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?

Strawberry beds done.
Cut grass, this was about the forth cut already and it was really long. I leave about 1/3 the garden uncut now for the rest of the summer.
Planted balconies with geraniums
Weeded
started sanding and painting old garden table

Been away for just under a week and the gardens have gone berserk!

Lots of things in bloom, bluebells, rhododendrons, some roses, choysia, lily of the valley, some hebes, beginnings on the lilac and California lilacs and the dicentras are wild! Literally twice the size they were when we left and taking over.

Going to be busy for a couple of days!

I made a pebble pool from a large plant saucer, and put it under the bird box that has been occupied by bumblebees. They look like they could do with cooling down a lot!

We had a box occupied by bees a couple of years ago, I asked someone who knows about that sort of thing and he said they’d be tree bees.

Looked it up and they are tree bumblebees. That bird box seems to alternate between housing bees and bluetits. This year they both tried but it seems the bees won.

We are beekeepers and my Dad was called out last night by a lady who had bumblebees in her hedgehog house. We don't usually go out for anything other than honey bees, but some people get really worried (this lady said her cats kept getting stung as they kept sticking their heads in)

Anyway, yes this weather is fabulous, if not slightly bizarre. I'm enjoying the watering of an evening with all the lovely scents, but it's become slightly knackering. I'm hardening off the sweet peas at the minute and succession sowing radishes. I'm also delighted to see the dahlia tubers are a sprouting! This weekend I must plant up some hanging baskets and Mulch the borders. I'm doing strawberry and herb hanging baskets this year.

I'm stuck in the hairdressers atm, but I really need to get a new wisteria planted up against the garage wall. I also need to put two Magnolias in the ground that have been in pots for the past month. I'm slowly turning one of my lawns into an extra wide border, but I'm going to leave a gap and a path to the middle for a metal table and chairs.

B&M have wisteria amethyst falls for £18.50, stunning buds already formed if you're still looking for one.

Just popped in for lunch.

Planted lettuce, mangetout, and two types of coriander; all seeds past their expiry date but thought I might as well plant them rather than bin them. I've had success with 'old' seeds before and it's no loss if they don't germinate. So that's one partially shady border full.

Filled gaps in pots and baskets with nasturtium seeds (had to buy them this morning on the way home from walking the dogs; was sure I had some - bet I find a packet later!). Found a dahlia tuber sprouting in the shed, so that's gone in my last big pot.

Once I have scoffed this sandwich I will ponder what to put in the last empty bed and I really must weed the strawberry bed by the end of today.

Ooh- this wasn't aimed at me but good to know! Wisteria and lilacs both glorious this year and I've resolved to get one of each to enjoy in future!

My rhodedendron has quite a lot of bud blast this year, so I spent a few minutes picking off as many affected buds as I could reach.
Also pinched out my morning glories - the ones on the upstairs windowsill had intertwined with neighbouring pots ans the window handles so I took out quite a lot of tendril. Then just now the ones on the kitchen table which I’m sure I’d checked weren’t tangled this morning. Badly need to get some small canes for them.

Thank you for this. They seem to be stocked everywhere this year and very healthy looking too. I grabbed one from Sainsbury's which is also covered in buds and paid with Nectar points, so it was kind of free.

Weeded under the fence between next door. They kindly share their brambles and bindweed!!

My wisteria has been stunning this year & is smelling amazing. I have no idea which one it is but it was here when we moved in & must be at least 20 years old, if not 30!

Trimmed the box balls today. Found quite a few dreaded box caterpillars. Hoping i’ve found them in time before they do too much damage.

Been building a deck

That’s really beautiful and impressive. I’ve got a small Amythest Falls one in a planter at the font of my house, south facing, but it’s only just coming out. It has about 5 buds on, I’m quite excited.

Planted some geraniums in pots to go on the outside stairs. Weeded the herb bed which is a lovely fragrant job,and put in some teasel which I've been looking for for ages. So good for the birds in the autumn. Hauled out a dead rose and replaced it with a new one. Everything growing like mad, pond full of tadpoles.

Weeded the worst bed. It's a constant battle with the Crocosmia; I don't mind the odd one around the edges of beds but they multiply like buggery. Almost as bad as bindweed. Anyway, it's all done and I found a nice gap to put some Delphiniums and Campanula that fell into my basket at the nursery this morning.

Herb bed tidied and some new thyme and mint (sunk in a pot) planted. My pot grown mint did not survive the winter for some reason.

Final dahlia is now in its pot and I have some scarlet antirrhinums to pop into the bulb bed tomorrow; they are currently having a good soak.

Just the south facing shrub border and the raised bed near the greenhouse to weed and then I can start all over again!
In the greenhouse 4 sweet peas now popping up.

Pulled up what I thought was grass growing in my raised bed. It was my onions 😬 the brain fog is strong today.

Also the flowerless dogwood is flowering. A pleasant surprise.

The pink lilac is in full bloom. It smells wonderful. Got some of my melon seedlings in the ground but not all, that's all I had the energy for today.

Got annoyed with the amount of flowers falling down from the wisteria on the patio and blowing inside. The cat shares my feelings.

(yes my diamond shoes are too tight)

We got our first ever wisteria flowers this year. It's been such a good spring all the blossom has been fantastic, except, bizarrely, our usually reliably performing berberis. Maybe it's just doesn't look as good as usual in comparison to the #bestspringdisplayever we've had from the wisteria / plum / lilac / apple.

Today I did some hoeing and watered some plants that desperately need planting in the ground.

Is anyone at all concerned by the predicted temperature drop next week, regarding seedlings and small plants they've just moved and planted outdoors?

I wasn't, but one of my family members has decided to worry, and won't be placated by 'throw a sheet on it' <sigh>.

It depends where in the UK you are. In west Oxfordshire it's forecast to go down to 3C on Monday night and then to warm up a few degrees after that. A light horticultural fleece covering should be more than enough protection.

Danger of frost isn't over till at least the end of May.

I mowed my front lawn and strimmed the jungle the back garden.

Pleased to see that a shrub in a container (name escapes me at the minute) is springing back to life again and has produced some flowers. I cut out some of last year's dead wood.

Also pleased to see that a scabiosa in a container is coming back from last year. I'm sorry I didn't plant it in a bigger container now.

@TheAutumnCrow I guess it depends on where you live but here I don't plant anything tender until June because we can get frost anytime up to June. Fingers crossed you dodge the frost and your seedlings and plants survive.

Thanks, @Taytocrisps and @Vegemiteandhoneyontoast. I’ll have another chat with aforementioned relative, and remind them where I folded and put the last bulk order of bedding fleeces for exactly this eventuality.

(Said relative is in the south-west of England. I’m not.)