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 deadhead the buddleia. Made a new bed last week, so have today planted out an almeria, feverfew, Salvia, rose, fuschia, hardy geranium & aquigela.
Still need to clear another bed; & the area where we plan to put our nature pond.

Over the last two days we have re felted the shed roof and painted it. A job we keep putting off but it needed to be done for the winter, especially the roof. Dead headed some hydrangea heads that were looking very untidy. Will cut the grass tomorrow before the rain comes at the end of the week.

There’s a group of chemicals called anthocyanins which can produce both blue and prink colours. They’re the reason so many of the forget-me-not family produce both pink and blue flowers. It’s the anthocyanins in cornflower which make them fade to pink if you try to press them, and which enabled breeders to produce purple and pink varieties, and anthocyanins produce the colour in some of our berry fruit, so the purply red juice turns blue as soon as some washing up liquid hits it.

And in its anthocynanins in red cabbage, which need a bit of acid to stay red rather than turning an unappetising blue.
I'd guess the morning glories are becoming a bit more acidic as they age during the day.
...yes...and they can vary in colour according to soil pH too.

www.torontomastergardeners.ca/askagardener/morning-glory-colour-change/

This is a different colour change chemistry to hydrangeas.

Today we had a trip to the garden centre. Deep, deep joy. DH wanted some perennials for his raised bed, I needed some spring bulbs for a couple of new beds, and wouldn’t you know it, a David Austin climbing rose fell into my trolley - Wollerton Old Hall. The most delicious sherberty myrrh smell.

So I spent the afternoon happily planting snowdrops, daffodils and bluebell bulbs, finding a home for my beautiful rose, watering and weeding and generally having a good old potter. Bliss.

I have done a bulk order of spring bulbs to plant in the next month or two. It's making me feel better about how autumnal it is feeling and the end of a summer that never really seemed to get started.

That's the nice thing about gardening I suppose, always looking forwards!

I'd guess the morning glories are becoming a bit more acidic as they age during the day. or maybe some anthocyanins break down more rapidly than others. I’m thinking of the way blue flowers tend to lose their blue on dehydration.

The lovely thing about autumn is how all the spring bulbs are already poking their noses through the ground.

I'm going to have to try to grow some morning glories next year so I can experiment on them.

Errol (and others) - I’ll happily send you some morning glory seeds for next year if you send me your address.

My Claire Austin order arrived this morning- placed at the weekend. All beautifully packed, so all in excellent condition. I'm on holiday for a couple of days next week so will definitely get them planted.

That's fascinating about the blue/pink pigmentation in anthocyanins, thank you for that @MereDintofPandiculation I noticed today the Morning Glory has really taken off and I've got many more flowers on each stem, with lots of buds, so all being well the next few days could be a really bright display.

Re: bulbs, I dry mine off in June and store them in the garage in a crate, and planting time is normally when the clocks change at the end of October. Some go in my half-barrels and tulips in large containers. It is a compensation for the fact, by then, summer is well and truly over and it's downhill to Christmas! Plus it's leaf raking time for a month or so.

I had a busy day, edging the long border, sweeping out the greenhouse, cutting back a few straggly branches on the tomatoes, planting on some of my American cresscas they were outgrowing the small cells I'd originally sprouted them in.

I also potted up my ginger which had outgrown their trays, so they are now in large tubs. I follow an American organic gardener who grows ginger in epic quantities (big round corrugated iron that looks like one of those home swimming pools filled with organic compost and rotted material.) Grows his roots all year round.

Found that one of my American Cress crops in a trough was chock full of caterpillar so I've repositioned it by the compost heap nestled up to some clumps of nettles in case they run out of Cress. Hoping to have at least 10 butterflies or maybe moths in a few weeks - will keep an eye on them.

I've had two whole days back in the garden since the weather broke.

I've weeded, finished harvesting green beans and pulled them out, finished harvested kidney beans for drying and pulled them outz started harvesting my next variety of kidney beans, I've cleared the spaces, levelled to the correct level I want that bed at, and planted some cabbages. I've pricked out and potted on some onions that I sowed last week which were a test from the onions seeds I saved this summer.

I've also taken out the first batch of cucumbers and used the canes to prop up my peppers.

It has rained very heavily today, so I’ve hidden indoors and been thankful I won’t have to water the garden for a few days.

It was a bit of a family affair today, my dad creosoted my shed and front garden fence panels.

Mum and I have done a couple of trips to the local garden centre this week as they are having a massive clear out of plants I paid £30 for £140 worth of perennial plants. We spent today planting them in my front garden amongst what was originally a stony area but the membrane has broken down and is letting more and more weeds through so planted lots of delphiniums and Holly hocks, lavender and random things with no labels so next year will be a bit of a mystery.

Did some pond upkeep, my tadpoles haven't metamorphosised this year and I think it's because there's too much oxygenating weed so pulled a load out and trimmed the reeds that were getting out of control.

Removed as much rogue grass as possible from the wildflower border of my pond and moved a couple of sorrel that were taking over, cutting back spent wildflowers.

Those look like cabbage whites (Large White). They won’t like the nettles.

For various reasons I've barely got in the garden this year but last couple days I've pruned back some overgrown shrubs that are ok to heavily prune and did a lot of weeding as things were out of control. Looks much nicer now and I'm tempted to fill the bare spots with some autumn bedding plants.

Today I picked more apples and finished painting the potting shelves. Once they're lined I'll post pictures.
Working my way through the courgette glut. Down to only 4 in the fridge and only a few on the plants.

Nothing much, I have mostly been indoors being domestic, wandered out for some beans , potatoes and rhubarb for supper, watered my new parsley and coriander seedlings ( germinated!) , picked a few tomatoes and managed to break the stalk off my striped tomato so will pick them tomorrow even though they are very green. Rescued an earthworm from the cat.

No gardening of my own, but had a tour of my neighbours’ lovely garden before taking on watering duties next week.

My planting shelves are lined, I'll neaten up the edges with tape later but am knackered from wrangling plastic sheeting.
I think I made them bright enough!

We've discovered part of the house from underneath some incredibly healthy Ivy of at least two types (and cleaned the windows, laughing at and evading some rather big eight legged lads who didn't appreciate the change in their living arrangements).

I also trimmed the ivy back like a hedge on the parts we're keeping, cut the ground level buddleia down as we never planted one in the first place and pulled some big old weeds from the path, along with taking the scraggiest bits of the Woodbine down where they're around head level.

We decided that the ivy climbing up round the side of the house - and another random Buddleia at 8 foot up growing from the top of the garden wall - could stay as dealing with them would require a trapeze apparatus dangling over the top of the neighbour's corrugated plastic-roofed garage with DP starring as Frank Spencer.

The living room is now flooded with light - but I can't help thinking as I look across to the bins, HMOs and garages across the road that I actually preferred it when the bottom 1/3 of the windows were green.

😂

I'm selling my house so I've been collecting seeds to put in my new garden. I have an everlasting sweet pea which has lots of seed pods. Which explode. Seeds everywhere 🙈

So that's Aquilegia, love in a mist, Clematis, Hollyhocks, sweet pea, betony and cerinthe so far. Waiting for salvia and anything else that seeds in time.