What Jobs Are We Doing in the Garden Today... MK3.. 2013

Bagged up 21 bags of leaves from the back of the borders. Still got one border to do. But it's great to be able to get outside and do something at last.

 

Planted all the perennials I bought last week, dug over the borders, dug up the summer bedding and generally tidied. Another day closer to spring,

 

at last I have finished potting up all the bulbs I dug up out of the garden last year must have about 20 so now I will see what comes up. I have had a tidy up with the broom round the patio etc just need to start weeding and deciding what seeds to plant now quicker said than done

 

I've cut down the last of the grasses and still flowering cannas. It's such a weird season that jobs such as these are usually done in autumn or spring but I've got tender salvias still flowering with spring daffs, primulas, etc. this time last year we were heading for a mini heatwave...remember? What a strange sequence of weather we have had since then

 

I have a Camellia called "St Ewe" which has been known to flower before Christmas but as yet, there is still no sign of pink in the bud. I sometimes think our plants know more than we give them credit for....

 

Well, today I've had the lawn mower out!

We did a very overdue first cut of the year on the privet hedge (on the last day of the year!) at least I have the excuse that we didn't live here until August! So there was a raggedy pile of prunings, which I cut / shredded with the mower. I also used it to pick up the last of the autumn leaves, as I was stopped from doing that earlier first by torrential rain, then snow, then a month if constant drizzle.

I've also filled all the bird feeders, so can now relax with my cuppa, and watch the birds.

 

Nothing *in* the garden ... but I did venture out to see if there were any bargains to be had in the gardening department

Got some tall planters, marked down to £5 which I think will be going around the pond, not too sure yet - but I did buy 5 of them (which was all they had).

Bought some plants: one red strawberry plant, one white strawberry plant, a hydrangea, 4 pots of daylilies and a childrens bean plant toy (well, why not! I can grow those 6 bean plants just as well as a child can ). Final bargain is a purple cordyline reduced down to £1.75 simply because it had been knocked out of its pot!

I also bought 2x 72 plug seed trays (base, sections and lid). Nice surprise at the till, they are 25% at the moment

Just the sort of gardening day I like best at this time of year

 

Came home, and it's certainly got a nip in the air, 3 deg according to the car, so the diksonias got wrapped as did the yukka, the cyathea australis and the large Diksonia are in the garage and I've treble wrapped the Washingtonia. Things are going to get cold these next few weeks:-(

Bummer!

 

Indoors not out. Repotted my 6ft Ficus 'Benjamina' for the third time in the last six months or so, hopefully my and it's soil issues are now sorted. I also potted up the rooted cuttings I took from it.

A quick check of the greenhouse and I now have sixteen out of two dozen dwarf Iris seedlings up, I'm pleased as I'd given up hope having sowed them late October.

 

Just raking up leaves and having a continuing tidy up..came across a couple frogs and moved them to a open compost heap a couple of feet away. Removed autumn bought pond leaf netting ..holes too big leaves going through. Must remember to check hole size before next autumns purchase. Birds are busy spring not too far away. Optimism is what I have.

 

Moved all my Ariculas to other Greenhouse.

But ground too hard so no garden walk.

Enjoying my long walks and biking for now.

And Reading Down the garden path by Beverly Nichols.

 

You're not wrong Shiney. I've had Benjamina's for donkey's years and have rarely repotted as they like to be starved. I repotted it first to give it new soil. The second time because of the pesky fungal gnats that I was fed up with swatting, but I hadn't thought about the fact I'd used a waterlocking compost which it hated, hence another change of soil. Although they are temperamental and drop their leaves at the slightest change, they are also quite tough. It seems happier now!

Ooooo I love and miss a good bonfire, I can't have them where I live now.

 

Bonfire piccies tomorrow please,
Jenny