What have you done in the garden today? Part 3

[ThreeRingCircus]

The old thread was filling up so I've created a new one!

Link to old thread: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/gardening/4823202-what-have-you-done-in-the-garden-today-part-2?reply=128367673

Exactly. And if, like me, you have a small garden, you can’t give space to things that fail to excite or lift the spirits.

My mother had all her DIY tools marked, and Dad touched them at his peril. Gardening tools, however, were safe, as he didn’t do any gardening by choice.

DH and I have separate tools, right down to me having my own private stash of sandpaper, white spirit and WD40.

We mostly have his and hers tools, because his live in a bag in the car, for use on the allotment. If I’m asked to lend a tool, it tends to be the 3rd best trowel etc, in case it’s lost forever there.

I pay a lot for my tools and hate lending them out. A client once picked up my Felco secateurs to use on something far too thick so if he ever asks to use something these days I ask him first what he's going to do and give him the correct one. After being told off a couple of times he has more respect for my tools.

Quite! My Felco secateurs are not available for borrowing, especially since I had them refurbished and they are in pristine condition again.

Felco do a fantastic refurbishing job, don't they. Mine came back looking brand new.

One result of telling off the tool-using man is that he's started buying his own tools and appreciating that well made tools are worthy of respect. Shouting 'Oi! what are you doing?' a couple of times worked wonders.

Yes, I was really impressed. They came back looking like new. It wasn’t cheap (I had two pairs done) but I’m keen to keep them going as long as possible although I notice that gardening trendsetters have switched their allegiance to Niwaki.

Felco are still the best secateurs in my opinion.

I have a sharpening stone in my shed where I keep them [I say shed, I have my desk, my record player and CD player and records and seeds, and soil and laminator and all sorts of gubbins in it] and I sharpen and clean them often. Taking them apart in December to deep clean and reassemble them is just a joy when the pruning season starts in January.

I’ve never had the confidence to take my Felcos apart, which is why I paid to have them serviced! I will try to clean them, though.

Felco are still the best secateurs in my opinion.

I agree. I've only got one Niwaki tool, the hori knife. I go to the Japanese company ARS for loppers and shears, Burgon and Ball for sickles and Sneeboer for digging forks and perennial spades.

There's also a charity shop around the corner that sometimes has old garden tools. A recent find was a rather fabulous pitch fork, with an oak handle, for £3. Irrisistable! No idea what we'll use it for but something will come up.

Sharpening tools is a thing for me too. I sharpen the tools of the people I work for as well, in part because the clunking sound of blunt secateurs bothers me, but also because I enjoy doing it.

I've had to Google as I had no idea what a hori hori is! What do you use it for? I use secateurs or for much bigger things my loppers......

My mother was a great gardener, knew all the proper names etc - but she was also a 'if it grows it stays if it doesn't it gets replaced ' gardener. She grew kiwi fruit (in her back garden, outdoors, Devon) from a seed from a supermarket fruit which she ate. It grew and produced fruit. She sent pictures to Kew and the RHS who both said it shouldn't have been possible as you need a male and female plant to get fruit and she only had one plant!

I've repainted my wooden planters this weekend - not easy when the 'spring bulbs' are already several inches tall!

@SleepingisanArt my hori knife is used mainly for weeding, digging holes, slicing up perennial clumps and occasionally cutting back, though I prefer a Japanese sickle for that job. It's a very versatile tool.

I use mine mainly for weeding, hacking through roots, bulb planting.
I like nothing more than to sit on a stool and do an hours weeding (stool because my knees ain’t what they used to be).

Again, oh yes. I used to sit on an upturned flowerpot until I inherited the stool/storage box I’d given my dad some years before. So much easier on the knees!

Today I planted the bare rooted hedging that arrived yesterday. 10 red dogwood and 5 hawthorn. Hope they root.

Also got a Forsythia, a hazel and a Rowan.

I sorted through the seeds I collected from my old garden. The love in a mist, Aquilegia and stachys all got mixed together so I'll just have to sow and see.

I need to start saving plastic food trays as I have many many seeds.

I might see if my new neighbours would like some

I have a Hazel tree that needs coppicing for hurdle sticks this winter, and a hawthorn that just appeared in the garden about 10 years ago which I've been judiciously pruning so it's like a one tree thicket for small birds.

Hello all, sorry for the radio silence! I got Covid in September and it took me weeks and weeks to recover. Then when I felt well enough to get back into the garden it felt like it had rained for 40 days and 40 nights so I got totally demotivated.

It was getting me down so I asked DH to help me (he absolutely hates gardening so it's normally my domain.) But between us we did a few hours yesterday and got a lot done. Everything cut back that needed it, pots wrapped in fleece, tulip bulbs planted and piles and piles of leaves swept up. I've filled our two compost bins so will leave those now until the Spring.

The only thing I haven't managed to do is cut the grass as it's still too wet.

Blimey, well done @ThreeRingCircus, especially when you're still recovering! Hope you continue to improve.

I have been dealing with my now-ex partner moving out this weekend, but I did manage to bring my excessive and possibly unwise cornus collection back from the nursery, and I am going to try to plant most of it today. I also have a nice ornamental ribes. I know they're a bit marmite, but I decided life is too short and I'll have it because it will make me and DD happy.

I have a winter cherry in blossom (it probably shouldn't be, but I only planted it last year, so it's a bit confused), and the last of the medlars are just dropping.

Is anyone noticing plants flowering out of season? In two gardens I've seen Irises that usually flower in June flowering again now, starting a few weeks ago. It looks very strange and out of place.

Sorry to hear you’ve been struggling with Covid, ThreeRingCircus.

My garden is still a swamp, too. The grass did need cutting but, since I walked across it to retrieve the summer pots, it’s been looking very bedraggled, so I’ll let it rest over winter and hope it perks up.

I’m sorry too about your break-up, SarahAndQuack, and hope a planting session will be soothing.

Cut down the dahlias and nicotiana and spent a couple of hours replacing an enormous amount of soil excavated by the local foxes and covering it with chicken wire. I wanted to get some bulbs in too but was running out of time.

But did manage to plant three Fritillaria Ivory Bells bulbs (not grown before, inspired by an amazing display in St James park this spring).

Eighty bulbs planted in the front lawn (daffodils and some of the alliums; snowdrops and a lot more alliums still to go).

Thank you @GertrudeJekyllAndHyde and @SarahAndQuack I'm fully recovered now but it was really rotten. I've had Covid twice before but this time round it totally took it out of me. I'm really sorry to hear about your breakup @SarahAndQuack , I did see your other thread. Hopefully gardening brings you some peace and happiness.

I’ve gone down with a lurgy so got someone in planting bulbs at the moment otherwise it wasn’t going to happen and I bought quite a few.

Sorry to hear about your lurgy, Seaitoverthere. Hope it goes soon.

I’ve restocked on compost but it looks as if this week is going to be very wet, so I’m not sure when my last bulbs will get planted.