WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY - 2022

Potted on my sweet peppers and Cayenne peppers. Sowed some tomatoes. Yes, it's early but I had space in the propagator so thought I'd pop a few in.

 

Too good a day to miss the opportunity of a near empty wheelie bin to tackle the moss in the back lawn. Gave up on the pursuit of the perfect lawn a while ago, the moss always wins over the winter, and every year the lawn itself shrinks faster than an Antarctic glacier, as borders are extended to accommodate the whatever whims of fancy in the seed catalogues.

 

Mossed off and in the bin, left some tumbleweeding about for the soon-to-be nesting birds. Moved some potted camellias to make way for some echiums from out under cover. A rude awakening for them, but they’ve survived the first hour of wind. Now to prep the strawberry patch, before these darker skies becoming darker still, and drop some of the wet stuff.

 

I sowed some seed Potato's in two Potato bags, lovely and sunny earlier on, now someone has turned out the lights.

 

It’s the same old situation I find myself in, time after time. The one where you go out to the garden to do stuff, armed with the hand scissors and secateurs on this occasion, and come back in with the hand scissors. It’s gone again, but you bought a red one this time to avoid this happening, and despite several trips round what you’ve supposedly been doing, not a glimpse of a flash of red in any of the abouts.
So you go to the place you vowed you’d never dump it in again, that wheelie bin which was nice and almost empty before you dumped a whole lot of moss from the lawn. The reason you dumped it in the bin was because you’d no bags to bag it in for the skip, so you rumble about aimlessly with your hands, and then deploy the rake to get to the bottom churn, but no sound of metal on metal.
So you look round the garden again, even more aimlessly, before looking round the house even more aimlessly than the garden. Then you remember the one place you haven’t tried, the compost bin, and all those dead strawberry leaves you’d dumped in it, and that brainwave idea at the time of leaving the secateurs in it to add weight and save it blowing over in the wind. And what you completely forgot about as you squashed leaves upon leaves till it was brim full and dumped in the bin. And of course it was there. It lives again to cut the remaining days before it’s lost for good, which could be any day soon given my track record.

 

That looks grand, I study my previous years pics but invariably something goes astray, you have my sympathy as regards knees, I work and suffer the consequences, like my gardening too much to allow them to stop me ....

 

I prepared some toilet roll tubes for sowing sweetpeas and soaked the seeds for tomorrow. We then received 36 Lavender Hidcote plugs but they are too small to plant in position so we put them in a large tub. There were also 6 tiny Foxglove plugs so I put them in a pot to bring on a bit.
Later the Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna 'Purple Stem' arrived so we planted that in the pouring rain. Luckily the hole was already prepared.

 

That was my trouble too...kept working regardless of my poor knee complaining! Didn't realise I had a knee injury!! Had surgery 4weeks ago so still in recovery, and shouldn't really be doing too much yet, especially gardening. I've learnt the hard way .......as I want to remain active for many more years then I must learn to listen to what my body is telling. Yes I love gardening too and spent almost all my time out there.......but I now realise I love my knees more and should show them more care and appreciation.

 

Sowed some tomatoes:
Sungold
Ciliegia Cerise
Goldkrone
Golden Sunrise
Blush
Auntie Madge's
Jen's Tangerine

 

Finished...at last...mowing the very large expanse of green growth in back garden. I now have another full wheelie bin and 4 large bags under the verandah. I've just sowed sweet pea seeds as saw that someone else on here had done so - the packet said approx seeds 30....very disappointed that contents were 21, so just hope they all germinate....

 

I cut back a Blue Hydrangea hard and gave it a feed, also planted an Fuchsia.

 

I cut my little back garden lawn for the first time this year, yesterday. Saying that, only half was mown as the other half is newly laid turf. Looking tidy, I’m one for neat, very short edges. I think it’s because it’s a small ornamental styled patch.
I also weeded my long rockery, and trimmed back some climbing euonymus on one of the fences. Pottered happily

 

Yesterday was a house cleaning day so as the floors looked a tad too sparkly I did the next round of seed sowing on the kitchen table. Cosmos, Cucumber Piccolo di Parigi, white Sunflowers, some toms I don't want but were forced upon me by a magazine, and put some bigger seeds (gourd and giant sunflower) to soak for tomorrow.

My hardy annuals, sown in October in washing up bowls outdoors have stood North East winter very well and looked congested. I pricked them out and planted between bulbs and whatnots for a summer display.

They are three different varieties of the well beloved "Free Seeds With Every Issue" kind, most hardy and incredibly tolerant to labelling. So no idea what I have, but they look healthy.



Since the washing up bowls freed up, I chucked in some fresh compost and dill seeds. Dill should be ok in these temperatures, I hope. In Finland, nothing is sown out before 10th June, with the exception of dill and carrots. Mid March down here surely should be about the same Forever the optimist

Potted up some Chives for kitchen, and planted my £1.99 rose TomTom in a pot. Quite possibly it will replace the stupid Phlox in the front garden once it has rooted well.

The living room window has again transformed into a makeshift nursery with wobbly stacks of books supporting long trays of seedlings plus grow lights and an extension cord wrapped around the curtain pole. Once the 75 Cosmos seeds germinate, I will have to get seriously creative in juggling the space

 

Gosh! You’ve been busy,housework and lots of potting up and initiative! I’ll certainly be learning lots on here! You’ll be ready to relax now?