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

[Tig]

Mine is exactly the same Cheery - and as for him not falling off the ladder LG he almost did, he managed to hold on and just dropped 3 rungs. The next thing I heard was the chainsaw! I stayed out of the way and thankfully it broke, well the chain came off. He spent ages getting it back on, went to do some more and it broke again so he gave up on it & used the handsaw to finish off the bits he'd started. He also removed a 15' magnolia which has never flowered well and was shading the WIG. It looks a right mess down there but it will be sorted eventually, not before a lot more mess is made trying to get the stumps and roots out. He did get the hose out after tea and watered everywhere. I just deadheaded and weeded again whilst checking up on him surreptitiously.

[Ladygardener]

Crikey Tig, your OH was lucky!. Sound like he has done a good few useful jobs in the garden. Sometimes tidying up afterwards takes twice as long as the job itself.

The grass got cut yesterday afternoon, thank goodness, it had been 4 weeks since it was done and it was like walking though a field. (eye roll)

I've started going through some of the containers with bulbs in them and am planting out into areas to give some spring interest. Still tons to do but I want them done before our order from FG arrives ( more bulbs )

[Tig]

Yesterday OH took 70% off the top of the variegated holly Golden King, it still needs a couple of the bigger branches sawing back so it is just a smaller ball at the top. We shredded all the prunings which took well over an hour. It does take longer to clear up than it does to hack things back LG! We found a birds nest in the middle of it, empty though thankfully. A very neat, well built nest it was, probably a robin. I've not ordered any bulbs this year, yet. I'd like to get the big border cleared of the stumps before I do anything else otherwise things will just get dug up or trampled again.

[maggy]

I've cut right down ready to fork out the Dutch iris and red hot poker on the back border, cut down 1 clump of phlox and cleared lots of couch grass.

[Dutchy]

Halved a 3m plus shrub. All of a sudden there is light......

[Tig]

It has taken over a week but OH kept hacking away at the roots on the contorted hazel and finally it is loose. I'm not sure the two of us can lift it though so some engineering will be required to get it onto the wheelbarrow so we can put it somewhere to dry out a bit.

[Barbara]

I /we have been really busy, I dug up all the clumps of Hemerocallis as they needed splitting, lots of dead stuff in between the good, so some I managed to split with forks, some had to be soaked in buckets of water to get them apart, I took astrantia out of some beds and put Hemerocallis in, I have yet to dig out white phlox that is trying to take over and put some more Hemerocallis in the gaps,

In between all this Emily finished her Masters degree in biology and decided to move out, she has been with us a couple of years, lots of stuff gathered in that time all had to be moved with her, we spent Tuesday packing her clothes and three car loads later I have my rooms back, the house is very quiet now.

Your OH is very lucky Tig, Ladders are for younger men I think.

[Tig]

He's not lucky Barbara, he's nuts! He can't walk when he gets up some days as he's so dizzy. Plus he is unwilling to pay for anyone to do a job he thinks he should be able to do, despite being 79!

It will be weird for a while getting used to the house being quiet. Has Emily gone back home or found a place of her own?

[Barbara]

She has gone house sharing with two friends in Eccles, right at the side of the canal, very expensive though, she will need to find a good position with her degree or I can see her hot footing it back here, Derek said change the locks

[Dutchy]

Put the stump upside down and make a stump-ery Tig, might be easier.
My OH still thinks he can climb a contorted willow of 10m holding a chainsaw........That or chop through () 65cm base and of course it will fall nowhere.....

[Tig]

I expect she would still be welcome to return Barbara, at least the rent is split 3 ways, hopefully she'll get a job with decent pay.

At least mine started at the top Dutchy! Although it was supposed to be a light prune, and now is no more. The stump is now almost a round ball as he managed to saw through the rest of the trunk and remove more roots.

I tidied up the tomatoes and cucumbers in the WIG yesterday. There are still a few more fruits to ripen but with the shorter days it isn't worth leaving any tiny ones on, or flowers on the toms, may as well put the energy into ripening the decent sized ones. Still finding vine weevils on my nightly hunts, only 3 or 4 but everyone caught is one less batch of grubs in the pots. I've watered the hydrangea containers with some Provado bug killer this morning, not sure if it will be taken back into the soil by the leaves at this time of year though, worth a try. I've raked up all the windfall apples so they don't rot under the tree and cause the better apples to start rotting.

[Barbara]

Been on the plot this morning, pulled lots of spent poppies, and nasturtium and calendula, dug up the carrots and picked French beans, I've turned over one bed and sowed red clover, it's a green manure, we'll see how that does, I have a list of jobs for winter, save us sitting about festering, compost heaps, leaf gathering, a bonfire and GH's to clean out, and a cold frame to build, we still have green toms so we will see if they are going to ripen, if not fried green toms are fine.

[Jasmine]

Glad you got your rose back Dutchy!

Yesterday I started to clear the little meadow strip along the drive. I'm wondering if the yellow rattle did its thing as there is hardly any grass left in the mat of vegetation - just bare soil and the roots of the wild geranium and scabious.

[Ladygardener]

That's brilliant Jasmine, sounds like the yellow rattle has worked indeed.

Jenny and I walked around the garden the other day making a list of things to do over autumn and winter. I think I'll take off all the yellow flowers from the tomatoes this week too Tig, good idea, they are'nt going to do much at this stage. Great you guys have managed with that huge tree and stump, it will give you a lot of light and space.

Barbara, I'm sure it was really lovely having Emily with you while she was doing her studying, congratulations to her and I hope she finds a good job.

[Barbara]

Thanks Ladygardener,

Yesterday afternoon I planted out about twelve foxglove seedlings I got from the allotment, plenty more down there I'll see if anyone of my friends want any, the ground elder is still coming through from next doors back garden, so some time spent getting that out as well.

I made lots of French bean soup it tastes really good, I'm glad to say as otherwise lots of beans would have gone in the compost.

Glad you have success with the yellow rattle Jasmine,

[Tig]

I've deadheaded roses and dahlias, removed a few weeds I spotted & OH has tackled the magnolia stump and got the roots out. A few of the apples are dropping, I should start taking them off the tree, but will wait another week as it seems too early.

[maggy]

/Cut the agapathus and a few untidy fronds on the conifer in the middle of front garden, a few stragglers off the pasiflora and clematis. Hosed the garden mat and currently drying it in the sun so it can go away can't see me sat outside much now on my own.

[Dutchy]

Only 10*C so I ran in, got some flowers for the house and ran out.
Then got a cardigan as inside was only 17*C . As in cold too.
Brrrrrrrrrr

[Ladygardener]

Some of our apples were ready along with some of our blackberries so Jenny and I made apple and blackberry crumble, it was delicious.

[Tig]

I found a bag of top soil in the WIG so used it to fill the stump hole which was still a bit of a dip, then planted 3 hydrangea paniculatas, Wims red, phantom & pink diamond and the large pot with the spotty dotty I'd dug up because it was too dry (because of the hazel). With the soil in the pots it is just about level again now. Planted the 33 narcissus that were in the £2.99p bag from Lidl in the top half of the hole and will plant the tulips and other bulbs I bought in the gaps that are left later.

Had to hard prune the variegated weigela florida as it was casting too much shade as it had grown straggly. OH shredded that lot for me as the brown bin is full already.

I'm pooped but glad to have got things planted.

[Ladygardener]

You got through a right bit of gardening yesterday Tig, hope you are'nt too sore today.

I've planted some tulip bulbs Sunset Miami and the narcissus More and more along with some old bulbs that were in a container into the big curved border. It goes the whole way from the front of the house round the corner and down the side of the house to the oil tank. I've planted the bulbs into the bit we can see from the kitchen window. Other than that, I've been dead heading roses, this has been their best year. I think feeding them with the organic seaweed fertiliser and BFB has really helped them as has the long periods without any sunshine. Most are putting out really good 2nd flushes.

[Jasmine]

I've planted some of my daff bulbs and I have been slowly clearing the meadow area of roots. This morning I cleared the weeds over the other side of the fence. The weeds were trying to get into my garden!

[Barbara]

On Saturday I sprayed the GE coming under the fence behind the shed, today it's black, mostly dead,, can't do that in the flower beds obviously, wish I could.

I took the butterfly palm outside and split it into five plants, it was leaning all over the cupboard in the living room, I've potted all the pieces into pots and will put them into other rooms, bargain if they all settle into the new pots.

[Ladygardener]

I've dug up some Geranium seedlings and have them growing on, they'll be put into the big curved border once they've put on some more roots. I've found homes for some containers of spring bulbs in the front garden and Hosta along the side border. It was so lovely outside today in the sunshine with just a little breeze.

[Barbara]

A few jobs on the allotment, dug up some phlox for the lady on the next plot, and picked beans, Derek got woodchips and tidied up the path, came back home and weeded in the front garden, glorious weather all week is the forecast.

[Tig]

Having moved and tidied the hydrangeas and other plants on the table this morning I spent the afternoon tidying other containers, replanted one with two hydrangeas as it is in a shady spot so Miss Saori and Ophelia (polestar) are now co-habiting. A red penstemon had bit the dust, no idea why as it started the season flowering well, then just drooped and died. I dug it out and there was a bit of root rot in the centre so assume it had sustained some damage, perhaps chafer beetle grubs. I have filled the hole with the lilies I had for free from Parkers last year. Most of them are lemon or yellow and were crammed in one large pot, they fit and I managed to spread them out a bit. Found 3 more hazel saplings and one lily beetle. I still haven't found places for my clematis that need planting out.

[Barbara]

Late yesterday I started clearing the ivy coming through from the gardens at the back, cut back soent crocosmia and phlox, then lit the chimenea and burned all the dry stuff, going to spread the ash on the garden later, another lovely day here,

[Tig]

I have dug out some welsh poppies that had self seeded and a couple of aquilegia also in the wrong places. Planted out 3 pacific coast Iris I'd grown from seed & 8 self seeded primulas. Cleared some of the old wood out of the clematis korean beauty, it is a bit of a thug but a pretty one and a good nectar source at this time of year. Found a suitable place to plant the peony sword dancer I've been growing on in a large container. Got 5 clematis in the ground after clearing out some rampant japanese anemones. Harvested all the apples, quite a good amount this year although the tree climbing snails had munched some of them. The smaller ones I've composted, OH always wants to keep them all but the little ones are more core than flesh and not worth the effort of peeling them when there are so many good sized ones. Pooped again, but apart from planting the tulips and clearing the WIG I think I've got most jobs done for now.

[Barbara]

I planted wallflowers in a bed on the allotment till I had space for them at home, I brought them up today, one is well confused it's flowering, I brought a few more foxgloves too and planted them in the back of the garden.

Quite a few jobs done on the allotment this morning, strawberry runners planted and beans picked were some of the easier jobs.

[Ladygardener]

I've planted some more bulbs that were growing in containers and dug up and potted some young perennial Geraniums to grow them on before rehoming them in other parts of the garden.