What are we doing in the garden 2024

Thanks @fairygirl, you've reminded me that I must open the taps on all our waterbutts and drain them. A couple of years some of them froze solid, ones right next to the house as well which had never happened before. Luckily they hadn't split.

I'm still working on my sleeper bed project, got the left hand side of the steps boarded and staked, put the soil back and re-planted some primroses to keep the soil in place. Dug out and replaced the short sleeper at right angles to the end one. It was rather rotten underneath however so will have to redone in the summer perhaps when it's dryer. Getting fed up with being caked in mud! Just got to tidy up and hopefully rake the slate back over the mud, lift the bench back into position and replace the potted rose by the side of the rose.

 

Nothing today I've been doing other things.

 

Just to show you all what I've been blathering about the last few weeks!

 

Looking good @lizzie27 . It's always hard work when you need to tidy/sort/rebuild that sort of thing, but very satisfying. I've got a similar project to do next year
I always have to put a cover on the outside tap to prevent freezing, as I usually keep the water turned on for the hose, but it's been turned off for a week or two, so it's not a problem. Today might be a day to look at doing that though, as I'll need to wash the car. I only need the waterbutt for summer, as I feel it's responsible to save some water, even though it's not something we really need to worry about here. I save shower water too, for pots through summer. We pay the same for our water, regardless of what we use, and some folk take advantage of it. I'd like to be metered.
Nothing will happen out there today as it's frosty again, and not to be much above freezing all day. The frost never lifted completely yesterday either so the ground will be pretty firm. More ice breaking on the pond will be needed, and putting out bird food, but that's about all that'll happen. The blackbirds are ddemolishing the apples at high speed.

 

Thanks @fairygirl.
The steps are rather roughly done but the job was weather dependent and the chap doing it didn't have much time. I plan to do a better job on the sides, maybe mortar the slabs and risers as well during the summer next year if I can. I'm not very good at sawing wood now so might have to rope in OH for that. I also don't much like the look of the safety rail/posts but as Paul concreted them in before I saw them, I'll have to learn to live with that.
It somehow doesn't look quite right to me, I think it's probably the contrast between the small diameter handrail and the rather thick posts. Might try to disguise those with plants around their base!

 

Got to the plots, everything was remarkably OK. I have said before our site is windy at the best of times but all seems OK.
I pruned a standard pear tree, it was getting much too tall so I have taken quite a bit off. Hope it doesn't over react next season might have to summer prune it as well, to try to restrict it
The 4 Apples are cordon or espalier so we're summer pruned.

 

The posts should mellow quite quickly @lizzie27. Alternatively, painting or staining the handrail and posts to match might help. Looks like you’ve got a good, sturdy raised bed there now!

 

I repotted a box this afternoon which was blown out of my porch by the recent storm, smashing the pot and spilling all the contents. Surprising as it was in a corner and I thought it was quite sheltered, but obviously not . I removed the winter planting from a larger pot which suits the box better and put the plants that I removed in a smaller pot. The box and winter planting look better now so the storm has done me a favour . Not mentioning all the tall grasses that it trashed!

 

I have literally nothing to do in the garden. I will go through y seeds this week and see what needs to be sown when. Will be little, just wildflowers for the raised beds.
I got a £40 gift card that can be used in all garden centres. I have no idea what I could buy, but I will wait until Spring. I'm sure that now all foxgloves make it through the winter in the Springflower bed.

 

I just realised the position of your posts/handrail @lizzie27. That doesn't look right at all. They're far too far to the right of the steps. I agree the handrail looks wrong as well. Perhaps you could change that bit? A wider plank [rounded edge] fastened to the inside so that it's nearer, and more in keeping with the wide posts.
I'd certainly make sure those steps are all properly concreted/mortared in - I'd assumed that would have been done. Too easy for them to shift and be at an unsuitable angle, and a bit dangerous otherwise. I hope you can manage to get that all done.

Nothing doing of any kind here other than attending to the birds. Ground is frozen solid, so it would only be chopping up a few branches I've pruned, if anything. The blackbirds will be pleased that I got more apples last night for them .

 

Not sure if I will do much outside today. More pruning on the plots if anything. No frost here but the ground is still too wet to do any digging.

 

I agree @fairygirl, but as my chappie had concreted the posts in before I saw them, they'll have to stay. To be fair, he worked his socks off that day for 5 solid hours in freezing temps and just ran out of time. The post nearest is also screwed to the sleepers as a support so that's where it is where it is. I think I'll probably get a larger handrail which can be fixed to metal brackets so it will be nearer the steps. It probably looks worse than it is in reality. I won't have to use the steps much, if at all, until the Spring and they do feel very solid.

Thankfully we haven't had any frosts lately. Lots of small birds on the feeders though.

 

That sounds like a good compromise @lizzie27 - with the metal brackets for a rail.
Glad the steps are firm too- don't want you falling and doing yourself a mischief!

Nothing much happening again today as it's still frost/ice and more fog. We don't often get a lot of mist and fog as it tends to be low cloud here instead, and the fog is generally down in the Clyde valley and along the motorways. It changed to that low cloud late yesterday morning, so it was a dank afternoon and the frost on the pavements thawed and became icy instead. Not great.
I've got a builders' bag of branches I cut down last week which can go in the brown bin for tomorrow, so I'll do that.
The birds are enjoying all the food though, and it's been lovely watching them all. The sparrows are particularly busy, and they perch on the branches of the boundary shrubs and flit back and forth to the feeders, making a lot of noise in the process.

 

Lovely pictures @fairygirl.

I'm about to go out and investigate how cold it is as I want to to tidy up the back garden, rake the slate back (if I can free it from the mud!) put the bench and big potted rose back in their place.

 

Beautiful pictures @fairygirl
We don't seem to have any sparrows here. Never seen one in the 10 years we've lived here.