What did you do in your garden today?

[Amateur Gardener]

Chopping down the dead fig trees.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

transplanted an extra hydrandea I had to a better spot. will just go about pulling and tiding up stuff here and there.

 

[Amateur Gardener]

Hack-and-squirting the Trees of Heaven in the backyard. Round-Up isn't having much of an effect, so I'm trying Tordon to kill it.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Spent time working on removing lawn for two new garden expansions. Then I went and cut down my tomato plants, pulled yellow lily pads out of my pond, and scooped some muck from the bottom. I also worked on collecting seeds for my new gardens.

Here's the pond today after I got done.

 

[Sean Regan]

Just a bit of "building maintenance,"

I noticed that there was a slight dip towards the back right-hand corner of our tea house.

I became aware of this because the top of the jukebox in that corner which is about 4ft long, didn't look quite level.

When I checked with a spirit level the left-hand corner was about half an inch lower than the right-hand one.

But the front of the building was straight and level.

I've two jukeboxes in here and they more or less fill the back wall. Their total weight is about 600lb.

It may be that when "our fox Fiona" built her den under it three years ago she may have done a bit of excavation and this was the result of it and maybe that I'd not noticed it until now.

So I needed to raise that corner up a bit, just over an inch and a half. (Well... I didn't have to.. It's not going anywhere...but I like things to be "right").
This might seem a bit of a job, but it's easy enough. It's just the access that's awkward. I was having to lay full-length on the ground to get the work done. Not easy when you're 80!

There's not a lot of room between the back of the building and the back fence and I had to take off the wood and mesh screen that stops foxes using the underneath for a den again.

It was just a question of using my car's jack to raise it up a bit at a time by placing it under the back beam until my spirit level said it was OK. Then putting some packing on top of the corner and two middle supports along the back. Then lowering the jack and check again, then re-fix the screen. The building just sits on short loose-laid brick piers on top of bits of paving slabs so these sort of adjustments are possible. It took about an hour, but I'm glad I did it.

 

[Sean Regan]

"Not a lot."
But it took me the best part of three hours.

Mowed the lawn.

Then took my loppers to next door's trees that overhang our garden. I took enough of it off to fill the green bin.
I can't reach the top branches with my Barnel telescopic pruner, even when I stand on the roof of the shed.

The garden's doing a bit though.


Lots of growth on the azaleas in the bed to the side of the patio. Tidied them up a bit by pruning ioff a few "bolters" so we'll get a more even display of blooms next year.

The phlox on the rockery and what was the pool waterfall has hidden most of the rocks. It should be a riot of colour next year.

Four of the little rhodos I bought from Aldi in the spring for £7.99 each, are growing well and filling a gap nicely where an azalea died last year.

The fifth one is blending in well here.

This sorbus to the side of the pagoda has a lot of berries.

We've a lot of colour in the garden now, but mostly green.

With a few exceptions.

We've had a lot of sun lately so the solar lights are still working, but I'll be taking them in next week, removing the batteries, cleaning them up and putting them away until next year.

 

[Sean Regan]

I took the solar lights in. The weather in the foreseeble future won't provide them with much solar energy.

We've had them for several years. We've about a dozen of them, but only use eight.
They are of a cheap variety, not designed to last. Like these.

The problem is that rain falling on the globe can run down the sides and can get into the works. That won't necessarily stop them working but it will rust the contacts. So with ours I put a band of black insulationg tape around them covering the edge of the metal body and attached to the glass, to keep any water out. It doesn't notice. Around now I take them into the garage, take the batteries out, spray the contacts with switch cleaner and pack them away in the discarded insulated polystyrene boxes with the thick sides, that my wife's on-line meat orders arrive.
The steel tubes I spray with 3 in 1 oil and put them in a separate box. I bring the batteries indoors, charge them up then put them away ready for next year (when they'll need another charge).

I sorted out the pot movers.

We've sixteen patio roses in ceramic pots that sit on plastic pot movers on the two patios.

These are ideal in the summer as any water that passes through the pots is retained in the pot mover and helps to keep the pot a bit cooler and retains any necessary moisture during hot days.

Not so good in the winter as the water would just sit there. So I drilled a hole in the centre of each mover and put a dab of silicone over it for the summer. Today I pulled all the silicone bungs out, so the movers will drain any surplus water onto the patios.

 

[Keithsmith5]

Hey all just wanted to share these new garden stakes i got, i got to personalise what plants i got, the only issue is that its a pack of 10 so i got six for me and the other 4 i gave to my mate. They were pretty cheap and came really fast. i love this added colour to my herbs, these are going in my kitchen and the other 2 are for my mini garden out front. I am planning to expand my garden next month so i will have to get more.
(i didnt know where to post these so i put it on a few fourms)

 

[Logan]

Planted some more wallflowers, tulips and polyanthus yesterday.

 

[Logan]

Planted some more polyanthus and started cutting down the Japanese anemones that have finished flowering then it started to rain.

 

[Sean Regan]

I don't know if it counts as "garden," but I cleaned out the gutters on the back of the house today.
I had a repair done to the corner of the gutter near the bathroom window earlier in the week and the workman mentioned the amount of moss in that gutter.

For years I've not let even the window cleaner go on the flat roof of the lounge extension, not since we had the roof repaired. It's only roofing felt and I didn't want him walking on it as it has gravel over it which is there as a fire retardant. So once a year for a couple of decades I've cleaned out the gutters.

It's easy enough to get on the roof. I just put my extending ladders through the beams of the pergola on the back of the house, then drag a second extending ladder up to put up against the top gutter. I always put a board between the feet of the ladder and the flat roof so they don't damage the felt. The beams of the pergola can easily take my weight as necessary, as I have to pass betweeen two to get on the flat roof.

It was just a matter of scooping out the moss in the gutters to a bucket. Then flushing the length of both the top and the gutter above the French windows with a hose.
While I was up there I scraped off three bucket loads of moss off the flat roof. I shall get some more gravel to replace that which came up with the moss. I had a good look at the felt where I could see it and it looks O.K.
My wife wasn't at all pleased with me doing this job now that I've turned 80.
But I wasn't going to take the chance of getting someone in who I'm sure wouldn't have been as careful with the roof as am I.

I didn't repair the gutter on the corner of the house, although I could have done, I do have some long extending ladders in the garage, that would have really stressed my wife out, so I got someone in to do it.

 

[zigs]

Tetters and I finished the polytunnel

 

[Sean Regan]

Just a bit of general maintenance, mowing and leaf collection.

Though I did get the Karcher out and give my brick lawn edging a go over. I don't like them to be too obtrusive, but over the year they do seem to attract moss in places. This could and does. then start to spread to the edge of the lawn, here and there. So just a light go over of the bricks gets rid of it.

They are wearing well, they were only cheap ones from B & Q and have been down for eleven years. Over that time they must have saved me hours of "edging."

Went into Aldi on Friday for some kitchen rolls and these cyclamen "followed me home." Two packs of six for only £2.99 a pack can't be missed. Might get some more next week.

 

[Logan]

@Sean Regan yes plants do that sometimes.

 

[Sean Regan]

We've had a few near misses lately with the ground feeders for the small birds and the squirrel.
There's now about three cats that visit our garden, one of which hides in these azaleas before attempting to pounce on the birds.

I've a row of short bamboo canes behind the low wall as an attempt to stop cats getting through, but it isn't that effective.
So I've ordered a roll of wire fencing, to replace them. At 40cms high it'll be pretty much invisible.
In places I may have to poke some of the azalea branches through it. But it won't be a problem at this time of the year.