What jobs are we doing in the garden today 2016

Well nuffing so far as its FREEEZZING out there agree with Sir Woo tooooo parky
will benefit from manual work out there today so best get off GC stop supping big steaming mugs of coffee and crack on too .... Oh would ya believe it as i just typed that comment the has appeared so ta ta for now

 

Don't know if this qualifies as gardening work but I have been smoking out the rodents under my deck and also those which were burrowing in my raised beds/cold frame areas. I wanted rid of them before I plant out my seedlings in about 6 weeks. I also trapped some of the little nuisances too. Luckily I found out that the chipmunk is living in the wood pile so I don't have to deal with him!

I'm sure I must look like Elmer Fudd going after those wascally wodents...

 

Bit early - but it's been quite mild - so:

- planted up seed trays - Salvia, Lobelia and Dahlia;
- dug over soil - removing large lumps of clay and stone;
- put as much clay and stone as I dare in the Council garden waste bin;
- ordered skip for the remainder;
- had a look at various designs for placing raised beds;
- raised planter readied for planting bulbs/plug plants;
- put some Nemesia seed discs in the front garden stone urns.
- put out patio set - it's looking nice - but a bit too chilly at the moment to sit out with a cuppa.

One final 'thing' - tied netting to the garden arch for honeysuckle - Wilkinsons do some green plastic netting that fits perfectly for £7. The netting specifically for arches is £10 more - I can't see any difference to the general purpose Wilkinsons netting.

 

I planted some gladioli blubs in pots last year. Despite them be guaranteed to flower, they didn't. However, they stayed in leaf right through until the end of January and was happy to leave them that way, bulking up.

Well, I removed them from the pots yesterday and the blubs have almost trippled in size, some almost 3-inches across. Now, I'm pretty certain that they will flower this year, but they are going in the ground!

 

You think? If I know Mrs Shy Knee .... you're going to be for it!

Too cold for much gardening "out there", so more "armchair" gardening I've popped some seeds into a plastic tray propagator thingy and I've made another hanger for an indoor plant that I've recently added to my collection. Who needs to get their fingernails dirty, eh?

 

Came back from spending weekend ad Dad's, yesterday and got a good few bulbs planted. Today it was so cold again with that horrible wind that cuts through you. However, the other half was going out for the afternoon so I set to as usual anyway.

I started off feeding various shrubs and plants. Topping with manure and compost mixed and sieved by me. Then onto constructing a path for in front of our bench out of old left over and broken paving slabs that were left over. Lots of digging and levelling but happy with the result and will not have to walk on the newly seeded lawn (when it happens).

Then prepared another small lawn for grass seed and seeded it. All the time, I had a robin to keep me company and he sat on bird table munching fat balls 3 feet from my shoulder. He was just about to take food out of my hand when the dog came bounding out the back door and scared him. Ho hum! Went and got the camera out and mr Robbin came back and posed for me in all different locations. Most enjoyable! Indoors now, to warm up for a bit then will carry on mixing up some more compost.

A good day! Off to Wilcos tomorrow to top up. Will post separately in 'tomato forum' as to a question I have regarding grow bags and whether to purchase. Have a great evening, people.

 

Had a jolly around Dobbies this afternoon, bit depressing as most of our garden isn't anywhere near planting yet! Picked up some sage, rosemary, chives and parsely seeds, as well as a mixed lot of bulbs to attract bees and butterflies.
Hopefully collecting some more compost, and some lovely horse manure tomorrow if the weather is good to add to my beds.

 

Do tell!

 

Not actually in the garden, too dark, but just going to plant up the Achimenes tubercles as they are starting to sprout.

 

I decided to catch up with some of those little time consuming jobs today that niggle away at the back of the mind for weeks or months on end.

I'd pushed some canes into the ground last week to protect two parts of a young boundary hedge that the postman insisted on stepping over and has actually stunted the growth there. Because the canes are within reach of eye level I bought some table tennis balls to make holes in and pushed those on top today. I'll probably find the local Rooks or next doors dog has swiped them in the morning.

Next I had to change a dozen clips that hold the glass against the greenhouse frame. A couple had also broken up so I changed them all on each particular piece of glass. Luckily none were on the shed side which will be a nightmare as the whole lot has to come off from the inside, which is the only way to get at them.

I then emptied all the paddle stones out of two planting holes as below, which are four to five inches deep, to dig out the grass that was growing up between them. I followed that by digging out bluebells that have self seeded and are springing up in various parts of my front lawn, what a pain they are!

In for a rest and to tackle a door handle change, except there's a part missing from the new one. Typical!

 

Not a lot today, as I've been shopping and at home all day.
Just some Fuchsia cuttings taken.
Starting to panic a bit now as still haven't done any seeds except for Sweet Peas.

 

Unfortunately they won't grow in the packets Anthony, you'll have to get planting!