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?

Today I've not done much - because I'm working, and it's cold out there. But have run out a few times to check the temperature in my new compost bin, which had its first fill in Sunday. And spotted the first flowers on the strawberries in the greenhouse, so I'll have to start leaving the door open during the day so the bees can get in. And pulled the flowers off a few dandelions (no shortage of other things flowering, so the bees don't need them).

I've weeded a bed; planted out some hyacinths bulbs that had finished flowering & two lupins I got reduced last week; & potted an apricot tree into a larger pot.

It’s been wonderfully sunny here (after a very cold night) so I’ve been pottering. I’ve mostly been emptying pots (to free them up for tender perennials), so a rose and a peony have moved into the borders and some failing tulips have moved into the compost heap.

It's been gorgeous here.
I've weeded our biggest bed, planted out a couple of perennials that I bought yesterday and moved a couple of bits around. Very satisfied with my day!

I was going to do loads but got distracted by the garden centre (s). I only buy bargains and I really need the garden to have colour. Bought a load of cheap violas, and primulas. Both of which I hate but there was nothing else.
Everything seems to be dead after the warm winter, spring frosts. Sad about my cordaline .So I ignored the fact it needs binning.

I mowed the lawn! It's a start😉

I fixed some 4" x 2" pieces of wood to my concrete fence posts and strung ome wire between screw in hooks to properly support my climbing rose (Malvern Hills).

You need an SDS hammer drill to drill into the concrete fence posts and need to get the hole in dead centre of the H cross section. I put the raw plug not directly into the concrete post but into the wooden post - it's long enough to pass through the wood and into the concrete post - it's about 5cm into the concrete and 5cm through the wood. I use some turnbuckle tensioners ti tighten the wire.

That’s a very impressive construction!

Divided up some perennials today, agapanthus, hardy geraniums and daisies and planted them and sat in the sunshine

Yesterday- jet washed patio and ‘outside all year’ furniture. Mowed lawns front and back (takes 2hrs).
Looks nice and tidy again now need to tackle weeds and working out what needs replacing as some things died over the cold snap.

I’m impressed @larkstar

i bought an evergreen jasmine last year to run along fence, bought the wire and fence vine eyes but haven’t managed to set it up yet. Haven’t worked out the tension bit - what are these tensioners you mention?

Glorious sunshine here. Planted out my chamomile seedlings and potted up the chilli peppers. Planted out the corncockles which were sown in the greenhouse before winter and which look very healthy. Also planted out garlic. My wee herb garden is coming along.

Picked nettles and made nettle soup. Spotted the first butterfly in the garden today.

Weeding. Lots and lots of weeding. Fruit (excluding raspberries) bed. Edges all round the house, drive and front garden wall. And some of the dandelions in the front lawn - by no means all of them, probably less than half. It's a fiddly job because we're turning it into a wildflower meadow and don't want to damage too many other things when removing the dandelions and ragwort.

I’ve redone the pots in the front garden, removing the plants which perished over winter and shifting others around. I also noted with some chagrin that the self-sown nigella are infinitely better than any I’ve ever grown from seed.

I've had no luck growing Nigella from seed at all

@Maggiethecat
M4/M5/M6 Turnbuckle 304 Stainless Steel Hook & Eye Turnbuckle Light Duty Wire Rope Tension (M4) https://amzn.eu/d/fXjGcL2

I sowed mange tout, sweetcorn and French beans, erected a wigwam with netting, and tried to rescue a peony that appeared under a bush (i don't hold out much hope, but thought i should try). Plus started digging over the patch of disaster that i want to turn to lawn.

Hedjwitch - yes, it’s frustrating that nigella always features on lists of easy-peasy annuals but I normally end up with a few straggly little plants, and yet it must be one of those weedy specimens that generated the stonking great plants now occupying my pots!

I planted out a few lupins, did a bit of weeding, divided a bleeding heart and popped some seed potatoes in a grow bag. Dh mowed the lawn - how I’ve missed the smell of cut grass!

I've repotted my bay tree as it broke out of the terracotta pot it was in! I have also sown the seeds into the buckets (from Tesco) for snapdragon, cornflowers and tomatoes. I have a greenhouse but am replacing it with a potting shed, so need to empty it before the groundwork gets done for the new aforementioned shed. Therefore, I'm not planting lots that need cover before they go out. Except, I kept my dahlias from last year in their huge tubs - when can I put these out into the open where they will stand a chance of flowering?

Hope the weather stays kind to everyone 😀

@tapdancingmum I’m in the Scottish Highlands and have never actually lost a dahlia I’ve left in the ground, you could always mulch the pots with straw or fleece for next couple of weeks to be certain.

I’ve mown both lawns, planted some cineraria, tied in some honeysuckle and jasmine, and tried to work out exactly where to put my new Camellia 1001 Summer Nights. We also had our first picnic lunch of the year.

I have saved some seedlings which were in eco pots that had grown some horrid mould, and cared for some long neglected lavender. First proper day in the garden this year and loved it!

I cut the grass for the first time this year. Set up some garden furniture and enjoyed some lunch outside. Hoping for warmer days soon.

BBQ d some unpleasant tasting hot dogs, then pooed in a bush and got stuck on top of the neighbour's fence and contracted a water borne infection.
Is this the jolly man with parasites dieting thread?
I think I've gone blind, and there are poo footprints all over my carpet.
Is this the point where I should just give in and get a cleaner? 😬

I've been unwell all week (I always seem to get ill the minute DD finishes for the school holidays) so I've done absolutely nothing! I did potter around the garden yesterday though to see how everything is getting on as I'm now feeling much better. I was happy to see some leaves on the bare root climbing rose I planted in the winter and my seedlings in the greenhouse are doing well. There's some stuff popping up in the pots where I sowed bee bombs so I'll be interested to see what it turns into.

Today I need a trip to the garden centre as I bought a camellia plant last weekend and need a pot for it to go in! So that'll be a nice job.