What's happening in your garden today?

[Sean Regan]

First sighting of a hedgehog this year!

I checked the camera tonight. Hadn't before as none of the food had been eaten. But if it's "our" hedgehog he's been out for a few days. First photos on the camera were five days ago.

But it looked quite large. So it might not be the one that was in the house under the azaleas.





On the videos, it did stick its head in the entrance, but didn't try to go in. Maybe it thought the hole was too small.
Mind you, the food pellets have been in there for nearly two weeks. So I took a hacksaw to it and sawed off a few inches of the entrance tube, to make it slightly less than half the original length.





I've left a few pellets on the brick in front of the entrance as an incentive.






I've done the same with the feeder at the bottom of the garden






So maybe, this will make a difference.

I'm going to leave the camera where it is to see if this works. If it does, I'll train it on the house under the azaleas to see if it's "our," hedgehog that's been on the patio.

 

[Meadowlark]

Dianthus beginning to bloom...

 

[Logan]

Hubby cut the front grass which is a lot bigger than the back. I watered the polyanthus again, watered the blueberry pots, dug up polyanthus seedlings that were growing in the pavement and put them into cell trays, I've dug up 72. Sowed some corn chamomile seeds into cell trays and put them outside.

 

[big rockpile]

Potting some more Petunias. Starting some more Petunias and Coleus.

Got some seed in today Court Jester and State Fair Zinnias figure they will look good by the road.

big rockpile

 

[Logan]

Watering and watering.

 

[Sean Regan]

My hydrangeas arrived late yesterday afternoon, so this morning I potted them up and put them on the patio steps. For the last few years, I've been putting plants in plastic tubs that fit neatly inside our many Apta ceramic ones. Someone on a message board mentioned it as a good idea. It means I can ring the changes and also there's some air between the two walls of the tubs as a layer of insulation.





I've stuck a bit of the pots with the labels on it in each of the tubs.

I've taken the hebes out of the troughs in front of the teahouse.




I gave the troughs a bit of a clean. They won't need re-painting.



New turf doing well, I'm still watering it twice a day.




My mixed dahlia tubers arrived this morning. I potted them up this afternoon and left them on the bench under the window in the shed.





My intention was to put these in four plastic tubs in the troughs. But I'm debating whether or not to put the troughs back where they were, as it had become impossible to pass between the acer and the troughs to get to the side of the tea-house and the hedgehog house. It'll mean I will be walking on the same part of the lawn on a daily basis. Not a good idea.

The hebes are temporarily residing in "the alley of shame." Our drive where, apart from two myleen clematis, roses "out of favour," spend their time.
I'm not sure what i'll do with these hebes, there's nowhere else to put them.



Two more at the far end.

 

[big rockpile]

It is to do something next few days that we haven't seen for awhile. RAIN!

Wanting to do something with our Lawn and Pasture.

Told my wife before it started I was wanting to put down grass seed. They decided 100 pounds would be enough.

We put the hundred pounds on the Lawn just before it started.

Told my wife we would have to buy more for the Pasture.

Kentucky 31 Fescue. I know but that is all I could get here.

big rockpile

 

[Meadowlark]

The Yellow Rose of Texas are in bloom:

 

[Meadowlark]

Blooms on the new potato plants above ground means there are new potatoes to be had below ground...

 

[Sean Regan]

I gave all the pot movers' drain holes a dab of silicone and cleaned the pots. The silicon will ensure that some water is retained in the mover and stop the pots from getting too dry during the day. They need watering daily in this weather.
It was surprising how warm these pots were. The roses all got a good water and another small dose of Sulphur Rose.





The lawn is doing well. It always looks better photographed with the sun behind me.
Just a couple of patches that are slowly recovering.




This plant with small blue flowers is quite attractive. It was just a small clump at one time.






Over the years, it has filled this narrow border.

 

[Sean Regan]

Nothing planned for today, as I've housekeeping and shopping to do.
Just a check around, I'll do some watering later on.

Our wisterias this year will do us proud again, as they always do, if you prune them correctly.












We've fairy lights strung from the cross-beams on the two pergolas. There's quite a few on this one that no longer work, I noticed this when I turned them on for a few seconds before we went to bed last night. So I've ordered a new string.
I rarely turn them on, but I don't like anything not to be working correctly, when I do.

 

[Logan]

Not much today went to see my friends.

 

[big rockpile]

Mixed some soil by the Soil Test. Repotted Geraniums and Thanksgiving Cactus.

Thought about watering but everything but my Tomatoes was good so I just watered my Tomatoes.

big rockpile

 

[Logan]

Watered the polyanthus around the path and sowed some corn marigold, wild poppy and Californian poppy seeds in cell trays and put them outside.

 

[big rockpile]

Repotted some Aloe Vera. Tied my Tomato plants up.

Got a bush I'm going to get some more. It's a Rhododendron.

big rockpile

 

[Sean Regan]

I won't be doing much in the garden today, as I've some laundry to do and a bit of shopping.

We've had a week of dry weather and are promised another one.

So I gave my Lawn sprinklers a "service," this morning.

That sound rather grand, but there's just two and they work on mains pressure.

I anticipate they'll be used far frequently, than they have been for several years.

Not that there's a lot of pressure, despite having had the 15mm original copper supply from the road to the house, changed to 25mm plastic last year, which cost me £1000.

At first, United Utilities wanted to charge me over £1,800 to change 18" of the old copper pipe, for 25mm plastic, to connect my new pipe to their mains. (Contractors aren't allowed to do it).
When I told them I wasn't having it, they came down to inspect the situation.
I got my £1000 re-imbursed due to the fact that they found they had installed, several years previously, a water meter incorrectly, which caused the low pressure in the first place!
And they had a record of me complaining about it twice, but had come down and "tested" it and told me it wasn't a problem on "their side!"

So they fitted a new meter.
"The right way round."

Big job.










The pressure still isn't great as U.U. haven't uprated the pumps, despite all the new builds in Trafford. One of the engineers told me that.
More pressure?
Bigger leaks!

Anyway, it was a ten minute job this morning, just a case of unscrewing the two heads, giving them a clean, running the water without the heads for a minute then putting them back.








The pressure is still not as good as it was when I installed them thirteen years ago.

I found the heads on eBay for £7 each, bought a length of speed-fit pipe and fittings, plus bits of plumbing stuff I had in my garage.
Total cost around fifty quid.
Half a day to fit them.

This was the "dry run,"...Well... "wet run," to make sure they worked. The supply needed to be mid-way between the two.



The 6" deep wedges I took out of the lawn to install the pipe recovered in two weeks.



Job done.

I removed the return springs years ago, as they reduced the already low pressure. It's since been a case of just pushing them down with your foot once you've turned them off. You can reduce the coverage arc, so I leave a quadrant "dry" to stop me getting wet when I turn them on or off and also the corner of the tea-house with the second one. They don't quite cover the whole lawn, but they do save some time.

 

[Sean Regan]

I got most of my domestic jobs done by lunchtime, so I spent a couple of hours repointing the small patio and half the path down to the tea-house, I'll do the rest on Thursday, as it's golf tomorrow. I'll be well finished before the golf starts on TV.

It's a pain mixing the mortar dry by hand in a bucket. I have to judge how much yellow powder dye to add for it to match the York stone slabs, then plasticiser and a little water. I make it just damp. It's easier to manage that way.

When I'd had enough and was going to come in. the postman arrived with my new fairy lights.
It wasn't a straight-forward swop over, as the new lights didn't have a tail. They started about six inches from the adapter. Fortunately, they used the same make adapter as the old ones. So I re-used it. and just joined them up with a connector, next to the first beam of the pergola. Finished for 5.00.pm.

 

[big rockpile]

Well we'll see.

Tied down some branches hopping to get a Rhododendrons rooting.

Planted Lettuce, Radishes and Bunch Onions in one Raised Bed, Cauliflower in one and 6 Cabbage in one.

Took a Soil Sample out of my Garden found it is loaded with Nightcrawlers.

Wonder if a person could collect them and raise them like other Worms.

Already hearing why? Hope to have the garden Planted and Mulched not really wanting to dig.

big rockpile

 

[big rockpile]

Well today woke up late so. I guess Greenhouse running warmer it is drying stuff out faster so I watered everything.

Went to the Amish Store all kinds of big beautiful plants. But there is a huge Greenhouse and they take plants to the Auction that is where the store is getting them. I could do the same but I'm wanting to do my own.

Yes I'm running behind but but but. I found my Tiller wasn't tilling well so I started digging. Got to where I wasn't feeling well so quit for awhile.

Got some plants going to the city was trying to put price on them but the sticky wasn't sticky enough so have to get something different.

Sprayed the Greenhouse for Ants. I know I scattered them.

I know it will work out. Just have to start stuff sooner.

big rockpile

 

[olly-buckle]

Maybe I was right holding off getting Tomatoes and Peppers for sale.

Don't know how it is in your climate, but if I don't get peppers well started undercover in the first couple of months of the year they have trouble reaching maturity before the weather starts to deteriorate.