What have you done today in the Garden?

Holy cow Pac! Be careful out there!

 

Thankx I try to be Careful …
Just finished mowing. Didn’t see any ground critter evidence or other critters. . No scat from a bobcat or deer.

A couple days ago north hay pasture was cut now drying ready for the baler to come. No moles/gophers.

 

Nothing much today went out to see my friends, just watered the hanging baskets.

 

Today, I got up early again to work before it became too hot.

I did half of the watering (so far). The remainder will be brief trips outside.

I dead-headed the David Austin roses.

Is there a less gruesome sounding name for pruning off dead flowers?

I spent quite a lot of time and energy, "logging" the area that thistles had re-wilded. Most were about six feet tall, with trunks thicker than my thumb, and leaves that cut and scratch. They were aided in their attempt at taking over, by the vining invasive clematis. No bad words were said, I guess I outgrew that a long time ago. About 1/3 of the rewilded area is tame again now. A bonus - some plants that I assumed were obliterated actually survived the thistlegeddon - rosemary, oregano, lavender plants, a tissue cultured fig tree (only about three feet tall) crocosmias, and the entire row of forsythias is thriving there. Also horse radish.

Next, I need a strategy to keep the area tame, tidy, and not too high-maintenance. I think I'll have to resort to weed barrier and wood chips. It will be an extension of the fig tree + forsythia privacy hedge, with deer resistant flowers and deer resistant, drought friendly plants including some already there.

 

I call it dead heading.

 

Some photos from the garden

The dwarf tomatoes are starting to look more promising.



This batch of Chinese Chives is ready for another harvest. I dig them out of a container and separated them this Spring. We got a crop from them a few weeks ago.



I transferred another eight pack of Alpine strawberry seedlings, into a window box. I'm pleased with their growth. The scattered blossoms are promising.





Even with the hot weather, up-potting didn't bother them. They were not too root bound, so I didn't disturb roots.

Birds are eating some of the bean plants. I'm too tired to cover them. They seem to quit, when the first compound leaves emerge.



The Brunswick fig tree usually produces only a few figs each year. It makes a nice privacy border. With the big fir tree competition gone, it seems more vigorous this year.



I grew this tree from a cutting in 2002. When when we bought the farmhouse in 2012, I dug it up and moved it there. It took a lot of digging.

November 2012.



It was heavy! I used a sheet of plywood for a makeshift ramp. Over time, most of the original trunk and scaffold branches died back, but replacement growth was vigorous and it's much bigger now than it was then.

 

Daniel— those strawbs and toms look really good, don’t they. Yes, the toms look really good.

 

@Daniel W, that is a ton of hard work removing a huge tree like that!

it all looks good where you are.

I don't know what you all do with YJ nests, but if I find any, I wait until dusk and pour a small amount of gas down their hole, and then light it. It burns away quickly and kills the nest. I am allergic to stings. I accidently ran over a nest at least once. I just left the mower as is, and ran to the house. If you have a weed dragon, you could use that on the nest about dusk when they are all inside. Another thing you might try is putting something sweet like cheap pancake syrup diluted with water, and maybe some vinegar into a milk jug and set it away from your house. They will drown.

I need to make some wasp traps.

Yesterday, I was able to get a new battery for my rider. The carb for the push is on backorder, but a neighbor can get it online for a better price so I will cancel the back order. I did get some of my mowing done.

I found some nice cucumbers in my garden and brought them in. I made a nice salad with some ripe tomatoes: chopped tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, chopped onion, some garlic, dill and parsely.

I found some nice cantelopes ripening out there, and a few more tomatoes ripening. I brought them in. And some critter has been stomping in my corn. I probably wont get much.

I will try to pop in tomorrow. I got distracted again...

 

The day began early— the general compost area was open (every other week), we had loaded up five work trugs the day before so that all we would have to do was load them on a wagon and take them there. After that we gathered in front of the clubhouse for a cuppa and chat.

After that we went back to the lottie and harvested, watered the toms. Some needed tying -in and they all needed topping. While the Bride was busy doing that I gave slootwater to the flower garden.

I saw that one of the leeks was shooting. That was a sign that they must all be lifted. So, I did that. It was my fault, for not giving water. Ach. That was a big processing chore in the evening.

There were also more blueberries to harvest. Out came the parasol for that gig.

The edges of the garden paths needed some schoffeling. Another thing was all those daisies. I had to deadhead the daisies. What a job that was, wading-in, navel deep in perennials to get at them. Hot, difficult, itchy and the harvest mites. Sheesh. Roses are easier in spite of the prickers.

Daniel—what a massive bit of work you did there. When I saw the plywood plank on the back of your pickup truck, I immediately thought of the many home videos we have seen here of people who thought they could ride things up the makeshift ramps, only to fall off. Personally I can’t laugh at this, but they do keep showing the clips. Mate, I hope you did not have such an accident.

 

Off topic I know, but my sister has just sent me this pic that she saw on FB but there was no name given of this stunning Dahlia.....any suggestions please

Thanks

 

Stunning, Oreti.

 

I know @Sjoerd ......and I so want one !!! I'm looking online and on a Dahlia Forum but so far...nothing. My sister has gone back on FB. but no mention of a name unfortunately.

 

I cleared out the weed patch in front of the garage. It took several days because of the heat and rain. I have a ton of suckers coming up from a tree that was taken out. They drilled out the main stump, but these must be coming up from the root system. Any ideas on how to get rid of them? Someone told me to get this stuff at Ace and you drill into the stump and pour it in....but the stump was drilled out! With the rain we've had this spring and early summer, it got away from me. I was still getting peas until a week or so ago. Usually it's so hot they start dying by early July. My tomatoes are finally starting to ripen (again cool wet weather). My grapes are starting to ripen...yeah first harvest!

My dried beans are drying and will be ready soon.
And I'm trying something new....sweet potatoes in a grow bag! They are going crazy. I have no idea if I'll get any potatoes, but the top is doing great! And that's just 1 slip!

 

WOW-WOWOWW It’s a Zinger. I have never seen a dahlia like that one. So unusual . I wonder if your sis can’t go back on FB and ask the name of the dahlia?
It may be from a different country ? I want a dozen . Since your a dahlia collector with a name like Oreti Adele is a dahlia tuber you must be squirmin in your seat ready search to out leaving no dahlia trail unturned. I can’t find it online anywhere.

Just a thought what if it’s a white dahlia set in water with bright purple dye for a time . Like carnations are dyed for St Patrick’s Day ?

 

@Pacnorwest I'm not on FB and don't understand the ' workings' of it at all. My sister is on it mainly because of her daughters and a couple of friends and rarely posts on it .She uses it mainly to have an occasional nosey around apparently. And this is what she found today.

I spoke to her a little while ago and she said the pic has gone now.....so I'm wondering if it's a fake pic. .

I'm just finishing up in the garden now, only have the watering left to do and then I plan to search high and low online this evening. I must find it, I NEED to have one...nope...several!!!
Edit to say no...100s