What Did You Do In The Garden Today...?

[maggy]

Thanks ladies I will put the tub in partial shade and see if I can find a saucer large enough,

I've just emptied one of the big plastic cauldron and dug up the small willow heart planted it and given it a good prune and water, the larger one I want putting In the back border so I have to cut down a lot of yellow iris and hopefully I can fork it out or leave it for the gardeners to do, they did say they would move anything I want to keep, the soil was bone dry around the roots of the willow.

[Missredhead]

I've swept up the yellow bits that have blown off one off the big trees but as soon as I finished they were coming down again..😣

I did water early this morning as I didn't do it last night..
Cooler out there today...

[Tig]

Deadheaded roses and cut the main stems off the foxgloves I'd left as they are forming seeds already, even remembered to do the ones in the front garden, and I cut the seedheads off the euphorbia wolfii before they shoot everywhere. Pruned 3' off the cotinus coggygria and other shrubs that had spread over the gravel, then OH helped me take 3' off the top of the deutzia pride of rochester, it goes berserk once it's flowered and blocks the view down the garden. I cu off two upright stems I'd left on the mahonia too. The brown bin is almost full again. My lettuce have sprouted. Despite a bit of rain the pots will need watering again later.

[Barbara]

Watering, everywhere is bone dry, you would never know how much rain we have had this year, five lily beetles and two grubs dispatched and lots of willow herb pulled out, I've seen a nettle growing but didn't have my gloves so that's a job for tomorrow.

[Ladygardener]

I was deadheading roses yesterday, still a couple to do but most are done for now, did lupin and delphinium as well. I've done a bit of weeding as I went around and pulled up spent poppies and forget me not as well, I managed to fill 2 wheelbarrow loads with bits and bobs. At least now the rain can get down into the soil and there's less of a canopy.

[Missredhead]

I've swept again and pulled up the ginormous foxglove....it had all gone to seed as as I still have a few at the back of the bed so it won't be missed...I never planted it anyway.
I did some deadheading but there's more to do but it got too hot in the sun..I'll water it all again tonight

[Dutchy]

Trying to find courage to do the apple tree at home. It needs Summer pruning but the mealy bugs make it a very unattractive job.
OH is off to the Cadillac club so no one to encourage me, or cheer me on.....

[Tig]

I meant to thin our apples out and forgot, although I noticed a few of the smaller ones have dropped off naturally, but there are a few clusters of four or more and we got a decent harvest off it last year after thinning them back to two.

More foxgloves cut back & a few pulled out where they were overcrowding other plants. Weeds pulled, including 4 hazel saplings at the back of the spirea bridal wreath, they were a bit of a maul to reach. Pulled out a few spent stems off the alstroes do hopefully they will resprout & keep flowering. I spotted a weed behind the apple tree and forgot to tackle it, perhaps I'll see this and be reminded tomorrow. I haven't watered this evening, my back is pinging a bit.

[maggy]

Ive cut down all the yellow flag iris and sisyrinchium from the back border , Im hoping the gardener will take the roots out and plant the ornamental willow there when he takes things out of the big border on Thursday, Ive also cut as much I can manage off the rosemary, the weeds were having a great time but most of them have gone.

[Tig]

I got the weed out I'd spotted and thinned the apples this morning. More deadheading & weeding, and I've watered all the containers I didn't feel like doing yesterday, plus I remembered to feed the toms & cucs. I found one red devil and spotted some grubs on another lily so they have been dealt with. Only found one vine weevil last night, I have caught a few more in previous torchlight hunts, but nothing like the numbers I had last year. Keeping the numbers down must work a bit.

[Dutchy]

I did the apple tree, got covered in the wooly lice muck but it is sorted now and that feels good. I did some retail therapy and got myself a dark blue version of the Yellow Flag for the pond. If it is anything like Yellow Flag it will grow like mad.
Black Gamecock it is called. Who on earth comes up with those names?
I think I will stick to Black Flag.

[Ladygardener]

Jul 2, 2024 7:54:20 GMT Dutchy said:

Black Gamecock it is called. Who on earth comes up with those names?

I had a little google, it's really beautiful Dutchy, hope it does well for you.

[Tig]

I had that one but didn't have a pond or boggy area to put it in, not sure if it survived or not.

OH has cut the front privet back, it had grown so far out it was hard to see getting out of the drive. He's also had a go at the spreading grass behind it in the front border, & pulled out all the plants that were growing there, not that you could see them for the grass. It will be back. I've pruned the yellow budd & winter honeysuckle that grow along the hedge. The bin was empty and now it is almost full again.

[maggy]

Chris has dug out everything that was in the narrow border down the side of the garden wether I wanted her to or not lol she Said it is far too dry to grow anything! And she has decided that I'm having a membrane and white pebbles .!! To make it look tidy, her Son in law popped in and said if the gardener wants to charge more he will do it when he comes back from Cos, as he has done his. Anyway I would rather pay him to do it it will only take half an hour it's only about a foot wide by 10,

I've just swept up and made salad buns for lunch. I won't see them now for over 2 weeks I'm going to be very bored.

[Dutchy]

Nah you can walk ( dog restraining you ) you can chat on here and you can go and have lunch with friends or tea or whatever you like.
And polish white pebbles in case you want. Maybe make them darker, white pebbles can be glaring.

Yet another green bin to the front today. Lately I manage to fill one every week.
Good thing the wheelie bin men do double rounds in Summer.
Once a week instead once every two weeks.

[Ladygardener]

That's very civilised of them Dutchy, here everything works on a 2 week rota regardless of the time of year.

I've just been picking sweetpea, this has been an amazing year for them.

[maggy]

My green bin is 2 weeks as well Tig, Dutchy, it's overflowing at the moment , it should be a lot less when this big border has gone. I've just trimmed the euonimus I've decided it can stay as it is offset from the main border it is a feature.
Phil has been and dug up the clematis The President that was originally on the rotted obolisk and was just growing flat over the rhoda,s I hope it takes for him ! The roots were in Australia ! We both has a spade on either side to get it out! Anyway it has 2 chances and would only have been binned.

I was sat down in the kitchen cupboard trying to read my meters this morning to send in the readings! I can't do it I have to take pics on my phone and the gas reading is a guesstimate , so while I was online I've ordered a free smart meter, it will be fitted 2nd Aug.,

[Tig]

Our garden bin only gets collected once a fortnight, but it is all year round.

I've deadheaded, weeded, cut things back, tied things up and watered pots. OH has cleared the piece of ground by the side of where my car is parked. Japanese anemones have crept up from next door along with umpteen weeds, he's done his best to get the roots out but I expect they will pop up again. At least he can get in the passenger seat without fighting his way through it, and trapping stuff in the car door.

No vine weevils last night, although I did find a froggy, and another one this morning was sat on the step down to the lower level out the back. Got the camera but it had disappeared by the time I returned.

[Barbara]

One vine weevil here, two lily beetles all gone now, I took lots of water from the but, it was overflowing from the overnight rain, and stored it in buckets with lids, you never know I might need lots soon.

[Tig]

5 vine weevils last night, but no lily beetles in the day. Only pulled a few weeds and watered again.

[Ladygardener]

How lovely that you have frogs Tig.

I've seen 1 red devil so far and managed to get it thankfully.

I'll be adding material to the compost heap today and all being well, doing some more rose deadheading.

[Tig]

Found a load of lily beetle grubs on the pot of lilies I planted up together as they were a Parkers freebie. Must have missed the adults on those, and missed the signs of damage as some were almost full grown. Weeded, deadheaded roses, dahlias and cosmos. Cut off all the suckers that has shot up on the purple leaved prunus on the front garden. Watered some of the dahlia pots, the WIG stuff and the patty pan squash in the veg plot. No vine weevils on last nights hunt.

[Barbara]

I dug out an Helenium that was hidden behind a Sidalcia, pulled out a clump of orange crocosmia and planted it in there, the back of the border is so hard to dig because of the trees at the back, I think horse manure this winter might help.

[Tig]

I had to cut down the sweetpeas, with the wind and heavy rain the container they are in had tilted over with the weight of them. I've got a vase full now. Pulled a few weeds I spotted on my rounds, and deadheaded the dahlias.

[Dutchy]

Still checking for slugs every morning. Yes I kill some...
Been deadheading Cosmos. Those have done so good for me and are still doing so.
The Zinnia is no good, not enough flowers to pick so next year I will try another annual.
Mind they have to cope with sitting next to Dahlia. Butch plants if anything.
In all Pot 2.0 is performing well, chuffed about that even though I do want to have a small plot again.
If only for perennial stuff like fruit.

[Tig]

I've dug up some 'weeds', at least I'm assuming they are weeds but new ones to me. Very fine feathery foliage and tiny buds atop quite tall stems. I didn't plant them, didn't recognise them so decided to remove them and boy did they have deep roots. I have 3 good gaps now for things I've got to find spaces for Did a bit more weeding out rosebay willow herb and spreading grass. Cut back some of the stipa tenuissima that was flattened by all the rain and had swamped other plants. Deadheaded dahlias, cosmos and scabious. No need to water, apart from the WIG.

[Ladygardener]

I finally got around to moving Dahlia Waltzing Matilda from the lockdown bed. As everything has grown so much since we started the bed in 2020 it was getting completely shaded out. I've put what I can into 2 containers for now and given some feed and new compost, hopefully they'll come on ok as I really don't want to loose it. Other than that, it's pulling up long long grass with flower heads on it and grass invading into the beds and borders, also dug up a Verbascum growing in the wrong place and replanted it. Picked a few blackcurrents, that's all the blackbirds left for us and a couple of raspberries. Gooseberries are ripening well at the moment, I'll keep an eye on them. At least this year the sawfly left them alone, possibly because it could'nt find them as the bed has become quite overgrown.

[Tig]

I've tidied up the toms as with all the wet weather there were a few leaves showing signs of botrytis, cut them all off and removed some more lower foliage to try and improve airflow. Deadheaded roses, pulled spent stems out from the alstromeria Apollo before the seedheads start to ripen. Dug another 'weed' I had missed. Found one lily beetle and several more grubs on the pot of lilies. Not found any vine weevils for the last too evenings, although I did spot signs of leaf munching, could be s & s though. Froglets still making me jump, they are loving the wet.

[Tig]

3 vine weevils last night, but not until just gone midnight (must be mad wandering round with my torch at that hour). I've cut back the taller geraniums as they were setting seed and had finished flowering. Also cut all the lithodora heavenly blue back to the border edge as it had spread over by about 2', so many snails lurking underneath it! No froggies leapt out thankfully.

[Tig]

Out again this aft. Cleared a couple of spring pots that had gone over, pulled a load of foxgloves out, mainly the pink ones, and fed the toms & cucs. The garden bin is almost full ready to be emptied on Tuesday. Found one lily beetle.