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

I got out and cleared up the Unslightly Bit where the bins live. It's round the back of my shed and I'd unwisely put some old bits of fence there, which were blocking my access to the recycling bins, which in turn meant the recycling was building up in the kitchen. So I moved the old fencing, tidied up the area, swept down the path, trimmed some of the long-neglected plants out there, and put the bin back. Now I can't see it from the house any more and I have much better access, so it was worth it.

And I also have one lone snowdrop in the middle of the lawn!

I've had a big tidy up of the border that runs alongside the path to the house. It was getting a bit out of control and the lavenders have suddenly all died of old age, so need replacing. We had Lavender 'Grosso' before and they grew to be absurdly large, but utterly glorious, and I'd quite like that again. The biggest one was a singing place for the blackbirds and robin, who'd take turns to sit under it and do sub-song, and I'd love to hear that again. Actually, reckon I've just persuaded myself, Lavender 'Grosso' it must be.

The hellebores show up really well now they're no longer buried. There are snowdrops and crocuses flowering, plus primroses, Welsh poppies and cyclamen, none of which I planted. I suspect this may come from a sort of experiment I did some years ago when, every day after work for a year, I emptied the turn-ups of my trousers over the bed to see what would come up. Not a bad haul.

I've also put in some new Heleniums, positioned so I can see them from the kitchen table.

@Vegemiteandhoneyontoast . Love the turn ups seed bombing!
@MereDintofPandiculation I don’t know if they are all on the same circuit. My understanding of electrics is such that it’s just taken me 2 hours to order bulbs for my bedside lights! I hope they have some separation because I would like to keep the electricity supply in my summer house. But the good thing is that I will find an electrician and get it sorted. And I might not have if I hadn’t wondered aloud about the horror of my garden lights. Normally I’m cursing you all for making me buy plants I hadnt even known I was missing!

I’ve been round and counted how many shrubs are sprouting - the roses seem to be getting a head start
I’ve got some foxgloves in the greenhouse I bought as 9cm pots cheaply how long till I dare plant them out ?

@Vroomfondleswaistcoat A few years ago I had a single snowdrop in the lawn.Now I have a clump with 20 or 30 views

@Zebracat In AIBU that would be a dripfeed So what you want to end up with is power to the garage, power to the summerhouse, and all the cables connecting the lighting disconnected. Ideally you would like to be able to switch off power to garage and summerhouse separately. The other thing you need to know is the track taken by the cable to the summerhouse because you don't want to cut through that by mistake!

I’ve got some foxgloves in the greenhouse I bought as 9cm pots cheaply how long till I dare plant them out ?

They're hardy biennials so I'd have thought any time?

Did a bit of tidying and cutting back and yay, one snowdrop! Lots more bulbs shooting than I previously thought.
A trip to the garden centre resulted in some chocolate cosmos and agapanthus bulbs and two azaleas. No idea where they will go.

@MereDintofPandiculation not a drip feed, I only thought of it today!

We've built a snowman and been sledging!

I've been away all week M-F and was excited to see the crocuses have really come up strongly in that time - lots of purples, yellow and cream poking up through the lawn.

It's a great time of year when every day, there is new growth to notice. It must have rained really heavily on Thursday because there was a lot of surface water pooling.

plan for the weekend and possibly into next weekend:

drain down the water butts and use the water for finishing off washing down the hard standing. Then add some Butt Clear liquid I got from Amazon which arrive when I was away. There a lot of rain due in the early part of next week, so that rainfall should replenish the water butts with a fresh supply of water.

get the pots sorted out. Not sure what I'll plant in them, but they need to be emptied, washed out and new compost added. Might do a couple of groups of (something tbd) for the patio for an early splash of colour.

sew some lettuce seeds in the propagator which I'll keep indoors for the time being.

I have news from SW France.

The grues have been spotted heading North again.

We live under their migration route and the local facebook pages are full of videos of them flying when they come over. It is quite incredible, they are so loud and the first time I heard them was over the sound of the TV in the house. We are quite high up where we are so when they come over, they are very noisy.

I heard them myself 2 days ago, but there is so much cloud I've not got any videos yet.

It is getting warmer slowly, but it isn't warm enough yet to start washing the hundreds of plant pots I gathered from various places on Marketplace last year. I use the freshest water butt water from my collection butts. But my peppers are up so I'll have to wash some soon.

I was just amused. It changed the whole problem! I’d be the same, not remember a key bit till the electrician was on the doorstep.

There are specific regulations for outdoor electrics. Unless they’re very low voltage (like those strings of LED lights that run off a USB socket) the cables have to be in a robust casing to avoid damage. Don’t know the details, but you can ask your electrician about. He needs to be “Part P registered”. Outdoor electrics is not an area to go for the cheapest trader you can find.

The grues have been spotted heading North again. Cranes (birds) and allies, according to google.

@MereDintofPandiculation , part p . Thank you so much. I’m not at all convinced that my electrician was registered. The landscaper produced him. I know they dug a trench 150 ft long so that I could have water and power in my greenhouse, but the plumber said it wasn’t up to safety standards and refused to connect it. The landscaper got round it somehow. Oh dear. I really need to sort this out. I hope this isn’t a derail. It is the practicalities of gardens that phase me, so it may be helpful to others.

Pots are so much work really. It always puzzles me to see them promoted as low maintenance. I don’t empty mine all the way every year, unless I suspect vine weevil.I tend towards permanent planting in them, so I dig out anything looking ropey , replenish the top third with a mix of garden compost and my clay soil, or peat free if that’s easier, and then fill any gaps with Violas, heuchera or small grasses. I keep my herbs in pots because the herb patch is by the back door and if they are in the ground, the dogs pee on them, so they need a proper sort, but I try to wait until March, to see what’s what. I must sow the tender ones this weekend though.

@Zebracat Think of it as an opportunity to get it all sorted out and to make a record of where any live cable go - it would be a kindness to a future owner of the house if nothing else.

I agree, electricity and water to a greenhouse makes life a lot easier.I've got a tap just outside the greenhouse (and a tap in the pipe at the house end so we can switch of the supply during winter, and lights and a power points in the greenhouse so I have overhead light and I can plug in a radio and a heater if I'm working in there in the winter.

Pots are so much work really. Totally agree! I'm trying to reduce mine. Yes, watering is a time for gentle thought, but you can have too much of a good thing.

I love my pots!

yes I confess to having too many! Note to self - I'm going to cut back on them. I have a variety of William Morris big posh ones which look beautiful chock full to bursting with tulips and Spring bulbs. They will stay.

I just need to focus on troughs (functional) for herbs and lettuce, with fewer decorative ones, I get carried away in summer and by the Autumn back to square one with too many!

Gentle, meditative watering on a calm Summer's evening, nothing quite like it @MereDintofPandiculation

I love my pots too. Our garden is small and a third of it is patio so pots are my saviour really. DH has an acer obsession and has around 20 varieties in various pots but they mostly look after themselves. We fight over doing the watering when the weather is nice.

Haha we both love watering too

We have pots on the patio part then a long garden

My whole garden is just a swamp, I just can't really do anything at all, although I did mange to prune my roses.

I would be starting off some seed sowing, but we have builders everywhere in the house and so most of my windowsills are out of action.

Last autumn it was so wet I planted all my spring flowering bulbs in containers as I thought they would just rot in the ground. They are coming up now but my poor little crocuses are weighed down by rain.

So sick of the endless months and months of wet weather.

I’m in the same position of loving my pots - especially the William Morris ones - but having too many. I had to buy two more last year, when I was given some tulip bulbs after I’d finished planting but some of last year’s bulbs are emerging very spindly, so that might be an opportunity for whittling down.

Pots are much easier than digging holes in my stony, rooty borders!

When we moved here, we weren't sure how long we'd be here for so were reluctant to spend a lot on groundwork - as that was in 1995, a big mistake in retrospect! We did have some men who were supposed to have dug out a border properly ... well, they evidently didn't bother when they hit the foundations of an old path or something a few inches down, just dumped some sort of compost on top..

We've been out for a decent walk today so the only thing I've done in the garden is replant a hellebore in the pot by the front door - it was lying on the far side of the lawn, I assume the work of some critter.

Hmm, I didn’t know William Morris did pots - not sure that is a good thing to have found out!

First proper session outside today and it was lovely . I was having a good look at what there is in one bed and it is pretty much Japanese anemones and crocosmia with a bit of bramble thrown in for good measure. And there’s lots of Lords and Ladies which I feel might be sensible to ditch.

I have loads of plants I brought with me from old house which need new homes plus quite a few of pots that belonged to Fred who lived here before, he kindly planted up some hyacinths that are out now I found earlier and his Begenia are in flower.