What did you do in your garden today?

[Oliver Buckle]

Mulched my blueberries, planted out mangetout peas, or they could be sugar snaps, One lot didn't come up and I am not sure which. Brought my buckets with beans in out of the greenhouse, the cold weather is supposedly past, but this is England, anything could happen. Planted out sweet peas and gave some sweet peas and a couple of lavenders to a neighbour. Watered in greenhouse, mowed the front grass.
The missus tore a lot of ivy off an old stump in the lawn, it looked really rotten so I tried giving it a couple of whacks with the sledge hammer. It started to rock a bit, and then a mouse ran out and scooted across and into the hedge. Missus insisted I leave it then in case there are babies in there, not my take. There is always a surplus of rodents, I had two mice as pets as a child and ended up selling and giving away 108 mice when we were going away on Summer holiday, they make rabbits look infertile.

 

[Black_Thumb]

Don't you sunburn those little white winter legs.

Indeed. I did get quite a bit of sun today on the tractor. It was almost 90 degrees today with full sun, and I was riding the tractor for going on three hours. And yes, I had shorts on. LOL I'm guessing my kneecaps are probably fried.

 

[Sean Regan]

It was the week's shopping day today. I'd decided not to replace the three clematis along the side of the garage, as there's others, there. Presently they cost around £17 each in garden centres.

But I was in Asda this morning and spotted these,

a Mayleen,


Viticella Alba

and an Ashva.

They were small, in 3" pots, but three for a fiver? Couldn't resist.

I decided to tackle the "rotty bit" on the garage pergola. I re-built it sixteen years ago. I have since replaced a couple of cross beams, which wasn't a problem and I may have to replace a couple more later this year or next, but the two long main beams and the two posts are fine, except for this bearer between the top of the post and the main beam. It was very rotty. The one at the other end is OK. Their function is to spread the weight. If the post just connected to the beam, it would want to bend. I could push my finger half an inch through one side of this bearer at one end.

No problem, I'll just replace it. Well...There was a bit of a problem. The beam needed to be supported while I removed it and I didn't want the post "waggling about" whilst it was unsecured.



So I attached a bit of wood to the beam and the post on one side to take the weight.
It took the combination of hammer and chisel to remove all the wet wood, a hacksaw to cut through four screws and a mole wrench to remove the halves of the screws. All the time I'm trying to work around the cascading wisteria!

Fortunately, the beam was pretty much intact except around where some of the screws had been. But I dried it off with a hot air gun and then gave it and the top of the post a few coats of Cuprinol.
I had a bit of tanilised four by two and made a new bearer, gave the facing side a coat of Cuprinol and forced it in.
Then screwed it all together. Covered the countersunk screw heads with wood filler. Removed the bit of wood supporting the main beam.
Gave it all a coat of paint and put clear silicone around where the post, bearer and beam connect

Job done!

Looks no different!

 

[Oliver Buckle]

The handle broke on the wire leaf rake, snapped just abobe the joint between rake and handle. Getting the odd bit out of the tube in the rake was a pain, the slots on screws in the side were closed up. Worked them open, then tried to undo the screws which just spun in rotten wood, so then had to lever them out. Then the bit of wood wouldn't come out, rusted in. Stood on the wires of the rake and drove it out with a bar and a hammer, then cleaned out the inside of the tube. Then I had to reduce the diameter of the shaft so it would fit the tube, slowly, trying it frequently so I didn't go too far. Finally got it fitted, put in two new screws, and back to working order with a handle about four inches shorter, phew.
Bit of mulching, bit of hoeing, filled in a hole, spread some compost around the blackcurrants, and planted a row of carrots. I wasn't sure of the carrot seed so I put a few in the incubator, they germinated fine. Now I know that carrot really don't transplant well, and I have about a thousand more seeds in the packet that I now know are okay, but it is still really hard to just dump about twenty beautifully germinated carrots about an inch high; I'll do it tomorrow.

 

[Sean Regan]

Tied up more clematis, they are starting to put on a bit of a spurt.

Noticed the blossom has come out on our Stella cherry, more or less overnight.

The birds tend to get to the cherries before we do. I've tried putting a net over it, by they still get in and can trap themselves. So I don't bother now.

I got into this mayleen over the front door, there was quite a bit of dead stuff. I like it to cascade, so I'll have to prune off some of the untrainable top growth in a month's time.

I gave the path around the front bay window and the front step a go with Wet n' Forget.


Mowed the front lawn. The azaleas in the front garden will have a lot of blooms.

Cleaned my golf clubs, shoes and trolley. But won't play until Monday.

 

[Sheal]

The weather here has held up the first mowing of the lawns which I'll start over the next week. Meanwhile I've been out there today raking pine cones and hundreds of Beechnuts so they don't ruin the mower blades. The one and only Beech tree I have had a full crop late last year which happens every third year, so a break from raking for the next two.

 

[Sean Regan]

I bit the bullet today, and replaced the bearer on the other post on the garage pergola. Like the other, it was a right pain to get done. Worthwhile as. under the paint, part of it was soaking.
Took all of two hours. Fortunately, I still had a bit 4" x 2" left. otherwise, it would have been a trip to the wood yard next week and I'd have to buy a 3mtr length.
Luckily, neither the beam nor the post had any rot. I gave both a good coat of Cuprinol whilst I had my lunch. Then painted it and applied some clear silicone over the joints.

Got into the quinces on the side fence. I don't like them growing too tall as they shade the plants in that border, I can prune them from the lawn with my telescopic pruner, but it's a bit laborious.

The first of our clematis is coming out. The one on the fence by the kitchen window.

I let it do its "own thing," it fights for space with a jasmine in the same small bed.


This small acer is already nearly in leaf, it gets pruned several times during the year to stop it getting too big. It doesn't give up, keeps producing new foliage all summer.
It will get much bushier by next week.

Mowed the lawn, second time in five days
I need to get into the rockery tomorrow, (again) the phlox is beginning to flower, but there's quite a bit of grass I need to dig out. Why is it that grass is more keen to grow where you don't want it rather than where you do?
I'll paint the rest of the garage pergola.
Then it's just a bit of weeding and I'll be up to date.

Future jobs will be a bit of re-pointing of the path and smallest patio, replacing a couple of cross beams on the garage pergola that are a bit rotty and jet-washing the drive.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Got taken shopping, but when we got back I managed to run the electric rake over the back lawn and the the mower to pick up the bits

 

[Sean Regan]

Got into the rockery today, to get the grass out of it. It's a bit of a "baby and bathwater" situation, trying to avoid pulling out the phlox. But I got most of the grass out and a fair bit of moss. A few gaps but the phlox will spread out, a few flowers beginning to show.

Did a bit of painting on the garage pergola.

Then just had a check around.

The big acer in the front garden, is none the worse for its usual winter prune.

Lots of buds on it.

The "relegated" roses on the side of the drive are doing well.

The wisteria on the side of the house has more flower buds on it this year. Probably because I've stopped it growing further along the wall.

There's fewer at the "front end" but some may yet come. They are of course more than the length of the house away from the root.

The wisteria between the tea-house and the shed is doing well.

Blooms like these, "everywhere."

 

[Sean Regan]

Part 2.

These on the rose patio are doing well except for two, but "replacements are on the way."
No sign of the dreaded blackspot. I'll give them another spray of Sulphur Rose, next week

Heathers, "the flowers that keep on giving."

The sambucus survived the winter in its big tub.

Sadly, I have to report that there's been no sign of 'arry the 'edghog.

He left his insulated house which had plenty of hay in it sometime during the winter. He may have made his way to go under the tea-house. But he might have come out as they sometimes do and been taken by a fox, or died under the tea-house. I can't imagine why he would want to leave his house as it was very secure with the fence around it and only he and small birds could get through it.

So we're going to give it a week and then open the little door in the side fence to see if any others want to come in.

 

[Don Perry]

It seems you Brits call a garden what we call an enclosed back yard. I live on 5 acres, with a 2 acre lawn . My garden is a 20x25 foot tilled space for tomatoes, okra, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, yams, and other beds of edible crops. I have a 60x20 foot strip behind the shop for 4 rows of corn mixed with watermelon . To me that is a garden.
Good luck with your trees and shrubberies.

 

[Sean Regan]

It seems you Brits call a garden what we call an enclosed back yard. I live on 5 acres, with a 2 acre lawn . My garden is a 20x25 foot tilled space for tomatoes, okra, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, yams, and other beds of edible crops. I have a 60x20 foot strip behind the shop for 4 rows of corn mixed with watermelon . To me that is a garden.
Good luck with your trees and shrubberies.

As they say, "each to their own."

I don't think anyone here in the UK would insult the countless gardens in this country like this, "a yard."

What you call a garden, we'd call "a vegetable patch."


A yard is where we would park commercial vehicles behind an industrial unit.

 

[Sheal]

It seems you Brits call a garden what we call an enclosed back yard. I live on 5 acres, with a 2 acre lawn . My garden is a 20x25 foot tilled space for tomatoes, okra, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, yams, and other beds of edible crops. I have a 60x20 foot strip behind the shop for 4 rows of corn mixed with watermelon . To me that is a garden.
Good luck with your trees and shrubberies.

With respect @Don Perry, you must remember us Brits live on an over populated island with no room for expansion. Five acres of private land here is not generally available and if it was it would cost a great deal more than in America. I'm talking six figure amounts.

Yes, many of us have gardens which like Sean's above are filled with plants. Many of us don't have the ground or climate to grow vegetables or other crops.

 

[Ruderunner]

I don't think Don meant disrespect but rather pointing out differences in language.

I'm a little bummed. Been working on hardening off my seedlings and things went poorly yesterday. Was bright and sunny, I waited until the frost had burned off and set the pants outside. Brought them in looking ok. Checked them just a bit ago and many brown leaves on the tomatoes. Others look unscathed.

 

[Sean Regan]

Monday's are golf days, but as it was a Bank Holiday and was going to rain, I baled out.
It would have been very busy, so with visitors there'd be a lot of slow play, we'd be standing on several tees, waiting in the rain. A round, which would normally take no more than three and a half hours, would take five. "Been there, done that.".
I'm going to the garden centre in a bit, to get a couple of plastic pots, some compost and top soil.
The two "dodgy" plants on the rose patio will go into those pots and the two David Austin ones when they arrive later this week, will go in their glazed ones.
If the "dodgy ones" recover, they can "do some time" in the big Apta pot by the front door, presently occupied by the heathers. If not, they'll go in the bin.

I've other plants that went in here last year. But this year, I'll change them over every couple of weeks, as they will be getting very little sun here.

I can't make up my mind as to whether I wasted my time this morning, binge-watching all three episodes of, "Why didn't the ask Evans?" on ITVX.

Edit
I went to the garden centre for what I needed.

Last year I bought this pot of three lavenders there in July for £14.99

They died in "the big freeze" so I bought the three small ones for £4.99 each, in the previous photo.

I noticed today they had some similar to those I bought last year. This year they are priced at £34.


That was ridiculous.