What have you done today in the Garden?

Tied up some more of the blackberry plants, only got one to go that's around the front. Also cut back some of the redcurrant bushes.
Some of the deciduous Azaleas struggled this year with the drought, don't think that they'll flower next year.

 

Still too wet to do anything in the garden.
If it's dry tomorrow, I'll do some leaf gathering in the front garden.

It's turning colder, but this acer still has new pink leaves appearing.




I'd expected to have been clearing up the berries from this sorbus by now, but they are hanging on.




I like hebes as they aren't too much trouble.
A job for the winter will be to sort this lot out.
Three pots in each trough.






They are pretty much root bound now. I know this as I've pushed a cane through the compost in a few places in each pot twice this year to make sure they get some water, which met with quite some resistance. I'm going to remove them from their pots, cut out some of the roots and repot them with some fresh compost.

I bought these troughs a few years ago and painted them to match the rest of the woodwork in the garden. I made feet out of Polypipe for them to keep them off the patio and also removed the solid bottoms, replacing them with a couple of batons so that the pots could sit in plastic saucers on the batons. Otherwise, the trough would get totally waterlogged and rot.
I'll give the troughs another coat of paint at the same time.

The wisteria leaves are beginning to turn, those on this one are always the first. Once they start to fall, I'll give them a hand and strip the rest.





These present a bigger problem. I'll thin out the cascading branches on the one on the garage pergola.
You can see the "door" in the wire fence around the azalea bed I made, to keep the cats away from 'arry the hedgehog's house.

You don't notice the fence from the French windows.


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What do the grounds do Daniel? ( besides make your garden smell fabulous in the morning ) Do you mix them right in or compost them?

We have a family member that has a composting business in Vancouver. She was actually on Dragon's Den about ten years ago as a young lady and had some support for her business. It was a Coffee Station/Water Cooler recyling program that targetted all of the downtown office buildings. Apparently back then all of the coffee station by products were being thrown away.

 

@Doghouse Riley - I'm really happy that you get to enjoy the Acers in colour this year. You've lost a lot of leaves on the rosebushes it seems. I like the wooden planters - good idea for keeping them from rotting. That is always such an issue.

I looked up your Leaf Vac machine...I'm quite envious. You are right of course, when you say best for pathways. My silly imagination took me for a laugh right away....I can envision what I would suck up...rocks, voles, mice....I think I'd need protective wear and could potentially lose control of the situation very quickly. It sounds perfect for your lovey garden though.

 

Today I mowed the grass paths for the last time this season.
Made some plans for the Clematis arches.

 

I'm slowly getting rid of some redcurrant bushes in the back garden. I've got a lot in the front garden and they do better there. In the back garden at the back I've got some deciduous Azaleas that i want to move, so they're going in the place of the redcurrants. They're at the back of these big pots.

 

ooooohhhh Clematis arches?? Do tell more. I'm a softy for an arch way, and Clematis are so beautiful. It must have been nice to get out after all of the rain you were expecting.

 

Do redcurrants transplant well for you L? I have one that I will have to move this spring. I'm a little reluctant as it has been there for almost ten years, and it is a memory bush for an old fur baby that was as shining, sweet and tart as the currants - but it is no longer is getting enough sunlight. The one spot I have in mind can be a bit dry, but is full sun. The other gets a little more afternoon evening sun, but also a little more protected. Any suggestions?

 

Hi Melody, that's a lovely thought, have you pruned it? Be better to take cuttings, mine isn't in full sun all day and once they're established i don't water them.

 

View attachment 25 Most of my garden is just wait and see .. seasonal color changes. All are pruned and ready for winter.just waiting on the leaves to fall and my winter garden chores are done. Hopefully..

 

The coffee grounds add nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, NPK about 2.1: 0.3: 0.3. They also have some iron and magnesium. I add then as one part of my ongoing program to maintain and improve soil health and fertility. I don't think they need composting first - my veggies usually grow very well. people used to try mulching with grounds or adding a massive amount. Too much. My soil probably isn't even 1% coffee grounds, just after mixing them in. I also add a good scattering of crushed eggshell, for the calcium and also the nitrogen.

 

Pacnor, those are stunning foto’s. I just keep looking at your colourful plants. Cor, you have put lots of thought and work into that!
Chapeau.

Hiya Mel— I have a number of arches on my allotment. I use Lonicera and Clematis for these. Today I made a move on them.


You can see the arch bare and the foliage pile to the left of the arch.
The removed foliage will be piled onto the veggie beds.


A closer look at the arch and a segment to the right of the arch were the objects of my clean-up efforts today.

 

Sjoerd thank you as the colors are quite brighter in fall even on the cypres, and deciduous trees and the hops vine on the arch .
I like all your arches they add a lot of height and interest in spring no matter what vine is climbing.
I have a very fast growing wisteria that is constantly screaming out to be trimmed or it would take over the roof the trees and everything around it. I keep telling myself next year I’ll cut it down. Just trim out a branch or two.,
Also blended a purple early blooming clematis to weave in and out of the wisteria.

 

I got on top of leaf collection yesterday.
There will only be a few more now to come down from the acer in the front garden. Fortunately, the azaleas and rhodos don't shed many leaves.
Those I collected half-filled the green bin.
I'm photographing into the sun here. The "yellow bits" in the azaleas is just the light shining through.

I mowed the back lawn which collected a lot of leaves, then collected quite a few that gather in the trough between the lawn and the border.


The rest I blew to the back.
If it stays dry this afternoon, I can get behind the azaleas and rhodos and sweep up a lot of them. I'll leave some to rot down, but collect those from the rhodos as they don't.

I'll then "attack" next door's silver birches with my Fiskars lopper I recently extended, where they overhang our garden. There's a lot of straggly branches.




If I do it now before the leaves start to fall and the wind blows them into our garden, there will be fewer to collect later.

 

Yesterday was chilly and rainy. The yellow jackets were sluggish and just sat on apples without chasing me. So I harvested a couple dozen apples. Then I used a half dozen apples to make apple sauce. I brought inside, the last of the holiday cacti, orchids, and the Brugmansia.

Today we have the atmospheric river. Rufus is barking at the rain.