WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY - 2021

Growmore on the garlic as they're growing well, harvest some parsnips. Thin out Phyllostachys nigra, more weeding.

 

@NigelJ Is this what you use: Westland Growmore Fertiliser ?

My Garlic is growing pretty well too, it's been in the ground since September. Would you recommend using an all-purpose fertiliser now?

 

@FrancescaH my garlic was put in in November and yes I would recommend giving it a spring feed of an all purpose fertiliser.
Yes that is what I use.

 

Planted 3 hellebores in the border that I'm re doing, first I tidyed up the edge of the grass, had to stop because I was getting dizzy with all the stooping and standing up, it happens sometimes but not all of the time, I do have bad sinuses and use a nasel spray.

 

Temperature in the greenhouse quite high today so put the seedling trays out in the sun. Need to bring them back in now! Hope I haven't shocked them too much.

Last night I pricked out all the basil (thai and genovese), people have been requesting them like crazy and I'm hoping to get a few quid per plant as basil grows so quickly it'll look impressive.

Picked up 4 paving slabs off Freeecycle to rest my pots on in the greenhouse. Unfortunately they'd stacked them together and the bottom one has broken clean in half, but I can still use it.

Package of wild garlic bulbs arrived. Will plant them out in a pot I think due to moving, and then they can go in the ground when we move.

Was going to pop to the garden centre at lunch for some fertiliser and extra compost but ended up buying ice lollies in the post office so had to come straight home!

 

I have been pottering today, transplanting some big clumps of tête-à-tête daffs, planting out some primroses that we have been enjoying indoors. Some of the rugosa roses have been cut back - lots more to do! The trimmings from the roses have been bundled up ready for collection tomorrow. I’ve weeded around the wood anemones - it’s lovely to see them coming up. Slowly but surely, the clumps are spreading...

 

Did a bit in the garden yesterday moving a few plants around and digging out more concrete , my pot hoard has grown again with veronica - phlox - nepeta potted up needing a home. Went to the GC yesterday morning to cheer me up but they weren't much to be had, I did pick up a couple of lobelia tannas .

Today I've pricked out some seedling of petunia - bacopa and sowed some more seeds , I've terrible problems with damping off this year . Next year I'll bleach the pots instead and buy seed compost instead of using multipurpose like I normally do.

 

got outside today-lovely and sunny and fresh. did a bit of hoeing over the borders in the front garden. then planted in some Shasta daisies, planted a couple of ceanothus i'd got from Morrisons last week. divided an ice plant ready to give to my mum and dug up a couple of clumps of achillea and campanulas for her.

Then I sprinkled on a spoonful of BioHealth WSG powder at the base of each tree and watered it all in with the hose pipe.

Came inside for a cup of tea and started with ANOTHER migraine

Just about over it now, so been outside in the dark tidying up all my tools etc. A lovely calm fresh evening tonight. It's always nice getting some fresh air after a migraine-it seems to cool the brain down a bit.

 

Just started to clear out the dead stuff from last year, out of the back garden. It is a rare, for my location this early, 14c sunny day and absolutely lovely. I know it is going to go back down to freezing but the hoses are thoroughly dry so I took them out of the greenhouses and hung them near the faucets. Had a tug of war with some stubborn buckthorn seedlings that were hiding beneath the dead stuff.

I still can't do any digging as the ground is only thawed about 1/2" down.

Sam sat in the greenhouse in her sleeveless top and enjoyed the heat and sun.

She commented that it would be lovely if plants could talk. I told her no, the noise in there would be deafening. Hundreds of seedlings hollering in high pitched voices might not be too pleasant!

 

After a bit of housework and laundry duties this morning I finally got to spend the afternoon in the garden/ greenhouse.

Sowed some and in some cases more of..

Cleome!!!! Yes I know I said I wouldn't ever again..but I found a new whole...unopened packet of seeds.....resistance was futile!!

Amaranthus, Petunias, Marigolds, Salvia ' Blaze of Fire', Godetia, Rudbeckia ' Brilliant Star'

 

All my garlic have died, no green shoots left after all the snow, they are in half plastic barrels, I am guessing not enough drainage so they drowned :(

 

Not a lot of gardening but a lot of resin going on. My preferred resin is out of stock ( I knew I should have stockpiled it ) and the new resin I bought I don't like very much, seems a bit temperamental. Maybe I'll get used to it. Starting to panic a bit as still behind and very little ready. He is almost ready, just needs a final top coat. I don't want to sell him as love him so much .
I did make a start on the container bed on the patio day before yesterday. I've removed a couple of plants and relocated to bed under Cherry tree. The container bed has what I think is Corncockles in it, they look like them but don't attract any pollinators. They are also very invasive, spreading underground on long, thick root system, but like Japanese Anemone. I've pulled all of the big roots out but there are lots of tiny filaments left, which will likely regrow. I wanted to keep this old compost for sowing wild flowers into and don't really fancy having to sieve it all. Not sure what to do yet. Open to suggestions ?

Also, scrubbed out a bird bath and shovelled up a few spade fulls of compost that the rats have dragged out of bottom of one of the compost bins ( makes it easier for me as no hatch on this bin ). Need to replace old compost in my Patio Rose container, so need a trip to hardware store to buy some ( pot is very large ).

 

All my marigolds have come up in the seedling tray!

Day time temperatures in the greenhouse are lovely so I've moved some seedling trays outside to get their first real sun. Also have moved my spinach, lettuce & cabbage seedlings (which are between 1-3 weeks old now) into the mini greenhouse permanently. It gets quite warm in there so I may have to check how they do, might need to go out and crack the lid every morning.

Tidied up a bit. We have friends coming for the first time in forever on the 18th April for an outside BBQ and to measure up my friend for his wedding suit which I'm making. Seeing as we'll only be allowed outside I'd like the garden looking really nice. I moved various bags of potting soil into the greenhouse as it's neat and tidy out there and we won't be using that space until the chillis go out in mid summer.

 

Nothing....I have the migraine bug.

Did have walk around the garden but my knee gave way, luckily hubs caught me before I buckled in completely. Did graze my palm though.