What Jobs Are We Doing In The Garden Today 2019

Tempted to try the potato/rose cutting. And the succulent rooting idea

 

I have tried the potato and rose... the potato grew beautifully!

 

This morning I deforested a large section at the end of the garden. It's an area I have deliberately avoided as it didn't effect the aesthetics from the house. Ultimately I want to fill that section with colourful spring bulbs.

While I was down there I took the opportunity to relocate the 2 builder's bags full of leaves I had left to rot down. I now have 1 builder's bag stowed in a place that's easily accessible.

G.




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Just watering in the greenhouses. We had a lovely downpour of free water early this morning :.

 

some pruning, weeding, lawn cutting, organizing.

 

Picked masses of beans.....froze most of them......and ditto tomatoes. (Removing most of the foliage is serving me very well)
Trimmed edges of back lawn.
Pinched back young agastache, salvia Leucanthe, Amistad and gaura and potted them on....all for next year. The divided helenium Short n Sassy flowering well now and made biggish plants....for some reason in early spring it looked tired and weak so I split it and potted them on. One planted out now and one potted on into 5 litre pot.
Divided one of the Pennisetum Rubrum into 5 plants.....these will overwinter in gh

It was lovely n sunny but suddenly a sharp shower.....hopefully a brief one

 

One gooseberry bush duly trimmed.

An aside question (isn't there always?)

I have bought 3 pots. They weren't the pots I was after but they should do the job ok. I am hoping to get my grandchildren to customize them and to plant them up with spring bulbs to take home and keep. I already have a collection of undesignated bulbs from last year that I could use. What I would like is a recommendation for a perennial that could planted as a centrepiece. I would prefer something that is easily available now and not expensive. It doesn't have to be evergreen.

The pots measure 35cm.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

G.

 

Divides a clump of Arum Liliies,got rid of the Sweetpeas...earliest I've ever done that...fed and watered Cues and Toms and gave my little parterre another trim,only got 3 out of 4 done coz my back gave out..

 

Hi Gary, perhaps you could search for plants that do well in containers and let the kids choose their favourite from your pre-selection?

Some ideas based on plants I have grown successfully in containers:

• Dwarf Buddleya (great for butterflies),
• chives (from a supermarket pot, tear in half and plant the two clumps separately- very pretty and kids love to nibble it),
• medium sized Dahlia, it adds the extra excitement to dig the roots up in November, storing in garage and potting indoors in March,
• Lilies
• blackcurrant grown as a standard,
• alpine strawberries (I grew some from seeds and am now swamped, I could dig out shoots if you want them just PM and I'll have a dig) but these are low growing rather than a centerpiece
• Echinops Ritro, usually available at Wilkos- a great plant with funny flowers and doesn't mind if watering is forgotten.
• Small Clematis on a pretty obelisk- Morrison's and Wilkos have some very cheaply. The obelisk can also be hand made if your grandkids like crafts.

Very likely there is a perfect patio Rose but the Rose experts will have to help with that. I'd love a strong, problem free one

 

Yep, that’s it Gary
Patience is the keyword now...
Watching how it grows and train it your way

Centrepiece?
If not evergreen, a hardy fuchsia? Aster Frikartii Monch.....starts flowering early August through to autumn? Alstromeria Indian Summer...pictured. Purple bronze foliage and bright orange/yellow flowers?
Evergreen......thymus Silver Posie. An evergreen tall thyme with silver grey leaves and pink flowers. A different sort of thyme. A grass like festuca Elijah Blue.....evergreen, glaucous blue foliage with beige flowers in summer. Usually very cheap and tactile.
Pittosporum Tom Thumb.....purple foliage turning almost black in winter. Easily shaped as a mound etc. Phormiums.......yellow, pink, red. If you can protect it over winter, aeonium zwarskopf is a delightful feature. You can get them small to grow on.
Something cascading......sun roses, helianthemums? Evergreen and flower profusely all summer.
Or something with scented foliage like lemon verbena, Lippia citriodora. I have a couple here near a doorway and on a path.....touch or brush against the foliage for the most intense lemon smell

An afterthought.....Carex Comans Bronze is a good plant for a container. Foxy red evergreen foliage and a nice rising then arching habit. Provides movement and is tactile. Low maintenance in free draining soil

 

@Selleri , @Verdun Thanks. Lots of food for thought. Each suggestion opens up more questions.

There are some very exotic looking dahlias. Planting a bulb would be easier than planting a rootball. I dont like the idea of removing the bulb over winter. That really defeats the object. I have a dahlia here in a pot that stays there all year round. It blooms reliably each summer. I think this summer it's the best it's ever been. I think the extra rain has helped.

Fuschias could be interesting. Pruning it could be an issue. If it could be cut down to the ground over winter it would be easier. It would also allow room for the spring bulbs to come through unobstructed.

Asters are good plants. I know because I have one here. I gave one away earlier in the year which in hindsight I could have kept. Oh well. I'm not sure they would want to wait that long for flowers.

I'm not sure about grasses. I've never really given them a chance. Elijah Blue certainly looks spectacular on the photos. Would spring bulbs grow through it? I'm not sure what the children would think to it.

Lillies I have here in abundance. I was given a bag full of queen of the night as a special loyalty offer. I also have a pot full of orange ones. They should look good together. The orange ones have grown bigger year on year. They dont bloom for long though. A bit if a damp squib from that point of view. Maybe I didn't do something I should have done. Long flowering, fully hardy lilies would certainly have the wow factor I would be looking for.

@Selleri I have tried to send you a message but it says I'm not allowed. I've had that with others too.

Fruit is something that the children would appreciate. Would fruit bushes be compatible with spring bulbs? Are they easy to look after?

The suggestion of the children choosing there own plant sounds good in theory but not practical. Maybe in a few years time they may be experienced enough to make that choice. They would also have to look after what ever plant they chose. Being twins, they are very competitive. As I dont see them that much, the only way I can do it is to have the plants ready to pot up. Ideally I will be able to buy a reduced plant that's past it's best and divide into 4 even pieces.

I shall be away for the first 2 weeks of September. I will start looking when I get back.

G.

 

Wow love the box hedging @lolimac How long did that take to grow? Looks beautiful!

 

@Jack Sparrow , what about a lavender? Evergreen, fantastic scent, flowers and attractive to bees. Also, the fine foliage would offset the bulbs’ foliage very nicely...

 

Yesterday I mainly extended the slope bed (sometimes I have referred to it as the “geranium bed” or “pink bed” - but it now has much more diverse planting and colours!) next to the garage. The ultimate aim is that the bed goes pretty much up to the side entrance, taking out all the the difficult-to-mow slope near the top of the garden.
I didn’t do much, just skimmed off the turf (mainly sphagnum moss), for about another metre, also taking off the taper of the previous end of bed. At this rate, I’ll get to the end by the end of 2020...

Then I had 4 hydrangeas that hubby bought on Friday (I know! I know!) to plant. Clearly, they will struggle in the sandiest areas, so I had to be inventive of where to plant them.

One went in the new bed extension, in a hole well-filled with garden compost. The soil there is a red sand, rather than grey/yellow sand, and grows plants better than the main area at the top half of the garden. All very strange, I know.

The two white hydrangeas went into the patio bed. One in the extension I made last year, making a turf retaining wall, and back-filling with garden compost. The other tucked under / near two ancient rhododendrons, in an area moist from the overflow from the rainwater tank. The final one went into a very large pot, until I’ve extended the bed further.

After all that digging, carrying and lifting, I needed to drink a glass of wine whilst admiring the pond!

 

I watered and mulched a rhododendron with ericaceous compost. It looked a bit seedy with a few yellow leaves so fingers crossed
I weeded the cutting patch and pulled out some of the overcrowded plants. Cosmos doing brilliantly especially Purity which looks beautiful both in and out of the house. My favourite annual by far.
In the greenhouse the succulents have had a tidy up and I've brought the auriculas in to check over. I bought clay pots for them and will repot them when the time comes for dividing them.

A couple of the geums are looking sorry for themselves. I watered and fed them but not sure whether to cut them down to the ground. They are in large pots until I find the right spot for them.
My pond is murky and I was told that barley straw is good for clearing the water. Has anyone tried it?