What Jobs Are We Doing In The Garden Today 2019

Can't do much as they're still doing the paving, now the koi pool has been filled in. Lots of cutting to be done as it had only one straight side.

Trying to decide how best to utilise the defunct filter pump sump.

It's a 40 gallon barrel set in concrete connected to the pool's bottom drain.



For the time being I'll just leave the cover on.




But the plan is to half fill it with rubble so that I can stand a plastic container in it with a feature plant. Something like that sambucus in the bed halfway down the garden, but you wouldn't see a tub.



This is, if we can't find a water feature we like that can be connected up to the power supply formerly used for the pumps which I've retained.

 

A beautiful sunny day. Dug in masses of compost for the tomatoes plus chicken pellets and fish blood n bone
Some of my order was missing yesterday...apparently out of stock! Despite ordering several weeks ago. However, because I haven’t really lost any plants, cuttings, divisions, etc., over winter I realise I don’t need the missing plants so I will cancel them (set for later dispatch date)
Peas have germinated outside and growing well so removed poly sheet (to deter mice)
Will mow lawns later

Update....lawns mown and fetched more compost. Trimmed an overgrown lonicera Baggesons Gold for a friend....now she has space to walk and it has a nice rounded shape.

 

Can I cut back the leaves of the geum before I lift it and divide it,?

G.

 

Yes Gary you can but at this time of year leave some healthy green foliage. Give a bit of feed too...water too of course
Potted on some aeoniums and top dressed plants in containers Fed and mulched some hellebores after cutting off flowered stems.

 

Just fed the roses and cut off the spent flowers and old leaves of some hellebores that were growing around a rose bush.

Sometime this week I'll mulch the roses, got a lot of compost out of 2 of the bins.

 

Today I saw Strobilanthes brunetthy. I can't decide how hardy it. Anybody have experience of it? I'm looking out for a sambucas. Are these two similar?

G.

Ps I also saw Pieres Valley Valentine. The write up sounds very good. If I had one it would have to live in a pot. Would this work?

 

Planted out spuds even though I've broke with tradition from Good Friday,it's too late this year for my liking.Need to do more potting on but stumped because of the Robin with a nest full of chicks that have set up home in my potting shed.

 

Pieris Valley Valentine will grow in a pot Gary....slower growing type. Showy too Don’t grow this variety but do grow a couple pieris here
It must have acid soil though. I suggest John innes Ericaceous.

Strobilanthes is herbaceous....don’t grow it but you have tempted me!! Sambucas are woody shrubs so different completely.....you can grow them as large shrubs or as stooled, so smaller, shrubs. Better cut back annually as they produce better more colourful foliage that way

Pennisetum Rubrum Eaton Canyon and P. Fireworks (Showy but tender purple/red foliage and foxy red flowers). have grown well during the winter so I have potted them up again.....now in 5 litre pots. Potted sunpatiens (cuttings from last year) on again and they now occupy 2 litre pots and will go outside in 2 or 3 weeks (depending on weather)

 

Potted on my "purity" cosmos in the greenhouse and then did some weeding in the borders (so many weeds not enough time). Lots of seeds coming up and I was meticulous about labelling this year which makes a change. I think I'll be stocking all my families gardens this year.
Pleased to see so many of the perennials coming on. My two new peonies planted last autumn are emerging. Exciting times... I left my salvias in the ground over winter and they are coming up in spite of my indifference to them. I think they are trying to ingratiate themselves
Deadheaded daffs that had gone over.

 

I am shattered. Scarified the front garden as the lawn granules had killed a lot of the moss already. Woweee-7 bin bags full on top of a brown wheelie bin full! Had the scarifier on 2nd highest setting. Still plenty of moss in there but its done a good job.

Potted up the courgette plants (crikey they’ve got big-can see the start of some veg already!!!)

Did some weeding in the back garden too. Found some blimmin vine weevil grubs and caterpillars in my plants that I fed to the fish.

Coming back from walking the dogs on my neighbours field I noticed our front ‘outside’ border and thought it looked quite nice

 

How was the scarifier please @Snorky85 ? Any issues with it?

 

You've been busy snorky always surprising how much comes out of a lawn when scarified even though I've done it countless many times.

I've lost my Pennisetum rubrum, anybody says frost near the Pennisetum I sure it just keels over . Do you lifted yours Verdun and store in a frost free places before any signs of frost?

Been having a look round some garden centre today 3 to be exact. Not much to be had just picked up some busy lizzie seedling but were tempted by some onion sets. The last GC I went in I rarely ever go in because they never having anything I want, they only had quite a few plants in I've been galavanting here there and everywhere for must of done going on 100 mile looking for some of these plants just to buy them online in the end, I've been past the place 4-5 times as well .

Got home and started weeding the rear lawn for weed grass and cleaning it off ready for a overseed, overseed the lawn and made up some topdressing mix and top dressed the lawn , why is topdressing so expensive £6 for a 25 litre bag, saved about £25 in making my own. Put sprinkler on the lawn to water it in no rain forecast this week coming .

Tidy up the buddleia and removed ivy from the top half so the clematis can climb up easier. Weeded the front borders, looking at one of the front border looks like a forest of allium leaves I've got a penstemon to fit in there somewhere.

 

Today has been a steady gardening day, due mainly to a friend coming over last night and a bit too much Rioja being consumed until well past my bedtime.

Started off by tidying the tunnel a bit and potting on more tomatoes. Then sowed another batch of Ipomoea Lobata as the first ones haven't germinated - the first seeds sown were collected late on in the season. I'm hoping that the seeds Ive just sown (harvested from earlier flowers) are viable.
Sowed some courgettes that I bought from Ukraine, then decided to brave the outside world.

Tidied up the dying leaves on a couple of cordylines, dug out a couple of grasses and a shrub that have died (suspect the dog was using them as a peeing post). Planted a couple of euphorbias and then set about a bit of weeding.

 

Hiya Perki
Rubrum is very tender.....needs a minimum of 4 degrees over winter but to also be kept reasonably moist.
We don’t really get much in the way of frost here but mainly I lift them and keep in gh. However, 2 plants left outside have survived and growing away now. Worth a little effort