What have you done today in the Garden?

Trying something new - if this link doesnt work, I'll try Plan B LOL

https://www.gardenstew.com/threads/tomato-pie.43916/#post-411221

 

Willow it's a variety called "Orcas". They are similar to Bartlets.

 

Well the garden work has been interrupted by COVID visiting my household. I am not symptomatic yet but watching for whatever the next few days bring. After two ER trips this week, I've had my fill of the medical establishment. But what can one do? We were there last night from 10pm to 6 am due to a case of cellulitis, but first they had to maximize the money-ectomy. (Can you tell I'm grouchy?).

Between yesterday and today, I did a few garden tasks -

Planted tulip bulbs in a large container.


I can put that in my fenced garden to keep cats and squirrels put, until they bloom next year. I have a second container for these -



plus some irises I hope to dig up from the border, soon. I think containers are better for me than in-ground, for a lot of things.

Plus I have a couple of Dendrobium orchids that refuse to give up, despite severe neglect. So I repotted them.



One had some baby plants on the stems (keikis). So I cut them off, and cut the stems on the red lines.



Then planted them in a small container.




They should take off and grow quickly. I don't pamper them, but do give a bit of fertilizer.

I planted some chive seeds for next year.





The garlic chives will be filling for these. It takes a big bunch of them. They are perennial but seem to dwindle after a few years.



When I was about 10 years old, I saw so e garlic chive seeds in a catalog and liked the flowers, so bought seeds and grew them. They were still growing in my parents' yard, 45 years later. They considered them weeds.

I replaced the broken doggie door. Rufus likes to peer out the door while I'm puttering or watering.





Now he wants a treat.

 

Wow those are nice looking onions! Your seed starting and care were right on!

Hubby's squashes look great too,

My squashes may not amount to much. There are a few, not many this year. I am very happy with my onions. At first they didn't do well, but they fooled me and produced nicely.

 

Melody those onions look great.

Started to weed around the path in the front garden but it started to drizzle so hubby told me to come in.

 

That is a great idea to use containers. Thousands of people do that. Watering is fun to do and the only real work is bundling them all into a garage or somewhere at the end of the season for protection. No seriously, I have seen men and women with more than a hundred containers in their small garden areas. If it makes life easier, then why not. If I ever decide to grow tulips or dahlias again, I will do them in pots that I can remove from a hole in the garden. Yeah, I would just dig a hole and chuck them in for the season. Riley shows how he uses containers — I support your idea 100%, mate.

Your orchid revival plan looks good. Orchids are such exotic and wondrous plants when they bloom, especially.

Chives— such a handy plant to have around…and the blooms are attractive as well as attractive for all manner of pollinators.

I am not avoiding the elephant in the room. I hope and trust that you will fare well and that the symptoms will not be severe for you. Actually, your well-fare is the only thing in this posting of yours that I care about. Godspeed.

 

Daniel, i forgot to mention i hope that you'll be ok from Covid.

 

I don't know where you get your energy from Daniel...but I'd like some. I think pots are a great idea - and your flowers that you are choosing will be so nice to enjoy and maintain without weeding and vermin snacking on the bulbs. You can leave the pots out where you live?

So sorry to hear of COVID in your house again. - I truly hope all improve soon. I hope that you won't catch this one. Late night emerg trips are zero fun and exhausting. Bed must feel good.

That is a wonderful doggy door! I love how he can see out. And....HI RUFUS! I just want to put Rufus' furry little gray face between my hands and smooch his forehead. He'd probably run to Dad for protection from the crazy smoochy lady. hahaha

 

I picked raspberries and we harvested raspberry potatoes. I had a picture of all of them but my tablet went to sleep and it disappeared. So this is half the potatoes. I'll be making raspberry jam today.

 

I got into the rockery today, before it became more grass than phlox.

The problem is that the grass can have longer roots than the phlox. So you have to be careful you, "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!"





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There's warm weather forecast for the month so the phlox should re-establish itself.

Then I weeded the whole of the long border and the small border between the shed and the tea-house.
The long border is a pain, as the azaleas and rhodos are quite dense. So It's a hands and knees job crawling along the length of it, between the fence and the planting with a bucket and a trowel. A lot of grass from next door grows under the base panels of the party fence. "This was, "a three cans of Magner's cider job."






Finished off by spraying both patios and the path with "wet n' forget."

The lawn has mostly recovered from its scarifying, so I'll mow it tomorrow.

This will put me pretty much up to date. I was going to do a bit of patio and path re-pointing, but that might just be put off until next year.

 

Very nice harvest, Willow. That will keep you busy for a while.

Nice workday there. The lawn looks good, doesn’t it.
Enjoy your cider!

 

I didn't do much today, but what I did took the best part of four hours.
Mowed the lawn, nearly fully recovered from the scarifying.
The side nearest the camera needs occasional "edging," with a strimmer.





Tidied these rhodos and azaleas. They want to grow out over the lawn, I don't as the shade they make assists patches of moss to thrive on that side of the lawn, so it was a bit of pruning and tying back. Vacuumed up the remaining fallen rhodo leaves.




Gave the exterior of the tea-house a clean. I do this a few times a year as it gets quite grubby. It also gives me an opportunity to check for any rot. Thankfully there's been none in 36 years despite the fact I made it from soft wood. It gets another coat of paint every other year. The stuff I use on all the wooden features in the garden, has gone up to £72 for 2.5 ltrs., but it's worth it.




I'm pleased with the six small heathers I bought for the other troughs on the main patio earlier in the year. They've grown and are already showing some flower buds.

When the blooms faded, I brought four of them down to these troughs.









They've thrived despite all the shade.

I'll take out the four hebes either side of the other two heathers in these troughs on the patio when they are finished and put them in the troughs in front of the tea-house and bring the other heathers down.




So hopefully, we'll be back to this.




While I was out there, I played a couple of dozen 45s on each of my jukeboxes. They were designed for frequent use, periods of inactivity isn't good for them, lots of moving parts. I try to play a few tracks on each twice a week, throughout the year. (They have thermal covers and small heaters inside them for the winter, they are happiest at room temperature).





I got into next door's overhanging trees with my Barnel telescopic pruner. Couldn't do much without a ladder and it's a pain looking up all the time, my neck starts to ache.






This acer palmatum Taylor is doing well, two previous ones died, due to poor grafting.

 

Just did a bit of weeding this afternoon,but it got too hot and the ground is dry.

 

Yes, I made another batch of plain raspberry jam-ish (I took some of the seeds out). I picked more raspberries today. And watered early before the heat came. I also covered most of my raspberries with shade cloth. It's supposed to be high 90's for the next couple days. Right now it's 90 with real feel 91F. High is supposed to be 94 F. Tomorrow and the next day are supposed to be hotter.
I will be making up my own recipe for chocolate raspberry jam, today. There's a place here called Culvers and when my granddaughter and I go there I (most times) order a chocolate raspberry milkshake. I thought maybe chocolate raspberry jam would be good over ice cream. So I will be attempting this feat, but later tonight when it starts cooling down. Right now I just closed all the curtains and doors (it feels like a dungeon), but it's staying cool.