WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY - 2021

Thats the conundrum @shiney ......do we water to encourage growth...weeds too ...or water to soften the baked concrete ....umm I mean soil, so that removing the blighters is easier?? The solution is the same whatever ....we need to water!!!

 

Well, I certainly plan to get a bit done today, but I often plan and end up doing nothing in the garden so we'll see how things go! Want to plant corydalis, salvia, aster and give some plants a good watering. I feel like I need to keep busy because I'm suddenly getting some terrible nicotine cravings, I stopped vaping nicotine on Christmas Eve and haven't had any cravings at all for the last couple of months but now they're definitely back!

Nick

 

Well done Nick.....keep going and don't give in, you've come a long way don't undo all your hard work.

 

Well, I got the corydalis planted in a temporary spot so that's something, decided I'm going to do the rest tomorrow, need to shift a Persicaria bistorta 'Superba' in the front border as well as planting the salvia and aster so I'll do it all in one go.

Aww thanks for the kind encouragement Upsy, I really needed it today! Well, I stopped smoking tobacco on the 17th of July and I will treat myself to a couple of bottles of white Rioja when I reach a year, so I have an incentive. I've put on 2 stone comfort eating since then, so I'll probably be a morbidly obese alcoholic, but at least I'll have great lungs!

Nick

 

Looks fantastic @Fat Controller, I'm loving all the muted colours you've used there, it makes your patio and seating area look so tranquil, summery and inviting! Will be great for relaxing and chatting...

Nick

 

P ricked out lots of night flox and evening primrose in the greenhouse. Planted out most of the poppy, calendula and dahlia into the borders saving some to take to the allotment tomorrow. Out of 12 acidanthera 2 are showing signs of growth in the greenhouse. I thought I'd try 2 different approaches growing them for the first time so I put 12 directly into the ground at the allotment (no shoots yet) and potted 12 up in the greenhouse. So I'll see which is best. The Alyssum (carpet of snow I planted out last week is already flowering so I may sow some more.

 

Just did some watering today all the pots and polyanthus.

 

That looks so lovely ....17th July Nick said FC, how about a celebratory party for him...the deal would be that he brings the white Rioja, I'll sort the nibbles!!

Don't let on to anyone else as numbers might still be limited, plus there'll be more for us too.

 

Housework and going over to my sister's this morning ,as hubs had a diy project on the go over there,meant that I only managed the afternoon out in the garden...boy it got hot in our greenhouse area..

Watered the Strawberry plants and the over wintering Fuchsias. My rose cuttings taken last year from my parents garden are looking extremely good....phew !!

Hostas are exploding into growth, love it when the leaves are all new and fresh.

Deadheadead various plants, including Daffs, Wallflowers, Hellibores, Bellis , Primroses and Polyanthus.

Pulled out some sneaky weeds that dared to show their faces!!

Watered a couple of borders, trying to get into a rountine/ rota of doing a couple of different borders each evening .

Had hoped to do some more p ricking out today but too achy now so that will join with the emptying of the big planters as the ' to do' jobs for tomorrow......hopefully .

So nice having lighter evenings isn't it ,it means I don't have to fleece up and close the greenhouse and cold frames until gone 8pm now. Lovely!!

 

Got the hose out and gave everything a good soaking. Had a good thinking about the new pond, and decided we desperately need good sized edging stones. Help is at hand, our regular walk takes us along a field where I have already spotted some nice ones.

So, after the Sunday Selleri clan Skype call The Teenager and I went for our stone foraging mission, armed with two flimsy Tesco carrier bags without handles.

Soon after finding brilliant, large stones aplenty we came to a conclusion that a backpack might have been a good idea. After finishing the field bit and returning via the forest, we deduced that it would also have been rather smart to do the walk the other way around, starting with the forest and finishing with stone foraging.

Then The Teenager got worried that perhaps it's illegal to take stones. The guilt was weighing her down like a bag of stones We got the loot home safely, (albeit staggering and giggling like mad) without being stopped by the police or any awkward questions from neighbours- being a foreigner with a Reputation has it's uses

In the unlikely event I can move my arms tomorrow I will do the pond edging

 

Not sure how the law stands on that @Selleri , I know you can't remove sand, shingle from a beach.

 

Really sorry to hear that.


One of my lovely Cats had this problem, when she stopped eating I made the decision to no longer let her suffer. I stayed while the Vet done the deed telling her that I loved her.

 

Yesterday I did the usual daff deadheading, and a little weeding. Hubby helped me secure some ties for the blow-away cloches, so that they don’t blow away! I did some Irish-cutting on the big old thyme plant, in case it decides to give up the ghost on me. A little drive edge clearing was the last task of the day.

Today I sowed some Californian poppies, Flanders poppies, and nasturtiums along a path along the side of the house that has daylight for the first time in years. New neighbours have taken away all the boundary trees on their side, so in places there is now no hedge at all... Let’s see if any of the seeds come up!
I also tied the two runner-bean wigwams, putting a cross-brace between the two, and tying them to the raised bed frame. Hopefully that will stop them blowing away this year.
The chilli plants we’ve overwintered were put on the patio table for the birds and hoverflies to clear of aphids - plenty of food for all on there .
We did some clearing up too, taking a spare roll of 1.20m fencing down to the wood store, and admiring the flowering apple trees. Having seen the example given by “the Lord” (Lamborne), now they’re all at it!!

 

I'm sorry you have such a difficult decision to make @luciusmaximus ... I was the same as Roger with a cat we once had, but she died peacefully in her sleep under a shrub one warm July day, she was 22 yrs old .

Today I tried unsuccessfully to get rid of Violets in a big tub with a Hosta. I tipped it out of the tub but the roots were so tough and intertwined with the Hosta that it was impossible to get them all out. I will get some weed killer and as the Violets grow I shall paint some on them with a small paint brush, so that I don't damage the Hosta leaves.
However I did manage to pull out the ones around the edge, and now the Hosta can go back in the tub tomorrow, with nice fresh compost

I also watered all my cacti and Fuchsias and herbs in pots, which took ages because I used a small watering can - the spouts on the big ones are too wide to water small pots and the big cans are also heavy to lift up to things on shelves.