What have you done today in the Garden?

Oops...off topic a bit!!

Meant to add I've done nothing all week outside but hope to knuckle down to some serious maintenance this weekend.

 

Some critters ground or airborne are either good or bad for our gardens & well-being . Lots of testimonials here that most can be utterly disliked & for good reason. Unless they are a stuffed toy that serves as a friend for an innocent child.
I agree that many insects and animals introduced that are not native have caused great harm to our forest’s, gardens & many countries have suffered the consequences . Yet in most cases even the native critters are destructive , harmful and dangerous to our environment and ecosystems.

 

i checked some of the fig tree air layers.


So I planted them



It's a bit iffy in hot weather. We'll see. I'll tie them to bamboo posts and put them into the garage tomorrow.

Fruit harvest.


Yum.

 

The air layers are looking very good @Daniel W , I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that all will be OK .

Your fruits look mouth wateringly delicious...yum, yum!!!

 

Decent potato harvest. Better than I was expecting. Usually I don't do this until August but I think the extreme heat and then the heavy rains and strong storms had something to do with it. Gurneys seem to be the best supplier for production that I have used and I'm staying with them.

 

Now I have potato envy

 

This morning the new fig trees from air layering looked OK. I tied them to bamboo supports.


The wilty looking one was upside down in the tree, so isn't as bad as it looks. I let them get morning sun, then into the garage to avoid too much heat.

 

I repotted two 8-packs of alpine strawberries. I don't think they get as large as hybrid strawberries. I grew these from seeds in late Spring. I don't know much about them.



They have a few flowers. Maybe there will be a taste later this summer or fall.

 

We grow Alpine Strawberries as well as our larger variety , yes they are smaller but equally tasty @Daniel W

 

At the moment just potted up 6 fuchsia cuttings that i rooted in water. For me they do better that way and keep the tray with some water in for the transition to compost.

 

Just general housekeeping of both gardens. Mowing and a bit of pruning.

Front lawn looking quite good despite getting very little sun.





This acer is a pain at this time of the year. A lot of branches "bolt" so the tree looks like a pin cushion, or the coronavirus. So I need my multi-ladder in the tall stepladder configuration and my telescopic pruner, to get at them from all sides. It's deceptive here, as it as tall as the eaves of the roof.



>

Back lawn looking not too bad.





Pruned back these rhodos, they were getting too wide and tall. I really ought to move them. They were supposed to be a short-term replacement for an azalea which died.
I've an azalea in a tub which would look better there.




Gave the azaleas here a bit of a trim, they were beginning to cover the lantern.




Now with the new 25mm mains water pipe and the new water meter, I can use my pop-up lawn sprinklers.

 

Busy day today....oops no yesterday, just noticed the time 1:00 am!!!

Took some cuttings from 2 of my favourite Hydrangeas. Potted up some Primroses and Hellebores. Selected a couple of areas for planting out some Irises that I hope to divide up this week. Also harvested some Welsh Poppy seeds that, along with some Shirley Single seeds, I will direct sow at a later date. Loads of deadheading was done to promote more blooms......never-ending job at this time of year, but nevertheless one of my favourite Summer tasks. Potted up my Wallflower cuttings they now joined the seed sown ones. Helped hubs cut the boundary hedge that runs along the lane side of our property.

Very rewarding day.

 

Yesterday afternoon when taking care of my outside pets, I nearly stepped on a copperhead near my shed! Thank God I did not step on it, and was able to get rid of it. Then this morning, when I was again taking care of my pets, there was another copperhead on the shed wall. Unfortunately the little varmint got away, and I heard some kind of rattling noise when going after the copperhead. I am not sure, but it might have been a rattle snake? We do have them. I hope not. I went out looking for it/them to get rid of them, but so far have not seen them.

This was the first copperheads I have seen this summer.

I am still waiting on a ride to town about my mowers.

We have a heat wave moving in, and it is supposed to be well over 100F for this week. We got very little of the rain, only a spritz or two.

I did get a new lavender plant potted this afternoon. I LOVE lavender, so I hope it lives a long time.

Those kittens are into EVERYTHING.

I have not done more weeding lately. IF I do, I will use my claw tool to check for snakes before my hand goes in to any place like that.

 

Today I harvested the garlic. This variety is "Music". I've been saving the largest bulbs / cloves each year to plant in fall, for about ten years.



Rufus likes hanging out while I garden.



I hauled another half dozen pavers to edge the bearded iris garden. That's about all.

 

Rufus is do cute !!!