What did you do in your garden today?

[Peace perfect peace]

I like and agree with what your doing ref budget control,
To many people have not got a clue what they can and can't to spend and it's then they fall into debt,
I wonder how many people have found out because of this decease running all over the world how close they live to becoming broke and couldnt afford to live life like they're living today if they loose their jobs etc????
Your correct in keeping a close eye of what you can and can't afford to spend "Well done you"

 

[Sean Regan]

I like and agree with what your doing ref budget control,
To many people have not got a clue what they can and can't to spend and it's then they fall into debt,
I wonder how many people have found out because of this decease running all over the world how close they live to becoming broke and couldnt afford to live life like they're living today if they loose their jobs etc????
Your correct in keeping a close eye of what you can and can't afford to spend "Well done you"

Thanks for your kind words.

I like to be organised. The wills and powers of attorney are done and registered.
The kids know they'll get what's left of what we have, divided equally between them when we're gone.

I've also got an "ICE" file, (In Case of Emergency) in my filing cabinet, which shows "where all the bodies are buried," in case I pop my cloggs before my wife. She doesn't get involved in the financial goings on (other than spending money). So we've no worries.

 

[Peace perfect peace]

Hi Sean,
Im much the same as you ref the future,
I think the only two concerns i have ref death and who's first is (A) if the wifes first then I'll look after what ever dog or dogs we have Ive promised her i wouldnt do anything daft and ref all we own is going to the animal rescue centre (B) I'll just continue a very quiet life here in the country, It really is quiet here and after years in HM, forces learning just how nasty man can be to humans i feel good living so near nature,
I was just sitting in the back garden reading a book and enjoying the company of the oldest dog (laying on the tiled floor) and a nice glass of wine, the air is clean and honestly "Sean" I swear you could hear a mouse fart
Now it just dont get much better than that,
Thanks for your reply, Im now off to my bed it's been a nice day,
Good night to all,

 

[Sean Regan]

Yesterday I was doing a bit of pruning, using the pair of secateurs I'd bought on impulse from Aldi some months ago. They were quite cheap and the pair I'd been using weren't cutting very well.

Anyway. I put them down somewhere and couldn't find them. I usually carry a large bucket around with me for clippings,prunings, weeds etc., so I may have put them in this bucket and chucked the lot in the green bin. I'm sure the odd trowel has ended up that way over time.
I wasn't going to empty the green bin to look for them. I went into the shed and found the old secateurs in drawer, plus two other pairs that had been replaced over time when they weren't working as well as they should.

I dismantled all three (they were fortunately not of the type, "no user serviceable parts accessible"), or whatever.
I cleaned them up sharpened the blades, re-alligned a couple (with a hammer), oiled them and reassembled them.
All three are now working perfectly.

I'll probably now find the ones I lost, somewhere in the garden.

 

[Sean Regan]

What did I do?

Apart from feeding the birds and the one squirrel, when it stopped some time after this, nothing other than give it "a coat of looking at," as it was chucking it down.

I quite like the look of the garden in the rain.

Mr Blackbird on the steps on his way down to the bird bath.

This starling was waiting for his turn. This one's a regular visitor in the morning. In the afternoon around 4.00pm, up to a dozen may appear, grab any remaining food in the ground feeder then they're away after only a couple of minutes.

The fountain, just vacated by a bathing bird.

I'm pleased that we still don't get any standing water on this new patio in heavy rain, since I cemented up the gap between the flags and the perimeter rocks, instead of having loose sand and replaced it with several short alkathene drain pipes.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

In my oldest garden area, last night sawed out two shrubs that were planted 20 years ago, just not right, will do some harsh pruning in a few more, and possibly taking out of another that is acting stupid. That will give space to others that are working better. have to move a gem of a hosta that is lost in there. its a nice blue that has a very structured cup on its leaves, certainly a better place to enjoy that I need to find. Its not working its gone.

 

[Sean Regan]

Today should have been a golf day, but I baled out. I would have been near the end of the round when the heavens opened.
That would have been a pain, as the clubhouse is still closed so we have to go home without changing, so I and all my gear would have been wet.
I bought another 2L pump sprayer from Wilko, so now I have one for pests, one for a rose tonic and one for a general seaweed based fertiliser.

Too wet to do any gardening today, so I'll have to do it tomorrow when it is forecast to be dry, followed by heavy rain on Sunday.

I've dozens of these unwanted shoots on the five wisterias to prune off. They can grow a couple of feet in less than a week.

These are some of them on the pergola on the back of the house, (taken from the bedroom window). I'll have to get up on my ladder, to get at them, but I'll be able to reach them all with either secateurs or my telescopic prune without havibg to move the ladder.

This photo will give you an idea how deceptively small is actually our garden. (excuse the raindrops on the window).

 

[Peace perfect peace]

I cleaned the garden a bit, manually water few of my delicate plants, tap washed all small basil plant (recent aphids attack)

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My ladies' fingers/ Okra and amaranth seedlings are growing, that I sown two days back.
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Branch cutting from drumstick, rauvolfia serpentina and pinwheel flower (this one for making my new bonsai).
Changed water of my lotus plant.
As its Sunday, I sprayed (neem oil + water) to keep pests away.

Today should have been a golf day, but I baled out. I would have been near the end of the round when the heavens opened.
That would have been a pain, as the clubhouse is still closed so we have to go home without changing, so I and all my gear would have been wet.
I bought another 2L pump sprayer from Wilko, so now I have one for pests, one for a rose tonic and one for a general seaweed based fertiliser.

Too wet to do any gardening today, so I'll have to do it tomorrow when it is forecast to be dry, followed by heavy rain on Sunday.

I've dozens of these unwanted shoots on the five wisterias to prune off. They can grow a couple of feet in less than a week.

These are some of them on the pergola on the back of the house, (taken from the bedroom window). I'll have to get up on my ladder, to get at them, but I'll be able to reach them all with either secateurs or my telescopic prune without havibg to move the ladder.

This photo will give you an idea how deceptively small is actually our garden. (excuse the raindrops on the window).

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View attachment 67145


View attachment 67146

Hi sean
Its the same here in france the weathers gone mad, One good thing here we dont get is the hose pipe ban,
I remember when we lived in north wales it was easter time and we'd had nothing but rain rain rain and then sleet and we got on the radio and in the papers a hose pipe ban ???????????????????????????????
But having said all this i see some parts of south wales are getting it bad ref the rain and snow.

Talking about you having to prune the wisteria, Ive got to do the same as ours grows to near the sky dish and it stops the pictures on the tv, So like you saturdays forcast late showers 8pm ish so its wisteria clipping time, its still in flower now but if i give it a good clipping we'll get a second show around september time.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

dug out a bunch of day lilies that had implanted themselves in the wrong area, gave them to my neighbor. Now raining. So house work and then

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Misty this morning from the rains, a good day for some pruning, and weeding.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I'm working on a few small garden projects. Here's the one I did today. I've always planted Butterflyweed around my mailbox post, but I decided to make it into a small garden space. Not sure exact what I'll be planting here, but Dense Blazing Star and Foxglove Beardtongue are being considered. Definitely want shorter natives that fill in nicely to help limit weeds, and those two should be good along with a few others.

 

[Sean Regan]

Just a bit of wisteria pruning.

I did go to Wilko's today, who have reduced to clear their 1k soluble lawn food from £4 to £3, so I bought two packs. I dislike any kind of granular feed.

 

[Peace perfect peace]

Hi sean,
Yes i agree ref granular lawn feeds, Inspite of using the Lawn feed spreader for granular i found it was'nt as good as liquid, in fact "terry"
english friend who now lives here in france had black marks all over his lawn after using granular,

I still find two simple products that work for keeping the lawn looking good, (A) epson salts as added to water, or used as from the box and then watered in (hose pipe & sprinkler,
(B) my own mixture of comphrey and water,

And very important regular mowing and i dont collect the cutting, I leave them to re feed the lawn,

 

[Peace perfect peace]

Ive not long had to come indoors for a while as the heats getting "hot "hot "hot, And ive upset the local wasp nest that i found in the tubing of the cross member of the swinging seat, I'd decided to have a coffee outdoors as a break from sorting some thorns i'd discovered growing under the Monkey Puzzle tree, now these trees are killers if you get a few stabs of the very pointed and sharp leaves so trying to get this thorn roots really is a pain,
As i sat on the seat i was joined by a few wasp's and then a few more and then i shot off the swing and could see they we're coming out the cross bar that holds the chain that holds the seat,
I hose piped the nest out and got out of the way, loads & loads of these wasp's came looking for the hose-piped holder,
So i gave the pipe to my dear dear wife and said i'll turn the water off,
She's not to happy, and my coffee went cold,

But some good news, the Epson salts i ordered 3 days ago from Amazon have been delivered to the local estate agents in the village and so these area ready for collection in the next hour or so,

This is the thing about living here deep in the countryside of France, Most parcels etc you have to collect from the nearest delivery point such as in our case the estate agents office,

None of the houses around these hamlets have numbers, ie # 1 or #2 etc its just your name on the post box and the area code on the letter's,
The posty knows who is who and so we get our french letters no problem (maybe i should have said french mail)

And so i'll be back out tonight about 7pm until 9pm ish when its cooler,

What a life we live "What a life"

 

[Andrew_]

Just pruned the tomatoes, somehow have 35 odd in the ground.

Cut this courgette as the other few on the plant weren't growing

Also sharpened the blades on the lawn mower.