What Jobs Are We Doing In The Garden Today 2019

Been using up some of the smaller pieces of decking I took up to make a stand for a large plastic pot, just need to put a edge round the top, going to use it like a hanging basket and fill with trailers with begonia Angelique in the centre, has anyone any recommendations for a paint that will cover decking?

 

Drinking wine is totally compatable with gardening Selleri.....mind you a lager or two, or a cider or two, is my tipple on a hot day. (Not recommended if climbing ladders though)

I ended up pruning a very vigorous C. Armandii and clearing top corner of garden. Tied in some wayward stems of C. Sieboldii ......one of my favourite plants. Discreetly staked a couple of large crocosmia Lucifer which are just beginning to produce flowers Next to them are large clumps of white (think I’ve got spelling right!!) that have been flowering for several weeks now and I am hoping they will flower with Lucifer (as they did last year) to produce an eye catching red n white summer display
Bloomin’ hot today.......to counter though rain is forecast tonight Welcome here

 

Did some watering, didn't have time for anything else, this afternoon had a visit from our son.

 

Wasn't going to do anything this afternoon but got a bit bored.

Moved the two tree azaleas on the stepping stones at the bottom of the garden. They don't look attractive when the blooms have all dyed off. So they were "relegated" to behind the rabbit shed.



Decided there were too many roses on the patio and new paved area, so took the four tree roses off the new paved area and put two on the small patio and the others on the steppimg stones where the tree azaleas had been. The lawn's slowly recovering after the scarifying, might give it a feed tomorrow.





Took two roses off the patio and put them on the paved area. The patio doesn't look so crowded now. There's even room for a couple of chairs.




Finished re-painting the pagoda.

 

Not a single “peeeep!” from the toads, so sat next to my pond, watching the frogs and newts, whilst listening to the vixen calling for a mate, below us in the valley. Then a wander around the warm patches of the garden. Found a common toad, but no midwifes...

 

Managed to get out again and cleared more of the Campanula, shame really as it's just flowering, problem is it's become as invasive as Bindweed. About an hour later I had to go back inside to cool down and let this confounded rash subside. Looking forward to doing some more tomorrow.

 

I've been thinking of taking some cuttings of my holly bush. Do I take soft wood or hard wood and would it be now or in the autumn?
Thanks

 

until 1pm yesterday and then started again around 11pm and still . The predicted strong winds have also arrived so painting rabbits on canvases today and maybe chilling with a book for an hour or so.

 

Put the new waterlily in the pond and placed the three little ducks on the edge. Something to surprise my two year old grandson when he comes round. I nearly succumbed to a gnome with a surfboard but was quickly brought to my senses

I took apart two large auriculas which were far too big for their pots. I got twelve new plants from them and now they're all potted up and sitting in the shade to recover from the trauma. Wrong time of the year to do it but I bought the plants from the reduced section of Dobbies in Huntingdon and I'm chancing the results. Now I have two lovely terracotta pots to fill.

I still have a few cosmos and zinnias to find homes for so will have a look round the garden later to find some space.
The weather is getting hotter by the minute have come in for a while to cool down.

 

Damp morning Should dry up by noon so some planting planned

Logan, for hollies I take hardwood cuttings in October/December...5 to 6” long....but I insert them in pots of John innes and grit and leave them outside over winter.

Yesterday I noticed one of my lupins had been badly eaten so last night, armed with a torch, I investigated and found 8 or 9 fat snails all over it. Duly removed so my lupin should now be fine.....the blighters hadn’t eaten the flower spikes so all should be well.

 

Back inside now I've mow the lawn again and it come on raining while I was mowing , I mowed it yesterday and it come on raining as well

My seeds arrived yesterday or friday more wallflower seeds - white sweet rocket and giant bellis I think I sow them today in the gh , the wallflowers I sowed a few day ago are already germinating

 

No rain here. Its warm and muggy just like yesterday. Today's breeze is a bit fresher. Yesterday I got interrupted so today I need to try to catch up. First though I,ve got to put the swing, the slide and the sandpit away so that I can cut the grass. Ideally these jobs would have been done early this morning while it was cool. Unfortunately neither my wife or I are early morning people. (To be fair, my wife is usually up at 5am to start work at 6. It's only right that she should enjoy a lie in once a week).

I would rather do my jobs on the Saturday and rest on the Sunday but it doesn't always work out that way.

G.

 

Thank you Verdun I'll do that.
Sorry about your lupins hope that they recover.

 

It's been raining a bit, but if it stays dry this afternoon, "I may go down into the thick bamboo forest at the bottom of the garden and do some wood cutting."






This started off as a self-seeded clump half way down the side border twenty years ago. About fifteen years ago I dug it up and split it with a spade into small clumps of two or three canes and replanted it along the back fence. It's a bit whimpy, as it needs wires stretched along its length at around 5ft off the ground to prevent it falling over.

As you will see, only a few canes are producing all this foliage. Amongst them there's always a few dead ones each year that need pruning. They are always replaced by new growth. I also have to trim off a few canes that "bolt" and can grow to a couple of feet above the canopy.

Fortunately, it doesn't send out rhyzomes, it's only crept forward about six inches in all that time.







We like it as it hides the back fence exept for the bit next to the tea-house where the path meets the fence.





There's a black bamboo behind the pagoda which is extremely slow growing.

 

Before I was interrupted yesterday I was dead heading the geum. It was a bigger job than I was expecting. There seems to be as many dead flowers as there are fresh ones. I dont remember it being a problem the last time I did it. There is no guarantee that we be able to get back to it today. From now on I'm going to have to try to keep on top of it.

I have noticed that (nearly) all the flowers are at the front of the plant. Im guessing thats because of the sun. Is there anyway to encourage flowers in the middle?

G.