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

[Tig]

I've cut back 8 more of the herbaceous peonies, trimmed phlox paniculata, echinops, old hellebore leaves and tidied a couple of roses. I've left all the ITOH peonies as they are not going brown yet. Removed the seeds I could reach from the halesia carolina and pruned it further away from the path. Cleared some patches of moss I spotted, along with two more hazel saplings & willowherb that was going to seed (just realised I forgot a clump I spotted in the big island bed, must get that out when I remember). Emptied a couple of containers ready to plant some of the T & M order when it arrives. Swept up a few leaves but at the moment it is a pointless exercise as they will keep falling for another week or two yet.

[Tig]

Found spaces for 8 gudoshnik tulips, 10 rainbow butterfly and 10 jonquila pueblo narcissus. Planted out sempervivum chick charms plum, arachniodes aristata variegata, found pots for hydrangea Nizza and philadelphus petite perfume pink & repotted a jacobinia pauciflora, which may or may not survive winter in one of the growhouses.

[Dutchy]

As always you have me amazed at what you manage to shoehorn into your garden Tig.
I will do my old tulips in pots and still have 16 narcissus bulbs to plant.
Not much more as getting things done with one hand is not the best thing ever.

I might get indoors ready to go Amaryllis. I have seen a beauty at Fluwels website.
Mystic green
Magic green that is

[Tig]

One handed gardening is definitely a challenge Dutchy. I somehow bruised a vein in my right palm just where I hold the secateurs, probably squeezing too hard. It does throb if I hit it again.

I went to clear the leaves off the gravel from the biggest acer as they fell really quickly with the storm. OH came out to help, then he decided to have a good scrape at the moss under the picnic table. I've sprinkled biological washing powder over it and hope it keeps it clear over winter. We then lopped several branches off magnolia Susan, with all the rain it had grown enormous and was shading out lots of other shrubs. Still in full leaf so it was quite bulky, but we managed to squash it in the garden bin which gets emptied tomorrow. Also pruned some of next door cotoneaster back as that was 3' into our side. Still need to prune some more off both, but the bin is full now.

[Dutchy]

Know what you mean Tig, I have a bit in my hand too. But in the end it all works.
Tackling things is not for it right now but then I go in to the garden and see the bamboo from next doors making huge runners.
Fingers crossed that at one point they remove the thing as then removing runners also works. The plant is something neither of us wants but they inherited it.
Problem with non gardeners is they think we'll do it some day.......

Good thing one of my new plants is flowering with minute purple flowers. Now if only I could find the label

[Tig]

Good luck finding the label.

Cut back some of next doors rampant wisteria that was dangling over our side, and did a bit more pruning down the bottom. Hayloft order is due to arrive tomorrow so looked for suitable planting spots, magic shoehorn may be required.

[Ladygardener]

I've harvested the last of our potatoes, these were some that I put into a large tub the week after Ruth and family left, back in May I think it was. We got our biggest crop ever and not a mark on any of them. I think I'll do something similar next year, save some for a later planting.

[Jasmine]

I've swept up all the leaves on the drive and raked the leaves up off the grass - it must've been very windy while we were away.

[maggy]

Thats an understatement Jasmine, !! it was a named storm, cant remember what though!!

[Ladygardener]

I think the last storm was Ashley Jasmine maggy, when you were away Jasmine.

I've planted out 3 Bergenia plants I'd taken from my house, they were a bit lost up there but should do well here.

[Tig]

I've moved a couple of plants, dug holes and got both peonies in. Nearly fell over as I missed a metal plant support and got my foot caught in it, thankfully I managed to regain my balance before I wobbled too far. Split the primulas, out of 3 pots I got 8 plants and they are in the ground now. Spotted some sad looking primroses in one container from last year, had a furtle and sure enough vine weevil grubs had munched the roots. I've lifted and washed them of, killed several grubs and put them in another pot to see if they will perk up a bit. Found loads of weeds I'd missed, mainly willowherb and hairy bittercress so they can out and I tidied up the dead foliage on a few hellebores and daylilies. Lots of tidying still to do but not today.

[Cheerypeabrain]

Jeff took out the tomatoes and cleared the GH. I wandered into the garden and decided to go for a walk with the dog instead.

[Ladygardener]

It's so easy to trip on something or have an accident in the garden Tig,.

I'm still dead heading Cosmos that are growing well just by where I sit facing the back garden. All those in containers and in other parts of the garden are pretty much finished now apart from a large clump in one of the raised beds.

[Tig]

Physocarpus diabolo & continus coggygria both cut back to 4', prunings all chopped up in the garden bin. Next doors honeysuckle as a tangled mess behind the shrubs so I climbed in and cut that back, and found another hazel sapling. Cut back more peonies and then OH had another go at the magnolia Susan, some branches over-reaching the neighbours fence at the back, unfortunately he trod in some cat poop back there and the stink was horrific, resulting in a few choice words. I had spotted more ivy seedlings behind the apple tree but had to lop off a couple of lower branches to get to them. Looking much tidier now.

[Ladygardener]

I added material to the compost heap and gave it a good turn, we have a good lot ready to be put into bags now. Raked up some more leaves, a job I love and cut back some of the Dahlia that had gone black with the frost last week.

[maggy]

Pruned my golden wedding rose in the front garden it isn't looking very healthy ! Leggy and sparse, I will feed it after Christmas and hope the new growth looks better. Trimmed 4 lavender bushes tidied the Heather that was starting to go too far over the drive then anything else that looked untidy chop chop I've got my eye on the 2 big conifers in the middle ! I did get a card off a tree surgeon that was in the village doing a big job on some that were taller than my bungalow! I'm debating !

[Tig]

I've had a productive couple of hours in the garden this morning. More herbaceous peonies cut back, and phlox paniculatas. Trimmed the regal fern, hydrangea paniculata Limelight, three roses and tidied the first bed behind the garage, spotted some seeding willowherb I'd missed & cleared loads of moss. Did the same in the border behind the akebia arch & dug out two aquilegias that were too close to peonies. Pruned back the euonymus emerald & gold and some more of next doors cotoneaster, wisteria and mahonia aquifolium which was too far into our garden. The caryopteris Kew Blue was over the path again so that has been cut back, and other bits that were in my way got hacked. I've pounded the brown bin but I don't think I can squash much more in it, so will have to either find a black bag or not do any more cutting back for a week. (probably a black bag then!)

[Jasmine]

I was wondering how I was going to fill our brown bin this week Tig but I can't squash it down anymore now! I emptied out some more summer bedding pots and swept up more leaves. Tulip bulb planting is going to be a slow process this year but there's plenty of time.

[maggy]

I can't believe it but my pots are still blooming , even the petunia that are usually the first to be pulled out.

[Jasmine]

I felt really bad pulling up things that were still flowering but I have got to get my tulips planted. The pink Black-eyed Susan looked lovely but I need the pot. I also had to dig up some dahlias to dry them off to over-winter, if I wait for a frost goodness only knows when I'd be able to do it.

Anyway, all the pots are empty and ready to go, the tender salvias are all in the little grow house to see if they will survive winter in there (I took cuttings a while ago but now they've got 2 chances) and all the leaves are swept up...for the time being! It is a grey day but it's not cold!

[Tig]

I think I'm going to leave the dahlia tubers in containers this year. If they survive it will be a bonus if not I'll plant the tubs with annuals. Did a bit of weeding and moss clearing and found a hazel I'd missed. It must have been from last year as it had a deep root and took some yanking to get it out.

[maggy]

I only had one white dahlia (my love ) in a pot and I can't get it out so it will get left in and hopefully I can somehow protect it.

[Jasmine]

Maybe get someone to drag it under the eaves of the house maggy, I'm sure it will be ok if it doesn't get too wet.

Snap, with the hazel Tig but I couldn't wiggle in to get it out properly so I cut it as low down as I could. I will get it when I'm a bit more able-bodied!

The sunshade brolly thing is in the shed and the furniture on the terrace is covered in a tarp - wonder how many times we'll lose that this winter!

I'm going to make a start on the tulips now.

[Ladygardener]

I got Jenny's hubby to take down the row of bird boxes we have and was delighted that all 5 of them were used this year. Anyhow they're now cleaned out and the outsides repainted. When they're dry he can put them back up as I've seen the small birds roosting in them over winter. Other than that, I cleaned 5 of the dishes we use for the birds to bathe and drink from and topped them up with fresh rainwater that I'd collected. Cut back some more Delphinium and will do some more in the lockdown bed this coming week. I have bulbs that I'd taken out of containers to plant but it won't be today.

[Tig]

As it hasn't rained for a while I cut back three large containers of dahlias and have managed to move them into the WIG, they may have a chance of surviving the winter in there. The others are going to be left out as there are other things in the pots with them.

[Tig]

I'd spotted a couple of clumps of willowherb in the big bed so got those out along with more hairy bittercress and moss. It's been a good year for moss!

[Ladygardener]

I've collected more fallen leaves, cut back some blackened Dahlia and added materials to the compost heaps.

[Jasmine]

Have you had frosts Ladygardener?

I got most of the tulip pots planted up this morning, most of the bulbs were in great condition but a few were mouldy. I've got quite a lot of new sorts to me so it will be fun in spring when they come out!

[Ladygardener]

Nov 6, 2024 12:01:45 GMT Jasmine said:

Have you had frosts Ladygardener?

Yes unfortunately we had a couple of nights of early frost when you were away and it was enough to knock out the Dahlia early. It's super planting new tulips and will be beautiful in springtime I'm sure. Ours are in too.

[Jasmine]

We haven't had anything close to a frost yet here Ladygardener, I think the first one was the 12th November last year but our night temps for the next fortnight are between 4 and 8. I cut the dahlias back for the first time...I hope they are ok next year as I didn't wait.