What have you done today in the Garden?

Cleared one of the borders, dug up the tulip bulbs, weeded and put some compost on it from the compost bin, tomorrow I'll plant it up.

 

Got a flatpack Beehive with all the frames, bee suit, gloves, smoker and hive tools



I cleared the area behind the fruit tunnel and put a windbreak up to keep the North & East wind off.

 

So, when do the bees arrive?? I am too scared to keep bees. I'm sure that one or more would find a way into the suit and sting me !!

 

The strawberry containers are looking festive now. I don't know if that will reduce bird strawberry fiestas.



Very eye catching in the breeze, anyway.

I could putter a bit more in the veggie garden, but now on to the front rock border - a change from the old perennials and weeds. I hauled and spread a couple wagons of lava rock, presumably from Mt. St. Helens, which isn't all that far away. Lots of progress but also lots more to go. Basically, continuing the wildfire - wise landscaping philosophy.

 

Having a day off today after another all day session out in the garden yesterday.

Tidied up and partially planted out another border, all 3 borders that run along one side of the main lawn are looking a tad more respectable now...phew!

Pleased to have found yet another Dahlia emerging that I had completely forgotten about.
I think some of the Dahlia divisions that I seem addicted to taking will have to go into pots for now.
I found some more tubers had sprouted yesterday under the staging in the greenhouse.......I had thought they were gonnas and was about to send them to the great compost heap in the sky!!
Note to self.....resist breaking of anymore Dahlia tubers.....we have enough!!! Futile hope I know.

Also happy to see the Asclepias tuberosa that I grew from seed given to me from a kind member on another forum a couple of years go survived being moved last year. It was from the only seed that successfully germinated. I am making it my mission to definitely collect some fresh seeds this year.

Great things come in small packages! Is that a bud I spy??

 

I've not done a lot for a couple of days, apart from some dead-heading on our, "rose patio."
I think we can reasonably call that, it this year, as all twelve are in bloom and even the begonias in their plastic tub are doing their best.
It wasn't the case last year, as the roses were a poor show.
I need to do some "blowing and vaccing," of the last of the wisteria blooms, but that can wait until tomorrow.









As we move in to the hot weather, the sun for most of the day, shines straight through our lounge French windows.


Forty years ago, I made this retractable canopy over the patio doors we had at the time.

We had a re-fit at the superstore I was managing and it was decided that the totally unnecessary canopy over the fruit and veg fixture was, "surplus to requirements." It was always a job trying to keep it clean. The company shopfitting team put it in a skip. So I "recycled" it.

I only needed about a quarter of it and I gave the rest away.

I made a wooden frame, similar in design to the hood of a baby's pram. It was four "U shaped" bits of 2"x1" hinged at the corners, so with two pull cords, attached to the front of the bottom frame and threaded through eyes in the top frame I could pull it u,p so the front was flush with the wall above the window.


I got the white tape and studs necessary, from a local blind making workshop.
It looked quite professional, though I say it myself.

The scalloped edge, was of course on the original canopy.




This is an even earlier photo, we still had the "damp window box" of a fish pond, I built on the patio, which was the crazy terrazzo, I laid in the mid-seventies, before I ripped it all up and replaced it with crazy York stone in the eighties.





Of course, the canopy had to go when I built the pergola.

However, the wisteria affords some protection as now the blooms have gone we've got the thick foliage, which shield that end of the room from some of the sun.

 

DHR nice trip thru your garden history. Evolving pics are always a pleasure to see… the making of a fabulous garden.

 

Dug up the tulip bulbs in one of the borders and planted some gladioli grown in pots.

 

Best thing is to wait for a swarm. There was one passing through yesterday but it didn't settle. Had a call about one last week but we weren't set up for it

Getting stung will be a hazzard but I'm not scared of bees like I am wasps. I put a plastic box of water on top of the hive and I've been showing the cat that it's got a rooftop swimming pool. He'll get the idea that it's not a good thing to jump up onto

 

Several swarms have passed thru usually end up in a couple of trees over the years. I think the worst swarm was in the outside of the house wall the bees entered under the concrete tile roof then started the hive down between the outside wall and inside barrier. Every time I passed the wall inside I could hear buzzzz.zzz. Called a bee guy and he carefully managed to herd them all into their new home. Not without leaving a leaky roof costing thousands to repair… which we had no idea happened until months later when winter rains began and ended up with water damage inside.

 

That totally sucks !! Bees making your house a hive, costing thousands to fix !! I hope your insurance covered it .

I had a swarm about three years ago that settled into a big 200+ year old dead tree just outside of my property line. They only stayed for an afternoon but they were flying around everywhere and were gone the next afternoon, thank goodness. Not that I don't like bees but they are so protective of their hives I wouldn't want to go near the back of my property.

 

Anniekay our insurance could have covered the bee invasion but here’s the catch.. we were told if we claimed it on our homeowners insurance they warned they could drop us and it’s very difficult to obtain homeowners and fire insurance since we don’t have any fire hydrants near by . Out in the country unincorporated community.

 

Insurance companies !! We had 2 hurricanes in a row, oct 23 and again, 11 mths later in Sept 24. No damage to the house, just large trees on the fence. They wouldn't pay for the fence or trees UNLESS the house was also damaged. Ticked me off !! Cost me 5 grand each time !!

 

How awful those hurricanes. It is a frightening sight to see one and hearing it coming your way. So sorry you went thru that . It’s a huge clean up issue too.

Frustrating to pay for insurance coverage thinking we’re keeping our family and home safe. Higher and higher deductibles are a big issue .

 

The house shook but the ground went nowhere !!