May 9 2011, Garden no 5

Garden 2011 No 5

Typical !! It rained and rained and rained all weekend and then as soon as we all have to get up and go to work…………………..the sun shines. I couldn’t wait to get home and potter around the garden, and then when I did eventually get home, the rain came back and I spent the evening dodging the showers.
I was pleased to see my Fence has survived the monsoon and the winds, in fact I was very impressed, it seems rock solid despite not having enough concrete in the post holes and being battered by the elements these last few days. It’s about half done, the plan is to remove the second half of the hedge during the week and build the rest of the fence over the weekend.
This is the size of debris pile, my guess is it will at least double in size by the time all this work is finished, and then I suppose I have to find a way of disposing of it.
But on a brighter note………….all this rain has done wonders for the plants, my little decorative corner garden is looking good and with no fear of frost I’ve bought the geraniums out again.
These red geraniums have sat on my living room windowsill all winter where they have cheered me up with their constant display of red flowers.
The rain has bought the onions and garlic on, last time I looked (before the deluge of rain) there were no shoots and just look at them now.  The lovage has also flourished in the rain, in fact I think this is the most prolific my lovage has ever been. The fruit canes are doing really well, but unfortunately something seems to have used my cherry tree as a scratching post. I’m not sure what has caused this damage, neither am I sure what, if any thing, I can do bout it. I just hope the tree recovers and there is no lasting damage.  Looking up into the old apple tree I can see the pink blossom already beginning to show, think I could be in for a good crop of apples this year. And lastly, this is my lawn; take a good look because this may well be the last photo ever taken of the grass. The area marked off with string is destined to be my new veggie plot.

Tags: garden, plants

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delete reply acousticeagle wrote on May 10, '11 You've pulled the privet for every good reason. When they get old, tatty and scruffy and you know nothing is going to fix it, then it really freshens things up to reef stuff out.

delete reply bennett1 wrote on May 10, '11 Vegetables are ever so much better than grass. Your picture of the apple blossoms is very lovely indeed.

delete reply djdx wrote on May 10, '11 Our hedge was starting to get away from me. I didn't get the top trimmed and with the snow we had this winter, it's falling over, but I had a go at it today. I would have planted something else but make do with what's here; it is lonicera nitida. I look forward to following your garden.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 10, '11 PRIVET http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privet ''Privet is also an invasive species. Many environmental volunteer groups seek out to remove it because it will take over most habitats''.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 10, '11 acousticeagle said Just asking about the hedge. You decided to get rid of it, why was that? LONG STORY.......lots of reasons, mostly its a very old privet hedge and some of the bushes had totally died, I always seemed to be dragging old dead wood out, some of the roots were dead and just lifted out. Also it was bare at the bottom and bushy at the top and no amount of trimming changed that. There were big holes where dead bits had been taken out. By taking it out I have gained a lot of extra ground. And I have to admit, I have a bit of a 'thing' about privet, its not a native of this country, it was introduced as decorative hedging and if you HAVE to have a hedge, I think it should be native hedgerow, which is exactly what I am going to plant on the inside of the fence once the fence is finished. I have some baby hawthorn, dog rose, dog wood and holly saplings sitting in a bucket of water waiting to be planted along the inside of the fence. They will take a few years to make a good hedgerow hence the need for a fence and while they are growing I get to use the extra ground. By the time my little bit of old fashioned native hedgerow is fully grown I don't suppose I will be here to see it, but its a nice to think it will be there. I like to think it will encourage more birds and wildlife into the garden.

delete reply acousticeagle wrote on May 10, '11 Hey, all that looks super. Something used your new cherry tree as a scatching post - nooooo! Could that be a neighbour's cat? Maybe a little bit of plastic pipe curled around it while it's growing? Just asking about the hedge. You decided to get rid of it, why was that?

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 10, '11 brendainmad said I do love your garden. thanks Brenda... i love it too when I can get out there and not be stuck indoors watching the rain :-)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 10, '11 esoterika713 said wish to do the same with a spot of grass on our co-op property I have read several reports recently which all seem to be saying that turning gardens and waste land over to food production is becoming more and more common. Seems to be one of the positives of people having to cope on less and less money.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on May 10, '11 I do love your garden.

delete reply esoterika713 wrote on May 9, '11 I wish to do the same with a spot of grass on our co-op property. I need help with the design and the building. I hope to find someone who is handy. :)

May9, 2010, Multiply, the gardening starts no 13

Gardening no 13; an afternoon in the garden.
Today I have had a lovely time in my garden. My pond is looking good, today is the first time I have seen the little solar powered water fountain working. There has not been enough sun for it until now. Also the pond itself is in a shady position under an old apple tree and the small solar panel only has a 2 meter cable so its quite hard to get enough sunlight to power it.
And the rest is over on Jungleblogs.............most people who read these garden updates seem to have found their way over ther already, but in case there is any one else.........here is the link, all you need do is request membership.........no obligation, it just means you get to carry on reading the garden updates.
http://jungleblogs.multiply.com/journal/item/120/Gardening_no_13_an_afternoon_in_the_garden

Tags: garden, plants, pond

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delete reply dianahopeless wrote on Jul 17, '10 Is the pond made out of a bathtub? It is really nicely planted. And I think the water feature would be so nice and peaceful, when it is working. I am looking forward to finding out more........

delete reply kathyinozarks wrote on May 14, '10 nice

delete reply sandycaar wrote on May 14, '10 YOUR POND IS LOOKIN' GOOD, LORETTA,,AND I'M LIKIN' YOUR BACKGROUND!!! XOXOX

delete reply kathyinozarks wrote on May 10, '10 I need to remember to check out your posts over there-love your pond

delete reply veroniquemariquita wrote on May 10, '10 Very nice pond. I would like to get one of those solar powered pumps.

delete reply mitchylr wrote on May 10, '10 Didn't get much sun here on Sunday, was dull and overcast most of the day.

delete reply starfishred wrote on May 9, '10 looking good --

May9, 2010, Multiply, The gardening starts no 12

Gardening no 12; My Herbs

Today has been sunny…………yep actually, really and truly sunny!! I spent the whole of the afternoon in the garden, caught up with just about every thing and then, once I’d finished………….it rained and watered every thing for me. How good is that??

And the rest is over on Jungleblogs.............most people who read these garden updates seem to have found their way over ther already, but in case there is any one else.........here is the link, all you need do is request membership.........no obligation, it just means you get to carry on reading the garden updates.

http://jungleblogs.multiply.com/photos/album/101/Gardening_no_12_The_Herbs_.....................

Tags: garden, plants, herbs

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Next: garden no 13, an afternoon in my garden

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delete reply brendainmad wrote on May 11, '10 You've got so many different herbs there.

delete reply mitchylr wrote on May 10, '10 Hope you've got them protected, I hear there's a possibe frost due the next couple of nights.

delete reply starfishred wrote on May 9, '10 my chives and rosemary and sage are also doing good but it is raining so can't do to much else

July 2 2009, Multiply, First day of the Holidays

FIRST DAY OF THE HOLIDAYS;
100 degrees in the garden.

Today has been the most glorious hot summers day imaginable. The first day of the holidays and I couldn’t have asked for better weather. In fact, it was rather too warm considering I have been fighting with my hedge all day. I decided to actually DO what I’ve considered doing for the last couple of years, which is cut my hedge down to size and make it more manageable to maintain. A couple of weeks ago I bought myself an electric hedge trimmer with this task in mind, but, when it came down to it I was too chicken to use the dam thing and have snipped away with a pair of garden sheers, a pair of pruning secateurs and for the bigger branches a saw. It was so hot I only managed to work in half hour stints and then had to come in for a quick drink and a play on the computer. But; by 5.30 I had made enough progress to stop work for the day. I should finish the job tomorrow, funny how satisfying it is to do something physically challenging that shows visible results. I feel a great sense of achievement as I stand and look at what I have done today.
The hedge is just the first of a long list of chores I want to tackle over the summer. I’m not sure how much I will get done but I am quite determined to do as much as I can, the list is quite long ……….
1.    Re-paint all my blue fences with blue wood preserver
2.    Paint the doors and wrought iron gates with the high gloss blue paint I have stored in the shed
3.     Employ a workman to do a little cement work around the edge of the rockery, the edge of the ‘pond’ and fix the render on the shed walls.
4.    Fill my ‘pond’ and make a mosaic to go round the edge after the workman has finished.
5.    Make a mosaic to go around the rockery after the workman has finished.
6.    Buy some masonry paint and paint the walls once the workman has fixed the render.
Think that’s just about it for the garden, a very long list to tackle in just over 6 weeks but, I’m not going away and the weather looks set to stay hot. So, with a little luck and some perseverance I should be able to manage quite a lot. Wish me luck.
Oh forgot to say, included this photo cos it was so hot at one stage I bought my clock/temp gauge down to see what it said out side in the garden, click on it to enlarge and look at the temp!!!!, no idea how accurate this is but Scotland doesn't usually get this hot.

Tags: garden, holiday, plants, hot

Prev: LAST DAY OF TERM !!!
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delete reply acousticeagle wrote on Jul 4, '09 I don't even think that Tasmania gets temps that warm. Summers are so mild here compared to the mainland where I lived most of my life. It's funny to think that we are on the opposite sides of the globe. Here I am right down very close to Antarctica. And I think of the British Isles as cold!

delete reply msowens1 wrote on Jul 2, '09 I rather be cool than too hot.... and it is unseasonably cool here! but it should warm up for the weekend... you have quite a to-do list for the summer.... I had an electric hedge trimmer too... it is a lot harder than you think... afterwards your arms quiver and your shoulder ache.... it gets the job done quickly but you have a tendancey to just trim a little more here and there... lol.... hope it cools for you, and that you wear a hat and sunscreen!

delete reply veroniquemariquita wrote on Jul 2, '09 And I understand about the privets. They are very forgiving.....whack the dickens out of them and they grow right back. I don't have a hedge but I have a couple of free standing privet bushes...(I have no clue where I got them) LOL I have chopped them to the ground and in a few weeks I have a bush again.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 2, '09 yep...............I wouldn't be so brutal if it were a native hedgerow, hawthorn or holly or something like that, but it is an ornimental privit that I inherited and it had become totaly unmanagable. Also..........once I started cutting I realised there were whole dead bushes in the middle of it all. My hope is that by next summer it will be covered in leaves again and be ready for me to lightly trim just to keep it tidy. Know what you mean about the yews, they get so big but its a shame they have to be cut back, but they will look fine again next year.

delete reply veroniquemariquita wrote on Jul 2, '09 Looks as if you are whacking that old hedge down to size.I finally had to resort to trimming my six yews that are in front of my porch with a hedge trimmer. I tried hard to keep them in a natural shape but they are just getting too large for that, so now they have straight, flat fronts. Doesn't look as bad as I thought it would.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 2, '09 I'll do my best but I am resigned to not having a decent camera this summer..............I shall use my phone and maybe I'll buy a couple of those disposable cameras if I want to show a finished project

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 2, '09, edited on Jul 2, '09 frank ..........so far I have only found one old nest and it was no longer in use which is good. Part of the reason I didn't start this any sooner was to give all the baby birds that may have been there time to fly the nest.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Jul 2, '09 When we hit 90 degrees F, and that is often, the thermometer reads 110 in the sun. We are used to it, it is the 95 to 100% humidity that is the giant killer. I'll never get used to that. Are you finding all sorts of nests and little critters in that hedge? The power clippers will be great for maintenance. They usually can't cut through branches, stalks or canes, one ends up with a saw anyway. The first cut is the deepest.

delete reply djdx wrote on Jul 2, '09 We will look forward to seeing photos as you progress with your list. :-) I like that elephant hedge! It doesn't take much more time to trim a curved line than it does a straight one and it's a lot more fun. I do a little bit of topiary in our garden.

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Jul 2, '09 Re: brenda's link. The man certainly has enough time on his hands...

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 2, '09 bennett1 said Wow!! And I bet your days are very long too, so far north. yes...............long hot days, it will be light till after 10 abd dawn was about 4 this morning

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jul 2, '09 brendainmad said Am back. This is what you could do with your hedges: LOL.................thanks but don''t think I'm that artistic in the garden...............nice idea though lol :-)

delete reply pestep55 wrote on Jul 2, '09 A hot day for that work /:-)

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Jul 2, '09 100 is remarkable!! We have one of those things; they generally show as hotter than the air is (but not too much). So it might be 85 or 90 - a heat wave. Wow!! And I bet your days are very long too, so far north.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Jul 2, '09 Am back. This is what you could do with your hedges: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/gardening/article-1196797/Homeowner-sick-view-wild-hedge-snips-herd-elephants.html

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Jul 2, '09 I'm sure it was hotter than that in Madrid today. I've been inside most of the day and had to turn on the AC for a while. I've got lots of projects too for the holidays, but one of them is to travel to the US. There's a big pile of papers staring at me at the moment. They'll still be there when I come back because I'm meeting my friends at the Chinese restaurant in an hour or so. I know what you mean about being chicken. I had this super sharp cutting tool that I was too frightened to use!