What Jobs Are We Doing In The Garden Today 2020

@Jasmine star

That explains it mine are small seedlings as I cut down/removed mine last autumn. Mine will flower in a couple of months.

 

Thank you. It's Marshalls - I've mentioned the bad experience with herbs from them before in the suppliers thread but I'll pop over and add a note about this, too.

 

Thin out the wallflower seedlings, pick some redcurrants and pinkcurrants.

 

I thought it best to cut the grass today, as it has finally greened up with the rain we’ve had, as the rest of the week is getting hotter and hotter, on the forecast. The rain we had last evening was very welcome, but I will still need to get the hose out to top up the pond this evening. We only had about 1cm of rain, and the pond needs at least another 4cm to bring it to the top.
Hubby reckons that with the birds, mammals (domestic and wild) and evaporation - it’s at the top of a windy hill, we lose up to 1cm water a day....

Anyway - all hot ‘n’ bothered now, so off for a shower, then some homemade frozen yoghurt sampling, up by the pond, whilst it fills

 

I didn't think anything would be done out there because the weather guessers said we were having thunderstorms. They lied. Good thing I don't play poker as I'd get bluffed everytime!

Well, I lied too. I said "live and let live" about the rabbits eating my primroses but at the other end of that garden are my kelsae onions and they chomped the top off of some of those so now I've done a 180. I did feel like Mr. McGregor as I put netting around that garden but my onions rule!

I got my solar rain barrel pump working. Finally I will never drink rainwater again, unless it acts up again next spring.

Some of the low flow irrigation around the top rail was drooping and looking unsightly so I climbed up there and drilled the supports to a bit higher location. Abracadabra - out of sight

Now I'm just sat reading instructions for making a wooden sling chair - those ones that fold up and you can easily take them to the beach. Got a friend with a place on Lake Ontario

 

Well, as it is sunny and bright and merely a stiff and invigorating breeze, I sallied forth to review the troops. After all, you have to assess the situation especially after a weather event, before deciding what to do next.
I am delighted! The felled broad beans are not damaged and full of swelling pods, as are the peas and beans on my main stand that I managed to protect, I read up on broad bean plants last night and yes you can eat the foliage, and pods, so good eating ahead.
The peas that are podding are the novelty purple ones I bought, blauwshokke. Pretty pink and purple flowers and deep purple pods. As my sweet peas are nowhere in evidence, these are very welcome.. All my green leafy stuff is burgeoning and although the marigolds are falling back the first nasturtiums are in bud and the marguerites starting to unfurl

So I am very happy with it all and letting it get on with it today... Too windy at the northerly side to work but all there looking good.

Will add a photo next time I am out! Just forgot in my enthusiasm!

 

Really hot out there! I did some weeding along the top border, and around the fruit trees, as the grass and weeds had grown right up to the trunks. They look much better now, but I was melting, so had to retreat inside.

 

I've been making a path down the side of my trellises, to make it easier for weeding etc. It's just some slabs laid on the ground - nothing fancy !

Looking down the garden :-







From the side :-





Looking up the garden :-





There's another (older) path going down the other side of the garden but this one allows me to get under the trellises

 

Planted out winter brassicas, need to net them next as pigeons are a pain.
Watered and fed plants in pots and greenhouse. Removed male flowers from cucumbers.
Checked on the Buddleja nivea that was cut back very hard last week, there are already signs of buds bursting from the stumps, one in particular is still bleeding profusely.

 

What a beautiful garden @Michael Hewett

 

Today is going to be a scorcher, so I knew I had to get going early, before the heat and humidity hit....
So, I’ve
- deadheaded the ballerina rose
- tidied the snapdragons/campanula/foxgloves on the drive bed, by removing their spent flower spikes
- started an experiment on my young dianthus armeria, removing the spent flower tips on one of the plants, to see if it “bulks up” quicker than its companions
- emptied two trugs of weeds and prunings onto the filling compost bay, now nearly overflowing
- Finished emptying out the final compost bay, filling 5 compost bags and stacking them, and 4 trugs full of compost
- placed the 4 trugs of compost around the young plum trees, cherry trees, apple trees and currant bushes as a mulch (all were weeded clean yesterday)
- rebuilt the log “wall” that is the garden boundary next to the compost bays, as Mr Foxy dismantled a section of it last night, scattering small pieces of firewood against the neighbours house - hope he didn’t wake the baby!
- put new retaining stakes on the final compost bay, and reset the bottom planks that had fallen on their sides, rotting as they did so

Now it’s 25c out there, and I’m coming in for a rest!

When emptying/turning the compost, I often wonder if it’s better to find, or not find, compost inhabitants in the process. I’ve now come to my conclusion - to not find.
As I was easing the compost away from the fallen planks with my fingers, I felt something snap, and saw the flicking tail of a slow worm on top the compost, whilst the rest of the body froze still, then slinked away. Unfortunately the slow worm worked her way back into the pile I was moving, so as I tried to persuade her to move to the middle bay, a little later, another segment broke away. I honestly did not use any force the second time, and just finger-tip strength the first time (although I do have strong hands). She is now about 12-15cm shorter than she was, but still a good 30-35cm long.

Feeling so guilty, even if I was trying to help her get safe....

 

30°C = too hot, I watered all the plants earlier, now to strip off naked and soak in the (not so) hot tub, if her next door wants to get her step ladder out and get an eyeball, so be it

 

Nothing - just sitting out in it and enjoying the bird song and contemplating plans for next year.