Yes the fog was thick wasn't it @GWRS , but the husband in Lincoln only 9 miles down the road was in bright sun for most of the day he said! Between the fog and the cold 🥶 the garden can wait.
I have lusted after an up lighter under one of my Japanese maples ever since I planted it in a dark damp North facing corner. Yesterday I found some strings of solar lights reduced in B&M so treated myself. It looks rather OTT, Blackpool Towerish at the moment with no leaves on the tree but I am going to wait until the tree is in full leaf before making any changes. When I went to bed the reflection from the lights shone into my bedroom. I made up some more potting compost for my onion seedlings but didn't get around to actually doing any potting as I was distracted by exploring a potato barrel and finding a lovely little crop of new potatoes left in from last year. They have withstood the vagaries of the winter weather, which I thought would kill them off. I also lifted a dahlia root growing in a pot outside, with no protection. Again, I thought I would find a pile of slimy gunk but the tubers are firm with new roots already growing. I shook most of the soil from the clump and put it in the shed for a few weeks before repotting into fresh compost or putting it out in the garden.
If I had the energy I'd do a little dance - digging done!!! (for now). The front beds are dug, weeded, destoned and have had the fag end of a bag of organic fertilizer thrown at them. The had to be raked in to stop the hoover that is Alfie eating it.
I then went to pick up a 2nd hand plastic drawer unit to reorganise my tools, etc., and even did said reorganising.
Hacked out a big, nearly dead geranium I don't want to keep as it keeps self-seeding itself all over back garden and slate chipping path. Took me well over an hour to do using a mini mattock. It had two doses of SBK last year and still didn't want to die. Something to be aware of when choosing geraniums, some have massive, very deep rootstocks!
I did a bit of one-handed gardening, lol, as my hand is a bit buggered at the mo. I managed to dig a hole and move a penstemon, clear up some leafy corners, and OH cut back a small tree stump, I was going to make a bird table for it but it won't stop sprouting, so sadly I have to murder it with a bucket.
I may try to slog through the snow across the pasture and cut some trees and brush along the stone wall. Between that and the limbs that broke during a couple of nasty storms earlier this winter, I should be able to make a decent burn pile. As long as there is snow on the ground, I don't need a permit to burn brush, so I don't want to miss my window of opportunity. Which reminds me, the chainsaw needs to be sharpened...
Inside the house, my second round of seeds isn't faring much better than the first; only a few Gerber daisies and prairie coneflowers germinated, but I'm up to 4 Virgin's Bower seedlings, so I'm happy. I need to sort through my seed collection and decide which annuals I'm going to start next month. Last weekend I ended up buying yet another variety of Cosmos, so I think I'm up to five different types/colors now. It's something of an addiction, isn't it?
New England, USA
Metacomet soil with hints of Woodbridge and Pillsbury
Started off sone seeds today, various toms, lobelia ….. first batch are doing great, even the coleus which I watch with interest every year to see if I get any pretty colors.
Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
Seperated the plants out of the hanging baskets into seperate pots and gave them a nitrogen liquid feed to start them growing and put them back into the greenhouse.
Finally managed some gardening Tidied ups snow drop and hellebore beds Cut herbs & sedums back and few other little jobs , feeling very pleased Had to water some pots Moved 3 Fushia pots into greenhouse but think they have had it but wait a bit longer
Spring is on its way , there is buds on Hawthorn Hedge
Posts
Yesterday I found some strings of solar lights reduced in B&M so treated myself. It looks rather OTT, Blackpool Towerish at the moment with no leaves on the tree but I am going to wait until the tree is in full leaf before making any changes.
When I went to bed the reflection from the lights shone into my bedroom.
I made up some more potting compost for my onion seedlings but didn't get around to actually doing any potting as I was distracted by exploring a potato barrel and finding a lovely little crop of new potatoes left in from last year. They have withstood the vagaries of the winter weather, which I thought would kill them off.
I also lifted a dahlia root growing in a pot outside, with no protection. Again, I thought I would find a pile of slimy gunk but the tubers are firm with new roots already growing. I shook most of the soil from the clump and put it in the shed for a few weeks before repotting into fresh compost or putting it out in the garden.
I then went to pick up a 2nd hand plastic drawer unit to reorganise my tools, etc., and even did said reorganising.
Smug.
Something to be aware of when choosing geraniums, some have massive, very deep rootstocks!
Tidied ups snow drop and hellebore beds
Cut herbs & sedums back and few other little jobs , feeling very pleased
Had to water some pots
Moved 3 Fushia pots into greenhouse but think they have had it but wait a bit longer
Spring is on its way , there is buds on Hawthorn Hedge