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?

Same here.

Put in 2 new shrubs, weeded and put tomatoes and cucumbers in. Run in and out due to rain

No! Duckweed is so thick this year - any tips on getting it under control ?

Didn't do anything in the garden yesterday but today I've got to brave the wind and possibly the rain to find space for these rather disheveled looking plug plants.

I've no idea what is what, because although they did send a list of contents they didn't actually label any of the plants so it's really going to test my knowledge which I admit is very limited.

Also, everytime I order plug plants from you garden they look an absolute state but when ever I order them from Thompson and Morgan they're beautiful and in a lovely condition. Does any one have any tips for perking them up?

My only venture outside was to get thyme for the coq au vin DH was making (autocorrect keeps trying to turn that into cow au vin... definitely what I'll be calling boef bourguignon in future). Still, at least the barrel ponds are nearly refilled. More rain forecast today though not as hard. I really need a water butt but we don't have anywhere sensible to put one.

Today I almost cried in the garden. I had some lovely dahlia shoots earlier and now they are gone. Eaten by the slimy bastards.

I need to stake the rosed because they are getting very heavy in the rain.

So sorry about your dahlias, Chardonnays cat, the slugs are taking over the world.

Clearly not as I wouldnt have a shoe full of it. Itks thick because it didn’t die off in the winter. I’m scooping it off with a net but I’m losing the battle

Similar. In my case a bay leaf for rice pudding- felt the need for warm comfort food.

Just to think I spent all that money on dahlias only to have the most expensively fed slugs ever.

At least the rest of the garden looks green and fresh.

Someone needs to genetically engineer slugs to develop an overwhelming preference for duckweed. They could slither down to the apparently solid surface, gorge themselves and then be eaten by wildfowl (or drown).

Errol, with ideas like that, you should be standing for Parliament!

One of my dahlias has been chewed off at ground level, too. Grr. The same happened last year but it did come back, so I’m clinging to the hope it will do so again. The Bishop of York, meanwhile is unscathed. Perhaps he has divine protection?

I grew lupins from seed last year and managed to keep some alive over the winter. They were beautiful and had the most lovely coloured flowers. The heavy rain yesterday has snapped most of them ☹️. I've made cane wigwams to support the rest and am hoping they will have a second flush later in the year.

Rice pudding with bay leaf, Food of the Gods

Planted brokali, lettuce and spinach seed in the bender and bought compost as DH has used up my 3 compost heaps for his 40 buckets of spuds. Will we eat 40 buckets of spuds? Don't know but didn't like to discourage him.

Weeding
Nutured my new seedlings with some kind thoughts

Planted up hanging baskets and pots of geranium lord Bute.

Planted a climbing jasmine in one of my raised beds, so it can cover a fence and provide a nice scented backdrop.

Cut the grass.

Tried to rescue one of my blueberry plants, which was doing great and then has suddenly gone brown and dropped its leaves.

Planted out a rose, moved a Bowles mauve and 5 strawberry plants and had a fight to get rhubarb out of the pot to go in the ground.

Emptied another two pots - rotted lilies and dead lemon verbena - and planted another with tender perennials. Rearranged the patio pots. Took out the crocosmia and persicaria which were swamping the Darcey Bussell rose. Admired my handiwork.

Lord Bute is a wonderful Pelargonium! My favourite, I think

I’m expecting Lord Bute to join me very soon!

Dahlias still no show, but the Geranium Samobor I planted the other days is doing great.

Pulled out out some bluebells, which is a losing battle in my garden though.

Late autumn here in Melbourne, and very beautiful: clear skies which makes for chilly mornings, but lovely afternoons - 19 next week !!!! Eek.

I'm doing lots of clearing - dead aspidistra leaves as I use it a lot as underplanting. I'm also taking a thornless bougainvillea down to replace the trellis it's broken and leave space to repair the balcony. It will grow back in time.

Tons of weeding to do as the colder months are full speed ahead for weed grasses.