What have you done in the garden today? Part 9

[Jimmyneutronsforehead]

Welcome to part 9.

We love hearing about all of your gardening adventures, purchases, tips and tricks and very worthy boasts about what has gone well for you, as well as all of the behind the scenes bloopers.

We're well into the growing season, after a long wet and windy start to the year and a fast and hot spring.

We also love hearing about what you've made from your garden forage.

We are just about out of peony season, but this recipe was beautiful especially in a sponge cake, mixed in with a glass of lemonade and with my morning yoghurt and oats.

Wipeywipey's peony jam (soft set, syrupy) recipe:

I removed the petals and steeped overnight with 1 mug water per flower head, squashed the petals through muslin in the morning (no longer than 12hrs). I did a rough recipe of 1 good mug of sugar to every 2 medium heads, and 3 tablespoons of lemon. It is a wonderful golden magenta colour and tastes a lot better than it smelled when steeping and cooking (quite woody).

for a firmer set

per 1 head of petals, 1 cup of water
Steeped in freshly boiled water for 10 minutes- a large French press works
Brought back up to a boil on the hob
Add 1 cup of sugar per head of petals (or a full bag if you use 4 petals), reduce to a simmer and gently mix in the sugar until dissolved
Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice
Add 2 Tbsp pectin powder, seived in slowly
Bring to a boil again for a minute or 2
Let cool just enough to jar up safely without burning your hands.

We are also out of magnolia season, but if I can find the magnolia syrup recipe for drinks, mead and wine, I shall post that once I've found where I got the recipe from or the book I wrote it down in. It's very similar to Wipey's peony recipe, with optional additions like ginger and spices.

Please feel free to share any of your garden favourites ❤️

One of our olives trees is absolutely covered with fruit. Despite watering it nightly during the heatwave, I just noticed they’re all shrivelled.

Moved my chic et choc honeysuckle because it did not like the rather too shady spot it was in and had therefore punished me with rather pathetic progress.
It is now somewhere sunnier so I hope next year I will see it in full beauty.
Photo of what it is supposed to look like to follow once approved.

@Jimmyneutronsforehead I have a bamboo twat of my own next door.
I have to use my tree loper on the bloody stuff because it leans over the fence and pushes into my gutters.

I am delighted to see that the drought seems to have killed the bulk of it, or at least it looks dead to me.

I bloody hope so anyway.

My twat has been told they are on notice for any damage because it is so close to my bungalow but is too thick to understand the ramifications.

I didn't know honeysuckle could get even more beautiful than it already is but that has got to be the most gorgeous variety I have ever seen.

i mowed the lawn, not all of it, as the grass hasnt grown back everywhere. but what i have mown is lush and green

I got DH to rake all the thatch out of the lawn, and take down the fruit cage.
Then I picked the rest of the blueberries (2 litres, I didn’t weigh them) and froze them for autumn/winter. Tasted the grapes, they’re sweet enough but very small so the seeds are a bit annoying. Might leave them to fill out a bit with the rain.
The garden is definitely starting to look a lot more autumnal than summery now.

I'm going to mow the lawn later today as it has greened up quite nicely due to the rain we've had. My water butts are full too so I can water all the pots from them rather than the tap.

My white oleander is huge this year, it's also given my garden some protection from the house at the back where they cut down their huge willow tree and exposed me to the back of their unattractive house.

I have two pots out the front with trailing double geraniums in and this has been the best year ever for the size of the plant and massive number of heads. They really have enjoyed their southerly aspect in blazing sunshine. They are so dazzling when I drive into the front of the house, they make a fabulous splash of colour .

I'm going to empty some more summer pots too, as I have three massive azaleas that have really outgrown the pots they are in and will need to move into something larger.

Then I might will tackle clearing out the shed ... 😫

Had a lovely afternoon in the garden yesterday.

Took loads of cuttings of various things, deadhead and watered everything that needed doing, and did a general tidy.

Garden still full of flowers but looking a little rough around the edges so autumn definitely on the way. In a couple of weeks I can start properly putting things to bed by moving them out of pots and into borders or storing for next year.

My iris reticulata bulbs have arrived so I'll start planting my winter/spring pots soon; don't want to do it yet as the pelargoniums and petunias are in the pots I want and still giving a good show. Impatiens looking a bit sad so I might start sorting those out; they have been spectacular this year so I'm going to try and overwinter some indoors and take cuttings/root in water.

Crikey @Myblueclematis , that’s a packed programme. I fe3l tired just reading it.
@TheNoWord , I’m looking for winter pot ideas. What else will you use?
I’ve found that a frying pan spatter shield makes a useful tool for removing duck weed, so I spent some time doing that, very satisfying, almost meditative. I had 5 plants to put in. A delicate looking Knifofia (sp?) confused me because the instructions said moist soil, so I had to rearrange the moister bed to make room.
I bought a Clematis tangutica, my favourite ever Clematis, I had a thriving one years ago but one year it didn’t come back. I dug a hole for it, quite close to the site of the old one but my spade hit paving , so I dug 2 more with the same thing happening. I have lived here for nearly 15 years and the garden still throws up surprises. Any way my tea was ready then, so I will have to try again today. But I need it somewhere around there to clothe the pergola.

Still got 3 more to plant after this, hope they are more straightforward. The rain has proper triggered the weeds, so I need to do some of that, and picking up windfalls before my idiot dog gorges on them. We are going to see another dog today. I must love hard work, because that’s what they are. She’s lovely though.

Just had to come on and say today (for the first time in months) I will NOT be watering anything in my garden. We have had rain for over 12 hours! Even when it rained a bit recently, it wasn't enough for me not to have to water some plants. But 12 hours of solid rains means that I shall not be using my newly grown gorilla arms to drag the can around. I won't know what to do with myself!!!! 🎉

We've had some lovely sunshine today but the growing season is almost over so I fear my garden will be being watered with any rain showers alone.

My lemons inside are almost ripe and my tiny lemon and calamondin are both in full bloom!

I'm excited about this as my pre-surgical diet plan means I'm only allowed 3 dairy per day so I have become an earl grey with lemon person by necessity so I can eat more yoghurt in a day and I actually do enjoy calamondin in hot water with a bit of honey too.

Still not sure what to do about my blackberries with the garden restructure, especially seen as we have so many wild blackberries nearby that we always go and pick. But if I don't axe them, it's more blackberries which is never a bad thing.

Ate a whole bunch of home-grown grapes. Some of them were a bit less sweet than I’d like, and they’re all seeded and smaller than shop grapes, but over half were lovely and sweet.
Hoping for the rain and sun to help the other bunches along as my grapevine awning is a 3-year plan that has finally come to fruition (pun intended).
Summer shade with autumn harvest, it’s all good.
I dug a load of Alchemilla Mollis out of the blueberry bed, and planted some daffs/narcissi in their place, because they flower before the fruit cage goes up. Also spread out the camomile I’ve been growing there for ground cover. The garden is really coming together nicely now.
I’m sure DH despairs of my mad garden schemes, but I need his height and DIY skills to realise my vision for the garden.

When I put my arch trellises up I didn't account for the fact that most people are over 4'11. I could have done with someone with some height around whilst I was driving in stakes to the ground.

@Jimmyneutronsforehead I’m only 5ft myself, I already can’t reach most of the grapes without a ladder. It’ll be worse next year as the vines closer to the house are even higher, but I needed to allow for the height of the back door. I hope DH is ready for decades of grape harvesting because 8ft is beyond my jurisdiction. Either that or I need to make some taller friends!

I saw a video of someone who drilled a hole in their window frames to let their grapes grow in their conservatory whilst still letting the roots experience the frost to start the flowering process.

I could do that, but I'd definitely get shot for it. It's very tempting though.

I also had lovely tasty grapes this year. I keep the vine very cut back now because I am so sick of being up the ladder on an uneven path to maintain it. Bad enough that I can't reach the cooking pots in my own kitchen 😖

@Zebracat I'm going to try and replicate variations on this pot that I saw online for autumn/winter. I'll also do some bulb lasagnes in small pots with the iris and miniature early daffodils. Still browsing around for more inspiration.

@TheNoWord . Thanks so much. I love that, I’m nicking it!

Today I dug up the surprise passion flower and moved it to a slightly more convenient spot. It might not be totally ideal, as it’s not the sunniest spot, but it’s better than the completely unsuitable spot it appeared in. If it survives I’ll be happy, if it doesn’t I haven’t lost anything.

I bought and planted a Japanese anemone called Frilly Knickers today. It’s lovely pale lilac tipped flower with, as the name implies, frilly edges.
Hoping it will do well in a shady spot.

I haven't actually done anything at all the last couple of days although I hope to mow the lawn today which is lovely and green now thanks to the recent rain we've had over the past couple of days. My water butts are full to the brim.

I noticed that I now have six flower heads on my nerine that is in a pot. The plant is huge and about nine years old and only started flowering about three years ago. I kept threatening to get rid of it as it didn't do anything for so long but I'm glad I just left it as it now rewards me with beautiful pink flowers.

The trick is to ignore it I think and just wait for the day you see that first flower bud appearing. It's definitely been worth the wait. 😄

Exciting times here in the parched central South! I have been able to start digging the bed I want to plant because there has been enough rain to get my fork in the soil. Never thought I’d be so happy to do some digging!

I’m going to mow what was once my lawn today. It is a patchwork of green tufts, really brown and dead looking grass, brown moss patches and bare earth. I tried to scarify the dead looking patches but nothing was coming up. I cannot believe the photos I took of it in April where it is a lush green velvet carpet and the absolute state of it now.

DS thinks I need to re-seed the whole thing, which makes me want to cry a bit, as that’s such a huge amount of work. I’m wondering if I can just seed the bare patches and eventually the dead patches will regrow. I’m just not sure there will be enough growing time left.

i tried a bulb lasagna last year but it wasn’t very successful. I think I planted too late. Thank you for the reminder to crack on a bit earlier this year.

Ooooh. My nan loves anemones, I'm going to tell her I'm buying her some frilly knickers and see if she catches on.

I’ve moved some things out of pots and into the front raised beds today, and moved some rudbeckia. They grew a lot taller than I expected, so looked a bit daft at the front, they were hiding smaller plants behind. The flowers are past their best now, so even if they don’t settle where they are, at least their seeds will drop in a more suitable place.

I've been planting bulbs.
I've planted a pot of St Clair narcissus, a pot of sweetest dream narcissus and 2 of tete a tete.
Out the front I planted tete a tete, purple sensation allium and pickwick crocuses

When I was planting them I dug up some random bulbs from previous years which I've now planted in the back garden.

I've got angelique and Apricot beauty tulip bulbs but will plant them later