What did you do in your garden today?

[Oliver Buckle]

Not much. A pain in my ankle kept me awake, I think a slight Wegener's flare. I woke with a completely numb foot and a fair bit of pain at a point where a vein bled subcutaneously a few years ago. It has improved no end, but not completely gone, not a repetition of the bleed I hope, that took ages to work it's way to the surface and left a hole that took ages to heal and lots of visits to the nurse for dressings. I shall have something to tell my phone appt. with rheumatology next week.
Finally got out there in the afternoon and brought a few things out of the greenhouse, it was a nice day and another predicted tomorrow, added a couple of stumps to my 'nature' log pile, and watered a little.

 

[lifegardener]

Admired the beautiful ice-plant opening and closing their fluorescent red blooms.

 

[Zroota]

I trained my German ivy to grow on a wire in my veranda.

 

[Sean Regan]

As it was a golf day, I hadn't intended to do anything in the garden. But when I came home, I went down to the tea-house to get a beer to go with my evening meal. Big mistake, because I noticed there was a crack in the centre window of the centre door. It was full width. I've no idea how this happened, maybe it was "plastic fatigue."

They are re-cycled light defusers, part of some light fittings scrapped when my firm re-fitted a shop.
Fortunately I have a couple of spares. So me being me, I decided to do it this afternoon. I smashed the cracked one to get it out. It was quite brittle.

The door can be removed, as it's secured top and bottom, by four bolts one at each corner.
The windows fit into grooves on all four sides, so I had to remove the right-hand side upright of the frame. So just a case of sliding the new one in. Not quite, I remembered that (thirty-six years ago) I took an inch of each of the long sides, before making the door. If I didn't, the little wooden panel in the bottom would have been only about three inches high and looked a bit daft.

So I had to carefully take in inch of the new one with a hacksaw.. Took an age as it would easily have cracked.

Once re-assembled, just a case of gluing back the little uprights of hard wood, which make each window look as if it has three panes. A couple of others had come loose.

Job done!

Top

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Nothing, GPA (Wegeners) is flaring and I have a numb foot, a painful leg, and feel generally rubbish. I have been to A&E on Sunday and my GP this morning, now I have a telephone appt. with rheumatology at St. Thomas' in the morning. I know the drugs I need are out there, I hope they come up with them and I can get back out soon. There's lots needs doing, trouble is the condition is so rare the non-specialists really don't know how to treat it.
My cauliflowers have all fallen over, I must get out and investigate that, cut worm?

 

[DirtMechanic]

I "decomposted" some plants and added pine bark mulch to the mix for better aeration and replanted them. I have not used the kitchen compost bin in 6 years so I opened it. I learned some things. Whole lemons and limes without air will not compost. Neither will avocado seeds. I also found a large spoon which was nice. And I had no idea how many stickers are on our store bought vegetables. Many things do not compost well in the bottom of those square plastic compost bins unless turned like my big compost pile. And eggshells fooled me too, without air they just sit. So much for tossing eggs into a tomato hole.

 

[Sean Regan]

Cleared a lot of bluebell foliage from the rear bed and the one by the kitchen window. I like to do it before it gets mushy, I tend to drag out a few bulbs when I do this, but we've far too many anyway. Either tomorrow after golf or Thursday after shopping, I'll clear the main border.

There's quite a few in the front garden under the azaleas. The "lollypop" acer is now in full leaf, it'll go a darker green as we move through the summer.

 

[Sheal]

I hope your foot gets better soon Oliver.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I hope your foot gets better soon Oliver.

Thanks , still hobbling about like I am a hundred and ten, but the nurse took all the details of what's happening and I get to speak to the main man on Thurs. found some co-codamol I was prescribed back in 2022, I had used two out of the packet, I can handle pain, but one of them helped today, and I got a bit of sleep in the afternoon. Managed to open and close the greenhouse and water my Moneymakers and cucumbers, then felt shattered, came in a filled a sheet of paper with all the jobs I want to do when I feel better.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

And I had no idea how many stickers are on our store bought vegetables.

I hate these, especially the ones that say 'Ripe and ready', why the **** does a label for something that will go off next week have to survive six years composting? Why not use paper and organic glue?

 

[Rienell]

Weeded and replanted some beans that turned to mush. Also, planted some raspberry bushes in our berry runs.

 

[Black_Thumb]

That looks just absolutely fantastic, Sean!! Such a beautiful yard and garden!! Well done, sir! Well done!!

 

[Black_Thumb]

Hello, friends. I have been working on other projects in my garage, so I haven't been posting updates on my yard. My wife just went back to California to visit our son, daughter-in-law, and new grandson. My sister is here visiting from Arizona. Today, I actually was able to get outside and do some yard work. I mowed my yard, and then I sprayed all the weeds growing up through cracks in my asphalt driveway. I got a quote to have my driveway re-surfaced as well. That will be another $25,000+ to get the driveway fixed. I'll just have to spend my children's inheritance, I guess.

My wife planted some potatoes in two laundry baskets, and we put them out on the deck. Here is one of them. The potatoes are growing superbly!!

I got out the long extension ladder and trimmed this tree. It might be hard to tell from the photo that much was done, but prior to the trimming, it had branches hanging down onto the chicken coop, and a few other branches nearing the ground. I cut everything back. The tree also has a huge poison ivy vine intertwined throughout the upper branches, so I cut that out too. Yes, I ended up with poison ivy on my skin, and now I'm dealing with that. Such is life.

This is a photo of a little garden/sitting area that my wife is working on. She isn't done yet (obviously), but she's working hard on it. I think it's looking pretty good.

This next photo is one of our many raised beds that my wife planted chard and lettuce in. As you can see, both items are growing rather well. I didn't amend the soil this spring. It's leftover soil from last year, and it's working out great! I don't really think I need to amend it every year anyway, but some people do. At the bottom of the photo outside the box, you can see a couple of the lilies I planted last year. They are gorgeous when they bloom. The green plants next to those I have no idea about. I want to say Eleutherine, but I am not good at plant identification.

 

[Sean Regan]

That looks just absolutely fantastic, Sean!! Such a beautiful yard and garden!! Well done, sir! Well done!!

Thanks for that.
Today's the best it will look this year. The wisteria over the French windows is already dropping its blooms.

There's still some rhodos to flower, but the azaleas are also nearly all out. They both have a very short season.

But we've16 roses in pots on the two patios which should flower for several months.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

That co-codamol works, I managed to water the greenhouse and mow the back lawn, then I gave myself a sitting down job breaking up twigs and branches into bits that would fit together in the H.kulture. I expect I shall pay for it.