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?

Central Scotland

@Hedjwitch Hopefully there’ll be some here soon. I lived in Fife for several years but don’t remember how early I saw frogspawn there.

Cold and rainy/drizzly here today so the only plant related thing I've done is to drastically cut back my straggly windowsill scented geraniums, resulting in much reduced plants and a glassful of cuttings which may or may not root. I really ought to repot the plants. They're the descendants of a plant I bought on holiday the year before dd was born - she's 25 now so that's pretty good going I guess!

I should get some marsh marigolds- I have some in my barrel ponds, but a patch in woodland in spring is one of my favourite things. water forgetmenots too - I did have some but they seem to have gone.

Very cold and off and on rain here too. A bit of a clean-up in the greenhouse and an absolutely freezing stint cleaning out its gutters was all I have done.

Nothing today thanks to biting cold wind and Fibromyalgia

Hello and I'm new to this thread.

This afternoon, the sun was out and it was quite pleasant in the garden. The front drive and paths were jet washed yesterday, and some of the garden beds looked a bit flattened. I've dug them over and weeded and tidied. Looking from the upstairs window, I'm pleased with how the garden looks.

@MereDintofPandiculation, it's just common spotted orchid. And yes, I could always try other things similar - or more of them same. Interesting about the hairs on L. punctata. It's also, of course, a much chunkier-looking plant and not very nice really. But oh well.

I have planted the marsh marigolds with a rather distracted DD in tow, who mainly wanted to talk to the robin that was hopping about hopefully. Robin understandably somewhat bemused. However, I did see that my rheum palmatum is coming back up, and the meadowsweet is well through. So that's nice.

Lots of groundwork done here today. Earlier in the week I dug out and removed a hard standing area with lots of weedy stones where an old trailer used to be stored, and dug the ground over. So today DH and DS put a fence in along the boundary with the road (corner plot garden)

Unfortunately we've only got green chain link so the area now looks a bit like a school playground!

Hedge plants will be going in when they arrive, but I've got some bulbs to move around which I will be getting on with today to hopefully improve the look a bit!

My sum total this year so far is to move 3 beds I'd placed around Christmas time, and rake the soil off the new paths into the beds.

About 2 hours work. In 2 months.

So excited by having my hedge cut for me that I haven’t done anything for 3 days. I have some excuse - for part of yesterday afternoon the ground was covered by a one inch layer of hailstones.

Someone else to cut the hedge is definitely a luxury!

Waving hello to @MissMarplesGoddaughter as well.

Yesterday there was standing water in our orchard beds. It hammered it down all day. In a brief moment of insanity, my OH put some clothes on the line and stated that they'd dry eventually. So after looking at them getting more and more angry I went and retrieved them and he put them through another spin and onto the heated airer.

Today, we have some actual sunshine. The kittens are running around happy as Larry.

I've dug up all the onions from sets that were in the polytunnel, topped and tailed them and replanted in one of my beds. I've raked 1/3 of the polytunnel and I'm going to plant various seedlings in there this afternoon, mainly some mangetout that will be done by the time the aubergines go in.

I've got celery, celeriac, beetroot and a few stem lettuces to go in, but they need another 2 leaves each before they can go outside, even with a cold frame over them so I'll just top up the compost in the trays and leave them for now.

And I've got 2 tomatoes that are getting leggy and one pepper has died in the big window in my front room so I'll prick them out and put them in the pepper's pot for the time being.

I’ve got all my roses pruned today, it’s lovely and sunny out there!

Got quite a bit done today. Finished pruning and mulching roses front and back, weeded two big beds at the front, tied in some clematis that are emerging but a bit floppy. Cut back the gaura, erigeron and salvia. Rearranged pots on the patio and potted up two new star jasmines to cover a boring fence.

Noticed that my peony Sarah Bernhardt is poking through; it didn't flower last year and I cut it right back assuming it was a goner...maybe not!

Also pruned and 'took some cuttings' (hollow laugh) from my buddleja Morning Mist. I doubt they'll do anythjng because I'm clueless about cuttings but worth a try, I thought.

I moved into a house in October and now the nicer months are approaching I want to start focussing on our garden more.

These plant pots were left behind by the previous owners and I was hoping I’d get some advice on how to deal with these plants before I decide to get more.

Thanks in advance

Have been out doing more weeding and destruction. Got DH to prune some roses - he doesn't know what he is doing so it was more just radical cutting back.

While I weeded. Impact of not doing anything at all last year is the beds are covered with dried up remains of stuff that didn't survive the summer, ivy and periwinkle invading from next door, large bits of grass that have escaped the lawn and some sort of thick leaved, tap rooted monster which is everywhere and I suspect are thistles.

Lesson learned, if I want to live in a house with a garden, I have to do some gardening.

We have planted a hedge of Portuguese laurels today. I’ve also washed and hosed down the porch.

The blackbirds and robins got so close as we dug, was lovely. I brushed the cat and left his moulted fur out for the birds for nesting, it was picked up very quickly.

Can you take close ups, please? Your pictures don't show enough detail as they are.

Hope this helps! To me they look completely dead but I’m no expert 😂

@lMcIlraith, the purple leaves could be Lysimachia, though the shade of purple doesn't look right. The colour looks like that of Ajuga but the dried stems seem too long for that plant. Whatever it is, that's what was planted and the others are weeds.

The one with no growth showing could be a bulb or tuber so have a rummage in the pot and see you can feel anything.

The first one looks as if it has signs of life -the purply leaves at the base?

The others do look quite dead.

I'd pull away the dead stems, weed them and mulch and see if anything comes up, you may get something from the first one.

I was aware of the weeds which I plan to remove this week.

Do I cut away the dried stems?

Just cut back another barrow load of shrubby,suckery things to let the light in.
Mostly tidying and clearing for the moment.

The stems should just snap off by now. Depending on the plant, the dry stems may snap very cleanly and it can feel rather satisfying to remove them that way.

It would be interesting to see another picture in a week or so when they've grown more.

I'd get rid of those stems now, @lMcIlraith. In general, I think old stems and seed heads are left if they remain decorative/structural (eg honesty) or if they serve to protect new buds (eg hydrangea heads). Or if they're hollow (which might be the case with the middle pot with no purlply new growth) they may be the winter home of some sort of wildlife so maybe leave them a bit longer?