WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY - 2021

I've put all my cacti and succulents outside and given them a good watering, they haven't had a drop since last October.
I repositioned some hardy Fuchsias in a border, they were in the wrong places and will look better now further back.

 

I walked out into the garden this morning and thought the wind was far too bitter to get anything done with any sense of enjoyment, but just after midday things mellowed a little, still a tad chilly. I got almost all of my salvias planted in my new border with the exception of 'African Sky'. I now just need to add the salvia, the 2 hebes that'll be arriving mid-month, the Lathyrus latifolius, 3 Cephalaria gigantea, an Actaea simplex 'Brunette', a Stachys byzantina and a Sedum spectabile 'Iceberg' to the border! Certainly doesn't look like much ATM considering all the work I've put in this week, but hey, that'll change by early Summer.

Nick

 

Started off gently, positioning hoses and leaky pipes to water beds and borders in order of critical drought. Removed mole exploder from orchard.....it had done it's dirty deed. Went round collecting up all the shrub prunings from yesterday to add to the bonfire heap. Constantly distracted by weeds (oups, sorry, wild flowers ) so everything takes twice as long as it should. Then, this afternoon, oh joy! It was into the Lidl fishing combinations and a big sort-out of the oldest pond. It was colder than I expected, given the lovely weather here recently Out with the pickerel weed, parrot's feather and Oenanthe, tidied up the ensata irises, fine-tuned the fake turf covering the edge of the liner (sorry, @ARMANDII ) and made lots of mental notes of gap-filling must-haves Has anybody tried growing Colocasia as a marginal plant?
Watered all the terrace pots, and the polytunnel, checked the 'babies' in the blowaway greenhouse and now sat listening to the froggie chorus with a much-needed Mojito

 

I left work at 12 and went to dig out some manure that someone was offering from local stables. I dug out 10 big compost bags of well rotted stuff and then took 5 fresher stuff. The 5 have gone straight on the compost heap and 10 will be used along with home made compost to mulch the front borders. I then cut back the fuschias and buddleja and shredded before adding to the compost. This task took about an hour longer than usual as I had a little helper. My daughter has really taken an interest in gardening this year, so was showing her how to prune plants. I then spent an hour or so hand weeding out the border of the bigger and perennial weeds and then went through with the hoe.
so nice to get out in the garden with the sun on my back.
Rusty

 

Having test-assembled one raised bed, I bought a new electric planer to get the sides and tops properly smooth. (I did already have one, but it was a bit rubbish.) Sleepers are never exactly level with each other, but now they are. Lovely job.

I also discovered that when I run over the mains cable with the electric planer, the circuit breaker on the house electrics is faster to trip than the RCD on my extension lead. Which wasn't a test I had planned to run today, but hey ho.

 

Pruned a buddleja that has just finished flowering; now got a pile of stuff to shred.

 

Have you ever had a brainwave, a good idea, the best thing you can do and it will be much better after you've done it ? .... and then, when you're half way through doing it you think "Why the h*** did I even think of doing this ?"
Well that's what happened to me today ....

I've got a large cold frame (2.5 ft x 5 ft approx) and thought I'd move it to a 'better' position at the bottom of the garden.
I emptied it of the Fuchsias that were inside, took off the glass 'lids' , got the kitchen steps to climb inside it because it was on top of some blocks, lifted it up by its sides, and carried it down the garden ... what could be easier ?

Well first of all I'm sure it weight a ton, and it was wider than I had anticipated, resulting in it knocking into everything in site, and refusing to go through the gap in the picket fence at the side of the patio
The garden path was also much longer than I'd realised, making me feel as if I was never going to get there ... and then it wouldn't slide into position on the new site I had cleared for it when I eventually got it there

But in the end, after much huffing and puffing (and using words I don't usually use ! ) I achieved my goal and the cold frame is happily sitting in it's new home, where it will REMAIN ! I'm not moving it again ...

 

Painted a wooden planter I bought a long time ago and planted my blackcurrant plant out. The blackcurrant was purchased last year and I will admit I neglected it completely and left it in its pot all the way through the winter. It's started budding again, but I presume I won't get any "second year" benefits from it. It's planted up now, and wasn't too rootbound. It's a long way behind my raspberry and blackberry though! (I also topped up their planters with compost).

 

I used the manure I collected yesterday to start mulching the front herbaceous border. I have done about half and only have 3 bags left. I was going to use my homemade compost to finish it, but have decided to widen and reshape the border in the lawn side and will use the compost for this. I will have to go and dig out some more manure next week. The lady has a pile about 15ft high and 40 foot wide and is more than happy to give it away and it is really well rotted too.

Rusty

 

Lots of times @Michael Hewett I have looked like a contortionist carrying out some of my fab ideas

Spent the morning at the allotment but once home I watered the gazillion seedlings in the greenhouse then split a few Lobelia starship I had in pots and put them in the borders.
The Magnolia stellata I ordered online came in the afternoon I will pot it up tomorrow but it looks in good condition so fingers crossed it's going to be a good one.

 

Today acquired from nephews first house purchase that has been going through renovations for over a year, a very mature Japanese maple, in a half barrel that split when moved as the roots had actually gone down into the concrete path. Have bought a new pot (as heavy as the maple!) and some JI no3. Tomorrow plan to repot it, but just wondered if anyone can advise on mixing in grit and perlite and should I put FBB or slow release fertiliser in please? It’s just starting to show new shoots and we only broke one branch in the move.

We don’t know the age of it, could be 10, 15, 20 years? But do know it has had no attention since September 2018 when the original house owner died.

It’s position was in a corner and protected by a conservatory along side it. We don’t have that luxury, the dogs would eat it (and the compost....Labradors!) if we put it in the back garden, so it’s going on the front lawn. As we are at the end of a cul du sac, it is quite windy. Am worried about it’s chances with the below zero temperatures forecast next week.

Any advice before we start our Easter Sunday repot?

 

Could you put it in the back garden temporarily @Tinkerbelle61 and cover it in netting, or a temporary fence to keep the dogs away while it's there?

 

I've started moving rocks from the remains of the stone wall at the top end of the drive. This in preparation for the fencing and gates that will be erected there sometime this month. It's amazing how heavy they are, I could only shift half a dozen or so in the barrow at a time and not easy on uneven ground. I called it a day eventually and moved on to clearing some scrub from the area too.