What have you done in the garden today? Part 7

[Jimmyneutronsforehead]

Continuation thread from MereDint's previous threads.

Lawn day.

A nice trim, edge with scissors (leaves a lovely crisp, neat edge) and then a few hours of scarifying with a lawn rake.
Although the lawn looked lovely & lush after the trim, the amount of dead grass & thatch that I got out with the rake was amazing.
Airiating tomorrow (if my poor old back allows it otherwise my OH can do it!).

My plan tomorrow looks at time later today. Its lovely seeing all the green growth after all the rain but the amount of thatch in there is substantial

I need to cut the grass too. I might leave it for a few days as it’s very windy here.
Going to get dog food today from the garden centre so will have a good look at bulbs.

DGS mowing the grass as I type <sits back with a sigh of relief>

Today I am feeling slightly 'done'. Was at a big garden centre yesterday and I bought a lovely ornamental grass with red leaves. I love ornamental grasses and they are usually very low maintenance, 'shove 'em in a tub and leave 'em' and everything. So I bought it. Pennisetum rubrum. I'd never heard of it and the care label was printed in Dutch, with pictures which were next to useless.

So I got it home and Googled it and - it's not frost-hardy! My days of fetching things and and putting them out ended when I stopped keeping horses! I feel slightly annoyed at myself for not Googling it at the garden centre and allowing myself to be sucked in by its pretty appearance, and also very cross that the care label was pointless!

So am reconciling myself to the fact that it probably won't last. And it cost me £20!

@Vroomfondleswaistcoat that is annoying , but in a sheltered spot it might be ok ?

I'm in North Yorkshire, so I'm not sure. We can have some pretty severe frosts, so I'm not certain about leaving it outside, even in sheltered place. It's entirely my own fault, I should have Googled it, rather than assuming it was an ordinary grass. I might try bringing it indoors this winter and see how it goes...

Just placed another order with Hedges Direct so will be busy next week!😉

Just Googled Pennisetum and it is very pretty! How annoying?

RHS says hardy to -5C “for short periods in well-drained soil” You might keep it going with a thick fleece cover? I managed to nurse a couple of Pelargoniums through last winter in a fleece cover, which I was surprised by.

The lovely handyman chap who does odd jobs for cash has just completely cleared and tidied my greenhouse so it looks immaculate and dug put a brand new bed along the side of the lawn. I am ridiculously excited by a brand new bed of virgin soil,just waiting for planting.£40 very well spent.

Noticed today that we seem to have lots of tiny snails in the pond. So either they were hiding in the other plants or they have come from the one.

Oh well. At least they're having a lovely time there. 🤣

Gave our bay tree a major haircut - down from about 8 feet to 4. It grows so fast!

Feeling incredibly sad today.

we found a tiny little pipistrel bat clinging to the wall in the garden. DH told me as soon as he saw it that it was going to die and he was right. It had obviously come out the previous evening to forage for insects and ran out of steam so couldn't get back to the colony. Once they are separated and away from safety, they can't survive. He may have been sick or ailing.

I went out this morning and he has died. I cant believe how sad I feel. We've buried him in the leaf pile. 🦇

That would make me sad too. Lovely that there is a colony though. Worked really hard over the weekend on the pond and surrounding area. The pond looks great apart from needing a few more plants. But the rest of the garden is trashed. Needs a big tidy and a tip run. Today I did absolutely nothing, may get done tomorrow, may not( stormy).

We have a lot of bats in our area. I'm looking to move soon, and bats in the garden during summer and autumn have always been a big part of enjoying my time outside ever since I was little.

I want to make sure that where ever I end up moving to I can make a bat safe area.

A neighbour a few houses and bungalows up has those horrible ultrasonic cat deterrers in their garden and either they're broken, or I've aged past being able to hear them anymore but a few summers ago when even the wind would trigger them, I saw no bats at all, and then when I stopped being able to hear them, they came back.

Nothing beats sitting down on a warm summers evening past golden hour, with an ice lolly and just watching them flit past with such speed.

Next time you need a Dutch shit label translator, tag me - or just point the Google Translate camera to it. That said, I occasionally buy plants over there and the labels are often inadequate, at least the UK plant passport sticker on the pot has the species name to look up on the RHS website.

I've been procrastinating for weeks but anchored down some tomato canes with bungee cords today, my triangular bipod structure flopped over in wind.

@Jimmyneutronsforehead There is a bat colony on the other side of the road to our house in the turret of the Primary school which is a very old building. Every summer evening for as long as we've lived there and before, the bats are out every night circling round at dusk. It's such a lovely sight.

Sorry your neighbours had those ultrasonic sounders. I can appreciate that cats can be destructive in other people's gardens, but there is an impact on other wildlife as you found out. They are part of the natural world ❤️

we did manage to get the school to turn off their outside lights which they were leaving on overnight, by saying something to the council. The lights were reducing the insect population which was having an impact on the food chain as bats go out at night for their food.

We have bats in our loft. They give us no problem except we sometimes have to clear their droppings.

@MargaretThursday bat droppings are excellent fertilizer, put some on your borders next time you clear out the loft.

Currently spraying my boxwoods.
F-ing caterpillars 🤬

Went to straighten up some plants after some wind yesterday and didn't realise I'd been hitchhiked on by multiple caterpillars.

I did safely remove them back to the garden, but I am at odds with myself for loving gardening, but shuddering at the sign of any wildlife.

I keep trying to challenge myself not let it bother me when I notice bugs and insects, but it freaks me out ridiculously.

Ladybirds are the worst, I have full blown panic attacks, and flashbacks to the 2009 ladybird epidemic on the east coast where you couldn't take a step without crushing a thousand of them under your feet, they got in your hair, they flew in your mouth, in your coffee, food, got inside your bedsheets. It was bloody awful.

Delighted to say we have bats too. I’ve just gone to close the curtains and seen them flitting across the garden and dive bombing the insects.

@Vroomfondleswaistcoat, I also look longingly at pennisetum and then feel sad they won't survive the winter. I love them. But I mainly posted because I'm shocked somewhere round here charged you £20! That's absurd.

It has been raining steadily all day here, which I know is a good thing, but I was itching to get out in the garden. Reading about other people's will have to do!

To be fair it's a well grown specimen and very impressive. I'm going to try my hardest to keep it over winter now. It's also belting it down here so 'm gladI got all my pruning and the lawn cut yesterday!

Mowed the lawn today while there's a gap in the wet.

If you can call it lawn. Thousands of nasturtiums are popping up everywhere.