What have you done today in the Garden?

Here in the UK, that amount of wood would have cost a lot of money!

 

I put it down to I've probably not enough to do, as it's still too cold to do anything in the garden, which would just be a bit of tidying anyway.

We had these troughs in front of the summer house for about ten years, but the bottoms rotted on them. So there's been nothing here for about three years.





So I decided I'd get some new ones.

I had a long search on eBay, checking on dozens of these sort of troughs. Many "I wouldn't have given house room." Why do vendors sometimes photograph stuff that is poorly constructed?

Anyway, I eventually found these. The space either side of the summerhouse steps is 90cms, so I needed ones that weren't longer than that, as they'd look a bit naff if they stuck out either side, or were too short.
They are very similar to the ones on the patio, with the sort of base that will allow water to drain through. I'll give them a couple of coats of Dulux Woodstain. They should be here by the end of the week. They appear to be quite well made. But like the others they're probably assembled with a nail gun, so I'll reinforce them with some screws.

I'll get some new hebes for them in a few weeks, the original ones in the patio planters don't look as if they've survived "the big freeze."

 

Here too. Especially anything like a cedar. Redwood is not common in the southeast anymore.

 

Nothing today it's been too cold and frosty all day.

 

Today was dry and sort of mild, so I managed to cut the old leaves off on about half of our Helleborus. Had to stop because it got dark so quickly and I couldn't find my head lamp.

 

Today I planted more pepper seeds.



The one with the light reflection is an Ancho.

The dried Ancho (Poblano) pepper seeds aren't going to grow, so I bought these. I want to use heirloom varieties as much as possible, so I can save seeds. I don't know if my Thai Dragon peppers are hybrids, so I bought a packet of heirloom Thai pepper seeds too. None of the Banana pepper seeds germinated, so I bought new ones. Otherwise it will be "Yes, We Have No Banana" (Peppers) this year. The others are experiments for my cool night, short summer climate (Rewia, Yellow Monster, and Anaheim Peppers). It would be nice to have fresh, stuffable peppers from the garden.

Of course, their planter box is not built yet. I have until May. It's not pleasant out there at the moment due to neighbor construction noise, about which I can do nothing. Their road is 5 feet from my garden, possibly over-extended beyond the easement, also about which I can do nothing (sigh). I hope that when the paving is done, it will usually be quieter.*

I transplanted the basil seedlings.



If the stars align, we'll have fresh basil from indoor plants in a couple of months. Part of the joy of transplanting them, is the aroma when I brush my fingers on the leaflets.

*Would it be a bad thing to post a sign that says, "Children who trespass will be made into venison sausage and sold at the farmers' market"?

 

Yes, it would! And you want to keep them for your roses, right?

 

I've done nothing today except spend more money.

I went to Dulux to get another 2.5 ltrs. of Woodstain. £72. It'd be cheaper on eBay, but I couldn't be bothered.
I'll only need a bit of it for the new trough, but the tea-house and the posts of the pergolas will get a coat. They really don't need it, but the weather during the winter makes them a bit dull. But I'll leave it until April.

Then went to the garden centre for three more bags of ericaceous compost, £16. But I'm ready for when some hebes come available.

I'll finish painting the troughs by the week-end. The old hebes, I'll remove from their plastic pots and plant them along the narrow border between the tea-house and the shed and they can take their chances. It won't matter if they've been killed by the frost.

I'll have their six plastic pots for the new hebes when I get them, they'll need a good wash out. They look a bit tatty, but they won't be seen in the new troughs.

I'm not happy with mimosa we bought, which arrived at the end of last week. It looks decidedly tatty and is losing leaves. Probably frost damage, but "I'm not having it." I sent a photo with an e-mail on Friday. I sent another photo I took today where it looks even tattier.I've asked them to collect it and give me a refund.






Surprise! Surprise!



The troughs I ordered yesterday on eBay arrived this afternoon. I guess such firms aren't that busy yet.

They were packed in substantial, dedicated cardboard boxes with the company logo on the side.

They look as good as the illustration on the website. Like the ones I already have, they're fitted together with a nail gun. So I'm going to Wilko's for some screws I need about thirty for each and I haven't enough. This will make them "future-proof," as gun nails eventually rust and I have visions of trying to move one with the pots in it and bits coming off a few years down the line. I've also the feet to make, so that will be it for today. It's golf tomorrow and shopping Thursday morning, so I'll start the painting Thursday afternoon.

 

Daniel, your efforts are paying dividends. Well done, mate.
You are so much further along than I.

 

I got a bit done this afternoon, Drilled and screwed all the joints to re-inforce the troughs. Particularly the base, which only had two pin nails at each end of the batons. I can otherwise imagine sometime in the future, me picking one up, with three full pots in it and them falling out the bottom.

It felt a bit damp, not wet. Probably stored in an unheated workshop. I noticed a bit, as the screws were drawing in some of the batons. But they are now in the "freezer room" in the garage, which is dray and warmer than outside, so they should dry out before I paint them



I fitted brackets under the mitre joints of the top, as I did the other two. I can see them curling up like Dead Sea Scrolls over time, as there was only one pin nail joining the two faces together.



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I made some little feet for them.


I like to use stuff I find in my garage where I can, Just bits of thick dowel and some re-used polypipe.




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Nothing today it's been too cold and frosty.

 

@Daniel W In the past I've bought chilli seeds and they never germinated, so bought the fruit from the supermarket and saved the seeds, they grew alright so i always save mine. Hope that you get on well with yours.

 

brilliant .. lots of fruit and veggies grown from supermarket seeds.

 

@Doghouse Riley you are an inspiration. I recently found two bare-wood boxes that will serve as sort-of drawers in a narrow bookcase. More space for sewing extras. The good ones cost a fortune, but these were very cheap. They will need sanding, stain, polyurethane, screws where there are staples. I don't have enough organized space for projects. Those will provide a little more.

Today, I did some outdoor garden work.

These "what are those?" are a bit larger than a half- wine barrel, but with open bottom. They are made from cinder-block arcs, which fit together to make a circle. Their purpose is to serve as edging around small trees or shrubs. They are stacked, so that the flat edges are against one another, and the scalloped edges nest together. I assembled them on top of some durable, re-purposed, non-rustable plastic chicken wire, as mole protection. They will be almost-touching the planter box that I'll build soon, so that drip tubing can be easily installed for both. Each will have room for about four small-growing pepper plants, or two larger growing pepper plants. The one on the left still needs the top row of edging. Also, I'll fill them to the top edge, to allow for settling.



I'm filling them layer-cake style, with layers of good garden soil, not fully composted compost, a bit of perlite, coffee grounds, and eggshells. They'll also get some biochar. By June, the bio-matter should be fully composted and I can stir them and plant the plants. In fact, the mess of fig leaves that I added today were a gloppy mess, and nearly composted already. The reason for the additives is that I want them to drain well and also have good water retention properties. As well as tilth and fertility. The height, about 2 feet tall, is easy for me to manage the plants, weed, etc.

I also discovered that a lot of the bearded irises that I gave up on are alive and growing. I'm making a border, so they will be easier to tend. Today, I moved most of the remaining plants to the border. Here, the grasses infiltrate them and it's a big challenge. I added tree chips and intend to cover them with something better, maybe fine bark dust. That's not how they say to grow irises, but I think it's my only choice, and they are my favorite flower.



There are still a few scattered clumps to move, which I'll do later. I would be happy if some bloom this year, but I don't know.

The garlic surprised me. When I planted them in October, I covered the rows with a thick layer of tree leaves. Then I thought, maybe the leaves were suppressing the garlic growth, so I pulled the tree leaves away from the rows. I thought I did. Those rows are growing nicely, for the most part. Today I was poking around and discovered that I missed THREE rows! There were pale looking garlic shoots under those leaves. So I pulled the tree leaves aside from those rows too. I'm certain those will green up quickly now.



That's about 24 more plants! When the weather warms up and they are much talker, I'll push the tree leaves back against the garlic plants.

 

Yes that's right, I've saved tomato seeds and a long time ago i did it with strawberries. I've planted potatoes that were meant for cooking and they did well.