What have you done in the garden today?

[ThreeRingCircus]

I thought it would be a nice idea to share what we've been up to in our gardens.

Today I planted potatoes in buckets (with drainage holes drilled into them.) Six buckets in total, three second earlies and three main crops. I have fond memories of digging up potatoes with my dad when I was a child.... I still get excited rummaging around in the buckets when my potatoes are ready!

I also made up a herb planter from an old plant pot that had been hiding behind the shed. Mint, parsley and thyme planted in that so I'll see how that does.

I fed my pot plants with blood, fish and bone and gave them a water.

What have you been up to?

Hacked back the lilac suckers so the driveway is no longer narrower than the car, and uncovered a forgotten potentilla. Weeded carefully around the areas in the front garden where the miner bees nested last year, and was pleased to find they're there again. Set up the wildlife camera facing the bee house in the back garden to try to catch the nesting bees coming and going. Pulled out handfuls of alstroemeria to prevent the azelia, hydrangea and smaller rose being completely smothered. Pondered attacking the chaenomeles for the same reason but decided that was enough for the day.

Today I have noticed that not only is NDN's wisteria flowering, it is also sending tendrils down my side of the fence. Result.

We too have a visitor this weekend, so it was cocktails in the garden yesterday!

Thanks AlisonDonut, I will keep an eye on them, and see if they do anything interesting- quince would be fine by me.
And I LOVE those peonies @VenusClapTrap they are stunning, what are they?

Will pop out some little escallonia in the front pink border today, and hopefully get out the last of the brambles. And buy a second hose for the front, so I don't have to lug one round from the back every couple of days.
And then more cocktails

@NorthernChinchilla they are Callie’s Memory and Sonoma Sun

Gorgeous. I have peony envy

They make me very happy! I also have a Coral Sunset about to flower, which is always a bit special.

I love the Callie’s Memory! My mystery pink peony is already over, and I’m still waiting for Buckeye Belle to do her thing.

Someone on Facebook is offering four tickets for Chelsea today, but I lack the energy. I did enjoy the tv coverage, though.

Ooh I’m after a Buckeye Belle! It’s in my wanted list.

Can peonies be split? Given their reputation for being temperamental, I’ve never tried.

Yesterday, it was moving the bbq as the tree thing over it has dropped so was in danger of catching fire, then cooking dinner and drinking gin in sunshine. Oh, and grabbing some rosemary and thyme for the steak.

Today I have pulled a few weeds and removed 2 wire cloches (protecting baby plants from ddog) as plants have grown sufficiently. After Cub scouts this morning, we plan to cut back the tree thing and creeping ivy, and I want to plant more salad leaves and radishes, and some beans. And put wire net into pots of peas to support them.

Tree thing...

Pruned or tied in everything that was overhanging our long boundary. Tried to identify the 14 roses I grew from a Chiltern “mixed Rosa sp” seed packet. Pinned it down to 6species, of which 6 specimens are sweetbriars with scented leaves - very happy about that. But the question remains - where can I find space for 14 very prickly roses? They can’t stay in pots forever.

Mowed the lawn for the third time, including an area where daffodils have died down and another where Tellima have finished flowering, so there’s a creeping invasion of short grass across the garden

Planted out cucumbers and found to my joy that I’d already changed the soil in the cucumber container- so no humping around of compost needed. And watered everything - vegetable containers, decorative pots near house, bonsai, waiting to be dealt with collection, strawberries, aforesaid roses, greenhouse including cacti. It took me 40mins

I just hacked back the bamboo and the climbing rose that were blocking the path.
Im about to tidy the vegetable patch, plant out some leeks and pot on some other stuff. . Think it might be time to give my strawberries a seaweed feed. And I’m going to try and make a halo.

@ComeIntoTheGardenMaud Yes they absolutely can. We split them all the time for nursery stock. They might miss a years flowering depending on how many 'eyes' are present, but they're fine. I'm about to start building stocks of 'Buckeye Belle' incidentally. I also have a few plants of this spring's split of Mollie-The-Witch. Do you know that little Japanese woodland peony 'P veitchsii?' That's a lovely thing for a little corner somewhere.
@VenusClapTrap Those are Itoh peonies, aren't they? Absolutely lovely. I've never grown them but I must start.

Currently enjoying my summer house.

With a picture!

@Bideshi yes they’re Itohs. Don’t need any staking and are always fabulous. Totally worth the expense.

I concur that splitting peonies works well. A few years ago someone asked me to dig out a massive peony from her garden because it was in the wrong place and she wanted to lawn that area. I took it home and split it into about ten plants. Only one failed to take. Friend only wanted one back, so I kept a couple and gave away the rest. Unfortunately it turned out to be Bowl of Beauty which I’m not personally fond of, but everyone else was quite chuffed.

Lovely view, @Zebracat

Now I have summerhouse envy too!

Another couple of hours on The Fecking Brambles. Sigh. Will hopefully do something more fun this afternoon...

Today I potted up more tomatoes for the greenhouse, planted lettuces and sowed another row of peas in the raised beds, removed the pesky side shoots from the tomatoes, picked rhubarb, lettuce and radishes, pulled out the remains ( huge) of the rainbow chard from last year and paid a quick visit to the garden centre to buy bamboo canes ( which I needed) and another agapanthus ( which I didn’t need!)

Tied up sweet peas. Planted out Echinacea, a bit of weeding. Thats it

Watered the newly bedded rockery bits and my container garden, had a bbq. Looked at the laurel hedge, sighed, and went back inside!

Slugs ate my salvias. So I bought some more

Late to the party but I spent a few hours in the garden this evening when the sun had moved around to the front of the house and it was cooler out the back. Feels like we've gone from winter to summer in the space of a few days 🌞. I strimmed my back garden which was starting to resemble a meadow. It looks much tidier now. I'll rake up all the grass and weeds early tomorrow, before it gets too hot. I also cut back the tall grass growing around my plant pots, so as to let the sun in on my shrubs. And watered the shrubs.

Tomorrow I'm planning to wash down my plant pots. As well as raking up the grass and weeds.

I have that lovely glow you get when you've been gardening in fine weather 🌹🌻.

I spent a few hours in DMs garden today. It’s an ongoing war against the brambles and Ivy coming from next door. Her next door neighbour is lovely but does like a wild garden. I gave it all a good trim.