What have you done today in the Garden?

Just shows the difference between our and a "continental" climate. We are 11 degrees of latitude further North than New England and we have bright sunshine without a cloud in the sky and it was that warm it was " short shirt sleeve order" in the garden today.

 

@marlingardener,. I do love feeding the birds! We are taking the feeders in at night to deter the marauding bears. A friend had her feeders hit so I am sure they are awake now.

 

It’s snowing, so I probably won’t do much today. Yesterday I prepared mature garden compost. And started weeding a strawberry patch.

 

My little swift is back again this year. She built her nest on top of the spot light on the east porch. She raises a clutch of chicks every year. How long do those swifts live? This one has been there four years, each spring and summer. Great to have her back because of the mosquitos.

 

Shopping this morning, another £7.99 rhodo, "followed me home from Aldi."

Actually I took pity on it, it was one of only a couple from a dozen that wasn't showing serious signs of wilt.



So I found another home for the small azalea and moved the other rhodo a bit so the gap is completely filled.









I've put both leaky hose systems on this morning as it's another warm day.



I'm going to have another "burn up," with the incinerator, later today. We get through a hell of a lot of kitchen roll in our house. We do not possess a teatowel. With the green bin not likely to be emptied for three weeks, there will be some fairly dry stuff that will burn, the non-recyclable bin won't take it all.
We haven't a compost heap or bin, I've never wanted one.







Positioned on the small patio behind the shed, it is far enough away from neighbours not to cause any annoyance.







I tidied up the trailing Mayleen clematis over the front door. "Difficult to get any sort of symmetry at this time of the year," while it's still growing.

 

Yesterday planted 4 pots of hyacinths in the border and replaced some polyanthus that wasn't doing very well. Watered the polyanthus that grows down the side of the path in the front garden.

We got a email from a local gc saying that they'll take orders over the phone because they are shut from people going in but the order has to be £30. with free delivery. we can easily do that this time of year. But at the moment it's difficult to get through on the phone.

 

I gave our little Stella cherry a spray this morning. It's doing exceptionally well.



I bought it on eBay at the end of 2018 (£33) and for its first year it lived in this big tub on the small patio.









Didn't do particularly well. It had some blossom, but much of it didn't get polinated despite the fact that the wisteria blooms near it attract a lot of bees. Then it got leaf curl and think the cherry count in the end was about four and the birds had them.



At the end of last year, I moved it to here, between the azaleas to the side of the patio and the rockery.



It has a huge number of blossoms developing, so I'm hoping that with regular spraying and more polination from the bees visiting the wisteria on the pergola on the back of the house plus covering with a net later in the year, we might get some cherries for ourselves.







I put a couple of ties on it to stop a couple of branches rubbing together, I'll be able to remove them in a few months, once the branches have "set."

 

Managed to get through to the gc and placed a order for £40. It will be delivered on monday just got to find a space in the garage for 5 bags of compost.

 

Another dry clear day.

Too cold to do anything much in the garden today, except feed the birds.

Checked on the wisterias.

Blooms are "bursting out." If I'd left re-painting the two pergolas any later, with those on them, I'd be knocking off as I painted.
I always prune between Christmas and New Year, down to two to four buds and they never fail to deliver.

 

Yesterday was a gorgeous day (FINALLY!!) and I was able to get out and get some of the gardens raked out. I finished all the back gardens, and the 3 on the sides of the house. I have 4 more left to clean up and the veggie garden to get prepared. Rain in the forecast today and tomorrow, so it may have to wait until Monday. Feels so good to be back out in the gardens!

 

Netty, doesn't it feel wonderful to have dirt under your nails, wind in your hair, and an aching back?
It's rainy today, but I managed to get the herb pots that had over-wintered in the barn back outside to the container herb site and the basil starts moved into the barn to start the hardening off process. I asked myself, "Does anyone really need three pots of thyme?" and the answer was "probably."
Our potato plants are coming up, so this rain is most welcome. The new lettuce will be thinned (and eaten) next week, and the broccoli is finished (the cheers you hear in the background are from my husband.

 

We planted our toms for the coming season today. Four types...I am curious how the new ones will perform.
We also transplanted our purple sprouting broccoli.


They came out of these pots:


We have great hopes for these; however, there are wood pigeons, voles, white fly and cabbage butterflies to cope with. Growing these remains a challenge here.

 

Sjoerd, one day at a time! Seedlings look healthy.

 

Sjoerd, there is a natural way to kill cabbage butterflies' larvae, which damages broccoli and its cousins. Mix 1/2 cup of table salt with one cup of flour and sprinkle on the plants. This needs to be renewed after a rain. Somehow this bloats the larvae and kills them. Flour power!
One tablespoon of liquid soap (NOT detergent but soap), two parts of rubbing alcohol, and five parts of water sprayed on plants deters white fly.
Voles and pigeons--have you considered getting a lottie cat?
Good luck with those very nice seedlings!

 

Pricked out some more seedlings, 30 tithonia and 30 cosmos.