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

[Ladygardener]

I've been doing similar things to you Tig, roses, digitalis, alstromeria and some weeding as well. I've also planted out half a dozen small Lavender plants I'd grown from cuttings, they rooted really well in mp with perlite added. Also potted up a couple of bits of Hydrangea, they have 2 chances...

[maggy]

I have a small euonyemous that I trim into a ball, for a couple of years crocosmia has been shooting through it I just trim it back! But because it is now the only thing I've kept in the big border I have sat and pulled each individual bulb out , I know I will probably have to keep pulling for a while but hopefully I will win.

I've planted 2 plants that were in pots people had bought me for my birthday, a miniature rose and a chrysanthemum. Chris will complain when she comes home as she took everything out that narrow border and thinks I'm going to put pebbles there ! Well I'm not ! I'm going to get annuals and plant along there for some color, we took the fig out that had ot too big, and there are lots of spring bulbs that brighten up things.
Oh and I've done blanket stitch on my small willow heart to put it back in shape , it had sprung out , it was quite theraputic  sat there.

[Tig]

I planted out the 2 centrantherum pineapple sangria and 8 scabious I'd grown from seed, bit late but they may flower if we have a summer at some time. Also popped the begonia glowing embers into the pot with the magnolia I rescued, looks less bare at the bottom now. Pulled loads more foxgloves I'd missed, pruned out all the suckers on the holly & contorted hazel and did a bit more deadheading and weeding. OH has tidied the hedge on the corner of the drive so we can see out better and dealt with a massive ants nest in the saxifrage on the front, it was a mini mountain. Don't know how we missed it unless they were really busy digging overnight.

[Barbara]

Two lily beetles here Tig , I've dug out some astrantia that was taking over and popped a dahlia in that I had growing in a pot, tied up lots of leaves so the rain can hit the ground, it's so dry under all the foliage, pulled lots of Nigella before the seed pods fill and weeded out mares tail along the privet edge.

[Barbara]

Watering pots and baskets at home, on the plot we have emptied the strawberry bed and turned the soil over, the plants are in a tray for now and I'll go through them to see what to save and what to throw, emptied the potato pots, well pleased with the new potatoes in those, picked lots of peas and dug some turnips up, had a weed around then came home hot and tired for drinks and sandwiches

[Tig]

Deadheaded more roses and cut about 4' off some of the stems on London Bridge, that rose grows like a triffid, it is over 10' tall with masses of flowers. Bit more weeding, harvested two more cucumbers and one tomato.

[Dutchy]

Harvested 3 toms. They have begun.
Checked on water and just enjoyed the look of things.

The toms in Pot 2.0 are like a wall of green now.
I wonder if the carrots behind will change into a new breed. Shadow roots.

[Barbara]

Harvested toms, a cabbage and a couple of lettuce, already had lots of peas, more ready tomorrow, I planted out some more lettuce that I had growing in a trough, hope the SnS don't discover them, I replanted the strawberry bed,
a lady who runs a place for kids who have autism is having an open day in August, she asked for some plants to brighten up her ''yard'' so I've potted some stuff up, and I'll do more this coming week and drop them off for her,.

[Tig]

Took down some old solar lights that were deaded and draped my new 120 string of flashing coloured ones in their place, over the old runner bean frames at the back of the veg plot. Managed to get to the base of the latest sucker on angelface and cut it off below ground level. It keeps resprouting though, I probably need to remove that entire bit of root. Found a few weeds, fed the toms & cucs, havested 4 cucs I'd missed and three more toms. Watered all the containers and deadheaded a few more roses.

[Tig]

Yesterday I tackled the jasmine stephanense on the side of the garage, it had put on masses of new growth and was over-shadowing the border beneath so it had a really good prune. I then could get underneath and tidy up the border, weeded it thoroughly, removed some cyclamen corms that were huge and taking over in a few places, pulled out some of the persicaria purple fantasy that had spread too far. Sprinkled loads of chicken manure pellets and then mulched with the rubbish mpc I bought earlier in the year. Planted one of the heucheras I've been growing on in a gap, but there are several new gaps to fill with any shade loving plants I have waiting for a space.

[Ladygardener]

I'm picking sweetpea every few days, pulling up more forget-me-not's and doing more dead heading, phlox and roses mostly but knautia too. Other than that, I've been collecting seeds from digitalis and most of those are now cut off or pulled up as well.

[Barbara]

Just tidying and watering.

[Tig]

I spotted another hazel sapling and pulled it out, must have got most of them by now (watch me find another tomorrow). I've cut back the akebias again, they were blocking the path through their arch again. Took more top growth off the halesia carolina and pulled off a few handfuls of seeds, it made masses again this year, they are easier to see and remove once the leaves have dropped in late autumn though. Did a bit of deadheading, mainly the dahlias, watered in the WIG again and picked 4 more mini cucumbers (I have a glut now and need to rehome some) and a few more tomatoes that were ready. The first yellow one is almost ready to harvest. We are getting just enough to keep up with eating them. A few more fringed willowherbs spotted and pulled, I think our garden gets every variety of willowherb at some point in the year!

[Tig]

Got the weeds out I'd spotted earlier and few more I'd missed. More deadheading and harvested the first two patty pan squash.

[Barbara]

Privets cut, day lilies cut back, lots of kaffir lily pulled out, found a holly bush growing in the base of the privets, that's getting dug out tomorrow, sowed carrots and beetroots on the plots, Derek cut the lawn, and I watered pots and baskets.

[maggy]

Emptied and moved the bird bath John bought for my 76th birthday, the solar doesn't work anymore and last ime I moved itt I broke the 2 little figures sat under a brolly! So I've removed them put them in the greenhouse. In case someone can mend it. Moved my pot of diamond wedding rose on to the new border.
I've cut the quince right down so it can be dug up, Chris wants me to put pebbles down in front of the greenhouse! I have quite a few hyacinth bulbs in there so I will decide what I'm doing once I've got all the weeds out, but removing the quince and a few weeds I was achy and sweaty so went in got changed and popped out to buy some milk and have a coffee with Mo. I've actually sat and read a book this afternoon.

[Jasmine]

That must have been hot work maggy!

I just watered my poor, wilty pots!

[Cheerypeabrain]

I had big plans for gardening this morning...but Jeff decided to reduce the pyracantha hedge by half. It's right in front of the fence...and very diffucult to keep neat. He found two old nests in there, probably from the dunnocks.

Anyway it took him all morning so I had to keep the dog entertained indoors whilst he shredded most of the clippings..still lots of quite thick branches to take to the tip.

Too hot to garden this afternoon...very frustrating, all I managed to do was water.

[Barbara]

I took a dahlia out of a pot and planted it in the garden, that's three done now, the other two are small so they can stay in pots till next year, did some deadheading and watering, I brought some violas that were growing in amongst the veg, on the allotment and potted them up an popped them on the back windowsill, I took lots of seed pods of another and sowed them in pots for next year, the water butt is almost empty so I'll be carting washing up and shower water about for a couple of days.

[Tig]

I've only managed to pull a few weeds I spotted, deal with lily beetle grubs I spotted and water the WIG, it is just too hot. Only finding the odd vine weevil on my nightly hunts, they are either in hiding or fewer in number now.

[Ladygardener]

They must be fewer in number surely Tig.

I'm keeping on top of watering pots but only just. The hose does'nt reach that far but I'm doing what I can but stretching it as far as it can before filling the watering can, at least it cuts down a good bit on carrying. I've been tying in the big patch of artichokes, they're several years old now and we have about 10 heads on then. We just leave them 'tho as we don't like the taste and the flowers are good for pollinators I've taken a few cuttings over the past few days, Lemon Verbena and Salvia Amethyst Lips and some Fuchsia Madame Boothby which almost died out over the winter and spring.

[maggy]

I tried to get prickly nettles our yesterday but they were just snapping as the ground was like concrete! So I sat on my stool and scraped a couple of ft of mind your own buisness it's a right pain once it gets a hold it had choked the chives , I managed quiet a bit and a few other unwanted from the side of the greenhouse before the heat won and I had to stop, but the green bin had to go out to be emptied . Thank goodness its raining now so I might get more done over the weekend , I need to take out lots of Dutch iris as its congested .

[Jasmine]

I've been weeding and tidying up the edges of the beds. There is so much willow herb popping up! The bed edges have been kept quite tidy by the mower man as his mowing is very good and he strims everywhere before he starts so my job hasn't been so bad this year.

[Tig]

I'm not really keeping on top of watering, just the WIG and some of the containers, others are wilting but it is too hot to trundle with the watering cans for longer than half an hour.

Found another hazel sapling today and pulled a few weeds, squished several lily beetle grubs I spotted and found another vine weevil last night.

[Dutchy]

Tidied pot 2.0 up a bit. Opened up the tom plants as those will from now on be susceptible to blight.
Air circulation isn't that good at home.

Did a buzzzzz job on the Courgette.

Than sat down to re read Snuff by Terry Pratchett.

[maggy]

Cut down the lilies that were infested with beatle muck and fed all my pots with watering can , tried to mend my hose , cut a piece off but will be buying new connections.

[Ladygardener]

I did some work at the bottom of the garden today and sprinkled some digitalis seeds around. I've divided a big red leaved heuchera and potted up the divisions, should have about 5 of them if they all take.

[maggy]

I've dug up lots more of prickly thistle hoed a bit but decided to wait until it's rained , got the sack trolly out and moved a big pot of euonymusfortunei to the side of the water tub, lost my temper with the mind your own buisness and used the hoe ! It worked I cleared that space in no time cut down a clematis ( can't remember what it is ) it's not healthy at all I'm considering replacing it, but nothing is on the right hand side border! The camellia is ailing as well I need to feed that again .trimmed the willows , I noticed on my walk 2 lovely bushy ones that had been trimmed right back, hopefully these will thicken up. I have to force myself to stop while I can manage to walk on my toothache leg . !

[Barbara]

Saturday and yesterday spent taking plants out of the middle bed, it's overgrown, like concrete, had plants in the middle that were small surrounded by plants that had self seeded and were taller than them, in general it had become a mess, I took 5 trug loads to the tip, next job is to get some manure and compost dug in then begin again, I will be trying to find the tulips and daffodils I know are in there somewhere before they get a fork stuck in them then new planting can start, and I'm determined not to let it get too congested again, it's not fair on the plants.

[maggy]

I've pulled up about 2ft of crocosmia bulbs and all from infront of greenhouse and the rhubarb , I'm going to dig that out as well , I'm starting the tidy up of the back border now.