What Jobs Are We Doing In The Garden Today 2019

Could look really good there Upsy with dahlias

Fed lawns, tied in tomatoes and runner beans, did some watering.....rain didn’t come and it’s been very warm and bright.....potted up choisya Dazzler for niece, (got nice decent size pot) and need to get some straw for strawberries that are now forming. Picked gooseberries, thinned beetroot and planted out tagetes around veg rows. Planted out couple more verbena Bonariensis (my own seedlings seem better than bought in plants) and Gazanias.

Still struggling with colocasia Black Coral......can never get it shooting!! I’m determined though It gets plenty of water and it’s in a warm spot

 

Haven't done much today because it's been raining. Just watered a few plants and weeded some of the Blueberry pots.
Try and start planting out this week but there's a chance of rain showers.

 

I bought three alpines on Saturday and added them to the redundant waterfall.

Rhodanthemum Pretty on Pink. Phlox Purple Beauty and Rock Rose Banbury.

There's ten other phlox plug plants through three colours that I put in a week or so ago. But it's still looking a bit bare.



I guess I'm a bit impatient, as the rest of the rockery looked like this in April 2017 when I cleared it out completely, (lots of grass)




Then I bought twenty post plugs of Phlox from T&M and they've done really well, despite one of the contractors filling in the pool tramping all over them four weeks ago.

No gaps!

 

Also did a border revamp. I actually got rid of some plants that I didn't like much ( I do have more elsewhere in a less prominent place )
...which was an emotional experience, and something I seldom manage to do.

I decided to have a Heuchera border ( and some other plants of course). I will see how things go and may add more as I took loads of cuttings last year

Not a very good pic as it's been a grey day with on and off spots ( literally!) of rain.

I also 'acquired' some Lime Marmalade Heuchera cuttings the other day from my Dad's.......ssssshhh!
So that's now added to my little cutting collection too

 

This evening I'm researching into how to revive some elderly and scraggly looking Azaleas. Think they need the kiss of life really....but I like a challenge.
Went out this afternoon and stocked up with some appropriate Azalea compost ....now to find out what the next step is !

 

Today was the traditional "from pots to borders" day, put Dahlias, Echinops and the first Climbing Iceberg rose in. Maddeningly, our neighbours have bought exactly the same obelisk as we did, and got it up day before we did. I'll probably have to hang a large note "Actually, we bought this earlier but it has been in the garage". Gardening can get pretty competitive around here

Suddenly the back garden looks much better with borders full of promise rather than a dumpyard of pots of this and that.

Found slugs the size of an Okapi , pelleted around any new soft growth.

The Teenager is voluntarily spending more and more time helping out, I think the bug is biting. Or it just might be that she finds satisfaction in smacking 100l of crap around

 

I can see your hard work is paying off Upsy

Sowed some seeds this afternoon wallflowers - foxgloves - sweet rocket I'll do the rest of the biennials when I buy them. Also sowed some veg ( I am not a big veg grower ) lettuce - swede - carrots - beetroot and turnips later, I've sowed them in trays this time see how it does not confident on the carrots, direct sown seeds don't last long ( slugs / snails ) I might get a 1 -2 swedes if I am lucky .
Rained this morning which were welcome but not the flipping wind split / blown over some lilys - aquilegia and others . Moved a few plants geranium Patrica a much bigger plant than I were expecting so swapped it around with geranium anne thompson, planted out penstemon - pervoskia - nepata walkers and sanguisorba . Chelsea chopped some plants especially sedum spectable awful when it splits open , also got chopped were Heleniums / phlox and supports add for the heleniums. potted up one of the agastache B Adder doesn't look well and move another A black adder.

Garden seems like a jungle at the moment some plants are growing like mad , had to attack the honeysuckle which is trying to strangle everything.

 

Thanks @Perki
You've had a busy day!!

 

Well after doing my reserch, I reckon we'll chop the offending azaleas down to about 6/8 inches ( sorry bad I know but my mind can't cope with cms!) , leaving just a couple of longer branches. Close our eyes to how ugly they will look for a couple of years and.....cross our fingers!!!!
I know what you're all thinking..why don't we just replace them, but as I said earlier we like a challenge and could very well and up doing so in the end.

 

I think you know the weeding is overdue when they start coming into the house.



G.

 

Inbetween heavy showers done a bit of planting out of Cleome,Cerinthe and Dahlias ..also the two bare beds where I've planted the cardoons I have planted some sacrificial Cosmos to see if they survive the chooks over the next few days..it's been 5 hours and they haven't touched them yet..but I'm not hedging my bets.. was going to cut the lawns but the weather can't make up it's mind....One minute scorching the next wind and heavy showers

 

Just cut 2 lawns, planted some argyranthemums, salvia Violin Music and picked a few goosegogs.
Well, weather turned out fine ....not wall to wall sunshine but warm and dry
I am undecided whether to order nematodes for slug control.......beginning to have doubts about their long term safety around veg and fruit??!!

 

Been doing my planting out in between rainy days and now been pot washing. Just need to cut some paper towelling to place in the bottom of each one and we're ready to store for next winter

 

Pulled up some of the wallflowers, filled 4 compost bags and hubby will take them to the recycling centre tomorrow. Watered the polyanthus that was under the wallflowers, they were dry.

Do some more wallflowers tomorrow
I'll sow my wallflowers at the end of June, then they won't be too big.