What are we doing in the garden 2024

Once it's mid twenties, that's far too high for me @Busy-Lizzie, unless there's a good breeze or wind, because that's not the temp in the sun itself.
Temps are always taken in a north-ish facing site, so not as hot as being taken in the full sun. I'd guess it's high twenties, or beyond, if it's reading mid twenties.
I'm most comfortable if I need a second layer on to sit with a cuppa. Saturday was really nice here - the high was 16 degrees, and it was cloudy until mid to late afternoon, but no wind. Lovely!

 

I like mid 20s. 16C is cold!

 

Weeded the next area in the veg patch. Had kept it covered with membrane that this time did work. Not too many weeds apart from the areas not covered. Then sowed some spinach and rhubarb chard. Hopefully germination will be better than other veg seeds.
Put some more supports up for the sweet peas that want to grow horizontally.
Then had to do a summer prune on a white grape vine that we moved from the others some years as not doing anything. Last year we did crop for 6 bottles. This year the vine has really taken on and has had a good prune back to the flowering spurs.

 

Gave some of the grass its first haircut this year from the strimmer using up all three of my batteries. The grass was at least knee high and is probably full of ticks, the foxes were travelling through grass tunnels and we could barely see them! I will leave the debris to dry out for a couple of days before raking it off then trying the mower.

We were on holiday for most of May followed by medical issues so I wasn’t just being lazy. On the plus side all the spring flowers like the fritillaries have seeded themselves around. Once I have cleared the paths I hope to get onto the veg patch as I have some late showings to get in the ground.

 

Mowed the lawn, taking most of the daisies, Selfheal and white clover to the compost heap. I'm sure the flowers will return within a few days.
Trying to eradicate the mint, which has managed to find its way under almost every paving slab of the path. Upset the. . . . . ants that I seem to have displaced from so many other places.
Repotted a mini beech tree.

Weeding!!

 

I finally got my three tomato seedlings into my small leanto greenhouse. A friend gave them to me so I've not idea of the varieties and she couldn't remember either! Going to be interesting.
I'm trying the same idea as I did last year which seemed to work, burying the small pots into bigger pots of compost. This doesn't disturb the roots which have access to more compost through the holes underneath and also means I water the bigger pots, not the small ones.
We had unexpected visitors then so I will have to tidy up the courtyard tomorrow. The overwintered debris from the greenhouse is not a pretty sight.

 

Weeded in the polytunnel before it was too hot. Dug up an enormous grass clump that shouldn't have been where it was. Trimmed back the winter box.
Then picked the gooseberries. One advantage of the saw fly denuding the leaves I could see the berries really really well! Topped and tailed them while listening to the radio.
Picked some more redcurrants much to the chagrin of the blackbird that was shouting at me in the bushes.

 

Just been doing a little deadheading ... with the sun warming the back of my t-shirt. Lovely!

 

A bit of this and a bit of that, according to my To Do list. Repotted a couple of things, planted some small bulbs from pots out into the garden. Planted a Heuchera Amethyst Mist into a bare patch - then remembered I'd planted some tulip bulbs last month in the same spot! Oh well, they'll have to fight it out. Staked two big clumps of Gaura which had started to slump over, probably lack of water. Even had to water the ground around the stakes before I could hammer them in. That's the trouble with gardening on a slope, it drains quite quickly, even though we've got clay soil.
Still got things on the list but I think that'll do for today.

 

More up-potting and faffing about with my pots. The patio step gets the best stuff so I often move things round. Today two new pelargoniums graduated to the step.

I nearly broke my ‘best’ tomato moving stuff about in the poly greenhouse. Flowers coming on it at last! So late.

 

Finally took the plunge and severely chopped my Loropetalum chinense and a big Pittosporum tenuifolium. The Loropetalum had reached the front of the main border and was swamping Iris, Salvias, roses and Veronica incana. As we're forecast a lot of rain this week, I chucked some fertiliser around and will await results with fingers firmly crossed. Did the usual 'distraction weeding' and then mowed..again to beat the rain, 'cos I won't get another chance in a hurry

 

Summer pruned the main white grape vines which we used for wine later in the year. They have produced abundant growth so quickly this year.
Then bottled the gooseberries that were picked and topped and tailed yesterday. Made 11 good size jars but the harvest is way down from previous years as usually I can bottle, freeze and wine make with what we can harvest. Maybe the bushes are just getting too old...they are old!

 

Replaced 2 potted blueberry plants that had died with 2 new ones, also replaced the ericacous compost with new, put the old on the other blueberries and weeded them first. Hubby weeded some of the patio and i did some as well. Cut the old flower stems off the lupins, have to water the blueberries later.

 

We carried on this afternoon with pruning back all the suckers from our bay tree. Lifted the endless branches of the male kiwi which wants to grow over everything. Tied it up onto an old oak tree which died many years ago. So we can now see the bay tree and the bottle brush bush which since we moved it 3 years ago loves its new spot.

 

Finished digging the last couple of plants and weeds out of a bed that I started to close down earlier in the year. Between the weather and the deer it's not been successful. Then cut the flower stems off the Lupins that wind and rain flattened.