WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY - 2021

It is a large rodent considered a pest by farmers and gardeners. They dig long deep borrows in your property and are difficult to get rid of. Last year I found that pouring a gallon of ammonia down the entrance forces them to move on, however, this one lives on the property next to mine.

The groundhog (Marmota monax), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots.[2] The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through much of the eastern United States, across Canada and into Alaska.[3] It was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.

 

Is it bed time yet? I feel like it is even though it is only lunch time right now. Had a problem with a sprinkler head and the piping buried under and leading to it. Digging was to the full length of my arm down through clay in order to get to the fail zone. Then had to go to the shop to find parts. Nope, don't have that style head any more or the length in another make. So had to mix and match various sprinkler and non sprinkler system parts to get something that would work. All back in now and the turf pressed back down. The lawn around it and I are looking a proper mess! As a note of interest, probably only to me, when I tested the head and before filling the hole back in, the water collected in there did not appear to run sink in one bit. Rotten stinkin clay!

Emptied and shifted a rain barrel to make it easier to fill watering cans and then had to re-do the gutter systems on the greenhouses to fit the new location. Then put the water back in the barrel.

Did all this while the sun oven is receiving full sun and has been simmering the base for a casserole I shall be assembling later. And luckily it is only now just getting warm. 80f.

 

I've been straightening some slabs that had gone wonky, and repositioned an old chimney pot in a 'better' position. I earthed up some potatoes in big pots and cut back an overgrown Cotinus. Also did some much needed weeding.
All cutoffs and weeds/grass etc are in the bin and out for collection tomorrow

 

Nothing today it's raining but yesterday planted up 3 large tubs all with 1 lavender, 1 trailing geranium, 5 Snapdragons and 2 eurigeron daisies.

 

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Doing nothing in the garden today-staying indoor to keep dry. It has been torrential rain for several hours-garden totally flooded! Ponds are overflowing. Hopefully it will fill up my ibc tank on my lotty.

 

Yet another scorching day - really humid today, after thunderstorms for a good couple of hours overnight (thankfully they lowered the temperature from 22c to around 19c by 3am).
I’m having to limit my gardening to the shaded areas, so I’ve deadheaded some of the flowering shrubs that are finishing, removing the dead leaves from fading daffodils, cutting the long grass around some of the beds, pulled out at least 100 oak seedlings, and cut back some of the geraniums so we can walk around the house to the cellar. Oh, and of course, it’s Feeding Friday!

 

I haven't done anything today but I did find two tiny Dahlia tubers (I mean very tiny, the size of my thumb) that were starting to sprout, so I've put them ready for planting in pots tomorrow.
They were from a batch of seeds I sowed last year and I thought they had all died

 

Start off in the greenhouse with tidying up/disposing of spare tomato plants, courgettes and then move onto to throwing out plant pots with plants that have not made it through the winter.
Then take the petrol strimmer to the long grass, rake up then if time permits mow grass at front of house.

 

Busy week planting out and filling pots.

Very busy day today planting out all day , I've come in for a brew and a choc ice I've done most of the planting today I think I've ran out of compost for one with one last pot left to plant up except for so little pots I may fill with night stocks and pelargoniums.

Filled up the two fence troughs at the front of the house and emptied them sorted the bulbs out, used petunia mainly I seem to have grown loads this year, could do with to center / specimen plants so may pop to the GC tomorrow. Planted out quite a few busy lizzie salmon I had left around the lavenders with a few cosmos at the end of the bed .

Tidied up the hot border of allium leaves the poor achillea can now breath hopefully they catch up now , added some tithonia - annual rudbeckia and cleome to the hot bed .

Tidied up another border behind the kitchen window mostly allium leaves again I've just filled that border with nicotaina white perfume hopefully I get a nice drift of white but it never seem to work as you think it will do in your head , normally sometimes happend like slugs eat half of them, the bird feeder next to that bed the blackbirds are getting very timid they come to the feed even when I am only 4-5 foot away.

I've decided forget me not are BANNED in the garden they've smothered and killed off my geranium Orkney Cherry that's the second plant they've killed off after finding Penstemon garnet, annoyingly I usually take cutting or I did and they didn't take but I give the cutting away, everyone else Garnet are doing well but mine kicked the bucket.

 

Planted up 3 more containers in the front garden this afternoon.