popular What have you done today in the Garden?

I can't go on the roof either.....
.....I'd go thru it

 

No way I'm ever even thinking about getting on my roof !!




The poor little Mexican Painter guy had to get up there in back and they had a ladder laying across the lower gable which is the kitchen addition. He had to stand on that to paint the wall of the upper gable which is the original back of the house before the kitchen addition. I hollered up to him: "Are you alright?" His answer was:
" I'm terrified !! "

.
And he's a painter !!

Last night I trimmed 4 Loropetalum 'Jazz hands' and one Sunshine ligustrum. I have two Loropetalums and one Sunshine to do tonight.

These are the ones I have left to trim. The others all had these huge pink "flower-not flower" spikes but they remind me of Astilbe flowers, sort of so, I drag my feet on removing them. . The rest looked like this before trimming


After trimming

 

Trimming as much as possible. All the shrubs have gotten over grown.

 

Great work, Pac. Your place looks so nice.

 

Thank you very much Sjoerd. Ya know some plants just jump up and grow so fast I hardly know where to start. By the end of the season there is so much growth I can hardly back outta my driveway. It just sneaks up when I’m not looking.

I still have tons to do. Especially that dreaded …”Power Washing” , everything that doesn’t move outside. From stepping stones, to arches and fences, to the greenhouse, walls and roofs and all the out buildings, including the raised beds concrete decorative blocks, sandstone steps and patio, and the entire driveway. Will soon look like new again without all that moss that grows on everything . It’s built up in just a few years again. This time I’m having a company do it for me. After years of power washing myself my hands got wicked wacky from all the vibration holding the handle. Hoping to getter done next week.

 

Yesterday i had my plaster removed so no heavy lifting for 2 months. I did do a bit of watering yesterday.

 

Loggie— did it heal well?

 

@Pacnorwest You said your hands got "wicked" whacky.
Wicked is a New England word. Did you pick that up from the web or ...... ??

It was such a nice breezy day yesterday and it wasn't too hot, the grass dried quickly so, I finally got all the grass cut with the rider. I had a wheelbarrow full of branches, 4 good sized long branchy ones I had to break down into 4' pieces just to get them into the barrow. Lots of bark chunks and leafy branches also. We've had thunderstorms so often the last week and that caused the mess.

Then I weeded my shade garden and that was that.

 

I mowed my lawn then picked raspberries and tomatoes. This is two of my butternut, the third is at the same stage as the smaller one. I'm off to go to the senior center and see if I can use the quilting machine.

 

Still clipping and a trimming and a mulching and a cleaning. Never ending this time of year. Trimming out dead wood from trees and out of the tree rhody’s today Getting the garden shrubs and trees all trimmed and mulched and cleaned up for the season. Then of course autumn leaves fall and it starts all over again…
This season I’m scalping everything if possible that doesn’t move out in the garden hoping next season will not be as over grown. And bit the bullet and cut down my favorite Italian cypress tree 20’ tall lovely lime green color, that the ground squirrels killed.And yike’s the wisteria vines are climbing along the cherry tree branches again.Help .

@Anniekay You said … “Your hands got "wicked" whacky. Wicked is a New England word. Did you pick that up from the web or ...... ??

History from folklore of the Salem New England wicked witches…. No….. The expression I used … “wicked” wacky hands …. Was my way to describe the way my hands are deformed from years of holding the handle while pressure washing the property . The vibrations from holding the handle caused my fingers to curl up in a fist and could not open. It’s called Dupuytren's Contracture. Buzzz…

This year I hired a company to do the pressure washing which removes all the moss that grows on everything outside that doesn’t move . Everything will no longer be 50 shades in Green…

@Logan… congrats on the cast / plaster removal.. take it easy .. sending healing blessings across the pond.

 

Nothing today as it was laundry, then shopping, then visitors.

 

When it cooled down around 6:30pm I got working on my vegetable garden cleanup. I removed spent tomato and pepper plants, marigolds and one big sunflower that bit the dust. I then weeded, and did weedeating between the raised beds. I hit a small watermelon that was hiding amonst the weeds with the weedeater. .

I had planned to finish trimming the three hedges out front but it got dark before I could get to them. Tomorrow's another day.

 

I have 11 new quarts of elderberries in the freezer, and 7 from last year. I still have not made jam. I was thinking of maybe making some syrup or juice also? I have never done any of it. However, the elderberries went crazy producing this year. I still have elderberries ripening that I have not yet picked! Maybe I am part squirrel? I was given a big zucchini this week that needs shredded and put in the freezer if I can make room... I won't bother the ones in the woods, the critters can have those.

Elderberries are good for the immune system, and they are FREE. I hope to share a few more trees with friends this fall, but they need to remind me who I promised them to. The Ball Canning Book claims I must use vinegar, and weigh everything precisely. Humph. There are other recipes online that are not so persnickety. I refuse to use vinegar. I did buy a food scale, but don't know if I will get so fussy. Of course, they do not approve of the open kettle method of canning either. You can't use it for everything, BUT you can use it for fruits and a few other things. I have done it for years, and never had spoilage except with Kerr lids. I never use those any more. I use it for apples, pears, tomato sauces, jelly,...

I did do some mowing today, and hauled the compost tea to some of my plants. I will do more later.

I have been trying to pull weeds out there. If weeds were $$$$$$$, I would be a millionaire.