What have you done today in the Garden?

That's amazing! It will be months here, before asparagus grows. Bon apetit!

 

That's good to know, @Logan. I agree on the rose cuttings, too. I tried grafting these because the roots are established and maybe vigorous enough for the grafts to really grow fast an bloom this year, assuming they take. No harm done (except the thorns to my thumb, ouch!) if they don't take.

Grafting and growing roses from cuttings feels almost like a lost art. That's a shame! I hope people start doing more of those, again.

 

I hope that it goes well for you Daniel and it's nice to experiment with plants. I read that roses were too weak to grow on their own roots, but when i tried the rooted cuttings way they were just as good as the grafted ones.
This guy got me trying the cuttings way. Of course can do cuttings in the winter that will work as well.

 

We surveyed the after-storm situation and made plans for tomorrow. Everything was oké.
we gave the sugar snaps water in the greenhouse.
We fished some compost bin lids out of the sloot and will see if we can locate the owners in the coming days.

Neighbour lady, Hetty…
We found the lid of her compost bin on the sidewalk.


And the door to her greenhouse lay on the ground, blown off it’s rollers in the storm.


Of course we set those problems straight for her.

All in all — a good day.

 

Thanks for the explanation. Grafting is an interesting subject. I was just curious what material you used to tie them snugly flat with and how long you let it stay on. Thanks again, mate.

 

It was dry enough to play golf this morning, no rain at all, but it rained this afternoon. So I've done nothing, probably the same on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as rain is forecast for each of those days.

Manchester, has historically, got a lot of stick because it rains frequently, (why the cotton industry was based here).
However, if any friends or relatives from, "down south" from where we originally came, phone for a chat and ask about the weather, whatever it's like, we always say, "It's fine!"

 

Sjoerd that's great to help your neighbour like that.

 

Ach Loggie, it’s what neighbours do innit. This lady is in her 80’s and doesn’t get out to the garden much in the winter. It is why we have her 6.

 

I'm glad to hear that the storm was not very destructive. I remember your posts from last year - that was quite the gale. Very kind to look out for Hetty. Amazing her door didn't smash on it's way down.

 

I've struggled with my seed starting calendar this year. We still have lows in the mid teens but the sun is higher and we are seeing some highs of +7. After speaking with Hubby and listening to the weather guy on CBC radio( who warned it will be a flood year, because the heat will eventually come and it will all melt quickly) I'm proceeding with starting my seeds. They can always hang out in the greenhouse for a while if necessary.

My vegetable garden success evolves a lot around the the shortest days to maturity possible, and the cool soil temps. Hybrids have come a long way to helping cold climate gardeners. Thankfully all of the brassica like my cold soil in the spring and early summer.

Today I'm starting the cauliflower ( 6 white sails, 6 early snowball, and 6 more Amazing). They all mature at different times, and are each more favourable to certain growing conditions, so between the three varieties I have a measure of success.

I'll also be starting the Broccoli. I've given up on Green Goliath - just not worth the real estate for the product - although it was fun. I'll be growing 12 Calabresse, and 6 Early Dividend. Side shoots are my friend and will often produce into September, and the Italian Sprouting Broccoli was great for that last year. I'm filling in some bare spots in the asparagus rows with brocolli this year.

The cabbage that does well in my short season is Golden Cross. At only 40 days maturity, with careful planning we can have small cabbage for the majority of the summer. It is very sweet and freezes well. I will be starting two OS Cross so that I am sure my neighbour will get her giant cabbage for her cabbage rolls. nom nom nom.

I'm going to start one Little Lantern Groundcherry. It will live in the greenhouse, so no risk of Angus or anyone getting into it. It is a dwarf variety with a short maturity date, so I think it will be a good one to try before taking any big leaps into the groundcherry pool. It;s always fun to try something new.

 

Got the big drill out this afternoon and attacked patio drain holes. Got it finished before it rained.

 

Good for you DHR. Even though all I see in my head now is the cartoon you posted of the dog running the drill. I'm sure you came out unscathed hahaha. It must feel good to have that job done. Drainage is so important.

 

Fine and quite warm today, but too wet to do anything apart from a check round.

Pleased with the progress of these lily of the valley, near the window in the shed, we bought from a shopping channel.
The offer was for nine, but we received ten. Two of them have two shoots.





Two each can go in the new big glazed planters on the patio steps, which house clematis and a climbing rose, they'll get plenty of sun there.
My wife did suggest we put them in planters of their own. But I said we've enough!

We've accumulated over the years, 21 smaller 34cm ones and three of the big 41cm ones.
They are nearly all Apta Cambridge ones.

They've reached a silly price now. It wasn't so long ago, the 34cm ones were "two for £40." They are now £37 each! and the big ones are £50.

Every year I drastically prune this acer at the end of the summer, if I don't, it'd grow to a ridiculous size. But it's really tough.

It's already recovering, producing lots of new buds.




You can train acers like these any way you choose. Before "I got at it," eleven years ago, a year after we bought it, it looked like this.






A tour round the garden shows up jobs that need doing.

One of them is this pagoda.
Unlike the concrete lanterns I made, which remain in their "natural state," I've always painted it.
I made it with about eighteen molds and built it up in three sections on its double paving stone base.

Like the lanterns it has a central core of fine concrete mix, but the outer skin is more mortar, as I wouldn't otherwise have got the detail. It would therefore have been subject to erosion over its 36 year life, without being painted. Even so, some of the detail on the edges of the roofs is wearing away.

The guard rails around each of the upper floors are made from hardwood decorative trims set in the concrete and are still in perfect condition. But the rest needs a good scrub down to remove some moss and a re-paint and a few of the red finials on the corners of the roofs need replacing, (where I've broken them off in passing).

So that's a job for when it gets a bit warmer and dryer. The tea-house too, will get a bit of a tart up, as I've got nearly 2.5 ltrs. of paint left after painting the new troughs.

 

Yes that's right.

 

Might prune some more roses later, today Gardeners World starts at 8pm on BBC 2.
Really just interested in the Goldies and what Monty does.