What did you do in your garden today?

[Colin]

Hi,

Well done Esther in raking the leaves. If you lived here you wouldn't need to rake leaves at all; we have two big oak trees plus other smaller trees and the high wind that is frequent up the valley clears the leaves for us in fact it tries to clear the trees too.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[zigs]

Took more cactus cuttings

 

[Logan]

The seeds are coming up that i did last Tuesday.
Left is cucumber and right is ergeron.

 

[mg guy]

Hi,



You've got a lovely home there mg guy; it looks very pretty and lovingly cared for. Thanks for sharing the picture.

Kind regards, Colin.

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Thanks, Colin.
You have quite the interesting property as well, I might add!
Winter holds it's grip here, but hopefully the really bitter cold temps. are leaving.
We can get some good "spring teaser" days in February-so hopefully I can continue on with the back of the place. The pots on the patio didn't make the fall cleanup, and it now sports a sort of gothic feel. LOL

 

[Esther Knapicius]

forget it, snowing and now raining. glad I filled the bird feeders yesterday.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Many thanks mg guy for your kind comments. Your home is very impressive and I like the paintwork; is the paint Benjamin Moore Exterior satin? The colours really do suit the building; I'm most impressed.

It's bitterly cold here too and the prevailing breeze adds a chill factor taking my breath away. Earlier this afternoon I had been posting on another thread when I thought what am I doing spending so much time on the keyboard so I put on my Eskimo kit and wandered up the garden with the camera. I didn't do any work in the garden other than take pictures but I'm delighted by the work I carried our last year removing trees and hedges plus installing the new fence etc. Shrubs I planted appear to be doing OK and the recent 200 daffodils are popping up all over which really has cheered me up. I mulched the area by the hut and intend to do lots of mulching this year; the remaining grass is going to be paths covered in woodchips. The Pachysandra cuttings still look OK in the cold frame. Whilst removing stumps and roots etc from the hedge at the top of the garden I took a picture of a few of the stones I found.

The garden is very steep but from the top between the trees the view across the valley is breathtaking; I also designed and built the garden hut and its heavy flagged base with a short very steep pathway up into the garden; there are plenty of steps but I wanted this pathway allowing me to drag the heavy shredder and rotavator up; just dragging the rotavator to the top of the garden gives me a good workout; I'm looking forward to when the garden ever dries out if it will then I can use the rotavator in anger. A week or so ago I planted ten assorted Hostas at the top of the garden but working in the garden is most unpleasant indeed; the steep slope is bad enough but wind; hail; sleet; snow; rain and even sunshine makes it very hard work but I can either sit on my behind moaning or get on with it. I'm surprised I managed to take the pictures today after it rained solid the entire day yesterday.

The garden is mature with some wonderful trees and these will make a nice backdrop for more shrubs and flowers. I just wish this dire weather would get lost and let me have a bit of comfort in the garden but I can dream on.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[mg guy]

Colin, that is a challenging piece of real estate without a doubt, but a unique, one of a kind place that your obviously proud of, with good reason.

Endless possibilities with that site, and like most gardens, you'll always have plenty to do and dream.
(like the way you leveled the shed!) Have you ever considered a gravel for the pathways?

the paint at our place is actually a Sherwin-Williams color, a gray really, with a touch of blue. While we are tucked in between 2 neighbors, we still have a good sense of privacy-even on a busy avenue.

and of course the back is our little sanctuary!

 

[sparkles...]

Hi,

Many thanks Daren and Lynette for your kind comments regarding the stone wall. When I retired (?) 17 years ago the first project was to create the new patio and pathways; to the bungalow rear the dry stone wall was only 4" away from the two roomed extension wall creating a gap only too willing to fill with leaves and debris this wall being around 36" tall retaining the garden.

I removed the dry stone wall carefully saving the stones then I dug out by hand tons of heavy wet clay; redesigned the wall to add interest and install new flagged steps up into the garden. Very heavy flags were then laid to create the new pathway taking a great deal of care to ensure sufficient gradient was added to expel the masses of rain we endure to prevent flooding.

The work was sheer hard graft often in pouring rain but the end result was well worth it; the following year I dug out tons more clay to the bungalow side allowing the joining of this new pathway to the bungalow front. The pictures show the finished walling to the rear and the kind of weather we often suffer; whilst repointing the bungalow end wall at times I was working just above a 4' wide stream of water running at speed down the pathway; I managed to take the picture between downpours. Today so far is fine here but it rained full day yesterday. The pictures show the old dark brown paint but the bungalow exterior has enjoyed a full and comprehensive makeover since. Please note the dry pathway and wall; pity it's not dry all the time like that.

80 (27C) for you next week Lynette and still winter; It rarely reaches such temperature here in our joke of a summer and if it does people start passing out through heat exhaustion; we simply aren't used to being warm. I've been grounded for a few days it being too bad to venture out so I've spent the time copying my large collection of DVD movies/TV series onto Sandisk memory sticks and this has fully occupied me because each full movie took about 3 minutes to add to the stick so I was constantly changing the discs; DVDs are now old fashioned and I recently bought an android hence the need to use memory sticks; I already had the DVDs but could no longer play them copying solely for our own use which perhaps is bending the rules but buy the same movies twice; no way I'm a tight Yorkshireman. WOW though these sticks are something else; 240 movies onto a single 128GB stick. I bought two 128GB and five 32GB Sandisk sticks; these are good sticks unlike the cheap ones for sale; it pays to spend the bit extra. I've now got my computer back having completed the copying yesterday; I've got square eyes too.

You've got a lovely home there mg guy; it looks very pretty and lovingly cared for. Thanks for sharing the picture.

Kind regards, Colin.

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[sparkles...]

Wow...love your garden...I just shook my head in understanding...yes, you are an engineer. If I could ever find pictures of the walls my dad used to build (he was also an engineer). My oldest son is a general contractor and builds houses in Seattle, but he also has that 'engineer' eye for design and neatness and 'all ducks in a row'. I love it. It makes for beautiful things. That 'gene' skipped me completely, sorry to say. At this point in my life, I've probably actually wasted a year or so...looking for things!

 

[DirtMechanic]

Arborists have come and gone and now I am chipping piles and piles and piles of hardwood chips for the lawn and garden. Call me Mr. Sawdust.

 

[Silentrunning]

I tried to till some manure into the garden yesterday but only managed to bury the tiller in the wet clay. And today it has been raining all day.

 

[DrCase]

I got things cleaned up and ready for spring break out .

 

[DirtMechanic]

I got things cleaned up and ready for spring break out .

That is going be awesome come the warmth of summer!

My efforts to recycle. 6 more to go.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Many thanks sparkles for your kind comments; I'm sure you'll have picked up lots of tips from your dad and your son; Bron doesn't fully understand what I do but she now has a good grasp of the descriptions after years of listening to me and watching work in progress.

Thanks mg guy; I could do considerably more in our gardens if the weather would let me but I'm pestered with so much rain; all last year the rain seldom let up; it doesn't always stop me working but it makes any outside work more of a misery than a pleasure. You've got a nice sized patio area to enjoy. Although I've heard of Sherwin-Williams paint I don't thinks this paint is on sale here in the UK. For many years I've been envious of your American paint having seen so many pictures of your houses clad in siding with immaculate paintwork which appeared to last many years; our paint just isn't up to the job and fails quickly so I was delighted when I discovered a company called Shaw's here in the UK had started importing Benjamin Moore paint from the states. This Benjamin Moore paint is high end costing £75 per US gallon and I used over five gallons but feel the cost well worth it for a top job; why spend ages on preparation then slap on cheap paint; do the job once and do it well.

Hard luck Silentrunning; I too had to quit because my rotavator bogged down which is so annoying.

Your garden looks quite rugged at the moment DrCase but once softened by plants and shrubs it's going to be very special indeed; is that the bed for a stream under the decking? I bet you had fun moving the heavy stones into position.

What a lovely natural habitat your picture shows DirtMechanic; I love wandering through trees in such a tranquil setting. The rustic fence is perfect. Do you have a woodburner?

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Silentrunning]

The sun is actually shining today so I spent the early morning gathering up fallen branches for my future hugelkulture. After that the dogs and I walked the woods looking for some small cedar trees to start bonsai training. These will all be planted in the ground so I guess they could be classified as topiary too except they will be pruned small.