What did you do in your garden today?

[Don Perry]

I planted four rose bushes for my wife and played with my new tractor. I have so many projects planned for the tractor . clearing cedars, transporting fire wood from a fallen oak tree, re-graveling the front driveway, and brush hogging about five acres are just a few jobs.

 

[Sean Regan]

Should have been a golf day today, but my two regular partners baled out due to "domestic requirements," but we'll all be out again on Friday. I could have joined another group, but I didn't bother I could find things to do in the garden.
The new Flymo " Scirroco" blower/vac arrived today. Stupid name for a blower, "Mistral" would have been better, but perhaps something else has that name. I think an air-fryer.

It's an improvement on the "cheapo" I had as if that got bunged up with earth, it was a case of removing a couple of dozen screws to get at the insides. But other than that it was well made, but it's now in the plastics bin.

The new one's so much easier to get to if anything's jammed.

The new one's supplied with a rubbish shoulder strap, worse than the "cheapo" but I had a far better one off an old golf bag I could use. Typically, the assembly instructions were all incomprehensible tiny pictures, but I managed to sort it without them. There's probably a video on YouTube, as there is for everything else.

One of the three azaleas that surround the sambuca in the big tub in the middle of the garden "had taken a turn for the worse," so I wasn't going to persevere with it, dug it up, cut off the dead bits and re-planted what was left out of sight in the corner of the garden. "I'm giving it a chance." Went to the local garden centre and bought two small ones. They don't look too bad. Seven quid each.

The original three I bought about seven years ago. I wanted three of the same variety, but could only get two. Typical! They are all pink but the ones at the back flowered three weeks after the other two. Now we've three different ones, so it doesn't really matter.

I'm about ready for our new troughs that should arrive on Friday.
They'll be going where the old ones were, either side of the way on to the "rose patio."

They will be bigger than the old ones. To save space, they'll go half on the bottom step. I've already got some door stops to use as feet to keep the wood out of the wet. But I'll have to make the front ones longer. The old ones sat on the step OK, but the new ones are deeper, so would probably tip forward, I've some 1.25" black polypipe to make longer feet for the front, so the troughs end up level.

 

[Sean Regan]

Our two troughs arrived this afternoon, a day early. Won't complain, it saves my wife having to worry about accepting them tomorrow when I'm playing golf.

I guess they're OK for the money. I'm not sure what the density is of "Swedish Redwood," at a guess, one stage up from Balsa. But no matter, they seem strong enough. I say strong enough but like most wooden stuff you buy for the garden, it's thrown together with nail guns. I had visions of one day lifting one up with three heavy pots in it and everything falling through the bottom. So I took the precaution of putting a screw through each end of each of the bottom slats, into the sides. I may stick a few more screws in the body "elsewhere," tomorrow afternoon.

Got the first coat of the mahogany woodstain on. Inside, outside and underneath. They'll be dry enough by tomorrow afternoon for a second coat.

Went to Wilkos for some big washers for when I attach the front feet I'm going to make. You can buy an assortment of nuts, bolts, washers, screws, cup hooks ect., as many as you can fit into a small plastic bag for £3.75. It's a bargain. You can never have too many different sizes of screws. Also bought two packs of dahlias, three for £3. I found "somewhere" to put them in.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

@Sean Regan , really liked the idea of a bird bath, bought one 20 years ago, realized just another chore I did not need, keeping it cleaned ,and filled. Our birds have a running creek Today, just weeding.

 

[Logan]

All that I've done is water the pots and containers can't do anything until the bin has been emptied tomorrow but the weather is going to get cold again.

 

[zigs]

Fitted the door that I built to the new greenhouse

 

[Logan]

Looking good @zigs

 

[SeniorCitizen]

Made a planter of recycled material using a 5 gallon plastic container, western red cedar wood from a 50 year old fence when 1" x 12 " pickets were available,

recycled copper wire and shop made staples.

 

[Sean Regan]

Didn't start until mid afternoon as it was a golf day in the morning. Got the legs made for one of the troughs. Some 1.25" polypipe black waste pipe and bits of broom handle. Cut the pipe to length, ram the door stop down the pipe followed by the brush handle and cut off at the end of the pipe. Screw through some reinforcing timber against the angle of the base and sides and the end of the slat.

Had to do a bit of "fettling," no slat in the middle it's an even number, so had to make a false bit of slat to take the leg otherwise the middle leg would not be...well.. in the middle. The patio steps are level but the patio isn't, there's a fall for drainage to both left and right. So the left leg had to be longer than the middle one and the right one slightly shorter than that. Checked with my spirit level. It's spot on.
It'll be easy to blow any leaves etc., out from under it when necessary. If it wasn't half on the step, it would cut down on the room on the patio.

Anyway, the job's nearly done. This one will need a few more screws on the corners, to reinforce the nails and another coat of paint, but that can be done in situ. I've the other one to do tomorrow.
Tried out the hebies, they've more room than in the old troughs and you can't see the pots from the French windows..

 

[Sean Regan]

All set to finish the troughs this morning, then it snowed!
Clearing up now, but will probabably have to work in the shed. I'd use my bench in the garage, if it weren't full of youngest son's spare furniture!

 

[Sean Regan]

It's all done and dusted. Tops rubbed down and second coat on. I put 36 screws in the end of the panels in each to reinforce the tiny pin nails. This will make them last longer. I dislike pin nails but these days you've no choice. You couldn't buy the wood for what they cost.

I dug out the solar lights and got them working again. But I'm only bothering with eight.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Sowed my second lot of peas. I use plastic drinking cups, I can get 80 for £1 and I warm up a tent peg and put a hole in the bottom. If I plant out seed mice get them, I like to get them a bit established first. They are lined up in the germinater in my shed with two planks covering them, those mice get everywhere.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

Mulched asparagus which should be appearing soon. Wheat straw mulch.

 

[zigs]

Sowed my second lot of peas. I use plastic drinking cups, I can get 80 for £1 and I warm up a tent peg and put a hole in the bottom. If I plant out seed mice get them, I like to get them a bit established first. They are lined up in the germinater in my shed with two planks covering them, those mice get everywhere.

Yep, I used to plant them in a length of guttering put into the rafters of the greenhouse away from the mice. When they were big enough I slid the whole lot out into a shallow trench

 

[zigs]

Rebuilt Steve the scarecrow and put him on Sentry duty on Tetters new flowerbed