No gardening for me today as mostly drizzly, but yesterday I finished cobbling together my strawberry planter wood frame, using left over old fence slats. It's not brilliant but hopefully will look better when it's painted. Then I have to fill it with new compost and re-plant the strawberries. In case anybody's wondering, I have it up on an old table to stop the slugs/woodlice eating the strawberries. I got inspiration from a PYO farm I went to a couple of years ago - they had great lengths of tables with strawberries on the top, which were so easy to pick.
Visited a new garden centre near us... it's more like a mega shopping centre! Company called Blue Diamond. Not sure what to make of it. Looks lovely while it's all sparkly and new (must have cost an absolute fortune!!) but I can imagine it getting tired / tatty quickly. I do like the quirky garden centres and specialist nurseries - this is more like somewhere to go shopping. I think I'd get a few funny looks if I went in wearing my tatty garden get up on a Sunday afternoon!
We have a Blue Diamond centre close-ish to us that is quite nice, but we visited the one next to Trentham Gardens, that was absolutely huge and a bit souless if I'm honest. I much prefer the smaller independent centres. Gardenwise, sowed some more seeds, cut back penstemons and tided up kniphofias.
We have Blue Diamond here too Tootles, in fact their HQ is here - a Guernsey company. It opened about 10 years ago now, and still looks good. We do have smaller GC's that are good too each for particular items, one sells locally grown plants, another imports etc. BD is still very popular. We have recently planted a Snow Queen Birch tree Yvie, hoping for a lovely tree in a few years time. How tall was your sapling - ours was approx 8 foot, very pleased with it, even though it cost us nearly £50. Today I sowed some of the free Zinnia and Cosmos seeds courtesy of GW mag. planted out two small perennials, planted up a giant terracotta tub with hebe and aubrietia and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine.
Just checked greenhouses, yesterday all was well, today the *******mouse, has had my pea shoots and the sunflowers! All the compost is turfed up, some of the peas have gone, hes chewed through the shoots, and left the husks of the sunflowers. Hope he burnt his fet on the heated propogator!!!
Just "turned" the compost in the bins, pulled some weeds out of pots, watered my blueberries in greenhouse, checked on seedlings.Emptied pansies from hanging baskets Easter I usually re-pot with the summer stuff.
Not exactly gardening,but I got some ornate metal plant supports from Lidl for Sweet Peas,and to help the Clems up the wall.Very reasonable at less than a fiver.I topped up bird food and Bee Water,there are two big Bumbles slowly going in and out of wall holes! Also got Winston Churchill Fuchsias,love the colours,and two more Salvia East Friesland. All being well lots of planting to do tomorrow!😁😁
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Gardenwise, sowed some more seeds, cut back penstemons and tided up kniphofias.
We have recently planted a Snow Queen Birch tree Yvie, hoping for a lovely tree in a few years time. How tall was your sapling - ours was approx 8 foot, very pleased with it, even though it cost us nearly £50.
Today I sowed some of the free Zinnia and Cosmos seeds courtesy of GW mag. planted out two small perennials, planted up a giant terracotta tub with hebe and aubrietia and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine.
Also got Winston Churchill Fuchsias,love the colours,and two more Salvia East Friesland.
All being well lots of planting to do tomorrow!😁😁