 

An old work colleague of mine had the fossil paving put down a few years ago. She came back from work to find the workmen putting the fossils face down as they thought she wouldn’t want to see the “all them messy marks and blemishes”

 

Frustrated ! Dry weather but my back is playing up and its bitterly cold so have taken decision to take a step back from the garden for a few days. Spending time planning gardening rather than cracking on. Still getting daily visits from goldfinches which has been going on for a couple of weeks now where the drift of rudbeckias has been left to seed. Its like an all you can eat buffet and loads of seeds left. Tempted to cut the stems down intact and ram them into some pots containing spent compost to maintain the food source for them and let the air get to the soil for the rudbeckias to regrow afresh . Each year the drift of rudbeckias grows larger and the floral display gets better and better so this is giving us , and local wildlife , year round interest .
Really want to crack on……

 

Too cold for me to want to do anything but I did go to a GC and stocked up on bark mulch and manure for future jobs I have in mind.

Am I unique in having a dedicated 'Compost Gate'?!! Our side boundary is so long that when we had the fence replaced a couple of years ago, I had a 2nd gate added at the top of the hill so we could unload the compost bags etc. near to my potting area. Saves OH from having to get the sacktruck out and heaving them up all the steps.

 

An in-and-out day today, as it was soooo cold!

I lifted about 20 primrose plants, ready for the Freecycle person to collect tomorrow.
A few really nice primrose plants were side-lined into some flower beds that should escape the building disturbance.
The garage was resorted, so that I could store the 2 yorkstone pavers already lifted, and 4 more were added to the pile. 2 larger pavers were lifted, but I can’t move them on my own, so they are waiting the arrival of “muscle”.
This afternoon I filled in more of the holes and channels in the lower garden. Hopefully in a move towards reclaiming it from the brambles and nettles. I also spent a good hour wrestling with the Russian vine that has spread from the neighbours garden, across our shed (damaging the roof in the process) and up the Cypress tree. Please say that this is a battle I have a chance of winning!!?!
Time to go down to the Beer in Hand, a local independent watering-hole, for a pint and a pizza!!

 

@lizzie27, my “estate” doesn’t really warrant dedicated compost arrival zones, but I like the idea!