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

How exciting @SuddenlyOld you've got some prolific self-seeders there. Lots to plant in the Spring, or whenever you finally move.

Talking about seeds .....

I was really pleased today to find that all the wild flower seeds I've been chucking into the wide margin between the 2 stock fences between us and the farmer's field did take root and there's now quite a display of poppy, cornflower, honesty (which are now those beautiful papery translucent seed pods), clover and some pretty grasses I bought from Sarah Raven last year (which I'd put in the fridge last autumn to prepare them for germination).

I bought a few envelopes of mixed wild flower seeds in the Wilco sale and a large canister in the garage, so I'll throw all that along the margin now I know the unimproved soil is good to grow wild flowers. I've also got borage which the pollinators enjoy. I've got about 100 metres to fill so it may take some time, but I'm in no rush.

I hope everyone has been well and enjoyed the long weekend. 🌸 🌺 🍃 🌳

Thanks @daisychain01 I love the way they spread too. I'm taking my ceramic pots and most of these have betony and bronze fennel seeded in them. Took me so long to find betony down here I'm pleased I can take some with me. My fennel I had in my garden in newcastle 20 years ago so that's a big favourite.

There's a garden in town full of lovely plants and the owner lets you gather seeds for a charity donation (should you wish) and that's where I got the blue shrimp. It hasn't done well in this garden so I'm hopeful it will take in the new one

@daisychain01 my pal in Chelsea sprinkles wild flower seeds everywhere she goes - verges eg - so now she sees flowers popping up on her usual routes to work, shops etc

I'm all for spreading beauty by taking plant cuttings and seed whenever I've moved house @SuddenlyOld

About 6 months before we moved here, I had a health stash of seeds and "things in pots" - they almost needed a separate removal van for me - I didn't uproot anything, I just took lots of cuttings (root and stem) and most of them survived. Sometimes moving areas can have an effect, due to soil differences and climate. We moved from the Home Counties, which was very clay and heavy soil, to the South West where the soil is so crumbly and arable, it's very easy to dig (although I avoid digging most of the time!).

I love the idea your friend had of scattering seeds everywhere and seeing them thrive. Nature is so rewarding, isn't it.

I've just looked up Betony and wow, it's beautiful - love the cerise pink flowers and tall stems, very architectural!

@ThreeRingCircus where did you order your bulbs from? Any recommendations? I’m after tulips and snowdrops, plus whatever else’s takes my fancy.

I've picked plums and made jam but my main job has been straightening the flower bed I made last year and making it lots deeper. I knew it was 'a bit off' but couldn't believe when we actually pegged out a straight line, just how off I had been 🙈😂😂. The blue nylon rope on the ground is evidence though!

The good news is I have a much bigger bed to play with! We are moving the three compost bins and a leaf mould container so eventually I'll have a really big flower bed in this part of the garden. Have also sown some lupins and ammi for next year in the greenhouse.

The back garden lawn has been cut, and I've cut back a huge patch of Shasta Daisies ready for them to be dug out another day as they're in the way of a new summer house we're planning.

I cut the grass , weeded , collected and sprinkled California poppy seeds from the plants that I already have ,onto a flower bed that's a bit sparse . I hope the seeds take as the flower bed is really dry due to my neighbours fir tree on the other side of the fence.

Nice job @catwithflowers precision edging there 👍 . Yes I see what you mean about the edge , it was like a slice of pizza before, wasn't it! Lovely now, and just the right time for some autumn planting.

@daisychain01 it's definitely an improvement. The problem is the fencing and hedging to the back of the bed isn't actually straight so even though the depth of bed was kind of the same (about 6" difference) it looked completely wrong, like a 🍕🤣

And you're right, perfect time for autumn planting and shifting things about/splitting perennials!

Fab @catwithflowers you'll be busy, from now until end October. It's a lovely mellow time of year (I'm one of those weirdos who prefers autumn to summer!) with the long shadows and still some warmth in the soil. This coming week looks mainly settled after a disastrous July and Aug.

@InMySpareTime Those will look good once planted.

@NeverDropYourMooncup

I have an everlasting sweet pea which has lots of seed pods. Which explode. Seeds everywhere You can’t beat Euphorbia mellifera for exploding seeds. Has a lot more of them for a start.

I weeded a bed that has had no attention this year and decided there’s a very fine line between “establishing well” and “invasive”.

Very little progress on the garden generally the past few weeks, I think it looks worse now than when we moved in! Local garden centre had 40% off all their trees and shrubs so have nabbed a nice sized apple and a standard lilac. Both about 8ft high and just $60 each. Fabulous.
They had some beautiful Dolgo crabapples too, I’m tempted to go back for one.

Now I just have to finish digging out and prepping the beds they’re supposed to go in. Oops. 30C weather forecast all week so will do what I can and plant out next week once the weather starts to cool off again. We could potentially get our first snowfall in the next 6 weeks so need to get moving.

Hoping to get the rest of the wood treatment done and pruning. I had high hopes of using my week's leave on these late summer jobs but will be lucky to get 3 days of actual productivity. Never mind there's always a leave week in early October to look fwd to.

At least I can be pleased the wild flowers seem to enjoy wherever seeds landed. I've taken big handfuls of the honesty seeds and scattered them along the margin. Ditto some of the buddleia- If I do this enough something will take root, its a numbers game !

ETA the honesty has grown in between the compost enclosure and our side of the stock fence!

Sorry for the late reply! I've been away visiting friends in Edinburgh and had a phone detox while I was there so wasn't checking on here.

I ordered tulip bulbs from J Parkers. Mainly in pastel shades as I tend to like the paler colours. I've ordered snowdrops from there before but tend to buy them "in the green" at the end of their flowering period as I find they take better that way.

It is mad how after just a few days away there's so much to do. I had to dash round the garden to harvest courgettes, chillis, tomatoes and french beans that had all ripened since I'd left. The lawn needs a cut and my cosmos and dahlias need deadheading which I will do tomorrow!

I'm getting nothing done at all in my garden as we're having to go away a lot at weekends and then we'll be out for two more for a holiday. Hope I can catch up at the end of the month and October.

But we went to Miserden gardens today, very nice late summer mellowness plus a fabulously gaudy dahlia and gladiolus garden.

Today I moved a rose to a new bed, planted some daffodil and crocus bulbs, watered the beds and had a little wander round. The weather was glorious. Tomorrow is strimming and tip day 😊

@ThreeRingCircus I blame you for my random JParkers purchases yesterday 🙈🤣. Why did I have to go on their website after seeing it mentioned here? I had no intention of buying 6 small Veronicastrums. Or miniature irises. But buy them I did!

Thanks @ThreeRingCircus - I have been browsing J Parker 😁

Although, I went wild in Lidl yesterday. There were a great selection of bulbs. I got tulips, crocus, russian snowdrops, allium.

A bit annoyed today though when I check the receipt (bought as part of a big shop). Although all were in the same box, advertised at £1.29, some of them were up to £3.99 per pack on the receipt.

Do LIDL have a customer services? It might be worth challenging that.

@catwithflowers small veronicastrum quickly turn into beefy spreading veronicastrum in my experience. They are lovely because they're such a skinny vertical and so effective, but they are thugs.

I've deadheaded cosmos, antirrhinum and roses, a never-ending process. I order about 1200 bulbs from Parkers every year, mostly tulips for the Perverse Parterre, but I top up Crown Imperials too, and there will be a couple of hundred allium this year for a long bed where bearded iris have been turfed out. I'll keep it to tall agapanthus (late season) and alliums (early). But which? and how to hide their squalid nether regions?

I think I am going to wander around tomorrow and collect random seeds then do a little guerrilla seed scattering in a few local places where I think they would be happy, not on private land obviously, but there are some sadly neglected council owned corners and crevices which could do with some greening up.

@Bideshi Hmmmm, thanks very much for that advice! I have seen them in a neighbour's garden and they looked lovely but come to think of it, they had spread quite a bit! Fortunately I have lots of places I can put them and can divide them next year. We are making four new large beds next spring so they will make their way there 😊

You would think I had learned my lesson from the helianthus Lemon Queens which I was given last year from another friend who was dividing them as they had become too vigorous! I've just divided them again and thrown half on the compost heap 😂