What have you done today in the Garden?

My chickens are not laying now either. They are finished molting, but still not laying again.

I did get the rocks put back on that one flower bed, and added a bit more bark chips. I cut the pampas grass and gave most of it to my chickens. It is quite cold here with the wind.

I am tired enough for bed, but it is too early. I walk the dogs about 10:30, so I usually get to sleep until almost 7 am. Otherwise, I have to get up in the wee hours and take them out to pee.

 

It was icy and a white layer of frost covered the landscape until late in the afternoon. At the risk of sounding like a ‘broken record’. - here goes…Mowed the southwest side of the pastures. Still mulching a small forest of poisonous mushrooms in the pastures . Used the leaf blower removing magnolia leaves from the west side of the roof, gutters and scuppers and patio . No signs of any ground critters or deer. Can I have a big hurray…! Just the hummers out .

Had a flat tire on the rider mower again…UHG… added some green slime to the tire and seems to have fixed the leak for now. I wanted to change the spark plug on the mower it’s sounds like the engine is slightly miss firing, usually means the spark plug is dirtied with carbon, but ran out of time . Well tomorrow is another day.

 

I received the seeds today, thank you so much! I can't wait to plant them, this spring! I bought myself a seed advent calendar to count down my days until retirement. So these will go into the box that I'm storing those packets in. 14 days left (working days)......but who's counting. My last day is December 20th. The last day before Winter break. I won't be going back.
Over last weekend I raked up leaves and put all my gardens to bed.
Wow! All of you seem so busy! I've just been making appointments and signing papers for retirement. It seems like I signed my life away.

 

Willow congratulations on your retirement .

 

Willow Congratulations on your retirement, people i know that have retired don't know how the time goes with lots to do afterwards.


You all seem so busy still, I'm just taking it easy preparing for Christmas.

 

Many congrats @Willowisp0801 ...it certainly is a strange but joyous feeling not having to dash out to work ...or having to plan the more mundane housework chores/ shopping around a fulltime working week that's for sure. Enjoy.


We will be able to have an afternoon at home today as we only need to go somewhere this morning....I think as it stands at the moment it's the only free time this week we'll get for a session in the garden unless I can manage to squeeze one in in somewhere. Still loads to do, no matter what gets done it still looks untidy in the early morning light....can't stand it. It's like at night before I go to bed I have to stand for a few moments and look around the rooms to see if they are tidy and everything is in its rightful place. I can't leave washing up...even a couple of cups or dishes on the trainer waiting to be put away.....you can't change how you are and I suppose it stems back to the days of having to leave the house by 7:30 for work. Still it's a great habbit I suppose as it always makes a lovely tidy start to our days.

I hope to do the final stowing away of the last dried off tubers this afternoon. Then hopefully continue border tidying and mulching...and dare I say it... leaf sweeping and collecting!!!

Have a great and productive day everyone.

 

@Logan ...what are you having to do that takes up so much time for prepping for Christmas!! Have you got guests coming to stay?

 

@Oreti I'm not doing a lot really i just like to take my time, have to fit it around doing the walks and no we're not having guests over Christmas, son is visiting this Friday for half the day but not on the day.

Today I'm doing the breadcrumbs for the stuffing, i do a lot to last all through next year.

 

Well change of plan as it's a lovely mild day we decided to come on into town again for lunch, did the same yesterday too before visiting my brother. So no gardening for us today. Precious time with my hubs instead.

 

I got quite a bit done this afternoon. I pruned more off next door's silver birches where they overhang our garden. What I wanted to prune was easier to see now the leaves have all fallen.


But I can't reach the very top ones with my Fiskar's telescopic pruner, even when standing on the roof of the shed.


There's no way I'd stand on the roof if this were a "store bought shed." It's the one I built out of 1" thick old fashioned roofing ply, for our eight-year old daughter's every expanding menagerie of rabbits and guinea pigs, nearly fifty years ago. It's still as solid as it ever was. I've no problems standing on this roof. I feel quite safe. The golden rule is when reaching up with the pruner, "don't move your feet!"

I took quite a bit off. Although it doesn't look like it.



I also re-wired these tree azaleas.



I do it every year, to stop them spreading out too far.
This is a small garden, so I don't like plants to become too dominant (other than the big acer palmatum).

The black areas on the lawn is dead moss the result of a dose of iron sulphate.




I also gave the acer in the bottom bed a prune.

I put some more retaining wire around this acer. Lots of little buds on it already.


As always, the rhodos have lots of buds. Here's a few.



I collected the last of the leaves in the front garden. There's a couple of viburnums in there in flower, not many, as I prune them to stop them growing too tall.

 

0MG...you scare me @Doghouse Riley ...standing on a roof at your tender young years!!!!

All looks marvellously neat and tidy.....but please oh please take care. My hubs is just like you...on a good day he tackles every scary job going..he's convinced himself that he is immortal I think at times.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

I really don't think about my age. If I think I'm able to tackle something, I just get on with it.
I'll be 85 in April.

 

Oreti— you have your priorities straight, don’t you.

Riley— what a masterwork !
Even though you have built a bespoke shed, it may be advisable not to let the missus know that you have been messing-about on the roof.

Of course the pruning work was good, but I like what you have done to the smaller trees. Such good technique.

 

Cleaned up the gladioli corms, a lot of them had tiny babies.

 

Snap @Logan that's what I've been doing and yes lots of cormlets too. Also potted up some more well rooted Fuchsia and Bacopa cuttings too.