Planning a trip to the garden centre tomorrow, (avoiding all the Mother's day crowd) hopefully they will have David Austin climbers , and a good selection of shrubs.
Spent the whole weekend sowing seeds and pricking out. Sowed 3 varieties of rudbeckia, tithonia, sweet peas, peas blauwschokker and lots more. And my lovely children bought me a Gertrude Jeckyll rose for Mothers Day so looking forward to choosing a good location for it.
Finished off building another planter, tidied up another bed and planted a trachelospermum before another visit to the GC where I picked up a Acer Bloodgood, another Fatsia, Allium Gigantum and Purple sensation, a couple of ferns, a Phormium 'Evening sunset' and a variegated Grisselinia. Planting opportunity tomorrow if the weather is ok
Mizzly drizzly day today so all I could do was look outside and pout. Intend to sow some cosmos purity after the school run, as the boys enjoy sowing seeds.
About four years ago it was lawn which never did well being under a Norfolk Pine but after digging over each year and trying unsuccessfully in different years to grow potatoes beans and onions I got fed up with the weeds that kept invading so I cleared it and covered it for the winter.
The soil is absolutely wonderful - easy to dig and every spadeful crumbled with a firm tap.
Dug in a bit more manure and compost and planted two rows of First Early "Rocket" potatoes. Let's hope I'll have better luck this year. - the soil has got to be better than past years.
Have pruned 2 climbing roses, 3 shrub ones and one HT. Cut back a Lagerstromia, 3 Perovskias, 2 Abelias, a small spirea and 2 Caryopteris. Cut down 2 asters, 1 penstemon Husker Red, and 2 heleniums. Trimmed a Cyprus tree.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
5 hours here too but spent emptying a 2 x 4 metre bed of almost all its plants and setting them aside for division and replanting later on. pruned back 3 clems and 3 roses and dug another one up and put it in a pot where I can nurture it cos it was struggling.
Weeded and edged another small bed and filled with aquilegias and baby hellebores from the cleared bed. Cleared half a nearby semi circular bed of excess geranium phaeum then dug up a 5' conifer from the damp bed by the terrace and hauled it ona tarpaulin to the semi circular which is going to become a conifer bed and will end the constant refereeing garaniums and hostas all the time. When they show their noses, the hostas will come out and be divided and replanted in new homes in my garden and with friends.
Fed the roses and clems and fed, watered and mulched 6 more clems. Off for a well earned shower now and then line dancing after dinner.
Might need a gentle day tomorrow.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Posts
Planning a trip to the garden centre tomorrow, (avoiding all the Mother's day crowd) hopefully they will have David Austin climbers , and a good selection of shrubs.
Spent the whole weekend sowing seeds and pricking out. Sowed 3 varieties of rudbeckia, tithonia, sweet peas, peas blauwschokker and lots more. And my lovely children bought me a Gertrude Jeckyll rose for Mothers Day so looking forward to choosing a good location for it.
Finished off building another planter, tidied up another bed and planted a trachelospermum before another visit to the GC where I picked up a Acer Bloodgood, another Fatsia, Allium Gigantum and Purple sensation, a couple of ferns, a Phormium 'Evening sunset' and a variegated Grisselinia. Planting opportunity tomorrow if the weather is ok
Tired after gym today but did move a stunted clematis to a new home and a small fern. Rescued a Hebe being swallowed alive by a Phormium.
Very frustrating time trying to dig a simple hole that dodges tonnes of buried builders rubble.
Mizzly drizzly day today so all I could do was look outside and pout. Intend to sow some cosmos purity after the school run, as the boys enjoy sowing seeds.
Today I took the black membrane off my veg patch.
About four years ago it was lawn which never did well being under a Norfolk Pine but after digging over each year and trying unsuccessfully in different years to grow potatoes beans and onions I got fed up with the weeds that kept invading so I cleared it and covered it for the winter.
The soil is absolutely wonderful - easy to dig and every spadeful crumbled with a firm tap.
Dug in a bit more manure and compost and planted two rows of First Early "Rocket" potatoes. Let's hope I'll have better luck this year. - the soil has got to be better than past years.
Have pruned 2 climbing roses, 3 shrub ones and one HT. Cut back a Lagerstromia, 3 Perovskias, 2 Abelias, a small spirea and 2 Caryopteris. Cut down 2 asters, 1 penstemon Husker Red, and 2 heleniums. Trimmed a Cyprus tree.
Spent 5 hours with the freecycle shredder. It's FAB.
Think that was everything...oh yeah, I sacked the tea boy who only brought me one cup all day although he did visit thrice
5 hours here too but spent emptying a 2 x 4 metre bed of almost all its plants and setting them aside for division and replanting later on. pruned back 3 clems and 3 roses and dug another one up and put it in a pot where I can nurture it cos it was struggling.
Weeded and edged another small bed and filled with aquilegias and baby hellebores from the cleared bed. Cleared half a nearby semi circular bed of excess geranium phaeum then dug up a 5' conifer from the damp bed by the terrace and hauled it ona tarpaulin to the semi circular which is going to become a conifer bed and will end the constant refereeing garaniums and hostas all the time. When they show their noses, the hostas will come out and be divided and replanted in new homes in my garden and with friends.
Fed the roses and clems and fed, watered and mulched 6 more clems. Off for a well earned shower now and then line dancing after dinner.
Might need a gentle day tomorrow.