What Jobs Are We Doing In The Garden Today 2019

My nemaslug order arrived yesterday and the rain this morning; I wish life was always so obligingly convenient!

I went to a nearby NGS open garden yesterday, it was amazing to see what they had achieved in the time and space they had (the whole garden was started from scratch 4 years ago).

 

Jack Sparrow, back off, slowly. Avoid any rapid movements.


He's brilliant!

I just caught the short break in the drizzle to hack back a seriously overgrown giant Bellis. Cutting the soft tips off and plopping them in soil might work in a way of propagation, or not. We'll see. There is a lot of it left in case the cuttings fail.

The grass is getting out of hands but it has been raining every day now so it's soaking wet. Next week promises more rain.

Young Sparrow chicks are learning to use the bird feeder. They are ridiculously cute creatures, poking the seeds with their beaks but rarely managing the "open the beak and get a seed in, eat"- stage so the parents are still mouth feeding them.

 

Playing catchup today in the garden.

Made a trellis from the left over roof slats from the roofers

Ptilotus exaltus, cleome, bomeria hirtella, silk vine, lobelia tupa planted out

Weeded the arid bed and part of the top border, potted stuff on while the rain came down

Moved some of the big pots around into their final positions

Going to feel it tomorrow for sure !

 

Trying to squash in plants,what is it with us gardeners we can't help but keep growing things...much Cerinthe to plant out but have to wait a bit longer for some of the spring stuff to 'go over'..

 

A quick out of the blue question.

Can honeysuckle, lavender and gooseberry all live together? I'm guessing not as the moisture requirements are different. If they did it would give me a good get out.

G.

 

Gary, depends on which honeysuckle....some like if dry and some need moisture .....Serotina, for example, will suffer badly from mildew if too dry...so check out varieties carefully.
Lavendar must have excellent drainage and heat.
Gooseberries will need some moisture esp if you plan cordons against a fence.
Thus, all compatable? No not really

Well, it turned out to be a dry, warm day. Picked gooseberries, some planting and that’s about all in the garden today.

 

As long as they're all established plants yes they will be alright. It gets really dry here and i never water.

 

A sort of whim/impulse when I dug up a very beautiful, very large (always well over 6’) dahlia earlier. I potted 2 into 10 litre pots and plenty of tubers leftover for neighbours and friends....they are mostly the sort who feel the need to repay me so win win It was just too big for the situation and I have the ideal spot for it in the back garden.

Of course, Cornwall duly won the rugby union county championship today

 

It's terrible diagram time again. Sorry. Not to scale.


This is a culmination of several ideas. I've always intended to section off an area 60cm from the shed. I have a 60cm half barrel which I will fit in somewhere within this section.

The red would be a honeysuckle. I haven't bought this yet. I once looked at copper beauty but I haven't found one since. I will keep looking.

The green would be the gooseberry. It was a gift from my mum so I have to put it somewhere. That spot is in the sun so it would be ideal. At the moment it is a tiny specimen in a 15cm pot. I would like to grow it some more before I commit it to its final place.

The blue represents lavender. I have 5 nice pots full that I have been growing since last summer. This is where I was planning to put them before the gooseberry bush turned up. I could always plant something else here and use the lavender elsewhere.


The lavender could go here. This spot is in the sun all day. Eventually the nepeta in the pot will be in the ground. There is also a geum Mrs Bradshaw already in there. I was thinking of planting some kind of hardy geranium to fill the gaps between the pots. Against both fence panels is trachelospermum jasminoides.

I am keen to find good permanent homes for all of my potted plants. The other plants I currently have lurking in pots are a hebe, a sarcococca, a clematis the president and various spring bulbs. Some of them might fit into the half barrel display.

Any advice would be appreciated.

G.

 

The lavendar in full sun is ideal Gary....dig in plenty of grit too.
Here I have a 40 to 50’ lavender hedge now flowering and the scent is delightful. Will post a picture during the week. Lavendar is without equal in a sunny, warm free draining area

The honeysuckle!......don’t overlook the scent and not all are scented. Graham Thomas is a good one, vigorous, long flowering and scented. However, in your diagram I would plant it in the middle ...it will easily fill that space.

The gooseberry......grow it on a “leg”, I.e. a clean stem at least 20 cm, and then let it grow naturally above that. Or, it will grow as an oblique cordon, at an angle of 45 degrees, taking very little space.

Hardy geraniums.....of course there is the (now) ubiquitous Rozanne but there are superb varieties in most every colour save yellow. Coombland White is a tall double white, Ann Folkhard has nice yellowish foliage and magenta flowers all summer on a sprawling plant, Russel Pritchard is an older variety with pink flowers for weeks and Elke is beautiful .....pink and white flowers all summer, almost flat growing. Nice blues too like Orion so plenty of choice. All can be controlled and benefit from cutting back in mid summer....thus keeps plants compact and sets off renewed strong flowering for late summer into autumn

Sarcoccoca is excellent in a container. You could plant bulbs with it. Nepeta would fit in too around the edge to trail down for summer colour.

 

I do hope that this is not taken the wrong way by members and friends but! I do at times become jealous and envious at times when I see photos of manicured lawns and sweeping pathways that some gardens are made upon. GGGRRRRR! There's little o'l me with a postage stamp size garden. However. A very well done to all, from me.

Without doubt, most of us probably draw inspiration for planning our garde, from what we see and delight in seeing within our parks and gardens and of course these magnificent stately type gardens. I feel that in all the excitement etc we tend to forget a few very valid aspects.

In most cases, you or I are working alone. Our pockets may not be that welled linned, and for most of us as, 'True gardeners' we sow and grow our own plants. Whereas, the commercial world. Teams of workers take part plus of course lots of machines, then when it come to planting. We can't all be AT's and simply lean on the garden rake, whilst local nurseries provide already well grown plants. Even though much slower. I much prefer to self grow most stuff and develop the garden over time. This to me is the magic of gardening.

 

@Mike Allen I do agree with being envious of so many of the gardens I see here. I don't have a large yard and I do have a fairly short growing season followed by brutal winters and also a limited budget however I try to compensate by growing as much as possible over the winter from collected seeds and then utilizing free labour - mine! I have no one to help me with gardening or housework or laundry or expenses or just about anything you name. My kids are adults and would jump up to help me but they have busy lives and I figure having to fend for myself aids a little in the fitness department.. BP 113/69 with no meds two weeks ago. Maybe that was a good day...

Anyway, maybe the two of us should get really efficient at photoshopping and then post. Maybe put sheep by water fountains and knitting jumpers from their own wool in between sips. Or dogs picking up their own poo with little muzzle friendly scoops

Just joking. I don't believe in cheating and I too haven't got any "proud" photos to share.

In the meantime, I'd rather see the lovely gardens of "real" people than not

 

It doesn't come down to size at all, that is irrelevant, it's what you do within your ' boundaries ' that is of interest. These boundaries could be..size, climate, money, time, fitness and whether you are a solo gardener or have someone to help.
Everyone has something to offer others on here ....knowledge has no such boundaries.
:bigthumb:

 

My own garden is of reasonable size....front and back of similar area.
I grow everything from veg and fruit to as many ornamentals and grasses as possible but never to compete etc. Yep, that “manicured” lawn too I guess to an extent simply because I love it. I spend as much time as poss in it cos it gives me personal satisfaction and “therapy” I neither envy nor covet another’s plot but enjoy seeing what other folk are growing, displaying etc. Always learning; always getting ideas esp on the forum

Upsy is right...we all have different experiences and different garden landscapes and therefore particular knowledge useful to somebody else (I hope). She is right too about the “boundaries” of time, money, physical fitness, etc., etc. And climate.....nice and mild down here but real autumn colour passes us by. Snow covered hills of Scotland appeal too.

One of my main curses is the “ability “ to suddenly dig up something, move something, etc....possible spontaneous destruction!!....so one piece of unique advice I would offer is not to be quite so mercurial
,

The real fun and satisfaction in developing a garden I think is doing it ourselves to suit what we actually like and enjoy no matter how big or small the garden may be. Ok, get help with design now and then but enjoy doing it ourselves

Enjoy your gardens folks