GreenFly - A 'flylady style' gardening thread with weekly tasks to tame your garden

spendaholic

It's so nice, @debtfreewannabe321, to see someone with the exact same issue as us! It was actually heartening to see your pile and to know we're not alone!

Our borders aren't as defined as yours yet, so we don't have any to use the chippings on. Perhaps that will make us do the borders sooner rather than later.

Our garden is now under a blanket of snow, and so are the 2 new bags of compost! I think the indoor pots will be done first, though, all the same.

greenbee

Garden waste bins go out on Monday, and luckily my gardener was here on Friday so has filled them up with prunings from shrubs we haven't had a chance to cut back in the year and a bit we've been here. TBH you can't really tell what he's cut back but at least we've made a start!

All the compost we made this year has now been used on either the veg plot or the borders, and there wasn't quite enough as there's still about 12 metres of border to weed and nothing to mulch it with. As it's the first nice day we've had for ages, I've been out and cut back the annuals (and put them on the new compost heap). I plan to weed down there later today as the sun is out and will apparently stay out for a few hours, so I want to make the most of it!

A neighbour has been over and measured up for the fencing. He's going to quote for moving all the stuff we've piled up there out of the way and cutting down/back the neighbours' hedge (as agreed with them) so we can actually put the fence up. There will be more than enough deer fencing left to do the veg garden afterwards.  Talking of which - I still need to clear some beds there and come up with a planting plan for next year so I can work out when to get what started.

The greenhouse needs a bit more clearing out done so that I can wash it down inside and out and start preparing it for next year too. I was hoping to have enough compost to make some deep beds in there this year, but clearly that's not going to happen.

I'm also way behind on my scything, which is annoying, but I'm sure it won't make much difference in the long run. 

redofromstart

I managed an hour and got another green waste bin filled with wisteria etc.  Still a mountain of branches on what was once a lawn.  I should get another bin filled tomorrow.

greenbee

My garden waste bins are full - they go out today which is good as I have another bucket of weeds to go in them as soon as they are emptied. It's another dull grey day today, and while I have an unexpected non-work morning at home, I don't think I'll get much done outside as there is lots of inside stuff to do. 

Cherryfudge

Our garden waste collection has stopped for the winter but at least we got a bin full out while it was still going, and can refill at our leisure.

All these tales of garden work are very impressive! I feel I've done very little recently though some days the weather has been anywhere from unpleasant to hazardous so I do have an excuse or two.

Yesterday, which was mild, I took myself in hand and finally planted the spring bulbs and irises in pots. I'm so pleased with myself!  It's a delight looking at the pots with one or two tiny shoots (some of the bulbs were sprouting) just showing. It's also been nice seeing the birds come down on the feeders and a blackbird having a bath in the ground level bird bath I put out for them.

EssexHebridean

We are now at the mostly pottering and doing odds and ends stage in our little patch. I did find out yesterday that the redcurrant that had the garden waste bin land on it last weekend has suffered a broken off branch, so that has been trimmed up and stuck in a jar of water and we'll see how it fares - if it shows any sign of rooting then it may yet do us a favour, although I suspect it won't! 

The front has various bits flowering - an anemone, a geranium (for goodness sake - mad thing!) and the greek basil still has some flower as well. The bulbs that have popped their heads up are i suspect beginning to consider that they may have been a bit optimistic as they aren't looking so cheerful about it now! 

redofromstart

Its really cheering the things you can see starting to flower if you look - I noticed that both my white flowered winter honeysuckles have started, one of the daphnes, a single hellebore in the front and orangey/red witch hazel when I went out to feed the birds earlier.  When I first got interested in gardening someone advised me to buy something in bloom every month so there was always something to look at, and i have always remembered and applied that.  It has been fairly mild the last few days which helps.

Like you @Cherryfudge I planted a lot of spring bulbs and it is lovely to see those little bits of green peeping through.  I must check that the ones for indoors are doing ok in the garage and see if they want watering.  

The roofers have left quite a few bits of leftover treated wooden laths and I do wonder about rescuing them to use to edge the big veg plot.  I could then do some top dressing for the worms to work on over winter.  The no dig beds worked up to a point but unfortunately the cats thought I had made a giant litter tray which was really rather off putting.

Our green waste bins get collected tomorrow, and then not for four weeks so really it was the last chance to exit some of the serious prunings that had to be done to make way for the scaffolding.  I refuse to let it go into a skip when I have paid for the green waste bins which have a far higher chance of being composted rather than chucked in landfill.

The birds have already emptied one of the feeders (sunflower hearts) and there is a Robin sat staring pleadingly at my window so I had better nip back out and re-fill.  It took a few years for our various flocks arrive but we now get a lovely range of small birds through.  

Cherryfudge

redofromstart said:

When I first got interested in gardening someone advised me to buy something in bloom every month so there was always something to look at, and i have always remembered and applied that. 

What a good idea! Not much flowers in winter here (North Yorkshire) but there are a few things still going this year. I must keep my eyes open. My favourite is Viburnum Bodnantense Dawn which I planted by the front gate years ago. The scent of the flowers lifts my spirits every time.

I'm off to look up winter flowering honeysuckle. 

Working_Mum

Cherryfudge said:

redofromstart said:

When I first got interested in gardening someone advised me to buy something in bloom every month so there was always something to look at, and i have always remembered and applied that. 

What a good idea! Not much flowers in winter here (North Yorkshire) but there are a few things still going this year. I must keep my eyes open. My favourite is Viburnum Bodnantense Dawn which I planted by the front gate years ago. The scent of the flowers lifts my spirits every time.

I'm off to look up winter flowering honeysuckle. 

Thanks for this Cherryfudge - I walk home each morning with my dog and pass a garden with this in it and every morning I think 'I must take a pic and see if I can track it down!' I have added it to my List for next year

Cherryfudge

Working_Mum said:

Cherryfudge said:

redofromstart said:

When I first got interested in gardening someone advised me to buy something in bloom every month so there was always something to look at, and i have always remembered and applied that. 

What a good idea! Not much flowers in winter here (North Yorkshire) but there are a few things still going this year. I must keep my eyes open. My favourite is Viburnum Bodnantense Dawn which I planted by the front gate years ago. The scent of the flowers lifts my spirits every time.

I'm off to look up winter flowering honeysuckle. 

Thanks for this Cherryfudge - I walk home each morning with my dog and pass a garden with this in it and every morning I think 'I must take a pic and see if I can track it down!' I have added it to my List for next year

@Working_Mum, it took me a while to find out what it is. Long ago my sister had a paper round and if she was unwell, I'd do it for her. One of the gardens had a shrub that smelled delicious. I was about 19 and this was pre-internet so I just kept a look out and eventually found it. Then when we had a hedge to plant, I bought one specially to put nearest the gate. My one single gripe is that I've never managed to strike a cutting from it. I don't know what the secret is as I can grow lots of other things. Enjoy yours when you get it!