What did you do in your garden today?

[DirtMechanic]

More likely a new potty place for the kitty.

Not everybody trades in dollars.

 

[Meadowlark]

Finished adding compost to all my walkways today.

Garden is almost fully planted with some melons and Jicama yet to go in. It has been a cool spring here and tough on the hot weather plants. Soon it will be time to harvest the early spring veggies and get the summer cover crops going.

 

[Sean Regan]

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I did a bit of re-pointing on the patio behind the shed and a bit of the path. It's a pain. Ideally you need a cement mixer to mix mortar properly. Doing it in a bucket is not ideal. You can buy ready mixed mortar, but it's more expensive that way and they often use red sand, which isn't any good for me. I need yellow or silver sand.
I dry mix the cement, sand and yellow dye, dry. I keep tipping the lot from one bucket to another, it helps to get a better mix. Then add the plasticiser and a drop of water. I like it just damp, you make less of a mess and it dries more quickly.

I've still got quite a bit to do, down towards the summer house, so it will have to wait until we get another couple of rain free days.

The wisterias are doing nicely.

All blooms no foliage yet, leaves, will come later, from the same places.

For those unaware, this is for what you are looking. Growth where there's no flowers. The central stem here will "grow and grow" if you don't pinch out what you don't want. You'll be doing it all summer any way. but not as often "if you get in early."

This acer at the bottom of the garden is always a delight with its change of colour through the summer. It starts off this pale green and pink. It needed its first trim as it does of several through the year, as I don't want getting too big.

So it got one.

The sambucas is doing well.

There are lots of these tiny blossom heads on it.

I gave it a spray with Bayer "Bug spray." These plants are susceptible to black fly infestation. A few years ago it got covered with them overnight, so many the foliage was wilting. I had to train a hose on it and wipe it all down by hand. It was a real wilted mess, but It looked none the worse for it the following day it had fully recovered. I also sprayed the acers and the giant lilies. The pack says it should be used on the latter. I think the only thing that kills lily beetles is a hammer!

The phlox on the rockery is coming out, (there are more big rocks underneath all that).

Can't say the same for our mimosa we bought in March.

When I complained about it, the supplier said, "see how it goes." I'm going to send them this photo to show that it "ain't going."

Heathers "The plants that keep on giving."

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Sent you a message, Sean.
Damn lily beetles. I try and get my hand under them very gently , then disturb the plant and they drop off straight into my hand. I can crush them with my thumb nail, but they are tough.

 

[Sean Regan]

I try much the same thing with them. I read somewhere, that if they are disturbed they drop to the ground and lie on their backs, so they are impossible to see and I believe it!

 

[Sean Regan]

Shopping day today, so couldn't get into the garden until after lunch. Rain scheduled for 3.00pm. So I just mowed the two lawns and then came in. It's 3.45pm and still no rain. Typical BBC weather forecast.

 

[Sean Regan]

It's not a good photo as it's on zoom and through our French windows. But I'm pretty sure it's a sparrowhawk on our side fence. We've always seen them around now and again over the years.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Started on a largish wood store. potted up my aubergine seedlings, watered greenhouses. It always seems like I am being cheated watering the greenhouse when it is raining, it was doing it quite hard, so I went in.

 

[Sean Regan]

Nothing today, I'm watching snooker on the TV over the tennis on my laptop. But I did go to Travis Perkins this morning to get some more silver sand for when there's two consecutive dry days and I can get on with my pointing.

 

[Sheal]

But I'm pretty sure it's a sparrowhawk on our side fence. We've always seen them around now and again over the years.

Yes @Sean Regan it is a Sparrowhawk and it's colouring suggests a female.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Sorted out my canes, they were stored in the rafter of the greenhouse and blocking the light a bit, so out they all came and I have started building places for beans, Sometimes I do rows, sometimes wigwams, it depends how the mood takes me, I don't think either has any particular advantage. I have Cobra climbing French beans, Blauhause, blue climbing french beans, Scarlet Emperor runners, and a spotted bean called Rio de Janairo the missus brought back from holiday in Madeira all just starting, they will be inside for a bit yet, a late frost is still possible, but I am getting ready.
Planted out half a dozen cauliflowers, some more to go, but six is a good start.
Potted on the aubergines.
Found my village has a plant exchange on facebook. Over the last few days I have given away something like six or eight each of tomatoes and cucumbers, and four or five each of rhubarb, globe artichoke, and lavender. My greenhouse is a lot clearer and I have some good karma to draw on.

 

[Sean Regan]

Did a bit in the front garden. Shaped the hedge near the corner of our bay window. It's actually in next door's garden, but I look after my side and the top. There's a tall azalea at the end, the flowers are purple, bloom early and they look a bit "plasticy." The viburnum to the left got a trim.

There's a taller viburnum on the right, that got a trim. In front of it, is a big pink rhodo. It was forcing its way through the row of azaleas. So I pruned it. The azaleas will fill the gap during the year.
The flowers will be out in a week.

There's about half a dozen azaleas, I layered and re-planted, from the original we bought in a 4" pot thirty years ago.

The grass always suffers round the edge of the lawn underneath them. I've got rid of the moss, re-seeded it and it's recovering.

This is the area behind all the plants. I made this post and wire fence thirty years ago to separate our garden from next door's as I didn't like the post and panel fences that have many of our neighbours.
The wild bluebells got a bit trampled whilst I was pruning the backs of our plants and the rubbish that grows through it from next door.

Although I've pruned them a bit, the azaleas, rhodo and viburnum are encroaching onto the footpath. I'll have to prune them back more in the winter.
That car isn't usually there. It's a friend's from three doors away, it's just there as he's jet-washing his front "garden," which he had paved over as they have two cars.

 

[Don Perry]

I got the tractor out and plowed up 60 foot of soil made 4 passes at about 10" deep. Then I got the cultivator out and mixed those rows in. Those rows are for "Peaches and Cream ear corn" and cantaloupe.
I planted what I had in starts and Poked seeds to the end of the row. I'll plant cantaloupe seed in the row next to that tomorrow. I replaced two jalapeño plants that were lookin dead with two cucumber plants. I'll water them in in the morning.

 

[Don Perry]

Not much. I watered everything including Wife's roses and Begonias. I used the Miracle Grow feeder with a package of Miracle Grow. Going camping in the morning and I won't be back until late Wednesday.

 

[Sean Regan]

As we’d not seen ‘arry, our hedgehog since the end of last year at all, I opened the little door in the fence for the first time ever, about a week ago.

Last night the trail camera on the side of the tea-house picked up an image.

It’s not very clear but it’s definitely a hedgehog. Unfortunately the file is too big to post.

As to whether it’s ‘arry, I doubt it.

1, it’s very small, but he would have lost a lot of weight over the winter.

2, ‘arry never moved that quick!

I checked his house. This is the summer one which I changed for the insulated winter one a couple of months ago, when I found he wasn’t in it. I just dumped a lot of hay in it, but “someone” has made it into a nest, but it was empty.

I’ll put some cat food in the feeder tonight and we’ll see if the other camera picks anything up other than cats or pigeons.