WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY - 2021

Leaf removal, tons of leaves.

 

Shredded some leaves with mower. The neighbours trees have dumped on my lawn so my best year ever for nice easy to lift dry leaves fir composting.


Installed electricity to greenhouse for heating in winter breaking all the regulations. "Temp" installation if anyone asks.

 

Nothing in the garden today, stiff suffering with ear infection, so put up a small indoor greenhouse in the spare room , fitted it with my grow lights, transferred all the cuttings and young plants in there

 

That's a lot of cuttings you've got there @Lem, well done

 

Thanks @Michael Hewett , yes the cuttings are doing well, there are quite a few seedlings also, first time trying the lights, and already I’d recommend them

 

Check cuttings in garage, move pots of freesia bulbs into greenhouse. Then weeding, dead heading and tidying.

 

Just an hour tidying up and I am totally frozen.

Someone decided to dig a wildlife pond under a Viburnum shrub which looks great but after first fishing the fallen leaves with a net, carefully avoiding the floating Frogbit plants and finally abandoning all pretence and using my bare arms to grab the unspeakable stuff out, I decided that the next pond will either be by an evergreen shrub, or a formal one with posh border.

We have visitors expected next week so I have been trying to do some proper cleaning. Houseplants are all showered and the surfaces beneath wiped, several windows got cleaned and plants were re-arranged into pleasing positions (just to be returned to the best positions for their wellbeing after the visit is over).

Looking through my sparklingly clean back door this morning, the first thing I saw was a late Wood Pidgeon lying feet up bang in the middle of my lawn. Not by the fence, not a bit on the side, but mathematically precisely in the centre.

Moving dead bodies is not one of my strengths, but needs must.

I had to cut the overgrown wispy stems of a Climbing Iceberg rose as the wind is rocking the plant on its obelisk a bit too violently. As a lovely last greeting from the wintry garden I now have a vase full of roses in the kitchen.

Frost is forecasted next week, hello winter!

 

Another busy day in the garden , frost this morning so delayed start . I've been moving plants around today , kind of wish I hadn't once I start full swaths of border plants are dug up I made a rite mess . Dug out some iris siberica / rodgerisa / geraniums / geums / salvias, removed some large phlox monica lynden bell nice plants they have a very good scent as well , I don't particularly like soft pinks / other soft colours. The phlox is next to a bright orange rose lady of shallot, I prefer orange with blues / magenta / purple etc something with a bit of zing . They were to good of plants to even give away so I replanted them in winters corner I like to call it now . Moved some persicaria september spires further back in the border and behind the Rose lady of shallot . Planted a Sanguisorba stand up comedian with them which I dug up yesterday, it has fantastic foliage better than the flowers.

I've had to come to the realisation that the Echinops tjanschanicus I removed from the front garden is just to big of a monster to find a home for again in the garden , shame the bees love it . Think I'll ty and plant some on the garage site .

With moving all these plants around I left a awkward gap between the sanguisoba and heleniums so had to dig the heleniums up then, these are not small planted either considerably heavy to move around, I did eventually get them replanted but took a great loss of allium bulbs with me wielding a spade, I've damaged that many I think I may have to buy some more .

Had a go with the new shears I quite like them, cut back quite a lot of the perennials in the garden late in the afternoon when it was noticeably colder , huge pile of plants that I need to shred with the mower. Potted up two more pots with jetfire daffs and I put 15 hyacinth in one pot hopefully they do well they are saved bulbs from last year. Nearly there now with the bulbs just some muscari left and some other bulbs I may accidently buy in the sales .

 

We've all been there one way or the other Andy.

Time to make a decision....


What's the point in growing a winter flowering Viburnum if it can't be seen in winter? This youngster was stripped naked by deer last winter and I've netted it today to give it a chance. What do you think? Should I oust it?

 

If its a V.tinus I'll get rid or rehome it bit slow. If its one of the viburnum bodnantense I'll let it live on until it gets to tall for the dears to reach, I don't know how high deers can reach though.

 

Thanks @Perki, it's Viburnum Tinus 'Gwenllian'. There's no point in moving it elsewhere, the deer will find it. I'm learning a lesson, the other young shrubs I've planted are all supposedly deer resistant.

 

I had that one Viburnum Beetle ruined it so got rid.

It will need full time protection with it being evergreen, so unless you can pin it into a corner next to the house and block access it probably best to cut your loss