What jobs are we doing in the Garden today 2015

Just had time to photo todays harvest whilst the beef risotto was cooking....

 

Planted up the first of next years garlic. Ive gone way ott though
96 elephant garlic planted into 3 roottrainers. I havent got a clue about where I will be able to plant them on ?

 

Yesterday I cleared the couch grass out of the top border, tidied up the shrubs, and cut back all of the hazel plants I can't dig out...

Then in the afternoon I spent 2.5 hours cutting the grass with my non self-propelled mower (normally takes 1.5 hours). We have the sort of lush growth you normally get in springtime...

Even cutting across the slope as much as I could, I could hardly move last night, and it has brought back the head-cold I was trying to shake off last week.

So, today will mostly be spent curled up on the sofa, snuggled under a fleece, and watching gardening on tv!

 

Thats a lot of Toms!! I had a bit of a glut mainly because my plants got blight, so I picked the lot and made sun dried tomatoes. Also picked the chillies and froze them.

 

A bit OT, after my last post, I had a look at dehydrator and was surprised that you can pick them up for about £30-£40. They wont hold loads but Im tempted.

 

I've been shaping Beech hedging all day. Quite enjoyed the day to myself.

 

I weeded the rose bed yesterday in preparation for the contents of my small composter which I emptied today. Necessary, because I want to fill it again when I start stripping the beds of annuals over the next week or so.

 

I've been scooping up hen poop from the run , I've put it on the flowerbeds & veggie plot!
I'm going to hopefully empty all my hanging baskets & pots at the weekend they are certainly past their best now.
I've got some bulbs to go into the garden & I need to sort out some Rhodedendrum's for my new flowerbed at the front.
I'm at work now but my headis still in the garden , best I get a wriggle on!

 

I'm surprised your baskets and pots have finished already Beckie. I thought they'd last longer as your a lot further south than me.

 

I think a lot of it is the wind blowing across the field at the back, the lobelia was looking tatty a few weeks ago so I gave that a good trim. The fuchsias are still in good shape & the geraniums but other than those they are looking shabby. it's a real sign of winter when they are emptied, I thought I'd try to over winter some of the fuchsias in the greenhouse., are yours still looking good @Sheal?

 

The blasted wind sees everything off prematurely!

The only two baskets I have were a disaster again this year. I tried growing Begonia's and they were so pathetic I couldn't see them above the basket rim! My planters were okay, I'd filled those with Nicotiana and they are always good to bloom but they finished about a month ago. I'll be refilling everything with winter Pansies shortly.

 

Oh that's a shame @Sheal,the wind here drives me bonkers, don't get me wrong I love the view across the field but blinking heck the wind just cuts through you & damages everything in its path .
I wonder why your begonias didn't grow to their full potential? I think the weather this year has a lot to answer to, I hope we get a better summer next year
I don't normally do winter baskets (because of the wind) but I really fancy some pansies this year too, thinking I might just do two baskets
My French beans were the worst I've ever grown, they were hopeless, previous years I've given them away by the handful, this year we hardly had enough for ourselves, .

 

I think my baskets have got another three/four weeks in then at least.
The Fuchsias are currently at the best they've been so far as we had a lot of hot, dry weather up until August which seemed to hold them back.

I don't think I can remember a summer where the country has been so divided weatherwise. And, it hasn't necessarily been a north/south divide as you'd expect.

Even now we're still having days where the temp is hitting 20 deg and we're still having hardly any rain.

 

Apparently I live in the windiest area of this windy island @Beckie76. It doesn't matter which way the wind is blowing or which way you face, it always blows your hair in your face and it's so annoying!

Probably because I'm hopeless at growing them, it's the second time I've tried and failed so I won't bother again.

I think I'm going to need more than a couple of baskets.

They've done well Anthony, I discovered a thistle growing in one of mine yesterday, it looked a lot healthier than the Begonias.

I think Kent got the best of the weather this summer, Wiseowl has been basking in sunshine. The last month here hasn't been to bad but the annuals have had a short season having got off to a bad start.