What Jobs are we doing in the Garden today 2014..

I spent 4 hours tidying up the back garden after a two week absence, I still have the front to do tomorrow.
Love the avatar Sheal

 

Thanks Strongy, an Oystercatcher at last!

 

I've been out on the garden virtually all day, did pop out to the garden centre to get some fill in plants, and hubby insisted on having some painted heathers, has he likes their psychedelic colours....

Managed to plant up several autumn/winter containers, move several others around, and make a trellis for a winter jasmine that I'm keeping in a large container this year.

Not sure where the time went, as still got weeding to do, mow the lawns, and clear the concrete ready for the greenhouse...

 

Trying to restore the Lavender Walk to some sort of control. My intention is to replant it with a different variety in a couple of year's time (it will take me that long to propagate enough plants), but short term I'm trying to prune them back into shape.

A well maintained Lavender hedge will have been cut back to a short mound each year, and will stay in shape, just going at it with a pair of shears, as I have done for 4 or 5 years, to lop off the flower stalks is quick ... and deadly! leading to more straggly growth

So now I have having to chop each stem back as far as it can, leaving just one or two leaf pairs. Next year any that produce some growth further back down the old wood can be cut back further. I should have done this as soon as it finished flowered to give maximum regrowth time before winter ... but I wanted it to look good through August ...

Its a slow laborious, not to mention back breaking, job. Ho!Hum!.

I also need to find the illusive late-flowering, hardy (L. augustifolia presumably) variety with which to replace it ... otherwise I'm just going to go with Hidcote for its smashing colour.

 

Gonna have a 'thinking' day today, what to keep, what has to go as it isn't earning it's space, amazing how much time it takes to just think!!

 

T'is the time of year to pluck-a-flower and walk round to see if it would go better next to something else ... although you might still find that those things still look best when you are comparing them with the compost heap

 

With a bit of a push from @Spruce this is what I've been up to. I've taken the turf away to make it easier for feeding.

 

Slugs and snails... again! Last week's nematodes didn't seem to have a major impact (or perhaps my garden just has a lot of snails right now). So I've resorted to refreshing the old beer traps but also using liquid slug and snail killer in selected spots. This does seem to work in those spots and the cat doesn't seem to be affected as it rarely goes in those areas.

Also just generally cutting back and tidying up. I've started the process of improving the main raised bed's soil by removing as much rubble that has somehow ended up in there. Planning to top up with manure and compost in mid-October ready for next year.

 

Cutting back and trying to find space for plants I keep buying

 

Clearing the grass and earth off the concrete slab ready for the greenhouse, pondering at the same time where it all comes from as it's the 4th time this year that I've cleared grass and earth of it and why does the grass grow happily here and not on my lawn where it should do?

Other than that it's sitting there watching my baskets and containers starting to go over, and knowing they are next on the hit list

 

Jenny

 

Wotcha buying Loli?

 

I've just been cutting down dying stuff, weeding, tidying up. Still quite a lot in bloom but most beds looking a bit sad and empty now. Picked a load of tomatoes and gave some away to a friend.Put a load of chicken manure pellets, compost and mulch on the border I took the crocosmia out of. The soil looked dry as dust and empty of nutrients by the time I got all (well, most) of the bulbs out. Hadn't had much done to it for years so will need to keep adding good stuff to it so I can plant some roses in there.

Should have cut the grass but had two speeds today, dead slow and stop, so it didn't happen. Maybe tomorrow.....