What are we doing in the garden 2024

A really good day in the garden yesterday , mowing , turning compost , dead heading - all very satisfying. I also decided to move a flowering currant but by the time i got my mattock out , followed by the resource of last resort - a 6’ wrecking bar- it will flower no more and will be off to the tip later this morning. I also had the indignity that , whilst levering those young but substantial roots that i fell head first into my cephalaria gigantea. On the plus side , whilst i was down there having a very close look at the cephalaria , i could see that it had developed into 3 very nice segments which were crying out to be divided. So todays task , amongst others, is to lift and rehouse 2 of those sections. Theweather is set fair , like yesterday, but slightly colder first thing as the intricate patterns of frozen damp on the flat roof outside the bedroom window this morning replaced the heavy dew of yesterday morning at the same time. I still have a courgette producing fruits and the dahlias still looked splendid yesterday so i hope they will continue for just a while longer and that this mornings low temperature has not seen them off .

 

"All the Thyme in the world"

This morning, I emptied all my cold frames and moved them a few feet left, as they weren't aligned centrally with the metal fence ( OCD issues! ). While empty, I "winterised" them, raising all the pots of Thyme, plus a few other plants, onto sheets of dense foam or planks of wood, to insulate them from the cold concrete paving. All the Thyme will be planted behind the woodland in the Spring, to make a Thyme carpet, rather than the grass which needs strimming.

I did some tidying up in the workshop, then this afternoon, bought thirty six Daffodil bulbs to mix amongst the Bluebells and Snowdrops I planted in the wood the other day. From there, it was on to a paving manufacturer to order forty six, three foot lengths of wood effect concrete edging for the lawn. This is to separate the grass from the slated borders and to give me an edge to strim against. Fitting those is a project for next Spring. Now I've got my feet up and coffee in hand!

 

Does anybody know what this plant is please? My daughter's seen it today at Buckfast Abbey.
Many thanks

 

My plant app says an Amaranth. I just planted one in our woodland the other day, which came from a pack of wildflower seeds and it looks the same.

 

I found the effects of Fuchsia gall mite on one of my Fuchsias again today (it's the same one all the time) so I cut the affected branches off and gave them some heat treatment with my blow torch, and now they're a pile of charcoal on a slab in my garden path It will go into my black bag for the next collection.

 

Thanks for that ID @ArmyAirForce . I'll tell my daughter.

Could you let me know which plant id app you are using please? I'm sure I'd find it useful.

 

Today was lawn care day! I mowed both lawns, scarified them lightly, first horizontally, then vertically and then mowed them again. The result is unlike the moonscape which I created in Spring, more like a lawn which has been mown with a blunt blade or lightly grazed by a few sheep . I hadn’t realised how much moss had made an unwelcome return. The weather forecast looks warm and wet for the next few days so it should recover before any frost arrives, I hope .

 

We've had a good day in the garden. I weedkilled the bindweed regrowing at the bottom of our retaining wall and more growing under our Lutyens bench. I used a reasonably strong solution of professional grade glyphosate. OH trimmed the long privet hedge whilst I cleared the debris away. A brief stop for lunch, then I distributed a bag of manure on the side bed which is now under the spread of the big council trees. Put the left over manure on two clematis and cut down the thalictrums.
I finished the day by putting the new cover over my Egg chair whilst it was dry. Bit of an effort as the structure is taller than me!

 

Pulled up all of the Snapdragons and did some weeding.

 

Just in addition to previous posts - those amaranths aren't fully hardy plants, although I expect in some areas that don't get properly cold weather they'd be ok, so if you want them they're quite easy from seed, and it's readily available.

I had to go out yesterday, so didn't do a huge amount outside. Bit more pot prep and painting, and got my storage box back in it's spot, and some bulbs put in. I don't know what I'll do today, but it's to be quite decent later on, so maybe some more construction or planting out bits and pieces that have grown on well.

 

Yesterday was filled with shopping and drizzle. Today we have a yellow warning for wind and rain, though as yet it's not too bad. No prospect of gardening, though - no possibility of putting off doing some housework...

 

Thank you very much @Liriodendron, that's very useful!

I am not comfortable with the idea of insecticide on my clothes if I am honest, as some of the chemicals in them have been linked to some cancers. Would spraying the hedge not help?

In the past I used diatomaceous earth all over the borders. It is safe, inexpensive and even feeds the plants. It had an effect however sadly it stops working when it gets wet, so the weather this Summer has not been very helpful for that..

Another thing I am considering is removing the bark chippings from my borders and cutting back a bit on watering, as this creates an amazing environment for them. Most of my plants are now mature so should be OK with less water and for any new ones I tend to go for lower maintenance options such as sedums and lavenders. When I started my plant collection during Covid lockdowns, I loved needy plants. Now that the number of plants is significant, I have a different outlook

Speaking of needy plants however.. I am still a sucker for David Austin roses, which completely contradicts what I just said Let's consider them an exception. I am a bit of an addict.

Today I am moving plants on pots around and repotting. My lower back already hates me but I have created a lovely spot by doing so for a D.A. rose that I ordered yesterday

 

Weeding the borders, I've done 3 so far ran out of space in the bin. It's going to rain again tomorrow so that's it for a while.

 

Turfing out some exhausted annuals from pots ready to plant hyacinth and muscari bulbsI have the muscari, the hyacinths are “out for delivery”. “City of Haarlem”. Not had those before

 

@CostasK - I wouldn't dream of spraying the hedge, since apart from anything else it's full of blackberries which I want to eat (and so do a lot of birds in the garden)... Yes, I agree about "wearing" insecticide being undesirable, but it was definitely a last resort as far as I was concerned. I did research Permethrin, which is actually licensed to treat certain conditions in humans (scabies & lice, for instance), though it may cause skin sensitivity. But then, diatomaceous earth can also be an irritant through inhalation. It seems you can't win! Anyway, though we still have midges here, the numbers of other biting things do seem to be decreasing now it's Autumn.