What have you done today in the Garden?

@Dirtmechanic seems dictionaries can make and change definitions at there will...funny they can do that though..I know about Clay Soil having lived in a property called Pebbles in Bexhill on Sea from 2000 when it was a heavenly place until 2012 then it soon become obvious that everyone else wanted a piece of the cake....12000 houses planned for the area...but soil..our property was a one story Bungalow but being on a steep slope the downstairs one side was like upstairs....at least the water we suffered there was running downwards so the property drained fast.... now a water course installed that takes most of the water from flooding the properties below...including my daughters who still lives there and her place is classed as in a flood zone still...I am a digger so I changed a fair part of the terrain and the Pebsham Farm at the side of us was higher so I dug out a trench to stop the water entering our garden which ended up a real success as it became a stream and where it made its exit, there I made a waterfall,drained across the Lane and into the new water course....Tried to make this a one liner but the keyboard kept running....Glad we have a fairly flat plot here and raised above the Road, so drainage here is excellent...grow some rice maybe....

 

Sorry to hear about your rip-ties, Cayu. I have had that problem too. I went to those “U”- shaped nails and short lengths of wire. They seem to be holding, but at some point will also need to be replaced.
I found some rip ties that can be re-used, so I use those to tie my bean wigwams together in the spring, then remove them and tuck them away in the fall.

 

Yesterday pricked out the cosmos and verbena bonerenses seedlings, the cosmos into the toilet roll tubes and the verbena into cell trays.
Got 45 cosmos and 48 verbena, don't know where i will put all of them but some may die before then.

 

I just finished putting in the second planting of lettuces, three different kinds of leaf lettuce. My husband asked if we going on a "leafy green" diet and looked a bit worried. I explained that the food pantry could take the excess.
Also put the herb seedlings out on the garden table to continue hardening off before they go into pots.

 

I got the last of the mucky jobs done today.
I jet-washed the "rose patio," got the moss out that starts to grow between the flags.
This patio drains quickly as the flags are loose laid on top of twenty tonnes of fine eco friendly hardcore.
It dried within an hour as it's reasonably warm today. I then swept some new paving sand into the gaps betweeen the flags.

I cleaned the ten pot movers, put a dab of silicone over the drain holes in the bottom and cleaned all the glaze on the outside of the pots.



I jet-washed the four refuse bins and the stand they occupy against the fence. As the fence between the drive and the garden, is set back, you can't see them from the road. I hate to see bins, they spoil the look of so many houses. Well... you can the green bin as that was an extra one we had to have after I built the fence. That lives in front of the garage door. The fence with its door makes the back of our house reasonably secure.



I also jet-washed the 6ft pagaoda in the corner of the garden as it had some moss on the edges of the roofs. I built it thirty-three years ago and some of the fine detail on the edges of the roofs is erroding a bit in places, as it's painted fine mortar. But it adds to its character.

A bit of paint here and there will bring it back.



The only other big jobs yet to be tackled is our green concrete drive. I won't jet-wash that as it isn't looking bad and it responds well to a dose of "Wet and Forget."

I've yet to replace the decorative panels in what was the balustrade of the pool pergola. Also some of the woodwork in the garden will get another coat of paint. But I can do all that a bit at a time as the weather improves.
The next job will be to paint the new troughs when they arrive in a week or so, to match all the other woodwork in the garden.

I've not mentioned plants, as perennials they mostly look after themselves. Although I'm going to make a better "cage" for our Stella cherry tree, out of some old net curtains, to keep the birds away.

But from next week the garden will take second place behind my three golf games a week. I remembered to put my electric golf trolley's battery back on charge, ready for Monday.

 

@Doghouse Riley love the pagaoda !!!!

 

Good planting, Loggy—it is so nice to have extra. Don’t worry, meid...you’ll find a place for them. I like both of those flower types that you are talking about. I can’t wait to to see them in their final display patch. You know, the V.b. Is such versatile plant in terms of planting location and use.

You’ve been busy, Jane. I had to chuckle at that story about the veg and your man. Poor guy. You are such a caution.

Riley, you have put in some hard graft as well. I especially enjoy your postings because your work in the garden is so very different from what mine is. It is this vast difference that makes reading your posts so interesting to me. Again today you mention subjects that I do not experience or do. Thanks mate.
BTW, I like the looks of that pagoda, makes me think of KEW, oké—yours is admittedly shorter, but none-the-less an interesting garden feature.

 

Oops, I forgot to mention that I have been listening to an old episode of GQT from the BBC. It is from their archive and appropriate for this moment. Perhaps you folks may enjoy it as well. Take a listen:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000fx2d

 

Thanks for that. We don't think it looks too "over the top" as it might elsewhere. The tea-house is in the other corner and there's the bamboo "forest" against the back fence and a black bamboo behind it add to the effect.
It looks quite attactive when the blossom on the Sorbus is out.





We've a lot of lights in our garden, controlled by four switches behind the lounge curtains. There's a low voltage spotlight behind the pagoda. But we rarely turn them on. But I regularly make sure they are all working, in case we do.

 

That corner looks oriental alright. You have made your back yard look really nice. It seems that you have not wasted any space. All done tastefully.

 

Today planted sugar snow peas outside, started lettuce and swiss chard inside. Continued my garden redesign and moved my tomato raised bed to it's new spot. Still plenty to get done.

 

Yesterday I finished to weed an asparagus bed I mulched with woodchips and compost. Since the promised rain was not happening, I watered my garden. I couldn’t believe how many stones I extracted from the asparagus. Loads of strawberries in flower. Potatoes popping up in random places in the garden. Lettuces and other volunteers too. Peas and carrots are growing now. I will try to transplant cauliflower and/or build a tunnel for some chillies too.

 

I transplanted 13 chilli plants into a new tunnel and I dug most of a cabbage patch. I will transplant them tomorrow.

 

Oh boy it sounds like everyone's gardens are beginning to pop!

@marlingardener I had to laugh about your husband's reaction to all the greens! My husband reacted the same way years ago when I joined a veggie coop & we had veggies coming out of our ears!

Riley your garden is indeed beautiful.

Odif your description of all the things growing in your garden sounds mouthwatering. I know you said "loads of strawberries in flower" but I pictured delicious fruits.

Sjoerd, I'll watch that video when we get in tonight. Thanks for posting it.

I am not doing anything in the garden at present. We are headed south on a road trip to visit my brother.

I did have a very successful meeting at the community Garden with a consultant about our irrigation problem.. Also, a good planning meeting with the other gardeners about how to fix our fence problem.

Sjoerd, I have seen those fence clips & bought a package to try out. Unfortunately they were to small. We'll find some the right size.

BTW, I am not familiar with rip ties. We have zip ties over here which are not reusable. What do rip ties look like? I like the idea of something that is reusable.

 

Did some weeding around the current and gooseberry bushes. There were some stinging nettles, they're so difficult to get out. Also trimmed the gooseberry bushes back a bit.