…if winter comes, can Spring be far behind? 2014 beckons us...

[echt]

Okay, so the height of summer is yet to scorch the nethers of those in this wide brown land of Orstrylia, but welcome to the MNettie gardeners of the world. Prop up your sagging fences, evict the rats from your decking, and find a use for that poinsettia.

I'd like to join pls. It's lovely today and after Monty I'm inspired to get a grip on the garden.
Seemingly I failed to do any tidying last summer, it's taken me four hours over the week to cut stuff back, replant straw runners. Today I have covered my deepest beds with horse manure and DH has been cutting back the overgrown hedges.

It looks better but it's Only the start.

This afternoon
Cut back and tie in raspberry canes.
sort through rubbish for the tip.
Plant some bulbs and tubers.
Sweep the paths.
Move pots from winter hiding place.

Enjoy the sun everyone.

hi mother sounds like you garden will be revived.
how lovely.

the dc mowed the lawn today (woth me leading the cable). the ceanothus has started flowering and I have seen lots of bumble bees. a neighbours clematis (I think? or jasmin?) is flowering as well, lovely scent.
the rhubarb seems to have taken, both rootlings have little 'hands' coming up.

do I need to give it fertiliser? have rose food and can get fresh horse manure (football police) next week.

Ooh thanks, bearleigh, I shall dig out the shredder and put some in. We only have one composter here (I know we need two in tandem but no space really plus we only own one now, the old one was left back at our old house) and may try to squeeze another one in at some point. Will check out the link!

It is such glorious weatherthis afternoon, must prod DH to do the lawn ("his" job) and sit in the garden with multiple cups of tea....

It has been another lovely gardening day here. I have pruned most of the roses, cut some plants down to the ground and filled a huge green bag with the grot for the council to take away.

My local garden centre didn't have a white Vinca, Rhubarb, so I bought atropurpurea to go in my hanging basket. I am hoping it will be as 'black' as my black geraniums and will therefore not look out of place above the black and white border but, if it does, I can find another home for it.

My next challenging job is to sort out the back fence. The climbing rose "Spring Bride" has reached about 12 feet in places and badly needs knocking into shape. I will get shredded doing it.

great weekend here, every local garden had a two stroke engine going.

Ha! It doesn't seem to be lawn mowing or shredding season here yet. Whereabouts in the country are you, BorderBinLiner? I am assming the Borders.

Cornwall / Devon border, it's starting to warm up down here. Lot's of lawn mowing, last minute chainsawing and we're adding to the noise by chipping all the brash for mulching under the hedge line - I hate weeding.

Please don't use fresh horse manure on anything.It is too strong and will burn your plants,it needs to have rotted for at least 6 months before use.[horse owner and professional gardener here.]

Aethelfleda I only had one composter for a while but it meant I couldn't use the compost I had made. In theory you can use the little door at the bottom, to get at the older stuff, but I never found it worked.

Another glorious day here again - a local school's weather station recorded 18.6 deg at 13.30! We spent most if the day doing stuff in the garden. MrB cut back the apple trees - probably the wrong time, but we don't eat many of the apples, so if it means fewer apples that suits us. The weather was so mild, and soil so warm, I cracked and sowed a few seeds: veggies outside, flowers inside, and in the propagator. And MrB mowed the lawn, which instantly made the garden look so much better. Nicely tired now.

Where are you Maud?

Had a lovely hour in the veg plot sorting out stuff and sowing peas, carrots, spring onions and various salad leaves. Was all very lovely until I found a mass of roots in one of the beds. I can't kid myself that it's anything other than ground elder. I'm not sure how it got in there but I suspect through my compost as I do have my suspicions about some of the things that grow in the wood around my bins. I dug out as much as I could in the time I had but will have to dig up the plants that are growing in that bed and sift through all the soil. The only good thing is that it must have only just got in there as no shoots above the surface yet. I'm hoping it won't have spread too far. So annoyed.

Maud, picture of DDs worry dolls that we made today. I still have plans to make a Monty.

Those look lovely, Bertha. Do the girls like them? Do you think they'll find them comforting? Even if they don't, I hope you had fun making them.

I'm looking forward to seeing Worry Doll Monty.

Fingers crossed it isn't too bad Bertha.

Had a blissful day. Strapped baby Cobbler to my back (can only do this with DH's help) and pottered around in the greenhouse. The cosmos purity are starting to germinate and so were the second sowing of sweet peas. Also cut back the rest of the dead stuff in the cottage borders. We put all the sempervivum and alpines back in the sunken bit by the dairy, it was nice to see all the pots back in place. I potted on the scented geranium cuttings. Dh tied in the rose walk, at great cost to his fingers and with much swearing.

It was fab

Great dolls!

Wheeled dad into the sun like a Victorian invalid with a shawl over his knees and then sat in it to keep him and mum company, thus treating our vitamin d deficiency. Saw yellow butterflies. Moved the azalea into the sun. Seeds all germinating like anything. Very impressed with everyone's industry on this thread. It was a glorious day!

I saw a yellow butterfly too funnyperson.

Lucky you. I have seen plenty of bees but no butterflies yet.

Ooh, yellow butterfly here too today! It's obviously yellow butterfly day.

Also, all the hibernating ladybirds in our house decided to start waking up today. I counted 35 in our bedroom when I drew the curtains this morning. At least they are native ones this year, normally most of them are harlequins.

Hi Mother, welcome to the thread. Hello Mirage - horses and gardening; heavenly combination!

Lovely to read what everyone's been up to. I tackled the jungle around the gates to the drive today. Weeded, dug out rampant and ugly Carex, cut back swathes of invasive snowberry bushes and an eight foot high self seeded ash sapling. Also finished faffing with the fruit trees in the orchard.

Chatted to a neighbour about the verges of the lane and concluded that the trees are probably my responsibility, despite being on the other side of our fence. This is both good and bad - I shall have to organise getting the sick cherry tree removed myself and pay for it, but at least I can make sure it gets done.

Saw a peacock butterfly today! And several bumble bees. Springy loveliness.

Waves back to everyone.
We had a great day yesterday, all the rubbish to the tip, lawn cut, well rotted manure on the big beds. The smaller beds have weed membrane and bark thankfully. They look fab for having the manure and a good tidy up. My rhubarb is really getting going now so it got a bucket of manure on it. Paths all sprayed with weed killer. Garden furniture re-stained ( thanks dh) we even emptied the greenhouse.

Plan today is to wash all the pots and trays ( job for toddler I think) plus wash out the greenhouse. The indoor seeds are just popping up so they will need to be shipped out soon.

I also have 100 gladiolli to plant in the big borders ( some for cutting) and dahlias.

It's amazing what some sun can do :-)

Humphrey, ate you using a backpack? I used to rest mine on the table with dc in, then slide it on.

Hello mother

Bertha I love the dolls, I hope they help. I think of you when I try and get rid of the Perenial weed we have, it has big hostary leaves, is in flower now with small purple blooms on long stalks and though not unatractive is massively invasive, with a deep root system. I've tried to dig it out, but am actually about to resort to weed killer.

Dh and I have had 2 great days in the garden dd2 thinks we have turned into obsessive old folk

Dh works with the daughter of the Clematis exhibitor at the Chelsea Flower show, she gave us one from the show last year and I thought I'd killed it, was very pleased to find it sprouting new shoots, so I'm going to plant it out today.

I also need to move a Euphorbia, I've noticed the exact same one round the corner has a 4 metre spread, it can't stay where it is.

Mother I am using a sling and I just can't do it alone! He is a little bit small for my backpack at the moment.

Just popping in, (hope you don't mind?) to ask is it too late plant bulbs as suggested by Mumsnet? Thanking you :)

Hello to all the lovely newbies.

What were you planning to plant, Cath? I have only just planted the last of my tulips. Oh the shame.

Anything really - haven't even bought any bulbs yet...I suppose what doesn't come up this year will hopefully come up next?