What have you done today in the Garden?

Divided up a big Heuchera that I found a huge Chaffer Grub was chomping away on it's root system..5 new plants now.

Watered the Grape Vine and removed a few more leaves to allow the grapes more sunlight.

Picked some Pears.

Unfortunately we've had a bad year for Apple's on all our trees.

Picked a couple more Cucumbers, nearly at the end of their productivity now...might just get a few more but they are very tatty looking now....poor things they look exhausted after all their hard work.

Picked some Tomatoes and a handful of the last of the Strawberries.

Picked a few Plums to add to a fruit salad.
We tend not to store or freeze our harvests as we like to eat them fresh off the trees/ vines. We give a fair amount away too.

 

It's a constant battle pruning off unwanted shoots of our several well established wisterias. They can grow several inches overnight.

I've got them under control, (for a few days). But it's at least a weekly task.


















Same with our big "lollypop" acer in the front garden.
Another chore, to remove branches which "bolt" and want to spoil its symmetrical shape.




Yesterday, I went into the garden of the unoccupied house next door and dragged the bindweed growing out of control in several places, away from the party (my) fence.

The grass of what was the lawn, is so high, I'm amazed that the hedgehogs still manage to make their way to the "doorway" in the fence near the bottom of the garden. I cleared away the weeds and grass in front of the entrance.

 

Riley— what a mess of bindweed. I ave a gardening neighbour that is also lax with not only bindweed but also ground elder and mares tail and stinging nettle. He is a nice guy, but clueless as a gardener.

Your Wisteria is looking very smart at the minute.

Oreti— that was such an interesting posting this time. It was an excellent acount of what is going on there. I thank you very much for this posting.

Yesterday in the lottie, we harvested some beans and courgettes and gave them to fellow gardeners. We also took home some onions and Swiss chare for the neighbours across the hall.

Further, we cleaned two flower plots and harvested some red blueberries. I strimmed the path edges and those place unreachable with the mower. In anticipation of the coming high temps, I watered everything in the flower gatden along with the fruit trees, while the Bride watered the greenhouse toms and the cucumbers and courgettes. We harvested the white onions.

Showers were in order after that marathon day at the lottie.

 

Thanks @Sjoerd

My Dad's garden became over run with Ground Elder before he passed away and I kept battling it but it was hopeless really.
Horror of horrors I noticed this year that we had some creeping through our boundary hedging from the Allotments behind us...not happy at all

Hubs is currently trimming our boundary hedging that runs the whole western side of our property. The heat is getting too warm now so I will try and encourage him to call it a day and continue early tomorrow.

I''ve fed and watered a few pots and collected and trimmed off spent seedheads.
Cut down the Welsh Poppies, leaving only the bright fresh new growth.

Time for lunch

 

Wow you are all buzy bees. Keeping up is important. I have experienced several over grown areas every season .
This year can’t get on the roof to tackle the wisterias. I’m afraid it’s latched onto the near by cherry tree and roof tiles. Still not up and at’em yet. At least I have no prob walking to the kitchen..
You’re all very talented and gifted gardeners in so many ways. Very enjoyable to keep up with all your garden adventures .

 

Me too, this year. I enjoyed having a harvest in the freezer and pantry, but I can't do as much work these days. Plus, with a diabetic in the family, fruit products have to be limited.

 

@Daniel you changed you signature pic. How lovely a basket full , representing your many fruitful harvests this season. Your garden has so much biodiversity with interesting beneficial plants provides a healthy, balanced habitat, fruitful harvests and a joyful space. Plus you’re always sharing healthy foods and sharing tried and true recipes.
Watermelons, over ripe bananas and pineapple are some fruits that can cause spikes in sugar levels.
We eat a lot of Tuscany cantaloupe and honeydew when in season. Your berries are just fine we eat them along with yogurt. And my fav smoothie is with fresh fruits and yogurt .

 

Today I removed four of the five fenceposts of the thornless blackberry anti-deer enclosure. It took a lot of digging in summer-hardened soil. That job is 2/3 completed. I laid a large sheet of cardboard on the soil surface and covered that with wood chips. I think that will be effective for weed control for a year, plus it will look much tidier when I'm done. The fig tree is "Smith", supposedly originally from Croatia. When it bears, they are richly flavored. They tend to be late here, but with climate change...?



The front part still needs a weed barrier and mulch.

That adds about 250 sq feet to the border. It will be easy to fill with plants. I think most will be the seed - grown dahlias and four o'clocks. They thrive there and put on quite a show, and after the main rainy season slug-o-palooza, nothing bothers them. They don't mind missing some watering, too.



Those daylilies need dividing this fall.

I was looking at the echinacea plants that I started last year. I felt frustrated that a seed mix pictured as diverse and bright, seemed like it was all the pinkish color. Then I noted there is a yellowish one and maybe a orangish one. I'll have to mark that to save.



That Black Eyed Susan was from last year too. I didn't realize it would survive and bloom a second year. It turned out pretty impressive. It's all one plant!



I do feel a bit disappointed about the Alstroemerias that I started from seeds this year. The website showed brilliant yellows, blues, whites. They all seem to be mauve. It's a nice color, but not what I thought I was growing.



I think the David Austin rose, Vanessa Bell, was a bit shadowed by the peach tree. I'm thinking about transferring it to a container this fall to grow with the others. It's richly fragrant, the myrrh scent that I like.



Speaking of the D.A. Roses, Bring Me Sunshine has been blooming all summer long. Not much scent. Maybe my methods?



Boscobel a little less, but still nice.

 

Thank you Pac, you always have such nice things to say. Thank you

I've been playing with AI image generation. Hence the new avatar .

I think blackberries have a lower glycemic index than some fruit. So I'll keep one large bush of those. We do smoothies every few days, lots in freezer.

 

Beautiful pics @Daniel W .

I particularly love the varying shades of your Echinacea.

I'm blown away by the size of your Rudbeckia...one plant!!! Wow it's obviously a very happy one.

Please share with me your secret for now to avoid the dreaded blackspot .....try as hard as we do it always makes it's appearance on our roses. Your roses are in pristine condition ....stunning.

 

@Daniel W I like this second new avatar the best representation of you . Luv the AI implementation. Wow what program ? Is it tricky ?

Wow your garden has to be the envy of your neighborhood. You have put your heart and soul into every aspect.
Luv…luv…luv… everything.

 

It's Bing AI Image generator. It's incredibly easy. All you need is a microsoft account. Hotmail or Outlook work. Sign in, go to Bing, search on "AI Image Generator". It tells you what to do. I basically described myself to make the avatar, plus harvesting red tomatoes. It gave four choices. This was the closest to looking right.

Careful - it's addictive

Thank you again for your encouraging comments! I don't show the bad parts LOL. Those are shrinking in size and getting better, gradually.

Oreti, no secret - just live somewhere that has a dry summer climate! In the past I used neem, but haven't had to for a few summers.

I don't know the Rudbeckia cultivar. Maybe I should save seeds?

 

Thanx Daniel. AI info.

 

OK thanks @Daniel W .....unfortunately that is an area that I have no control over.

The Bing AI Image Generator sounds great fun...and yes I bet it can become very addictive !!!

 

Daniel— Great new avatar. Why, it looks just like you mate.
What a thrill to see the Rudbeckias, Alstroemerias and roses. You have a paradise there. What an accomplished gardener you are.