popular What have you done today in the Garden?

Definitely Anniekay......they are an amazing addition that will result in a mind blowing transformation .....go for it!!

 

Thanks @Logan I do garden with wildlife in mind.....but long grass and ' re- wilding' would be a step too far.

We are not in a residential area, we are very rural with an abundance of wild stuff going on all around us which is a non stop battle to keep under control from total evasion into our garden. Add that to a ' re- wilded garden and it would be hard work indeed.

A brilliant idea for gardens in residential areas though.

 

Yes @Oreti i agree with you it would be a challenge.

 

Loads of work.

 

Just a check around and fed the birds, they really like the worms I bought them.
We bought a tall mimosa about four years ago. It came from Italy, and was quite expensive, it was to replace one that died that was in a big tub and didn't survive a really cold spell. The web site said that they might only survive winters in the south of the UK, but I took a chance as it was going in a border and not in a tub.

In fact, I was a bit disappointed in my purchase as it was tall, but really spindly.

This is it, three years ago.



Anyway, I shaped and pruned it over the years and it's done well. I've kept it to a reasonable height as it wants to do its own thing and it would get really tall, if I let it.

The trunk now is massive. It needs this thick dowel attached to two concrete posts to stop it moving too much when it's windy, or it could damage the fence panel,



It's a really nice shape now.



This year it has finally produced some blossom, as I didn't need to prune it again last Autumn.

 

Riley— great posting. I like a success story.

 

Nothing today, I would have gone to see my friends but Barley and Berry have had the diarrhea so had to keep taking them out.

 

I have two Kiefer pear trees on the way. I got them from Daylily Nursery. Who'da thunk they'd have fruit trees? They had
2) 2-3' tall bareroot trees for $36. and free shipping. I ordered them Feb. 25 and they are supposed to be here, by UPS, today.

So, I dug me a couple a nice wide, deep holes and added some biochar and a bit of compost, (not too much compost), watered the holes deeply and now I'm awaiting their arrival.

Trouble is, UPS delivers my area late, late, late. Always after dark and once I was awakened by footsteps on my front porch at 1 o'clock in the morning !! Needless to say, that was startling, with Rags barking her head off and all.

 

We're looking good this morning, so I might get some weeding done. Still too wet to mow the lawn.




Of course, I've other jobs that also need to be done, before I cook our usual steak and Parmentier potatoes, evening meal. A bit of dusting and vacuuming and I also want to watch the football on TV this afternoon. I've already read the gas and electricity meters and posted the readings on-line. I could check my "account" to see how it compares with last year, but I can't be bothered, we use what we need.

 

Hopefully it will stop raining for a while soon. I'm in the greenhouse preparing tags. The borders left to do are the ones that can only be worked on from the lawns and they are well and truly to soggy to stand on for any length of time.
There are a few jobs to be done around the 3 patio areas, so will get to do them hopefully.

 

Hubby's been planting some of the polyanthus that are still in pots.

 

Welp, they finally delivered my 2 Kiefer pear trees at 8:30 pm last night. I peeked out at the porch numerous times and didn't see a box. They put it right next to the door frame so, until I actually went out onto the porch and turned to face the door, it was unseeable.

They have them very well wrapped, actually they're wrapped up together like Mummies. When It gets light out, ( it's 10 til 7 and still dark outside ) I'll unwrap them and hydrate their roots for a bit then take more pictures.

 

So windy out there ..... didn't get to do all that I had hoped, gave in and have just packed up the tools and called it a day. Hot Chocolate beckoned me inside.

I did get to removed some huge Dandelions that have been bugging me all week.
Tidied up some Daffodils that were being blown about, cut some that were beyond being rescued from the wind and have now got them in a vase indoors. So uplifting!!

Discovered a big patch of Brambles that were hiding at the back inbetween some shrubs, made a note to remove them as soon as the sloping soggy ground feels more secure underfoot.

I like to spend time just walking round and round the garden ( like a teddy bear ) and take note of what could work where and what isn't .
I think I have decided to use the big pot for some Gladiolis this year, it was home to a Dahlia last year that didn't really work out well.

I also spied some Oxetail Daisies that need removing .....a mistake I made about 7 years ago of sowing some seeds not knowing how fast and wide they spread..... hubs hasn't really got over his shock of how it invaded the lawns.!!!

So this afternoon was a complete wash out really.

 

I got quite a bit done today.
I got rid of what I could, of the grass that creeps under the concrete base panels of this party fence. The grass, I won't call it a lawn, grows right up to the panel on the other side.

The rhodos are doing well as usual, with lots of buds on them.





As are these primroses, which came in a pot as a Christmas present to my wife from one of her friends a few years ago. After they'd flowered I split them and stuck them in the border where they've been completely neglected. Later in the year I might split them again.





I checked on the clematis again. We've got ten that are actually doing something and eight that aren't. But three that are in the little bed next to the garage, were very disappointing so they'll come out and I'll put them "elsewhere" or in the bin. So that will take care of the eleven, "on the subs' bench" in the shed.
I got into the Mayleen clematis over the front door, removed a bit of dead wood and tied up other bits to make them trail.
Measured up how much wood I need to replace the three cross beams on the pergolas.

The bigest job was sorting out the Hoselock hose reel on the front of the shed. It was leaking a bit, but from where it connects to the supply inside the reel. So I had to take it off the shed, strip it down and put PTF tape around the connector.

 

Well, I have been quite busy today. The weather is so nice, who wouldn't want to be out in the garden?

I got the two new pear trees unwrapped and planted. They were wrapped in wet newspaper under all the mummy wrappings.


Then all planted.




Then it was tomato plants to transfer into 5 gallon pails. I got some good deals on pails and since I have so many root knot nematodes I decided to pot my tomato plants (and later my pepper plants ) into pails this year. It will also give me more room in the raised beds for other things and I might grow a summer cover crop if I don't need all the space.
Here's the lot of maters.


One Wooly Kate is a bit small so it and a purple tomato are in smaller pots for now.


I had two Heatmaster tomato seedlings that grew bigger than all the rest while being in the same pot so, since they enjoy one another's company so much, I left them together. We'll see how that goes.