What have you done in the garden today? Part 6

[MereDintofPandiculation]

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

I've put a pack of sweet pea seeds to soak and filled some pots with compost to plant them in tomorrow.

Checked on the ones I germinated indoors and put out into the cold frame before Xmas. Many of them appear to have been eaten, just nice green stems and few leaves left.

Plants first seeds today. Indoors but still. Tomato’s, peppers and Aubergines . They all take quite a while to grow so I like to start early.

Glad to hear from some other people with bluebells

I have tried digging them out but those left are too deep or just inaccessible eg growing from under the house.

After a lot of googling last year, it seems the only possibility is to starve them out by cutting off their leaves. So that is what I am trying. Unfortunately they aren't in a spot where I can put impermeable membrane down but I am fired up from success against my snowberry last year where starvation did the trick.

Tell me about it! Escaped them here but DMs front garden is rife with them. She says there’s nothing that can be done about it but tries every year. Maybe I’ll try the chopping this year. TBH I feel the same about grape hyacinths.

I've spent half the day potting on my seedlings into bigger trays. Just a month or 2 ago I was complaining and saying that I won't bother doing autumn seed sowing next year because it's too much effort babying them over the winter but seeing how big and healthy they've gotten now really fills me with joy!

I have larkspur, stock, nigella, forget me nots, hollyhocks, foxgloves, globe thistles, poppies and every variety of snapdragons I could get my hands on (Chantilly, Madame Butterfly, Potomac, Doubleshot, Twinny....).

Not a single seed has germinated yet so probably still too early. They are on a windowsill and under plastic but no joy so far.

This last week: Planted sweet pea seeds in deep root trainers, started chills in heated propagators, as well as onion seed. Ordered compost for top dressing the large flower bed and treading carefully, removed all the detritus from last year. Put lettuce seed in indoor propagator in kitchen. We also replaced the rotten cross beams in the pergola and reattached the grape vines.

Oh dear! I managed to get in ok with no fiddling. I hope I haven’t accidentally allowed tracking cookies.

i haven’t applied WD40 to my automatic vents in 35years.

Spanish bluebells - I'm informed by botanists that they’re not Spanish, Hyacinthoides hispanica, but the English-Spanish hybrid, which is given the name Hyacinthoides x massartiana. H hispanica is very rare in the UK.

Ever heard the term “hybrid vigour”?

I sowed the sweet peas I had soaking...somehow didn't get to it yesterday. It's a nice thing to do indoors on a chilly grey morning with a coffee.

Today I installed an ultrasonic alarm to hopefully scare off the squirrels that are digging up bulbs and replacing them with nuts, and also next doors cat (or fox?) that poos all over my already patchy lawn.

Then spent 40mins staring at the garden - I am a gardening newbie but feel the staring is an essential part of gardening?

Staring is one of the loveliest bits! Cuppa in hand preferably.

I sowed sweet peas and three types of lettuce.

Yesterday I picked my last red cabbage and most of my kale (being eaten by pigeons).

Two jumbo bags of mushroom compost come on Tuesday.

Intended to go out in garden, got all ready and wrapped up, opening the door and it was raining.

Maybe tomorrow.

I am angsting about when I am supposed to sow flower seeds - planning on cosmos, nicotiana and cleome.

But I can see the consensus is that it's early.

Too cold,wet and sleety to do anything. Frustrating.

It was a bit drizzly earlier then just overcast, so I went to the local nursery who for once had all that I wanted (it's gone downhill a bit in the last few years) - primulas to replace the gone-over cyclamen in pots by the front door, a couple of pots of snowdrops and compost. Plus a Bowles mauve and a tri-colour erysimum and a trio of 'princess' primulas which caught my eye. Got those planted, weeded the rockery, did various other tidying up, filled a hanging basket with compost ready to plant some 'Cupid' dwarf sweet peas in tomorrow after they've had a soak. I was out till gone 5pm which isn't bad for a dull day.

Yesterday I chopped down bananas a bit further, the inside is still firm, nice and green, so fingers crossed the weather keeps holding and they retain some height. Picked up a fox skull 🤨 from my border, then found the lower jaw so binned that too.

Today I hard pruned shrubs, chopped down passiflora, tidied up the flower beds, got rid of a dead shrub in a pot, cut down the ornamental grasses, checked the more tender tropicals are still firm under their winter protection, moved all the Dutch lasagne pots out of the way so we can repaint the raised beds this week, tied up star jasmine, and re-staked Kilmarnock pussy willow. I also installed a four-way tap splitter, so I can add irrigation later this year.

Then I spent an hour (or two 🤭) planning my summer pots and borders, and updating my plant wishlist and gardening calendar.

The shed is tidy, my seeds have arrived, my cannas are in pots in the kitchen being woken up, the colocasias have started growing in their pots under grow lights.

Roll on spring! I am so ready 🌱

Does anyone have a smallish family pear tree that they can recommend? Must include conference pears. I’m wondering if this would work in a spare corner I have but I don’t know anyone who’s grown one.

I have a double espalier pear that's concord and Comice. It's very small, trained along one fence panel, but fruits well most years after a couple of years establishing.

Finally made a start by sowing a few things in the greenhouse. I fear it's not warm enough for them to germinate but we'll see. Tidied up few bits of rubbish and foraged some early cleavers but that's about it.

DH and I went out for an hour before deciding our fingers were freezing off.

DH has mended the greenhouse and it was satisfying watching the vent closer immediately close the vents. However I think to overwinter anything in there again it will need bubblewrapping.

Trampled some more bluebells that had emerged. Pruned a rose and the column fruit trees.

Trip to the garden centre to buy some seeds and look at what I am going to need to grow them, hopefully just some lids as I already have a collection of seed trays.

I sowed the sweet peas I'd soaked overnight - it's a very nice thing to do cosily inside while having a morning brew.

I've been swinging a pick-axe to dig out old tree stumps, and planning...
Have also cleared a very overgrown patch ready for a nice big Crinodendron to go in.
Have regretted not doing something kind to the grass all winter - its a disgrace, even for me. Im not a lawn care person, but I think I might need to become one soon.

First of my cosmos is up!!

Garden is getting better after being pretty ropey when we first moved in.

I went outside at about 4:50 to do a little bit of tidying up and I've only just come in!

Attacking the thugs in an overgrown border. I now have a pile of ivy, clematis and honeysuckle that has come over from the neighbours garden plus a rather invasive ornamental grass I've not identified yet on the patio for DH to take to the dump. Plus most of a weigela that was getting too big for its space.

Last week I salvaged the green onion scraps and have regrown them. They're just about ready for planting our which I'll do under a cloche.

Think I might be chancing it if I sow some radishes but I'm going to do that anyway.

Last year I saw a beautiful allium flower in a neighbours garden and she said it was just an onion she had not dug up so I really want to grow some onions just for their beautiful allium blooms this year. Kept some of last year's bulbs in storage and they look to be in good condition, so just deciding where they should go.

Also ordering a new soil blocker. Had mixed success with it previously but going to try a new soil mix composition to see if I can get it perfected this year.