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

KajiKita

Cherryfudge said:

KajiKita said:

Am a bit sore and soil covered now (keep finding it in my ears! 😂😂) but satisfied 😊 

KK

Apparently physical contact with the soil is good for you. I wish I'd bookmarked where I originally read that, but there's something here. I don't think I've ever seen the ears recommended as a starting point, though!

😂😂😂😂😂
I have given my ears a particularly thorough scrub in the shower this evening so as to avoid ear prints on my pillow … 😉

Cherryfudge said:

I also bought a primrose from the var boot sale. Sadly, it seems the one I inherited from my Mum, and that she had from her best friend's garden back in the early 60s, hasn't survived the summer despite watering. I decided that if I can't keep that line going, I will at least still have a primrose patch.

Don’t give up just yet. My primroses are only just starting to leaf up again after the hot, dry weather. Clear the weeds but leave anything remotely primrose like in, in the area the plant was as it may have seeded itself as well. 🤞🤞🤞 for you.

KK

Cherryfudge

KajiKita said:

Cherryfudge said:
Don’t give up just yet. My primroses are only just starting to leaf up again after the hot, dry weather. Clear the weeds but leave anything remotely primrose like in, in the area the plant was as it may have seeded itself as well. 🤞🤞🤞 for you.

Thank you for those encouraging words @KajiKita. Perhaps the cooler temperatures and the rain will bring it back!

So, last night it rained quite a lot and I've been busy with other things most of the day but I found an hour for the garden before it went dark. I'm on a roll at the moment! This time I've mown the grass - it's been a while since it was done, but it's taken till now to get to the 'really needs a haircut' stage. I also did a bit of weeding and trimmed a few holly twigs. I was limited on the holly as the green bin is full.

Last night I discovered a dump of plant pots behind the shed. I've dim memories of moving some over there while tidying another area, but they appear to have bred. They all need a clean up but I've emptied old compost onto the flower beds and stacked some pots together so there's some improvement, though a way to go.

EssexHebridean

Pleased that our garden mostly survived the strong winds at the weekend without issue - a few potted tomatoes had gone flying, and the bean frame has developed a significant lean, but that was about it. With luck it will hang on for long enough for the final beans to be harvested! We've taken some of the weight out of it by thinning out some of the bits that have already finished cropping. The wigwam too has had most of the bits that collapsed a few weeks ago taken out - the compost bin is VERY full! 

Everything has slowed down dramatically now - we might get a few more courgettes, and the toms are still ripening very slowly - at least those can be ripened indoors. Peppers are turning red - I reckon by the weekend those will be ready for harvesting. I've done some clearance so that the growbag with the chillies in it can be moved down to get a bit more sunshine/light generally as those are staying resolutely green...

We're also having discussions about applying for an allotment - in fact, I think we've decided that we will. MrEH is making enquiries of the council as to how long the wait is, etc. 

Cherryfudge

Very little done in the garden over the past week, though I gave in to the siren call of buying plans while taking the granddaughters to look at the Hallowe'en and Christmas decorations at the garden centre. Two assorted Michaelmas Daisies and one eryngium.

Today DH and I spent an hour and a half reducing an overgrown plum tree. It's a beautiful self-sown Mirabel plum but the fruit is too high for us to get any before the birds do, and it's been shading the garden. It's still ladder-height at the top so we haven't decimated it. I've been chopping up the twiggy bits for the green bin and haven't finished yet. The thicker bits are being stacked to set aside to dry as kindling and firewood.

Cherryfudge

More time spent with plants yesterday and the day before, though mainly potting on houseplants and dividing them. I have about seven spares now, though I already have homes for three of them and have returned a prayer plant that I'd nursed back to health to its owner.

I am starting to work out the practicalities of a little project I came up with when the path was made: there's a small space between the path and the shed which is supposed to be lawn but is just a scruffy mess, so I'm edging it with bricks to see if I can make a small feature raised bed, more a glorified planted than anything. I think it would neaten the area up but am starting to suspect it might need proper bricklaying, which I've never tried.

SuzeQStan

Excellent idea re the raised bed - do you already have the bricks for edging?  I’m no help re brick laying although I did sort out a short stacked ‘wall’ to help keep in our smaller logs of firewood in one of the logs stores. I watched a yootoobe vid which helped me a bit for that. 

Cherryfudge

YouTube is a good idea, thanks, @SuzeQStan. We have a few bricks and it's only a small area so there might be enough but if not, I'm sure we can get more. 

No gardening done today and only about 10 minutes of weeding yesterday.

EssexHebridean

If we get nothing else done this weekend we must get the cabbages planted out, and that in its turn will mean prepping the bed for them. Current thinking is that they will go into the long strip bed alongside the path - that will need a thorough clearing/weeding. We’ll probably make a start on getting the big bed cleared as well - the sweetcorn at least can come out. 

Still harvesting beans and toms - there is at least one more cucumber to come and we’re hopeful for a few more courgettes too, although they have mostly been quite disappointing this year, but we suspect that is down to where they were planted.

EssexHebridean

Treated myself to a tray of 6 beautiful orange Violas at the farmer's market on Saturday - the stall there is brilliant and we've had a few bits from there in the past and been pleased with them. They have been put in mostly in the pots at the front, but one is filling a small gap in the back too and the bright splash of colour is very effective!

MrEH bought and planted some more crocuses in the bank of grass out the front the other weekend, but aside from that we need to be restrained on any more buying of bulbs this year - we've got a lot in already, and need to see how they fare I think, otherwise the risk is that we'll end up digging a lot of them up while trying to plant more! Once we see what is happening with the existing stuff in the spring, we might keep an eye on well priced potted mini-daffs to fill gaps for following years as that could work well. I might also try and get some autumn colour layered into any gaps at that stage, too.