What have you done today in the Garden?

@Melody Mc. your system looks great!
Do you know the echinacea variety? Last year I grew wild-type seedlings, which grew but did not bloom. I didn't expect them too, I wonder if the hybrid will bloom the year they are started.

Your choices sound very interesting. I hope you will keep us updated.

 

I think they should grow. Aren't they related to honeysuckle? Those grow pretty easily from cuttings.

 

Haskap berries is a super fruit. I would like to grow those instead of the blackberries.

 

Melody i hope that they take for you.

 

Cutting off some more of the old leaves on the hellebores, this is just a few of them.

 

I gave the wooden troughs another coat of paint this morning, it only takes the second coat a couple of hours to dry.
So it's all done and dusted. A bit of colour in a presently bland looking garden.
I've put one of the trail cameras back on its post in one of the troughs. I use it to keep an eye on 'arry the 'edgehog, when he's out and feeding overnight. Of course, there's no sign of him yet, too early... (provided he's survived the winter),
I've done my best for him, as his "winter house" has extra insulation. But it was bitterly cold a few weeks ago.
I've resisted checking on him, he's either survived, or hasn't and we'll know by mid-March. I'll put his cat-proof feeder out in a couple of weeks with some dry and semi-moist hedgehog food. If he comes out before then, I'll know as I've put a tiny bit of hebe pruning in the entrance of his house which he'll push out of the way if he comes out. He knows there will be suet pellets and bits of fat balls in the ground bird feeder if he's hungry, as he's been in it before.



I transferred the plants into bigger pots, the three just fit into the troughs. They are sitting on plastic saucers.



The patio needs a good jet-wash and a bit of re-pointing in a few places, but that will have to wait for a couple of months.

I wired up the smaller of the two acer palmatums. I don't like them to spread too wide, as the shade they make encourages moss growth on the lawn. There's no point trying top do anything with the top growth for the moment, "as it will do as it likes." I'll wait until the foliage is all out and prune off any "untrainable" growth. The object is not to remove anything which would leave a "hole" in the canopy.

 

Once again, DHR your garden is looking good.

Well for the past few days life has been a bit hectic for me. Sadly nothing gardenwise. The council supplied and fitted a new gas boiler, and at last the insurance company responded to my claim. As expected my car is a write-off. Their cash offer I have to admit exceeds my expectations. YES, I have excepted. So I can low relax and avoid a heart attack.

 

@Doghouse Riley your garden is well on its way to another picture perfect year! Very nice!

 

This isn't me. I planted this coastal pine at the house, that is now the in-law house, about 18 years ago. It wasn't meant to grow so tall. The electrical and telephone lines were a potential problem. Too much for me, so I hired Jorge, who made quick work of the tree.


I worried about his standing on the top rung - and above it - too unsafe, to my mind. But he was agile and came down safely. It didn't make much firewood, but a little is better than none. It's the first nice tree, that I planted, to mature and then be cut down but it was necessary.



I might hire Jorge again to remove dead, massive limbs from the front yard flowering cherry.

Meanwhile, the power to my wellhouse was fried somehow. Did mice eat those wires underground? I don't know. I have to wait for the power company to see what is the problem and probable put in a new line. $$$$$ and time. So we will stay in town for the time being, just making trips for chicken care, collecting eggs, and seedling / some plant care.

The new 25 gallon grow-bags came via Amazon. Next (weeks), remove the old ones and their questionable soil, replace with these and fresh soil.

In 2021, I let these Tigridias go to seed. (photos from 2015). I saved the seeds and forgot about them. I found the seed packet last month, and planted them all.




They were slower to germinate, compared to other seeds that I planted at the same time (onions, echinacea, peppers) but here they are now.



Information about growing tigridias from seeds, is quite limited. I don't know what to expect. This is a good start, I think.

 

That guy is crazy hahahaha That would be hard to watch. Sorry you had to lose a tree.

And then well problems - hopefully that gets fixed soon for you.

Those tigridias are breathtaking. I've never heard of them before. What beautiful flowers. Do they get very big?

My Echinacia are the hybrid I believe. Purple Cone Flower.

The Haskaps Association of Canada said they are easy to propogate, so I sure hope so. They are in the Honeysuckle family. I have Boreal Beauty, Boreal Blizzard, and the one I'm trying to propogate cross polinates both. It is a Boreal Beast.

@Logan - thanks for the good luck wishes.

@Pacnorwest - Thank you I'm pretty excited. I'm hoping for fruit this year to sample with some luck.

 

Tigridias are similar in size and plant shape, to gladiolas, but the flower spike is not as tall. In my climate, they survive the winter and the clumps increase in size as time passes. They are not as large as the big crocosmias, but similar plant shape there too. Sometimes the stores here carry the bulbs (corms), but otherwise they are too expensive. I thought saving seeds and growing them might be interesting.

 

A friend gave some redwood board from a remodel and it looks like enough for a sizeable cold frame. I took out the nails and stripped off the tongue and groove

 

You guys are making me exhausted just reading your projects today.

 

Im jealous LOL! Enjoy your project!

 

@Dirtmechanic enjoy your project, it will look good.