What have you done today in the Garden?

We had rain and storms most of the day, but I did get a wheelbarrow load of weeds pulled for Horsey. She loves the salads. The feed store is out of hay until farmers can cut more. Some are trying to get hay mowed between showers. (better not put it in the barn too soon!)

I did get grass mowed sunday, and more yard work on monday.

Seeds are popping up. I think my milkweeds from @Willowisp have sprouted.

The wild one that I transplanted is beginning to bloom. Not sure about the other seeds yet. I have not seen my thyme seeds sprout, nor the pink yarrow yet. (Nor the redbeets, some of the carrots...)

My scarlet runner beans are up and going. The rest of the garden looks pretty good.

@Doghouse Riley , get well prayers for your wife.

 

Not sure what I'm doing today but i did go slug hunting,i took them for a walk a long way away down the path into the woods and threw them into a hedge, I told hubby and he said that they'll come back.

 

@Doghouse Riley may you wife recover soon and return to you in comfort. And may you have some rest and recovery too.

 

My earlier geranium cutting experiment didn't work. I had just stuck the cuttings in potting soil in late winter. That often works for me with geraniums. I think the issue was, they were quite weak, sickly cuttings at the outset. I don't "need" more but that failure annoyed me. So two or three weeks or so ago, I cut off a wayward stem and put it in water in jar.



"They say" that water-started cuttings have weaker roots and need time to adjust, when planted. My experiences have been fine, for the plants that start in water. I'll pot it up soon.

This "Supersweet-100 cherry tomato plant that I bought at the hardware store about 9 days ago, had a major slug injury before I planted it. The slug ate through the stem. So I made a clean cut, removing the top, which I put into a jar of water. Then I kept it in a low-light window.



Here it is today, roughly 8 days later.



Now that roots have started, I think they will grow pretty fast.

 

Thanks for the sneak peak of water rooting. Look at the geraniums rooting. Good job Daniel .
I have those illuminated petunias stems rooting in water.

 

I'm so sorry to hear of this DHR. That is a difficult time for certain, especially with her other complications. That's a long time in hospital. I'm sending healing thoughts from my side of the world to you and her. Be kind to yourself. That is a heavy worry you are carrying alone right now.

 

We have had company for the last week, which was lovely. Busy but lovely. My eldest son jumped in on many chores that I normally have to do to allow me time in the garden. It was very sweet and we now have a huge pile of Douglas Fir to split for next year. Today I finished building the beds for the bush beans, fillet beans and asparagus beans. It is behind Angus' fenced pen wall to deter deer. We were still -2 last night, so everything is going in quite late. The property had it's first mow today. I still haven't received my strawberry starts to replace the winter killed ones as the temps for shipping are too low. Hopefully this week.

Tomorrow I hope to build the squash bed that is more sheltered and protected from frost. This will allow me to grow 1 -3 of the Hubbards and Buttercup per plant. Then I'll have to prune to nourish the fruit to try and get it ripen before frost. Everything is very late this year. I have my first two tomatoes ( Didn't pick any flowers Sjoerd. ) and two peppers in the greenhouse. Everything is bundled up and has heat lamps every night to protect from frost. So far so good!

 

Thanks for the kind words.


I had to smile.

Whilst my wife has been in hospital,

I've cleaned every carpet in the house with our Vax "push and pull" carpet cleaner.
I've repainted the toilet door and skirting boards, fitted a new toilet and "siliconed everywhere."
I've overseen the installation of a new water main,
I installed a replacement electric shower, after the old one packed up on me, before the "Water Boys" arrived to change the mains pipe on Monday.
I've ordered a stairlift for when she comes home.
I've fitted a dedicated socket for it at the bottom of the stairs.
I've regularly dusted and vacuumed everywhere.
I've done my washing, washed her nightdreses and got any shopping necessary for me or her and cooked my own meals.
I've kept on top of the garden.

All between visiting her twice a day.

Not bad going for someone who is 84 though I say it myself.

The pain relief she's on, does affect her cognitive functions, to a degree, as was predicted, you sometimes have to repeat yourself and she can momentarily forget what you have just said.
My son occasionally visits her. We spoke the other day and he said she'd told him, "I don't think your dad's coping very well."
We had a good laugh about that, she'll never be able to live that down.

 

I hope that you're wife does well in the end and you do well for a 84 year old.

 

You are a great example for all of us!

 

Haven't done much today in the garden but yesterday i dug up some tulips in a border and got it ready for the summer bedding, do that tomorrow.

 

I've asked United Utilities to quote to change the 18" of 15mm copper pipe between the end of my new £1080.00 25mm pipe and the water meter. This pipe passes under my curtilage wall and can be accessed from the garden and no need to dig up the water meter. They've quoted £1800.
I've said forget it. Our pressure is better, I can run the shower and flush the loo at the same time. But not as good as it could be.

 

The last couple of days been overwhelmed with weeds and wild blackberry springing up everywhere. Spot sprayed the perimeter of the property. Found some poison oak and sprayed - usually under the Douglas fir trees or around fence posts. And cleaned out- weeded 2 flower beds. Picked some peony’s and cobra Lily’s. Cut out a couple large branches in the maple tree that looked off balanced in the canopy. Trimmed all the darn water sprouts off the hazel nut trees and magnolias.
Out on gopher/mole patrol early 6;30 am today. Dug up a sumac and weed sprayed a few area near the flower beds.
Spot sprayed the wild blueberries coming up everywhere near the house. And mowed mowed mowed the pastures and no deer scat spotted anywhere in the pastures or anywhere inside the yards or flower beds.
I’m hoping the hydrangea buds are safe from the deer this year. So far lookin good. Have tons of weeds to clear out. And more importantly all the peony’s are still poppin flower buds. Best year for the peony’s in years.
Sprayed the driveway covered in moss with moss out. Now ready for a fishing trip… for snakes that is …in the front berm.

 

Daniel— it is nice to see your efforts at rooting. In the end you were successful. It is the sort of thing that I like to do…but these days I only do it when it is necessary.

Mel— you are always doing something interesting. That was really nice of your boy to lend a hand there. Niceness is in the genes I reckon.

So interesting reading about your squash bed and tomato and peppers. The lengths you have to go to at this early stage of the season.
A huge congrats on your toms. I am so chuffed to hear that you did not pinch off your first flowers, hopefully you will get an extra clump or two. Go Mel !

Well Pac—“overwhelmed with weeds”; so familiar here. What a varied day you have had though. Enormous amount of work.
How did your fishing expedition go? Did you find any snakes in the grass?

 

No snakes so far. Mostly garter snakes. I did find a yellow jacket nest . I quickly scrambled away. Yellow jackets sometimes set up housekeeping in the snake holes in the berm across the front of the property.