WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY 2023

Nothing today it's been raining all day

 

Probably nothing today it's raining again.

 

Looking out the kitchen window wondering just when the high wind & rain will stop

 

Finished emptying the compost bin, got 1 to go.

 

Went out for a look round, closed the louvres in the end of the greenhouse as it is getting a bit colder over the next couple of days.
Decided it was too wet underfoot to go on any of the beds, or even continue under the trees, all puddingy; the decision was made easier by the stiff breeze blowing along the garden that made it chilly even with a windproof jacket on.
Then spent an hour fixing the latch on the gate that has been irritating me for a month or two.

 

Since it was too cold outside I brought the bulbs that still need planting into the kitchen (a few Fritillarias, some small Tulips, and some Tet a Tet Narcissi) and I brought some pots in and compost too, and I hope to plant them over the week end.
I looked at the mess in my garden then went inside, closing the door on it ! I'm afraid it will have to remain in a mess for several weeks yet.

 

Did a bit of weeding and tidying up of old foliage in the bed nearest the house. There are loads of hellebores in there, so the flowers will be more visible now. Tackled the virginia creeper growing along the low retaining wall. It's a waste of space, doesn't colour particularly well and has a blackspot fungal disease so it's going on the bonfire heap. Ditto the Ampelopsis brevipedunculata elegans clambering over the shed. It looked terrible in the winter and as the berries only lasted about a week, it wasn't worth the space. To be replaced with a variegated Trachelospermum

 

Once more I haven't been able to do anything on the balcony & it very much looks like ditto for the weekend as well!

 

I thought about going over to mid Kent to see if there were any muffins left?

 

Nothing, it is wet and windy.
Am tempted to stay in bed for the rest of the weekend.

 

Nothing today it's raining again, but I'm going to see my friend Marion so it doesn't matter.

 

Lovely and sunny today. First time for weeks that I’ve been in the garden-cut back the hellebores ans other bits and then started with a migraine.

 

I went out on the balcony this morning - & quickly ducked back inside! The wind was strong & very cold I only had a look at the plants in the mini-greenhouse as I'd not looked at them in at least a week! It's been a cold, wet & windy week so I've not been able to go outside.

An hour or so later I again went out & this time was out a little longer - all of 10 mins! I looked at the Pansies that are in pots & that should have been on the balcony railings. I'd moved them further into the balcony so that they wouldn't get much wetter than they already were & start to rot. It seems I may have judged badly the conditions of the pots that normally sit in rings on top of the balcony railings! Some of the pots looked very dry this morning! Perhaps being clay pots they had dried out more with the winds all week so I gave them all a little water, to get them through the next week which is forecast to be very cold again. The temps are not expected to be nearly as bad as at the beginning of December.

While I was watering the pots I noticed that some of the Pansies are looking like they are practically dead! Others are flourishing in spite of that terrible period of cold weather back in December 2022! We will have to wait & see what becomes of them in the next few weeks.

 

It was dry and reasonably bright early on so once we moved a few planters around we put the three new 100 Litre tubs out, filled them with compost, and planted three Eremurus “Ruiter Hybrid Mix” (Foxtail lily) in each. And I am planting nothing more this year. I will start some seeds off in the spring but that is it. No more trees, shrubs, perennials or bulbs/corms. The boss has been told.