Autumnal Achieving

greenbee

Scything and mowing done. Still lots more to do…

C_J

Scything and mowing sounds exhausting work, @greenbee - well done 👍

C_J

I bought a whole load more bulbs (dwarf daffodils, rockery tulips, snowdrops, muscari, fritillaries, anemones and crocuses) from The Range this morning and am very pleased to report that they’ve all been planted in my new ‘bulb garden’. My back is aching, but my future self will thank me in the spring when hopefully they all come up in a riot of colour. I just need to get some large bulbs to go towards the back of the bed, so I will be on the lookout for some camassia, giant alliums and those big fritillaria imperialis next week.

I do have a tiny bit more weeding and hedge cutting to do (I need to ensure the area where the new shed base is going is perfectly clear before the builders start work next week) and that is on the list for today so I’ll crack on with it after I’ve had a cup of tea.

Next week’s job is to tidy the two greenhouses. I’m typing that here to hold myself accountable!

Brie

@C_J - thanks for the thought…The Range for bulbs!!

I've been eyeing up the 2 x 35 packs of daffs at Tesco for £5. I've got some tulip bulbs from Lidl which I need to get in or supervise the gardener so they go where I want them. Our problem is that someone/thing tends to dig up the bulbs - I did have a whole assortment of mini spring bulbs in the lawn (miniature iris, crocus etc) but they've all disappeared. I do have stiff plastic wide netting that I peg down in the pots to prevent too much digging.

Rhyddid2026

I pumped my front tyres up.

C_J

@Brie - yes, I have a mystery digger here too! I assume it’s badgers as we have a sett in the back garden, but I’m baffled as to how they can get to the places where the bulbs are planted as that part of the garden is all walled/gated with no sign of ingress. My other visitors are muntjac and foxes, but I don’t think they snuffle out bulbs.

I have wanted a white garden a la Sissinghurst for the longest time, and whilst pottering outside this afternoon I realised I have a neglected, empty flower border about 15ft long x 4ft deep beside a seating area and backed by laurel hedging which needs cutting back quite hard (so I could gain even more planting space). I’m now excitedly planning it out, but it’s tricky finding truly white things for all round interest.

KintsugiWhippet

@C_J I’m also an aspirational Sissinghurst white garden gardener. My garden project is for next year (once retired). I’m in a new build with a small back garden. The front is a tiny strip where I’ve created a camomile lawn (involved planting 200 mini plug plants after taking many bags of rubble to the tip and weeding for what felt like years but was only a couple of months). It smells delicious on a warm day and the next door cat loves basking on it in the sunshine (not ideal for the lawn’s wellbeing but hey ho). I’ve always wanted a camomile lawn since watching the series based on the Mary Wesley book. My back garden will require a mini JCB and a lot of top soil and is a much bigger project. I enjoy reading about your ideas and how you put them into action.

My OATs for this weekend were to chase all sorts of people about all sorts of life admin that they haven’t done! Plus I deep cleaned the downstairs of my tiny house, which I have been putting off. Got through it by listening for the umpteenth time to Hilary Mantel’s ‘The Mirror and the Light’ which I love. I’m addicted to the Wolf Hall trilogy. I also bought product to reproof my raincoat and completed that task ready for dog walking should it ever rain again here.

Work tomorrow and lots of OATs to finish there. Enjoy the evening everyone.

PennysIntoPounds

Great work everyone, @KintsugiWhippet I also love that trilogy and am trying to wait until I've forgotten enough of it to read it again. I have a big wrong 'un crush on Cromwell (italics cos said in French accent 😁)

It has all been a bit knackering here but I've been keeping up with my one vinted listing a day after 4pm to keep the algorithm rithming

PennysIntoPounds

Potted up another plant, did another vinted listing, did one small room for the big monthly clean

KintsugiWhippet

@PennysIntoPounds we can fight over who loves Crum the most! Hilary Mantel describes him as a wonderful man, although I do also see him as Mark Rylance who is my perfect man! I am so sad that Hilary isn’t around to write any more books.

I survived my day at work yesterday, in spite of having an argument with a 50 year old male equity partner as to whether use of the phrase ‘resting [rhymes with ‘witch’] face’ can appropriately be used to anyone in the office, regardless of whether the receiver of the comment is male or female. He says it can; I say it can’t (and I’m ‘compliance’ so my voice is the loudest!).

I sorted out the builder’s plumber coming to sort out my heat pump in my new build for Thursday (not looking forward to having that plumber in my space but no choice under the guarantee). Also did some more pension admin.