What have you done in the garden today? Part 7

[Jimmyneutronsforehead]

Continuation thread from MereDint's previous threads.

Went to the garden centre today, almost bought some alliums, forgot to buy some onion sets! Kicking myself now I've got home and remembered what I went for.

So basically we went, I had a Sunday dinner with a yorkshire pudding that was definitely made by a southerner (sorry southerners), and came home pretty empty handed.

They also did not have any variety in tomato seeds so I think I'm going to order some more rapunzels as they did phenomenally well and gave me the most lovely trusses to look at.

A day without rain at last and time to explore the garden. I give it a stiff ignoring all winter to avoid disturbing hibernating beasties but got out today. Started cleaning out the summer house which has been very neglected, and planted a few autumn sown calendula into bigger pots. First daffodils nearly open.

We had really heavy rain yesterday quite late on, local roads flooded and warnings were being given out on FB to be wary of certain areas.

My garden on one side always floods a little between the lawn and the soil but does tend to drain away quite quickly thankfully. The garden is way too sodden though to do anything at all on it and the lawn squelches underfoot. A lot more rain is expected over the next ten days. 🙄

I bought a gardening magazine yesterday and have a free packet of Antirrihinum seeds, white ones, with it. I said I wouldn't ever do seeds again as I have nowhere to really grow them properly but I quite like these plants so I may try and get something to grow ready for the summer.

I've had really good success direct sowing antirrihinium, and some decent self seekers, although they do dwindle year by year. Don't sow directly until the first week of May though if that's the route you're going for.

Oh, thanks, I'll give that a go. I am way down south so sowing direct might mean they will do ok in May, hopefully not a chance in hell of frost.

Went to B&Q hoping to find a nice tree, as I have a £10 gift card and they usually half price a lot after the weekend. But there was hardly anything there! Maybe 10-20 trees at a decent size, plus a lot of that pink flamingo willow that looked very butchered. Some very tall Himalayan birch that looked suspicious grey rather than white for its height/age, however tempting at a tenner cash. They had some discounted roses helpfully labeled as rose 🙄

It felt like their whole garden centre area is now the rejects from elsewhere. Might spend the gift card on two bags of compost instead.

I like our local ASDA for a good tree and shrub find surprisingly, but that pink willow stuff was everywhere last year. I keep thinking I like the look of it, then flipping to it's rather disgusting, to it's ugly but cute ugly like a hairless cat.

Yes, they look like they shouldn't exist - an abomination of what willow should be.

Funnily enough the Asda next to the B&Q used to have a good outdoor plant section, but stopped doing it about a year ago. They now keep some dried out primroses inside, after the till, and they've segregated the entrance from the exit, so you'd have to walk past security with your unpaid plants to go back in and pay 🙄

I should probably stop going to shops and do some actual gardening!

I've roped my brother in to do some manual labour in the garden with me. The veg patch definitely needs some hard work doing to it.

Once again I have not done the work I needed to do at the end of last season and seen it as a problem for future me, except future me is now here and really hates past me for not doing it when the weather was lovely.

Really silly of me, but I just wanted the garden to be green that little bit longer last year, so I didn't cut things back or pull things up and now it's made more prep work for this year.

Yes, that's me! I didn't cut the grass as late as I wanted to avoid it getting difficult to mow when spring comes along, I could do with a couple of sheep to keep it down as getting out the mower now is just never going to happen. It's absolutely sodden with the rain. It looks lovely and lush though.

I also still need to trim some stuff back but it means tramping over the lawn or the garden border to get to it.

Today is a lovely day - allegedly - sun is shining, sky is blue but it will change later on, back to more rain. I'm having lunch at the garden centre with my cousin later today so I'll have a good look round the plants but at the moment, I think I should hold off buying anything and wait for the better weather which I hope is going to come.

When I was a school girl, the school bus used to pass a bungalow on the edge of a council estate that had a goat in the garden.

I always used to think what a peculiar place to put a goat but whatever, you do you.

Now, as a house on the end of a council estate I'm thinking that a goat sounds pretty good.

I worked with someone who kept goats, I think they have to be under cover if it rains, I don't think sheep mind the rain so I think sheep would be the ideal lawnmowers in the current weather.

I've come back from the garden centre with two little pots of snowdrops to add to the very small clumps I have in the garden border. I am more thrilled though to have bought a large planter on legs ready to put my tomato plants into when the better and much warmer weather comes along.

It was reduced down to £29.99, has a cover on it, quite tall legs and looks as if it will hold a decent amount of compost. Can't wait to start using it.

They have loads of very small plants for summer bedding and pots etc. in. There are lots of different plants including geraniums, begonias, fuschsias just to name a few of the selection available ready to pot on.🌺🌱

I walked up to the top of the garden to see if I’d saved any sweet pea seeds. I didn’t, so I will buy some. But I did save some marigold heads, so I scattered those on the beds as I walked back down.The garden doesn’t look too bad, and I will start doing an hour here and there on dry days. I might write a list. Small beginnings!

So glad I posted, made me think I might have popped my sweet pea seeds in the fridge , and I had. Got my loo roll tubes, so I will sow them tomorrow.

I can never ever think about a goat without remembering this adorable video

https://youtube.com/shorts/JLLFeZGeXbA?si=drTMHDdCn4NzCIrP

I think I may have over-ordered snowdrops. They do look very good quality, a mix of single and double. They're going to take some planting though. I just went a bit mad. The ones I planted two years ago look really pretty, I think they take a couple of years at least to look good.

How many have you bought @daisychain01
Maybe you could give some to friends or family if you have too many.
I have a lot in my garden, they are one of my absolute favourite plants. They are mainly under some trees but also have some in two beds.

I haven't been into the garden for so long. Just so much rain and it's still all mud from our recent build.
I tell a lie, I brought in my seedling lemon trees and my lemon verbena from the greenhouse, and which will now live in the conservatory as they look much happier and I can keep a better eye on them.

I did get an email from Suttons this morning with so many offers, so I have just spent £45 on loads of plants, mainly peonies, but some other shrubs like cornus and a philadelphus, and a hydrangea panticulata vanilla fraise which I fell in love with last year.

The greenhouse is in desperate need of clearing out, but it has far too many false widows living in there and they scare me. I think I need to channel my late Polish babcia (grandmother) get a cotton headscarf to cover my hair and ears, and just go for it. Either that, or a hazmat suit 😬

It's rainy and muddy here - can't tread on the ground without compacting it. I've done a bit of tidying up from the storms - but it's really not been conducive to it. Bitter winds.

I have seeds to be getting on with...but not got a lot of space on windowsills for them

On the up side I'm loving the Daphne in the back garden which is in full bloom and the scent hits you at certain times - it was lovely last night as I was letting the dog out for a last wee.

I had to go out earlier visiting my uncle and went to Morrisons as well.

I've bought a 3 pack of Lupins in pink and lemon for £3 that I will need to pot up.

I just can't help myself ... 😆

I had an email from farmer Gracie today and it showcased their pinks. Different pink dahlias, geums, sunflowers and hydrangeas.

They've got a lovely geum battenberg cake, so now I'm torn because I've desperately wanted a geum mai tai since last year and I've only really got space for one.

@Jimmyneutronsforehead not to be an enabler but that geum battenburg is gorgeous! It looks lovely how they have it, in a pot...

Despite being subject to the 90s school campaigns to avoid peer pressure, I am both susceptible and willing to succumb in this instance.

I have three Geums, Mrs Bradshaw, Lady Strathairn (I think) and one more that was given to me but the label was broken. They are around my tiny pond which now resembles a lake!

I have seen the Mai Tai but not the Batternberg, I'll look out for it next time I go to the garden centre. I have nowhere to put them but I'm pretty sure that if I see them, I will end up buying one at least. That's the type of pushover for plants I am sadly. Nowhere to put more plants but I'll buy them anyway.😄

Too rainy here too. Thinking of booking a very last minute holiday - and bookmarking some garden centres in the Canary Islands... I'll probably come home with 'cuttings' from hikes.