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'm still pulling up bluebells from my beds. I think I am starting to resent them.

I love nasturtiums but have no success with them at all,which is embarrassing given they are supposedly idiot proof!!!

I’ve been out this morning and got more compost and plants for the remaining patio pots, and a replacement for my rosemary which looks very nearly dead and a ficus which looks very poorly. I’ll try to find somewhere in the borders to rehome them to see if they revive.

Abysmal weather here. I got soaked deadheading the roses and cutting back the everlasting sweet pea. I’ve decided that it’s going. It’s too big for the border it’s in and is in danger of swamping everything.
Pottered in the mini greenhouse and removed a large snail.

It's pouring here, so I've done no gardening, however, i picked up 4 lovely dahlias in the market this morning to go into a planter at the front of the house, but I've suddenly changed my mind and want to plant roses! I saw some gorgeous small rose bushes in the plant nursery at the weekend. Good idea, or not? Gardening novice, btw

I managed to buy some more compost this morning for some new plants that need potting but it's been raining on and off the whole day so nothing done so far.

I would go for rose bushes, with regular dead heading they can flower for a much longer period.

Thank you @Rosemaryandlavender1x

If they’re a repeat flowering variety, of course, which most modern cultivars are.

I absolutely cannot wait to get back to my garden tomorrow. It is pouring down and inside-out-umbrella wind where I am in Amsterdam right now. I appreciate that it's also raining in the UK, but I miss my garden. My Dad has watered my plants and I have a few cameras dotted around so have been able to keep an eye on 'my' wildlife. Saw a small newt running up my garden path this morning until a blackbird pounced.

@RainbowZebraWarrior I came back from Amsterdam yesterday after horrible weather on Saturday. It was ok before that, we had a few nice days. Hope you’re enjoying yourself despite the weather.

It's proper grotty isnt it today. Worried about my Emir melons. I've heard they're ok for colder climates but I still never have any luck with melons. I've got a single cucamelon and I think thats gone to the slugs. Garlic is loving this weather, even though I didn't plant any this year, or last, I think I must have missed pulling some up and they've just decided to grow.

I hope to get out tomorrow after today’s downpour. I have a lavender bush to replace, it is very woody. Have bought the replacement and some fresh topsoil, am
hoping it will be fairly easy to dig up now the ground is softer.

A teeny bit of weeding and scattered 3 packs of free annuals. Probably too late, but they can take their chances.

Will someone be starting a new "in the garden today" thread now MereDint is gone?

I don't mind starting one

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/gardening/5343492-what-have-you-done-in-the-garden-today-part-7

Continuation thread for when this one's full

Thanks Jimmy!

This is what I'm looking forward to doing ASAP (today if possible) I'm on my way to the airport coming home from Amsterdam and the ground was baked when I left. I've just looked at my front and back garden cameras and the soil is looking hydrated and should be so much softer.

@BestIsWest we arrived on Saturday and the weather has been largely crap. Monday was beautiful thankfully for our visit to the van gogh museum and there were parakeets singing in the trees. Heading to the airport now and hoping that the home forecast is right and we get dry, sunny weather into the weekend.

Thank you! I'm another user who mostly lurks for info and misses MereDint's knowledge. I googled 'taking cuttings from a chocolate vine' the other day and was taken to an old MN thread on which she gave wonderful advice and also just extra interesting tidbits- if she ever started a Substack I'd subscribe 😊

For repeat-flowering roses I recommend looking for 'noisette' varieties. We have one and it's virtually never out of flower. It sometimes takes a week or 2 off in January, but often not even that.

Thr flowers are only an inch across, but more than make up in quantity what they lack in size.

Maybe not if it’s going in a planter though (which I think is what the PP implied) - I’ve got a blush Noisette, it’s a climber and it’s quite large! It’s started flowering and often has blooms into the early winter. Lovely soft fragrance too.

@RainbowZebraWarrior we enjoyed the Van Gogh museum too but missed the parakeets.

Oh, missed the planter detail. Sorry, probably not a noisette then. Mine's quite a size.

Just bought a heavy duty plantpot wheel thing today for the heavier pots so they can be wheeled around. Hoping the weather will hold up tomorrow so I can get round to up-potting some things. Going away at the weekend and want to make sure everything has had a good watering and is in their new homes.