obelixx

what jobs done over easter.

Daily turning of seedlings to keep them straight.   Friday and Saturday spent clearing the barn and bullshed ready for a team of chaps to come and do damp-proofing tomorrow.   They'll be here a week or so drilling holes and injecting product in walls so more clearing of house and garage this week to give them access.  OH has the week off and won't know what's hit him by the time we're done.

Yesterday I did manage to do some garden stuff too.  Tess of the D'urbevilles rose dug up and potted so her trellis can come down and make way for a digger to prepare the ground for a concrete base for the new shed which has just arrived today.   Dug up my long suffering fig and planted it in the greenhouse.   Potted up viola plugs to grow on plus Russel lupins, more toms and some PSB.  More herbs and PSB to do today.

Later I have to get clean for foot physio but am hoping OH will continue trips to the dump with crud and then start hoeing the veggie beds.   Wavre market tomorrow to meet friends and buy some luscious plants.

Lots to do so best crack on tho no outdoor planting yet as it's still perishing so I also have a daily inning and outing of plants hardening off.

The average gardener

I'm definitely exceptional!  

Larger than average garden, colder winters than average Brit winters and more than average interest in plants though learning to go for good doers now rather than waste more money on the rarer ones that can't cope.    Still lots to learn and do and enjoy.

Is it me?

Whilst I have no liking for Joe Swift his design last night was quite nice and I think it's useful for people to see how to sketch up a design before they start plonking plants in a new bed or garden.  You don't need any fancy software or tools, just a pencil and paper.    If you have a plan, you're more likely to have a list of plants rather than buying what takes your fancy and then trying to fit them together.

I'm not convinced Monty has a plan for how each programme is going to run and just does jobs which need doing in his garden so it's just happenstance that his grasses needed cutting.  The way this spring is going I've got another couple of weeks before it's safe to take the winer coat off mine and cut them back to let the new growth through.

The first Gardeners' World

Been too busy to see this week's GW just yet but do love grasses as long as they're used wisely.  I've seen a huge bank of them used as ground cover on a slop and it's all to samey and boring but grouped here and there as contrast of form and to give movement they're great.

Stipas, pennisetums and the red grass are too nesh for my garden but miscanthus forms do well as do briza, carex, molinia and hakonechloa which makes a great edger on a damp bed I have next to my terrace.

pruning

Used to have a forsythia but decided after all that I really couldn't cope with taht acid yellow so I pruned it to a stump and yanked it out.  Good decision.  

No sign of any spring flowers on shrubs here as it's still very cold with nasty easterly winds.    Definitely not pruning weather.

The first Gardeners' World

We're all entitled to our opinions and we're allowed to disagree without falling out or getting personal.  DK - You do have a habit of banging on with criticism about any and every aspect of Monty and his garden and not always with reason - in my view - but sometimes you're right.   It's the self righteous bits we can do without and which make people have a go at you.

Happy Easter everyone and happy gardening, with or without a fancy greenhouse.

Clematis 'Rouge Cardinal'

I pruned some of my clems early in March when it was warm and all their new buds that were showing then have shrivelled in the cold.  I can't see mine reshooting form those points but theye are deelpy planted so should produce new shoots from below.

I sugges you wait and see with yours.  It's a bit early in the season for clematis wilt to start but who knows these days?  When the frost do pass, try giving yours a feed of liquid rose or tomato fertiliser to give it some encouragement.

Need more entertainment.

I agree with Dove.  There's all sorts of free and payable software out there for designing gardens and, if you're that way inclined, you can make a spreadsheet to log your activities or just keep a diary.

Mares Tail - how to win

Should have said that when I do spray where it's started coming up in the path, I add a couple of drops of washing up liquid to the mix as this helps the stuff stick.  I also squash and crush the marestails with my boots first as this helps break the surface and allow the active ingredients to be absorbed.

ROSES

You ned to tie the main stems to the arch so you can see the structure and stop it all flapping around in strong winds.   Use garden twine, not wires, and tie stems loosely with a figure of 8 looping round the frame and then crossing before looping round the stems.  This allows room for growth and a bit of movement but keeps it all stable.

Encouraging bats in our gardens

Beechgrove this weekend

Weekend 22 March

Good Morning - 21 March

Choosing chillies

Hanging baskets and window boxes

New shed - any tips?