What have you done in the garden today? Part 5

[MereDintofPandiculation]

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

Today, I found out that we can do very little about the moles, because they are surface digging, which means not deep enough for traps and they are destroying the ground, so we have to wait till their food source has gone or we fall through to Australia! We have box hedge caterpillars, which are destroying what has taken five years to grow and in all likelihood, even though we've sprayed (which is not something I like to do), we will have to pull it up. The old apple trees are struggling, due to the weather and losing leaves and we are still waiting for someone to come and flatten an area of the garden, as we had to fill in a fish pond due to a mink attack, so the weeds are loving it. The lavenders are doing well though!

Today I've planted out two alpine poppies; two kniphofia (one lemon popsicle & one banana popsicle), a vipers bugloss & a pulmonaria.

Ahh, that's such a shame as she is a beautiful rose. We have one that is doing well this year.

Yes, seems I’ll have to wait another year (although possibly only until they release the bare root stock).

Today was mostly spent weeding the beds around my newly created circular lawn. In hindsight I was too quick to clear them without having enough ground cover so now we are waging war against the volunteer creeping bellflower. Thoughts and prayers please!

Giving serious thought to handing back my community garden plot - I’d hoped it would be a fun social thing but it hasn’t worked out that way and the very restrictive watering times don’t work with my schedule at all so it really isn’t looking it’s best. I feel irrationally awful about handing it back, someone please tell me I’m being ridiculous. Frankly I have more than enough work to do in my own garden and I’m not enjoying it anymore so WHY do I feel so bad about giving it up?

I'm interested in the concept of a community garden plot, @CanaHouse is that the same as an allotment? Also wondering about the arrangement you mentioned about "restrictive watering times". Sorry about the daft questions, I'm not clued up about the way these things work, but interested to know.

in terms of feeling bad about giving it up, I guess if it was me, I'd be thinking about the practicality and feasibility of tending to a 'remote' piece of land if you also have your actual garden to keep under control. The reason I haven't gone for an allotment myself is for that very reason, how could I keep it maintained with family commitments, my home garden incl greenhouse and ft work to juggle in the mix.

There is an area of allotment plots in our village which is only a short walk away and I have said year after year "hmm should I apply for an allotment to grow a few veg and fruit bushes...." but the thought then drifts to how will I keep it going and I then think maybe next year...

so if your commitments are anything like mine, YANBR at all but understandably feel disappointed at the potential you thought it had, which hasn't been possible for you.

This weekend is going to be dry, so lots of productivity to be had!

two new half barrels to install, replacing the old ones which are falling part after 10 years so they've lasted well. I ordered some bedding plants online which have arrived, so I want to get them planted asap. The missing part of my order are some lobelia plugs, so I'll have to leave some spaces for them when I plant up.

time to finally do my cat's cradle with the long metal pegs and garden twine. The dahlia aren't very tall yet but the lady who create the YouTube video said that's the time to do it before they get too tall and need the support.

final grow bag to plant up in the greenhouse with 2 tomato and 2 chilli plants plus the supporting string.

plant up the French beans in a large tub... actually thinking about it, I could use the less dilapidated of the old half barrels which will see it out to the end of the season and can then stick it on the bonfire in Oct in the back field. It's nice and deep, just need to add some extra compost from the heap which I need to use up.

it really feels like "feast or famine" in the garden this time of year, goes from zero to 100mph depending on the weather. Clematis have stopped sulking, about time too. Enough of my ramblings....

This week I've been weeding and planting out stuff.

It's been relatively dry so I can break up the clods of soil around the turfs and sieve it to get it clean enough to plant in.

I've been given another 7 hugs bags of grass mowings, I'm going to have so much mulch and compost this summer! It's just a PITA to empty them out as they start decomposing and you get a face full of fumes if you get too close.

I'm hoping to get the polytunnel completely finished off tomato wise this weekend.

Mowed, weeded and a trip to the garden centre yesterday. Came back with a few bits and pieces, pelargoniums, nemesia etc. Plus some broad beans which I need to plant today.

The missing part of my order are some lobelia plugs, so I'll have to leave some spaces for them when I plant up.

Quoting myself upthread. Yay my remaining plants from my online order arrived and I can do all the planting in one go.

And DH agreed to help me sort out the positioning of the half barrels so all systems go!

So far 3 trips to the tip! Have had back garden fence replaced so getting rid of old panels and various bits of tree that have been taken out.

Think we have a least 3 further trips to do.

Other progress may be limited as the green bins are over flowing and we already have a pile of stuff waiting to go in. However it's sunny(ish) so I want to get the last border weeded this weekend.

I bet your new fence is lovely @AnnaMagnani

Thank-you, will take a photo @daisychain01

Previous fence was broken and the boundary was arguably extending a few inches into neighbour's drive. By which I mean it definitely was but 'recollections may vary' on how far.

Anyway I now have a very happy neighbour and a trashed back garden. With a lovely fence.

🤣 @AnnaMagnani

Yes please, we like photos. 👍

Today we went in the garden and my little boy ate all the red strawberries he could find. And then when he'd done with those he started on the pink and green ones. 🙈

Then he asked for more strawberries so off we went to Tesco.

All my plug plants have been eaten. I don't think this is the year of flowers for me.

@daisychain01 So the community gardens are roughly 14x14ft plots of tilled ground which are used “sort of” like allotments in that you grow fruit and veg in them and at the end of the season we donate a portion of our individual produce to a local food bank.
The difference is that they’re only open May-early October and you’re not guaranteed to get your particular plot back next year so you have to completely clear it each season. So no perennial veg, fruit bushes, structures etc allowed. We are not allowed to water between 9am and 5pm which for me generally means doing a second trip just to get the hose out, plus summers are HOT so you can’t really skip a day.
All in all it’s too much faff when I have the space to build a veg plot in the back garden and plant anything I like. If it was a rolling tenancy like a proper allotment I’d feel differently. After all what’s a veg plot without a big old rhubarb patch and a few raspberry bushes?!

Blazing sunshine today so I may go rescue my veg and herbs and lovingly install it in the beds at home. They can fill some space until I get the perennials up and running (and have a better chance of getting watered!)

I have mowned the lawn
Watered the plants

@CanaHouse that sounds as though it was set up with admirable intentions, but the reality sounds like a huge PITA! If you have to clear it through the winter then it's not particularly environmentally friendly or sustainable. Perennial fruit and veg is definitely the way forward! If you aren't enjoying it, pass it on to someone else and spend more time in your own garden. At least at home you have control over what to grow and when to water.

I'd tend to agree with you @HazelTheGreenWitch re @CanaHouse community garden- good intentions, especially donating produce to the local Foodbank but rather prescriptive with the rules around watering.

I love nothing more than nice chunky rhubarb, which needs a lot of space and water, and the crowns definitely need to be in the ground longer than May to Oct. Mine are only just coming into peak production now, but they've been in there for the past 18 months.

as you have to give back the plot at the end of the season anyway, I would say don't worry about it, let it go. Enjoy your own garden.

I found that one of my half barrels had completely disintegrated, so we dismantled it and put it in the field for burning.

the other barrel is fine for the rest of the season, so I've used it for my French beans. The label on the beans says that the plants produce a pretty violet and pink flower so that will be nice to see when they grow up the beanpoles.

I tackled a border that’s been completely overrun by purple toadflax, phlox, willow herb and violets that rarely flower. I yanked out armfuls along with evicting dozens of 🐌 and slugs 🤢 (which were launched down the very steep wooded hillside behind us). I’d been dithering over what to do but it looks so much better already 😊. I have some plants to put in so I’ll crack on with that too early on before it gets too warm (!?)
The poor roses were swamped so today I will dig it over, give everything a good watering and feed them.
I also heavily cut back a rosemary bush, it’s growing in a pot but the roots are deeply into the soil, so it grows too well really!

I’ve decided this may be the last year of growing tomatoes. They are just so ugly in any way I plant them! I’m going to stick to French beans and courgettes which (usually) are more productive anyway and take v little care. I have salad in a trough which is doing well.

Watered the pots and planted out my new French beans. If they get eaten again I won’t be planting any veg in the future !

I think the meh weather is meaning I’m not spending enough time weeding and so on this year , every time I go out it feels like I’ve lost control again!

I weeded half of the veg plot. My husband is on holiday and will come home to disappointment as loads of things he planted have been eaten ☹️. I've sown more lettuce and planted out the cavolo nero, also sown more French and runner beans in the greenhouse as these have failed for the first time ever.

Apart from that, I dug up a huge helianthus Lemon Queen (I would never have planted it if I had known how invasive they are) and found a lovely hedge Veronica hidden under some hostas so I've moved that to the gap left by the Lemon Queen. Looks loads better already. Dead headed some roses and planted out some bedding dahlias.

I had to get the hosepipe out last night as we are in a windy spot and the beds were so dry.

@Countrylife2002 I'm trying to grow some this year up against a wall with climbing roses. I know what you mean though, beans are much more attractive. But we eat loads of tomatoes in summer so feel they are worth sticking with!

I love the look of old faded rustic half barrels, will look great with those beans climbing up.
We bought a couple last year from a company that gets them direct from the distilleries. We kept having to stop on the drive home for fresh air because the whisky fumes were incredible.

My broad beans have survived the night!