What did you do in your garden today?

[Neno Baylov]

Used my weed whacker to cut these weeds.

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MALVA SYLVESTRIS

Yes, it is an invasive species in ornamental gardens, it is difficult to mow, otherwise it is a beautiful herb.
The colors are listened to, a cure for several diseases

 

[Sean Regan]

Not a lot today as it is sunny but very cold.

Just tied up a few more clematis, which are showing rapid growth.

Now that the fence is finished, I've rebalanced the wisteria branches. They lend themselves very well to being repositioned. I use very strong garden wire to tie them. I find it's ideal as you need only to wrap a bit around the branches and the wires. So no chance of them later being unseen and forgotten behind foliage, cutting into a branch as it grows. They just expand a bit.

Can't do anything with the height of the second panel. The roots of the tree on the other side has pushed up the concrete base panel at this end.

I'm pleased with the progress of the four new hebes in this narrow bed. As always there's a lot of bluebells.

I'm also pleased with the progress of our roses. This time last year they got hit by a late frost and later, by a lot of blackspot.

This year I've been using this.

Sulphur Rose.

They say as well as spraying both sides of the leaves, you should also spray the area around the roots.

So far, no trace of blackspot and many already showing flower buds. But it's early days, yet.

Even those in the "alley of shame" which gets hardly any sun, are doing just as well

 

[Esther Knapicius]

@Sean Regan --what type of animal for the "summer house"?

 

[Sean Regan]

@Sean Regan --what type of animal for the "summer house"?

This one.

This is just his feeding station.

Don't you just love those little legs?
They're suprisingly long really.

I'm going to swop over his houses, so I can give the first one a good clean out as the bedding has been in there for six months, whilst he was hibernating.
With the new one, I've put ventilation holes in, as he was "cooking" a bit in the hot weather last year, despite the house being under a canopy of azaleas and close to the side fence, so was in the shade. It's got an additional oversize lift off roof I made for it to give the entrance more protection from the rain and has door stops as feet and on a paving slab, so out of any damp and he's got "a bit of a patio."
That's some extra straw I left him which he used to block up the inner doorway, when he decided it was time to hibernate.

I can then get the original one ready to change over in September, put in extra hay and a bit of insulation under the floor.

He did have aspirations of running away and joining the hedgehog circus as a tightrope walker, but had to give it up as he can't get out of our garden.

This is at my wife's insistance. Hedgehogs like to wander, but some have got run over crossing our very quiet road. I'd never forgive myself if I let that happen.

But if she ever changes her mind......

I made this to cover a hole I'd stitched drilled in the concrete base panel in the side fence.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

@Sean Regan , we don't have those here.

 

[Suzisart]

Ack, this was a great idea, but my post wasn't saved b/c I was not signed in (password issues, as usual).
1. I planted poppies in the sunny historic alley behind my 125 y/o house. They have germinated and I am unsure what to do next - hopefully, I can relocate some.
2. The climbing hydrangeas on the garden fence are thriving, but they have never bloomed in the eight years of residence. We are in Zone 7 and they get some good sun now but won't when the crepe myrtles leaf out in June. I dig in compost each spring. I fear I didn't untangle the root mass sufficiently... Advice is MOST welcome.
3. I am attempting to train a white lilac into a standard in a sunny patch in the front. It is well established and I have cut back all but two candidates, allowing sufficient foliage for photosynthesis.
4. I hired an arborist to prune my weeping plum to grow more up in the sunny front yard "orchard," and it is much improved. it leaves a bit more room for the fig. Each summer I make many tarts and jams with my local produce, which gives me great pleasure (and extremely local, organic produce).
5.We all learn from each other. Thanks for any and all advice!

 

[dirtdigs]

FINALLY got outside to play, planted some lilies, uncovered my tulips, got my power washer up and running.
Watched the dog chase rabbits and squirrels.

A GREAT DAY

 

[DirtMechanic]

Finally repotted the last of the seedlings. Impatiens! I actually grew some! My shop looks like the aftermath of a spring break party with all the solo cups. Also potted on the eggplants and a couple dozen peppers.

 

[Sean Regan]

Not a lot today as it was raining on and off.
Sorted out one of my trail cameras. This is the one that cover's activity on the patio, particularly around 'arry's feeding station.
As well as the hedgehog I like to check on how much of nuisance are the neighbours' cats during the night.
I 've secured a bit of brush handle to one of the planters with some screws in the top on which to hang the camera.
I also made a rain cover for it out of the last of the paint roller tray, then painted the post. So it's as unobtrusive as I can make it.

I then "remodelled" my home made bird ground feeder.

I made it to only allow birds no larger than the blackbirds to use it, particularly the naffin' wood pigeons.

Both Syd the squirrel and 'arry can get under there as they can crouch down, the wood pigeons can't. I just made a wideer diameter base out of a bigger plant saucer, to make it even harder for the pigeons, who do still try, but give up.

The cover is on a post with a socket at the bottom that fits over a bolt that goes through the base, so can easily be removed to clean the removable white tray and refill it.

The base of another plant saucer keeps much of the rain off, but any larger and the birds won't feel secure enough. As it is they've got a good view of any possible predators through the mesh of an old electric fan cover.

 

[Meadowlark]

While I'm certainly an advocate for modern powered equipment, the old ways and tools are often still the most efficient and effective. This old hand plow is more effective than my gas-powered tiller or tractor cultivator because it enables using a surgeon's knife instead of a club on weeds. It also allows close intensive planting that otherwise would almost be impossible.

My bean patch has navy, pinto, canelli, and cow peas for harvest shelling interspersed with soybeans which are not harvested but used for soil building.

Not only effective but also excellent exercise.

 

[Black_Thumb]

Today, we put in this edging and mulch around our bushes and around the daffodils at the base of our Dogwood trees. No idea what kind of bushes these are but there you have it!

 

[Sean Regan]

Didn't do much, just checked on our Stella cherry, I pruned it hard back last year as it was getting too big for its location.
Plenty of blossom.

I bought 'arry a new food station, the old one had a few cracks in it and had weathered so it was hard to see him in it from the French windows. I kept the old base as the new one was black. I've kept it as a tray in the garage for his cat food saxchets and dry and wet pellets.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Got some lobelia seed a while ago, and it germinated. I potted up fifty of them, looking forward to giving a few away
It was a day for potting things up, I went through my variegated box cuttings and potted up the ones that had rooted, also some spare tomatoes for my daughter, also some lavender cuttings that had rooted and needed separating. Planted out the first chili, it is in the greenhouse with the fig tree, which spreads a wide root system, so I planted it in a bottomless flowerpot with a nice rich mixture in it and worked a bit into the surface where I put it.so it can escape downwards.

 

[Sean Regan]

Should have been a golf day today, but as it was raining, I didn't bother, same with any gardening.
Checked the trail cameras.
'arry went straight into his new feed station, around 8.00pm. probably didn't notice it was a different box.

Here on his way, close to the little wall.

At the back of the garden, the camera on the side of the shed picked up a young fox, which must have scaled one of our six ft fences.

 

[Sean Regan]

Tried out my new camera which arrived today. The controls are prety similar to the old one.
Took these photos.

Registering the guarantee was a pain, they wanted a scan of the receipt.

Never had to do that with any purchase before, some costing several times more than this camera.

I guess it's because cameras are often stolen from retail stores.