What have you done today in the Garden?

Dianne, all your plants look great. Very healthy.
Loggie, hope you feel better soon.
@Doghouse Riley, I like your sight lines. You would die of itchiness if you were to see my chaotic garden. I do intend to "edit" it massively now that I am back home.

 

Rain is predicted for this afternoon, and for the next two days. Predicted, yeah . . . .
However, keeping the good thought, I picked everything pickable in the gardens so the squash and cucumbers wouldn't get ahead of me. Timi helped pick, and Cali made sure I stayed on the path back to the house.

 

Thank you @Cayuga Morning I feel a lot better than i did last weekend.

 

In some respects a frustrating day.
I gave this sorbus at the bottom opf our garden a bit of a trim with my telescopic pruners to shape it up.
It was a bit of a disappointment this year as it had few blooms, unlike last year when there were masses. This might be down to the late frost, but it can happen that you only get a good show every other year. There's two trees in the gardens behind it.




I also pruned this stella cherry, now the little fruit there was has gone. I shared it with the birds. There wasn't as lot as again the frost killed off most of the blooms and it wasn't worth putting a net over what was left. We like it for the blossom in the spring.




I also cut the "fringes" of our two acer palmatums.
Because I'm into "symmetry," It's a bit like being a hairdresser, you have to "comb" the branches with your fingers first to make sure they're growing straight, any growing the wrong way, or sticking up have to be pruned off. Then you have to prune off some of the branches underneath to allow the top branches to turn down, otherwise you'd end up with a giant cocktail umbrella, then cut the fringe. If it gets too long the grass suffers.





With this one the grass always suffers as it's constantly in the shade, I reseeded the dodgy area with a mixture of seed and lawn dressing.





The azalea behind the sambucus in the big tub in the middle of the lawn had died, so I wanted to replace it.
I went to the two main local garden centres this morning and neither had any azaleas at all. "Can't get them."

So I resorted to eBay.

They look really nice, as you'd expect and quite cheap but most are in 10cms pots, fine for window sills. I wasn't tempted. I wanted something bigger but there wasn't a lot of choice, but I settled for this. It's in a 7.5ltr pot and is about 14" X 14" so big enough. It's from a supplier with over sixteen thousand sales and 99.7% feedback. So it should be OK. The postage is "an arm and a leg" but at least I'll be getting one.









Do you think we're over indulging our birds and hedgehog?




Since I elongated the peanut butter jar feeders so the starlings didn't get it all, a female blackbird has worked out how to get at the butter in the one on the low brick wall at the side of the patio which I deliberately only put the butter at the very bottom of the jar.
She has found if she puts her head and one foot in the jar and keeps one foot on the ground, she can reach it,.

 

I was injecting Bt into my summer squash that have the dreaded SVB and my elderly neighbor came over. I got the eyeball on that one. Trichoderma and cornmeal for the plot to stay ahead of the weather driven fungi, some espoma tomato tone with a cytokinin kicker sprayed liberally. Lots of good looking tomatoes but I always want more! I have some german queens to transplant now that the radishes are gone by. And yardly, I dug up the hybrids (roses) before I continued my streak of killing every one I have ever planted and put them back in pots where they can breathe. I still have 2 dark purple lilacs called Bloomerangs that they promise can grow in my zone 8a. We shall see.

 

That sounds a very technical feeding regime....Guess because my feeds are from Stinging Nettles and Comfrey..go as far as Tomato Feed which is purchased any store....I'm sure you know what your doing Dirt!!!
I cut my finger yesterday and so no playing in the garden for me for a few days..will review it tomorrow as might need a stitch or two,,, hopefully just some of those tapes to bind it together to heal.
I have a good friend in the area of Battle, East Sussex. he owns a chicken farm with a decent stocked shop, of all you need to set up a good chicken place at home..We still have from his shop a chicken house and outrun, 15 years later it is still in use and of good condition, our 1 remaining chicken out of 4 we bought originally. about 5+ years go...The point I was to make, before telling you something completely different..was he is accident prone and when he cuts himself enough for stitches..he sews it up himself...has done that lots over the years, unbelievable but true...Our Country is now out of Curfew and masks are not compulsory outside any longer.
.Just hope it is the right decision. Tough times it is for all....

 

Yes Dianne, too right.

 

@DianneWoollie sorry that you cut your finger and hope that it's better soon.

Nothing today it's been raining and probably have some more later.

 

@Sjoerd

Here's the plot plan for my 20X20 (maybe 20X21...I am guilty of Garden Aggrandizement) plot in the local Community Garden.

I hope you can make it out.

 

Always remember, Facts ain't Braggin.

 

Hey there Cayu ! Thanks so much for the garden graphic. I have just spent fifteen mins looking over it. Look meid, I have had a long and sweaty day in the lottie and then a couple of hours processing broad beans and peas. I am well knackered. I am going to look again and chat with you about what I am seeing. i already have a couple of quezzies for you.

Oh, I shall seriously enjoy thinking about your green acres. Seeya tomorrow.

 

Not much today it's raining but I do plan on taking some rose cuttings, hubby bought a large bottle of lemonade so that i can use the bottle to put over the cuttings. Been watching this guy on YouTube that started me going.

 

We've not had a lot of luck with the azaleas which I bought to hide the big tub in the miiddle bed. The idea is that we can change one tub for another with something else in it, if we choose

I'd wanted it surrounded with the same variety of azaleas but couldn't get four the same, so the one at the back though a similar color flowers a month later than the others. The wires are to gently to persduade them to grow upwards rather than outwards.This was last year.




Then early this year the one on the left died and I was only able to get two similar small ones to replace it.




Then later the one at the back up and died on me! They've never been short of water.

Couldn't find any acers for love nor money at either local garden centres.
So I bought a totally different one on eBay that arrived today. It looks a bit scruffy but it's just the dead flowers from earlier in the year.




I've spaced out the two I bought earlier to fill the gaps.




I'm encouraging with a wire, the one on the left to grow towards the new one to fill this gap. I'll try to get the new one to spread to the left as it grows.




I gave them all some root booster and a good watering.

 

Good day in the garden! I picked three cucumbers, three squash, and a half-basket of tomatoes. I'll be making Marinara sauce this week!

I know this is less than impressive for many of the gardeners here, but after a really difficult spring, I'm thrilled to be harvesting!