What have you done today in the Garden?

This view of an evening makes all the work worthwhile.

 

Lovely Doghouse

Planted out the Calaloo (You have to pronounce this in a West Indian accent or it doesn't sound right ) and put some protection over it to stop the Blackbirds pulling the lot out to see what's underneath it



Also made some cloches for when it gets a bit bigger, can staple some fleece over these.

 

Cut off some of the old hellebore flowers in a border and weeded there, the ground is still dry there so I'll water the polyanthus that's there.

 

No rain all month so I'm watering. I got the car washed first and now I have the sprinkler on my bed with the hydrangeas in it. After that I'll water the shade garden and my blackberry patches. It's cloudy, so I can water in the day, but only a 35% chance of rain and I do not trust there will be even a light shower today .

 

Didn't get into the garden until mid-afternoon, as there was shopping to get first.
Why is it when you just go out for, "just a few bits," when you come home and up the receipts, it comes to over £100?

Anyway, this celosia caracas "followed me home," from Asda.
At £6, it was quite reasonable. I must remember to put it somewhere frost free in the winter.




Just the usual tying up of more clematis and I gave everything a really good watering, we haven't had rain for days.

 

If there are plants within a mile of my vehicle they keep on beckoning me to come see them. Once in their presence they telepatically force me to pick them up and carry them to the checkout !! I have no choice but to do as they say !!

No will power at all, me. !!

 

Been working 6 day work weeks as a co worker recovers from open heart surgery(been out since 4/5 due back 6/1). Falling behind a bit. Did Turnip and Beet seeds a bit late for my zone this morning before WORK. Still need to chit and then plant potato seeds.

 

I have to resist the urge to rake up the leaves and mulch them, usually it's best to do it after Memorial day (last Monday of May) but it's just been so warm and all of my stuff is just popping up already... i'm thinking i'll do that this weekend and pray there won't be a frost in the next few weeks

 

No, no, no raking. Get ya a battery operated blower. Much easier and I put a tarp down on the ground, weigh the one side that I'm blowing the leaves onto it from with bricks. Once the leaves are on the tarp you just put your four corners together and slide it to the compost pile.

I'm old so I need tricks !!

 

Sadly as a single mom, I don't get the awesome choices of what I can buy D:. A blower is one of those things I cannot afford. and i don't compost... my neighbors would complain and I would forget.... i've been able to rake without damaging any of my pretties. Promise.

 

What I did today was weedeating and watering. I'm not even half done weedeating but tomorrow is another day. I need to water the veg garden after supper and that will be it today.

 

It was a golf day, but when I got home I spent some time in the garden. First job was to mist spray the acers. I do this around 2.00pm any day that it's very warm. It stops the leaves getting heat damage.
Then tied up a lot of clematis.
Then watered everything else around 5.00pm.

 

Today I started covering the vegetable garden soil with strips of cardboard. I do it every year to keep the soil a bit cooler and moister, keep weeds at bay with minimal work, and for the tomatoes, to prevent soil - borne fungal spores from splashing onto leaves, if it rains.

The cardboard is on top of the irrigation lines and emitters.



It doesn't look pretty, but works for me better than any other choice. At the end of the season, I compost the cardboard so it's new each year.

Now that the mulch is in place, there isn't much work remaining for that crop until mid summer when I harvest them. Just putter and pull occasional weeds, and set the drip timer each morning.

Those are old rebars to hold the cardboard down in case of wind. Wind isn't usually much problem.

I also did that for the broccoli. I started the same for the tomatoes, but didn't get far. I did get the tomato support cages in place.

 

It's a good thing I haven't started my spring clean. We have a frost warning for tomorrow x.x

 

Bald faced hornets are white, but there are multiple kinds of hornets. And they are mean and will chase people. We also have large brown European hornets here. I have no idea how they got here. They nest under the bark of trees. If you hear humming in a tree, it has a nest of them. And they are out day or night. At least they are not those Asian giant hornets.

I did not make those graphics. I am not that talented.

I have yellow jackets here, and they are smaller than hornets and nest in the ground. If you run over their nest with your lawn mower, the whole nest will attack you. They are skinnier than honey bees also. Her bee did not look like the yellow jackets that I have met. If you just walk near their nests, they attack. They will sometimes nest in various openings, like the pipes on swingsets.