What have you done in the garden today? Part 7

[Jimmyneutronsforehead]

Continuation thread from MereDint's previous threads.

@Jimmyneutronsforehead next door have a conifer which overgrows our wall by about 4 feet and I could see DH eyeing it up yesterday. But at the moment it’s a green backdrop to my view from the sitting room and I just know if he trims it back I’ll be left looking at brown stumpy twigs. I have warned him but I don’t think he’ll listen!

The pigeons are wrecking my catalpa tree. They are constantly (it seems) fornicating in it, breaking the plate sized leaves off and even a limb. No, it wasn't the wind, I saw them at it.

When I walk out into the garden sometimes a dozen pigeons fly up off the lawn. We need a cull! I used to have cats that would hunt them. Loved those cats.

Oh I hope it was o.k. Did you put it out again.😯

Yes! Poor thing was covered in bubbles and I had to grab it in my hands, climb out of the bath and go downstairs starkers to find something to put it in while I got dried and dressed. No way was I going to open the door in my birthday suit.😂

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Not today but very recent and might be helpful to others - I ran over my lawn mower cable! Thought it was a right off but the internet and a trip to a good old fashioned hardware shop (Barnitts on Colliergate in York) saved me buying a replacement mower - I got a rubber flex connector and rejoined the cable for £4.

I've just planted up a small pot of dwarf beans. They were spares that I grew in case any failed in the bigger pots but they didn't so I've had to pot the spares up or they'd go to waste if no one else wanted them.

Still, I don't mind, I love home grown beans, the more of them, the merrier. 😄

I ran over our cable too. Just stripped the flex and twisted the wires together then bound it up with insulating tape. Works fine.

Just pulled some radishes today. My enorma beans have flowered and are still climbing up the trellis, so I'm hoping the bees come along and do their job and pollinate them.

Volunteer nasturtiums are popping up absolutely everywhere but thankfully theyre very pretty so they can stay.

I planted on some seedlings in my greenhouse, lemongrass, linaria, hollyhocks, wallflowers, some chillies and some more tomatoes. I also planted out into the garden some more night scented stocks and some more lavender along with some echinops and a few gaura the bride.
Seriously, I have never had so many different plants in a garden, ever! and I am loving it. I will look at what has worked this year, and what hasn't and scale back what I sow next year, but the pleasure of planting out so much that I have either sown from seed or grown from cuttings ☺️

Checked two pots of beans, both have flowers starting so that's made my morning so far. I've watered all the pots and I have quite a few, chopped down my Patty's Plum poppy that had finished flowering thanks to watching Gardener's World last night, hope that I might get a flush of more flowers, that would be nice.

I've found a couple of Verbena Bonariensis seedlings that I've transplanted to come up and fill several gaps, I know they self seed prolifically as I haven't had them in the garden for a couple of years now, I expect I'll be pulling the excess out for years to come.

Very disappointed with the dahlias so far, I'm banking on the ones that haven't flowered yet to stop me from calling it quits for next year and never growing them again.

Tumbling Tom tomatoes doing fantastically well, lots of little toms all green, the San Marzano has three tomatoes on it, much bigger than the Tumbling ones and I am looking forward to seeing them once they are fully grown and I can pick them.

Tubs and basket summer flowers are looking so gorgeous, I think this is my best year yet. I've fed them with Tomorite and they really do seem to have burst further into bloom. My front door area looks the best it's ever looked.

Yesterday I mowed the lawn, cut back some brambles and did a bit of general tidying and weeding. I want to water the grass today, as I have a plan to use weed and feed in a few days.

I spent hours pulling weeds from, and sweeping, my flagstone paths. It's not 'gardening' but it makes the garden look like it is loved.

Which it is.

Mowed the the lawns and cleared the border under the bay tree that DH hacked back earlier this week and tidied up the lower branches that were sticking out.

I’ve planted a hydrangea and some lavender and Erigeron that I had in pots along side it.

I’ve found some beautiful rocks behind the shed so I’ve moved them and I might make a small rockery underneath the tree itself as it’s very dry and shady. Contemplating moving an iceberg rose to the back of the border - it’s currently in a pot.

I had a look. I’ve been away. Dd has watered the greenhouse, but not the pots alongside it, or any other pots, so I gave it all a drink, picked some sweet peas and raspberries. I just can’t garden in hot weather, but there is so much to do. Everywhere needs weeding and deadheading and staking and zhuzzing. I have lots of stuff that needs planting out. My house is a bit of a shittip too - the joy of leaving adult children at home when away, so I should really sort that out, but I’m resentful. I need a plan.

More of the endless nasturtium weeding. I like them, but by god they are prolific wee bastards. I started counting in April the number I pulled up and got to 800 before I lost count.

So lesson learnt - never let DH clear the nasturtiums at the end of the season because he doesn’t care how far afield the plants fling their seeds while he yanks them out!

The beans, peas, courgettes, raspberries and the gravel path are all disappearing under nasturtiums unless I’m at it at least 3 times a week.

I’ve watered the containers with the water from the paddling pool and am taking a break before trying to extricate the fruit trees from a recent flush of bindweed.

Feel for you Zebra, been there, only mine didn't water the greenhouse either :(

I find nasturtiums a bit creepy. Something about the way the grow like mad in October makes me uneasy.

I am scratching like mad today after clearing under the tree. Many many things have bitten me.

Oh dear @ILikeDungs I might have lost it if the greenhouse wasn’t watered!

I've not done anything in the garden as I'm painting cupboard doors on the coast.

DP has been slowly moving things into his new house, but hasn't been for a few weeks.

I thought the mares tail in the front was diabolical, the back garden was basically barren when he went through before but he sent me a photo of it today and it is all mares tail (and some rubbish some tosser has decided to fly tip while the house was empty).

There goes his dreams of having a weed free lush green turf.

Can’t see where to watch thread. Any ideas ladies.

@Soosi on the first post of the thread, click on the three dots and choose “watch”, but I think you automatically watch threads you comment on anyway.

Crikey @Jimmyneutronsforehead , I know I’m a proper gardener because I looked at that photo and my palms itched with desire to get stuck in, even though my own garden is proving too much right now.

Today I dug up a load of plants that had got too big for their beds and foisted them on people at church.
They get free plants and no worries about wasting money if they don’t grow, I get a bit more space for the plants I prefer, everyone’s happy and the plants get new homes.

Weed free lawns are boring. Much better to have lots of daisies, clover, violets, speedwell, pineapple weed, yarrow ... .

But the horsetail will retreat with regular mowing.