"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee

Have lots to do, and am feeling very unmotivated. Nice long lie in, dog walk, have done a bit of weeding (there is LOTS to do) and pressure washed the worst of the brick dust off the patio where the builders have been. The whole thing needs a really good clean once they've stopped making quite so much mess!

I guess I'd better get back to weeding, as I want to mow this evening/tomorrow, and I also have a lot of cat mint to plant. The good news is that the cardboard/woodchip mulch over the new beds has kept the soil underneath it damp, which means planting through the cardboard should work well if I get round to it…

Mulching in the veg plot has also worked well, but the mulch is very dense (lots of grass clippings) so smaller seedlings are going to struggle to make it through. And I need to sow carrots and beetroot!

greenbee

Lie in again (very tired still, which is not good as I'm away for work Tues-Thurs), short dog walk as we got about 1/3 of the way round and there was an aggressive dog (which the owner struggles to control) coming towards us, so we decided to head home rather than stop and let it pass as we would with other dogs.

Mowing done - technically we're in no-mow May, but I wanted to mow the dandelion clocks and bin them. The grass isn't really growing as it has been so dry, but I do need to mark out where the mow/no mow sections are before the gardener is back from holiday. Probably a job for next weekend with bamboos (and some angle iron to make holes in the rock solid ground to stick them in!).

More cardboard put down in the veg plot. I didn't weed thoroughly under these bits and pull up the couch, but it's better that it's all down. I need more cardboard!

Plants that have been sitting in pots for nearly a year have finally been put in the ground - turns out that under the completely dry woodchip the new beds are nice and damp, worms are starting to move in, and some of the turf has rotted down (some hasn't). So one of the beds now actually looks as if it is meant to be a flowerbed! Of course, I now need plants for the other beds…

I also moved the magnolia I planted a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't happy (something appears to be trying to eat it) and it hadn't been in long, so a new location away from the wood in a new hole. The old hole has been used for a Cercis that a neighbour gave me last year which was heeled in elsewhere. Now I just need them to get going. Both are less than 2ft tall, so not really offering much shade yet!

I still have 48 nepeta plugs to plant, which clearly isn't going to happen today. I also want to spread a thin layer of grass clippings in the veg plot where the cardboard/woodchip section is. I think I'm going to put squash there so it could do with some extra mulching. Plus I need to build some structures for them to climb up (instead of the laurel/fence/maple/hedge). There are lots of things in the greenhouse that need planting out/potting on, and I haven't sown climbing bean seeds yet.

Stinky wants a walk, so that may be next on the list, and then I need to tidy up a bit before deciding whether I'm going to get anything else done in the garden today.

greenbee

Have tidied up, but didn't get the 48 baby catmint plants in the ground. They may get done tomorrow, or may wait till next weekend.

Inspired by my progress in actually getting stuff planted, I've decided I need to do some plant shopping. If I have stuff in pots on top of where they are going to go I might actually dig the holes… And I need to think of a way to remember to leave spaces for the shrubs that I want to move (mostly camellias and hydrangeas). I'll fill gaps with annuals (need to order seeds before it's too late) and will just scatter seeds and hope it all self-seeds in future to try to crowd out the weeds. The soil is really poor, so what grows voluntarily is pretty much dandelions and nothing else.

Suggests for favourite:

• Salvias
• Lavenders
• Rosemaries
• Dwarf lilacs
• Peonies
• Dahlias
• Daphne (small)
• Viburnmum (small, scented)
• Geums
• Poppies
• Zinnias
• Clematis - to go on pergola with roses
• Climbing/rambling roses - for 8ft tall pergola. I've got a Paul's Himalayan Musk, so need something repeat flowering to go with it. I think there's also a Cecile Brunner. And I've got one section with nothing on it at all.

Pinks/blues/purples/creams mostly. Although I was thinking adding some orange/red in places. Not a fan of yellow mostly.

I'll scatter cosmos in amongst them, and have about a billion nepeta to plant on the edges. I've also got erigeron I can dig up from the front beds and transplant.

Sun_Addict

Oh my days you’ve made me dizzy with all the garden doing! My garden is favoured heavily by buttercups. They’re beautiful but very invasive.

greenbee

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81993751#Comment_81993751

I have a lot of creeping buttercup too. More yellow to follow on from the dandelions :)

KajiKita

If you have sunny spots, then nasturtiums flower well in poor soils. They come in subtler colours then the standard red and yellow 😊

KK

greenbee

I have lots of sun when it shines :) The garden is north facing but long, so at this time of year most of it gets a decent amount of sun. It's VERY dry (East Anglia, sandy soil where it isn't builders' spoil). Love nasturtiums - lots self-seeded in the veg plot, and hopefully some in the patio pots too.

rtandon27

Mexican Daisies are my filler of choice - whites and pinks mostly and they are prolific, hearty and no fuss! - usually flower from May to Oct - last year mine flowered into November.

Watty1

Thank you for the filler ideas (adds seeds to shopping list).

greenbee

We have rain. It'll probably stop when the guttering is back on the garage/new office and the water butts are reattached. But I should probably go and sling some seeds around (and check the greenhouse given last night's frost).

All the cameras I've been ignoring are now being charged/having batteries changed. And builders have promised that the door will be on and secured by the time they leave tonight.

Not-Fatty has just brought in another bird. Too late to save it. Annoyingly, she hasn't got the message about not bringing them into the house. I may have to upgrade the cat flap to one of the facial recognition ones - although that won't work when all the doors are open!

Dog walk in the rain next, then must remember I have a pre-lunchtime meeting (I don't usually, so easy to forget).