I have had a busy bank holiday weekend and managed to finish my dry stream bed, planted vegetables in the raised beds and prick out some of my wild flower seedlings, these are on top of the usual lawn mowing and weeding jobs. This bank holiday weekend has been set aside for the erection of a new fence so no rest for the wicked as they say!
Just been watching the wedding so no gardening today. Tomorrow I need to get out and pot up my trailing begonias which have just arrived - into hanging baskets. It says 5 to a 12 in basket? I will give it a go and hope for a good display as past years have been dismal!!!! My peas have come up but loads didnt so need to re-sow. Happy gardening everyone!
I need to tackle my front lawn, it has 2 large brown areas, and there are lots of small holes appearing in these areas, does anyone have any tips or advise on what these may be caused by. I have looked at Mony's tips on improving your lawn and will take these on board, as the soil here in the North East is heavy clay.
Sarah's pondlife... you mentioned the lack of frogspawn the other week.. or was that your daughter? Did you used to come on as Muddy Boots and now you both come on as Sarah's pondlife?
Is strange that you didn't get any spawn. Do you normally get some? My teenage frogs started croaking in the pond last week and I thought they might finally start mating, but they stopped, and got on with catching flies.
hi kate,,,,yes thats my daughter[muddy boots]...and yes my daughter is nuts about writing on your blogs.....we normally have loads of spawn but none this year...and we were all wondering why...i think maybe its because of very cold weather killing the frogs however we do still have some very small frogs and newts in pond and the other day i did see a kinda big frog but not as many as last year.
isabel [my daughter] hasnt liked going in the garden for the past few months as our dear fox died at xmas....[and shes still upset about it],they were the same age...... so i think thats why she hasnt blogged...however she did get carried away writing stuff on line ..... im surprised she didnt tell you all about it....everyone in the neighbourhood heard about it and she still goes on about it now...............for heavens sake. for example mr fox died on xmas day and miss muddy boots says 'oh it ruined her christmas and every christmas from now on.....' CHARMING..dont worry about poor old mr fox....hes the one thats died...
Didi1975 - I have a north facing backyard - good plants in pots, low maintenance: Dicentra spectabilis (Bleeding Heart) - perennial which dies back each autumn and then magically starts again in spring with beautiful heart-shaped flowers. "Alba" will really shine out in a shady place. Also not too bad in light shade are Aquilegia (Granny's Bonnet) which look delicate but take quite a lot of cold wind and shade in pots. They are short lived but self seed if you leave the heads on the flowers. Hellebores (Lenten/Christmas Roses) also good in shade but their sap can irritate the skin. Some hydrangeas are good - if you have a shady trellis you can grow a climbing hydrangea in a pot and it will spread quite far (pot would need to be a couple of feet in diameter and depth). Japanese honeysuckle is also relatively bullet proof, good in pots and will cover unsightly things if grown around a trellis (e.g. surrounding an oil tank). Nice fragrant white-to-yellowing flowers in summer-autumn and can go a bit mad so best grown in a pot. Vinca/periwinkle, clematis montana, some camellias (grown in ericaceous compost), fuschias (although latter can be a bit delicate in north winds and could be lost over winter). All these are good for a shady spot in pots in a back yard/patio.
Had everything going well plug plants to pot up then disaster admitted to hosp for 2 weeks so half plants died and im way behind oh well least im on the mend
And i am willing to bet wanting to rescue your plug plants and look after your garden speeded up your recovery, pattiuk. Best wishes for better health and thanks for the reminder to make the most of what time we have and be grateful for the therapeutic qualities of growing things in both senses - things that grow and cultivation. While you are way behind enjoy the wild flowers in this glorious spring.
debbiemackenzie - I don't know what's causing the brown patches in your lawn, possibly chafer grubs - but the small holes could be made by solitary bees. Do they resemble tiny volcanoes? Solitary bee culprits could include tawny mining bees and mason bees. They're harmless, and fun to watch. I would just lightly fork over the ground for now, taking care to leave the holes intact, and seed over the patches, so the bees are unharmed and can emerge next year. If you want to discourage bees from nesting in your lawn again, you could try erecting a bee hotel, which the bees may use instead. As for the brown patches, I'd keep an eye on the situation and see if it happens again. If chafer grubs are a problem you may want to consider using a nematode to kill them.
Sarah's pondlife - that's sad about the fox. My rabbit died on Boxing Day when I was 16 and I buried him in the garden. It didn't ruin Christmas, but I always think of him at that time. I hope Isabel gets over her loss soon and can enjoy the garden and its wildlife once more.
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This bank holiday weekend has been set aside for the erection of a new fence so no rest for the wicked as they say!
http://higgysgardenproject.blogspot.com/
Is strange that you didn't get any spawn. Do you normally get some? My teenage frogs started croaking in the pond last week and I thought they might finally start mating, but they stopped, and got on with catching flies.
Kate
isabel [my daughter] hasnt liked going in the garden for the past few months as our dear fox died at xmas....[and shes still upset about it],they were the same age......
so i think thats why she hasnt blogged...however she did get carried away writing stuff on line .....
im surprised she didnt tell you all about it....everyone in the neighbourhood heard about it and she still goes on about it now...............for heavens sake.
for example mr fox died on xmas day and miss muddy boots says 'oh it ruined her christmas and every christmas from now on.....' CHARMING..dont worry about poor old mr fox....hes the one thats died...
Sarah's pondlife - that's sad about the fox. My rabbit died on Boxing Day when I was 16 and I buried him in the garden. It didn't ruin Christmas, but I always think of him at that time. I hope Isabel gets over her loss soon and can enjoy the garden and its wildlife once more.
Kate