What have you done in the garden today Part 4 Spring 2024.

[MereDintofPandiculation]

What have you done in the garden today? What went well? What surprises have you had? What could have gone better?

I also put a few fritillary seeds into the propagator; I have a few under a birch tree and want more. Five years to flowering (I’ve done it)

Wow, Owen would be beside himself at the sight of these parsnips. (Duolingo in-joke sorry).

Impressive!

I've bought some seed compost so the seeds are getting planted in my windowsill trays this weekend. I might have (accidentally) bought a dwarf rhododendron at the same time...

In celebration of a few minutes of sunshine, I bunked off work for a few minutes and sowed some sungold tomatoes.

If the weather holds up this weekend I may rotavate the wildflower patch and resow. Or I may leave it til Easter…..

I pulled up 8 Herb Robert

Nothing in the garden but did build a teepee and netting structure to hopefully keep my broad beans in one piece at the allotment. Also planted a few early potatoes.

My sweet peas are definitely looking pants this year. Barely any have germinated. The first year we moved here we had a (horrible) conservatory in which they sprouted beautifully; we knocked it down but it's left me without the perfect sweet-pea-growing place. Annoying.

Planted tomatoes, snapdragons, chives, lace flower. Chitted potatoes.

Weeded some of the front flower beds.

It rained some more.

Working in a newish garden today and have been digging out Arum maculatum, aka Lords and Ladies. I'm sure there's more of it this year as I'm seeing masses of it all over the place and not just in today's garden. It gets into other low growing plants, takes over and is an absolute pain.

Other than that, I've been planting out alliums. They're transplants and I hope at least some of them flower this year as they are so lovely in the sunshine. When we get some sunshine, that is.

I've had 2 days of sunshine.

Yesterday, I rerouted the edge of the robot mower to take him off the piece of lawn that got so washed out that we need to rebuild it up and resow the grass.

Today I have been doing the irrigation for the raised beds, cutting soaker hose to fit and running proper hose under the paths and connecting them all together so that we can run the well pump at 8pm every evening once summer hits.

And I've been enjoying the heat, and watching all the kittens that the (now neutered last week) feral mom had last summer/autumn and that have spent most of their lives on our terrace hiding from the rain. They are loving the sunny days and I could watch them all day long.

That’s lovely, @AlisonDonut. What’s going to happen to the kittens, are you keeping them or finding them homes?

Today I pulled up about a hundred sycamore seedlings. Little bastard things.

Hello 👋

I started to dig out some new flower beds - it's unfinished but looking good!

I soaked a few more morning glory seeds and have planted them in the spaces where the first batch appeared not to have germinated, plus a couple where the seed leaves have vanished... I fear there's a little slug or suchlike in that pot.

Looking at the wet garden...I've now got 4 female and one male pheasant wandering about looking hopeful, having finished the food I put out earlier....

...just put out some more food, of course they've either flown or scuttled off into the back border but at least the cock managed not to squawk horribly this time.

Planted Brunnera macrophylla Jack Frost and Persicaria affinis for ground cover. Brunnera was getting eaten by slugs where I'd meant it to live so have had to rethink.

I discovered cat prints in the seed trays 😭in the greenhouse. Not chuffed.

I am also digging up a lot of Lords and Ladies. Many are in amongst my rudbekia and all I can really do is deprive it of it's leaves. Where I can I get the whole wretched thing. Hate them.

Yesterday was pouring with rain. Today I have planted a climbing jasmine up an old concrete washing line post and also planted some ferns in a shady bit of the garden.

Also done a bit of weeding.

Just planted 75 roses to make a hedge. Only another 175 to go...

I’m playing in the wildflower patch today, nice and sunny atm with bees all over the cherry blossom. Also seen a brimstone butterfly.

We have an annuals wildflower patch. One side self seeds well so I’ve just dug drills in and will resow a bit. The other side isn’t as good so will rotavate that and resow the lot. Use a mix of Ammi, cosmos, echium, poppies, cornflower and nigella.

Started off blue skies and springlike weather and now it's raining. Pah! I managed to get my cosmos seeds sown and been in the polytunnel to check on the sweet peas.

I was going to put the raised beds together but now the weather has turned and it's cold again so I've come inside.

The garden is still like a bog.

I don’t think there is any gardening activity which remains pleasurable after you’ve repeated it 30 times.

Agreed. Apart from sitting in a comfy chair in the sun, admiring the results of all your hard work. Ideally with a nice drink in hand. I can definitely repeat that many times!

Have offered to do up my son's new build garden, so went to the garden centre and spent an inordinate amount of money on plants.

It's turning out to be a bit like cleaning - you absolutely hate doing your own, but when it comes to other people's it's actually fun! Have planned the layout of the garden and bought all the plants and other bits (rose arch, raised beds) and am looking forward to getting it all in. Yet, if it was for MY garden, I'd be finding every excuse under the sun to put it off...

Have planted 24 little lavender plug plants and some garlic that had sprouted.

Waiting for my fruit plants to arrive. The courier let me know on Thursday evening that they had them but they've still not delivered. Slightly concerned that the plants won't be OK.

I broke my promise to myself to sow some seeds today - I’m now banking on dry weather tomorrow. Instead, I prowled around front and bank gardens, checking on the progress of the tulips.

No. So I’ve stopped after 115. I now have sore knees.

I also planted two cooking apple trees, two dogwoods and a few primroses.

@inkblackheart a rose hedge sounds fabulous though. What variety (or varieties) is it?

I have given the lawn a cut on the mower's highest setting.

Planted a thornless raspberry in a large pot.

Taken DD1 to the garden centre and she chose some alpines to fill gaps in her alpine trough.

I also bought some dwarf french bean and courgette seeds plus some seed potatoes to plant in the next couple of weeks.

I cut back the buddleia and the verbena b. that have been standing in the border over winter.

I've also planted another rhubarb to start picking next year. The one I planted last year has started to make an appearance!