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?

Nothing to stop you installing woodchip paths without the bother of raised beds. Or just delineating where you walk and where you don’t walk.

I'm at the allotment right now. Gentle, watery sunshine, blue skies, the sound of seagulls and the rumble of trains across the viaduct. It's blissful.

I should be working but I've skived the 'wellbeing and networking away day' to spend time doing the thing that actually does increase my wellbeing!

Yesterday was horrible. Cold, wet and windy. Went for lunch with a friend and we watched the swans swimming on the field opposite.

i bought three auriculas and a Lithospermum in compensation.

I have been spending hours in the greenhouse taking green slime off the soil in my seedling pots.

That's a good idea. I've opted for something a bit more permanent - I'm going to attempt to grow winter herbs and salad leaves in it. I have no idea if this will work, t'internet says so!

I have put up a birdbox (bit late maybe), resurrected the swingball, pulled the weeds out of the cracks in the patio and swept up a lot of debris

I’ve spent boring but productive time clearing some of the clutter from the plastic greenhouse, to accommodate more plants which are not quite ready to plant out.

Yesterday was spent in DD's new allotment. Oh the brambles. Oh the nettles.

Today I mowed. My own garden and my DS's allotment.

I am now deserving of wine.

We finished our raised bed! This has been something like a six week saga, but it looks great, and it now has an apple tree, a climbing rose, sweet peas and nasturtiums in it.

Today I took the plunge and planted out 2 of the crown prince pumpkins |I've been growing for a month. A but early but it's been pretty warm and due to stay dry for a few days. Fingers crossed.

I also planted 3 foxglove plants and randomly chucked a load of forget-me-not, pink poppy, thrift and native bluebell seed around corners and edges.

I love seeing what manages to make it

Good morning! Today my greenhouse gets removed, I’ve given up on growing so many plants because my garden is crammed and I no longer want to grow tomatoes (blight gets them every year, even the resistant varieties), cucumbers, chillies etc. I’m having a summerhouse instead which I can raise seeds in if I need to.
I’ve had a greenhouse for 47 years, at 70 I think it is time for a change!
It’s lovely following you all on here, let’s hope we have a decent summer so we can all enjoy our gardens after all the hard work 🙏

Ouch, stingers are a menace. I've compromised with a small Nettle Corner over by the compost heap, as a sacrificial crop for aphids, ladybirds etc plus good for nitrogen release in a fertiliser I make up for the dahlia.

Brambles, those get chopped, viscous things attack me as they stick out of the beech hedge! I keep wanting to obliterate them with Roundup!

I let nettles grow against the back fence. If I didn't there would probably be more bindweed and goose grass instead.

I've been out for a spot of deadheading, taking a look at what's what (lots of fresh growth on the perennials!) and chucked most of a pot of slow release fertiliser granules around. The rain has started so I'm going out in search of some sort of bog plants and general inspiration.

I spent yesterday pulling up Welsh poppies and dandelions from the back garden, the wet ground made it easier than it might otherwise have been.
I left the foxgloves (they need relocating from the fruit cage to a flowerbed) because a frog was sitting among them and I hadn't the heart to disturb him.

No bog/marginal plants to be had - the aquatics franchise which used to be at our Dobbies had gone and the other garden centres and nurseries nearby don't stock any.

However, various other acquisitions including quite a few more packs of seeds, compost and a fatsia which jumped into my arms in the way plants do. It'll go in a pot in my patio grouping with the barrel ponds I think.

Very brief trip in the garden today and spread the final 2 bags of stones to replenish the path.

Work will be very limited this week as despite there being excellent weather, there is absolutely no room in our green bins.

Might order some more plants this evening to keep refilling the borders. So far only one of the new plants looks dead and I was pretty sure it was dead before I planted as DH left the pot upside down while I was away, and it also got completely drenched by nonstop rain so I think it got overwatered.

It's started raining again here, and quite windy. I've got my new sweet pea seeds soaking - Cupid for a couple of baskets, one I've not seen before called Top to Bottom, and also a pack of everlasting - I've got one but never thought to grow them from seed.

I’ve reseeded the parts of the lawn today that the squirrels had dug up from my reseed about a month ago. I’ve planned out a few plants but more importantly have sewn a whole load of seeds and put them in the greenhouse.

every year I promise myself I’ll do the seeds in March, and every year I get caught up in clearing up the garden and leaving it often until the end of April!

Planted heucherellas and heuchera in the shady bed at the back, sea hollies in two of the sunny beds, and more nasturtiums and sweet peas in the raised bed and a couple of pots. Bagged up a load of rubble left over from digging the raised bed, ready to take to the tip tomorrow. Swapped out a broken flagstone from the gravelled bit, and finally watered everything with nematodes in an attempt to get rid of slugs and vine weevils. It is actually looking like a garden now rather than a building site.

I've weeded out a massive bed; sorted through the plants in pots on the patio to see what has died & survived the winter. I've positioned them in spaces around the garden & managed to plant about half of them into beds.
DH cleared the end side of the garden where we're hoping to put a nature pond.
Filled up our green garden waste bin with all the weeds!

I saw a massive frog too @InMySpareTime! It was huge and lurking behind the brick BBQ/shed. I'm now tempted to create some sort of damp corridor rill type thing down the edge of the garden so it has a safe route between shed and pond.

I pollinated pear blossom today and then planted a gifted chunk of raspberry pulmonaria to try and encourage more pollinators in so I don't have to keep doing it myself!

Sowed 40 more corn and 15 more various squash. Planted out chinese greens and more green onion. Noticed the dog lay on the fleece and flattened the middle of two rows. Aargh.

DH installed a movable tap.

@NeverendingRabbitHole I've never pollinated my pears, but we have plenty of bees around (mostly drawn in by the mahonia, American Currant and Blueberry flowers) that stop at the pear while they're about.

@Tiddlywinks63

May I ask, what have you enjoyed the most about your greenhouse?

I love my greenhouse but I'd really love a summerhouse too!

Yes I definitely need more bee interest @InMySpareTime. I haven't had pears for 3 years and I think it's because my garden has been quite sparse of plants to bring the bees in at the same time as the pear is in blossom.
Doing what I can to rectify that now!