What have you done today in the Garden?

As I went into the garden this afternoon, there was a bit of a commotion under the Stella cherry tree. A blackbird had managed to get in under the net. When it saw me, it panicked and tried to get away. Their first instinct is of cours, to fly up and so it flew into the net. I stood still until it managed to extricate itself, which took it a bit of time.

I've removed the net and picked all the cherries, some of them aren't quite ripe and quite a few had been "sampled." Still there's about getting on for a couple of pounds of decent ones. They're in a tub on the windowsill in the kitchen, I'm hoping they're going to ripen.
Next year I'll have to make a better arrangement with netting.

I cut the lawn, it's slowly getting more like it should be, the small bare patches are closing up and the colour is more even.

 

What a beautiful emerald spread Dog!

@Sjoerd Good idea about removing bricks from the edge but I couldn't. First of all I needed a good 60 bricks and secondly, the edges are anchored by a wooden edging piece, still in good shape. I had no room at the edge to allow the bigger bricks to expand.

 

I went out to mow the lawn and saw 2 small blue potatos and a red potato. Stupid chipmunk! So I watered the potatoes, then took rocks and filled the hole that I'm sure it lives in. On top of the rocks I angled a brick, so it's in the hole, next I will surround the pot/bags with cedar chips. They are so close to harvesting!

 

I weeded carrots and cukes. I had to come home before it started raining. I managed to harvest these.


The potatoes on the left are from my seeds. I will need to go back and support my amethyst bush beans. The tallest are 80cms high. They are in full sun.

 

I've not done anything as it's quite wet out. Just a stroll around.

I'm quite pleased with these hebes, such a brilliant colour. They're almost iridescent. It doesn't show as well with my camera.







I've been considering the problem I have with this rhodo. It gets masses of blooms each year, but keeps growing, it's now getting very dominant in this bed.





I'd like to cut it back, but it's not like the camelia next to it, I don't think you can chop it back as I do that each year. I could cut it back to the nodules on last year's growth but that won't reduce the height by much. Alternatively, I could remove a few of the front branches to give the small one in front of it a bit more breathing space. Digging it out and moving it back is another option, but the hose of my leaky hose system runs past it about a foot behind it. Something to think about.

 

Doghouse, what is that purple plant? it is darling.

Not so much what I have done today as what the week/month has brought about. The first of the month the county came and put up signs that the road would be closed for two weeks. GREAT, JUST GREAT! I had thousands of tomatoes and peppers, cucumbers and eggplant sitting on my tables to sell. so, as you can imagine with the road closed for three weeks, because they couldn't get it done in the two weeks they stated as they left by 3:00 every day! I decided instead of composting everything I would offer thm up to my community for FREE. I have given away almost my entire bedding plant selection to the communities surrounding me. I can't believe how fast the word free drew people in who didn't even know I existed. I just hope they were a blessing to a few and not just "oh free plants! lets go get them. they are free!"

 

It's a hebe, we bought two, one for each trough plus the white ones next to them earlier this year. I gave them bigger pots. The others we've had about three years. I've no idea of the varieties, I've lost the labels.

 

I have never seen r heard of the word hebes. interesting. they are sweet.

 

Dog, I have had good luck pruning rhodies back. I see your hesitation though. There doesn't seem to be much inner growth on that rhodie. I think it would look better if there were.

We had one really huge rhodie that we pruned back to just a foot off the ground. It quickly rebounded after a few years. Looks great now.

If a huge haircut seemstseems drastic, you could stagger it:. prune back every other
branch this year and the remaining branches the next year.

 

Just a bit of tidying and changing a record in one of my jukeboxes.
I put up with our squirrel practicing her golf shots on the lawn.



But I wish she would observe the golf etiquette and repair her fairway divots.

 

Say Riley, What sort Hebe is that?
I have been looking for years for the Hebe 'Hidcote' over here sand just cannot find it. It's blooms are about that tint of blue. Wekkm this one looks smashing--a small plant with a large impression.

Cayu--Ach well, I was just thinking out loud. I clearly see what you mean. You two did a smashing job on that patio.

Yesterday we harvested Swiss chard, schoffeled the blueberry patch, harvested some La Ratte d'Ardèche (the first sneak preview of those) abd harvested some if the beetroot for the first time this season. Good grief -- new potato's with lashings of butter ! Heavenly. Tied in and up various grasses, blooming plants and Clematises.
Applied water to the recently planted "summer spinach". I am excited about those.
We had a rain storm last night, so the green manure that i planted next to the spinach ought to be up by tomorrow or the next day.
Have been very busy in the bees.
We harvested more comfrey (the third time) and made fresh "tea" and put the rest on the soil over the tom plants after a good watering and feeding.
Began pruning the fruit trees so that more "energy" can go into the fruits instead of the waterloten... A sort of sucker, but on trees. That did not turn out well, as it rained today.

 

Mowed the lawn as it needed it. That's twice in four days. Took a small chunk out of the blade. It's a Flymo Ultraglide hit a stome, don't know where that came from. I've had it a few years and I've had to sharpen it twice, so I've ordered a new one, £16.99 on eBay post free. Cheap enough.

Bit the bullet and pruned two front branches off the tortoise shell azalea

Wired a branch of the azalea to the right to encourage it to grow to the left.
With that, the one on the left and the new one in the middle they should fill the gap at the front and if necessary. I can take a couple more branches off the big one in a year or so's time.



The overall look now is a bit more uniform.



I always dead-head rhodos, but never azaleas, that would be too much work.
Those I dead-headed a couple of weeks ago have already put on a lot of growth. Here's just one example.



This rose looked as if it was on its last legs in the "avenue of shame" a couple of weeks ago, so I pruned it right back and put it on the small patio in front of the shed where it would get some sun and it has put on some new growth.

I'm quite pleased as it's a David Austin, "Sceptered Isle," so probably wasn't a cheap-o.



Our Sorbus will have a good crop of red berries this year.





Second bloom on this wisteria. I usually prune them off with the unwanted growth.



Pruned back some of these azaleas to get a more even display next year. The canes below them are to stop cats which sometimes hide under the azaleas, from pouncing on the birds when they are feeding



I also went round to the empty house next door and lifted a panel on this fence to get at the bindweed at the back of our borsder that had grown under the concrete base panel from that side. Once you've got it it's almost impossible to get rid of it, as you've no idea where are the roots. But I've cleared it all for now. It was growing up the azaleas at the back and was impossible to reach from this side.

The giant lilies won't be long now, we've over a dozen of them.

 

I had lots of scrolling to do and lots to read and view . I haven't been getting email notices and fell behind. Everyone seems to be moving right along with the gardens.
Sjoerd, our onions seem to have the same problem. I had no idea it could be worms. I sure will miss the onion harvest as we eat lots. Garlic is awesome this year.
Green beams too. Lots of small tomatoes, which will soon be ripening.
The Cabbage worm is trying to eat all the Kale. I spray with garlic water. I suspect a little groundhog may be scaling the fence and eating some too.
Lots of watering being done as rain is sparse.

 

My beans are going crazy, I was able to pick some beans and "helped" the cucumbers grab the trellis. I saw some Smurf size cucumbers on them. And since they're for pickling I should be able to pick them pretty soon. I have quite a few Smurf size zucchini, but they seem to be doing well since they're growing and not just staying little tiny. I still have no carrots, lots of tops, but no carrots.

 

GP--If you leave your onions in, there is a chance that the onions will let the portion infected with the micro worms die and then they will sluff that off and the bulb will continue to grow normally. All may not totally lost...but it a risk to leave them in. Having said that, if you do not intend planting anything in the onions' place then why not wait and see?

I harvested courgettes and tied-up many plants after the hard wind storm.