Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
Here's a few things you can be doing in your garden over the coming days.

1. Lawns - Autumn is the time to give your lawn a little bit of maintenance! One of the things you can do after mowing is give it a good rake through to remove any moss that has built up, trust me there will be soon! This will improve the health of the lawn. You can also aerate it with a fork and remove any weeds you see growing through.

2. Planting - Autumn is a good time to get plants in the ground before winter. The ground is still warm over the next couple of weeks so if you have any evergreens, hedging or shrubs sitting around waiting to be planted, now is the time to do it.

On the flip side of this now is the time to dig up and move any tender perennials that need protection of winter before the frosts come! We've already had a couple of light frosts this week.
You can also lift and divide any congested Perennials and re-plant in various areas of the garden!

3. Healthy Plants - To keep your plants healthy keep checking them over for anything that can prevent them happening. For example as you can see below there are some faded flower stems that need pulling out and a sneaky snail that has climbed into one of the flowers!

Alstroemeria - Inca Ice 'Koice'

4. Harvest - Plants such as Chilli's are still ripening and ready to harvest, snip them all off once they are ready and store in a freezer if you won't be using them right away.

5. Over Wintering - If like me you are over wintering various plants, I like to reduce them in size around about now, such as with my Pelargoniums. In my personal experience I find by reducing the amount of foliage it helps prevent the chances of grey mould, which in a bubble-wrapped greenhouse can occur quickly. It also reduces the amount of water the plant needs to take in and the energy it uses. You can also re - pot into smaller pots if you are tight on space.

6. Roses - Keep collecting fallen rose leaves from around the plants base, especially if they are affected with blackspot. If they are left the spores can lay in the ground and raise the chances of the plant getting blackspot next year. 

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
It's time for my Weekly Garden Checklist ...

1. Dead Heading - I know I may sound like a broken record but don't forget to keep up with the dead heading. Not just the with the Bedding plants either, Perennials such as Astrantia's and Phygelius as you can see below need it to. It will also encourage more flowering.

2. Roses -Keep an eye on Roses for signs of any Pests & Diseases, remove any affected leaves with Blackspot and if needed, spray the Roses with Rose Clear every 6 weeks. When spraying make sure you do it either early in the morning or late at night to limit the chances of it affecting any Bee's.

 Also don't forget to pick up any fallen leaves as that can help spread disease.

3. Lavender - Another plant to dead head is Lavender, as you can see here my French Lavender has finished flowering so it needs cutting back. When doing so make sure you cut back into growth where fresh growth is still visable, if you cut back into the woody growth there's no guarantee that it will grow back again.

4. Damp Down - If you are finding that your Greenhouse is reaching high temperatures during the day, damp it down by spraying the floor with a hose pipe. This will increase the humidity and help prevent pests such as red spider mite which thrive in those conditions.

5. Stake - Stake and help provide supports for plants such as Dahlia's and Lilies that can get a battering in the wind & rain, what looks good one minute can look like a bomb has hit it within a few minutes!

Finally I thought I'd leave you with a photograph that proves that a Reindeer isn't just for Christmas ...

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

Here are just a few suggestions that you could be getting on with this week ...

1. Weeds - Weeds such as Dandelions are popping up all over the place, especially in lawns, dig the weeds out and if you want to, reseed the patches with grass seed.

2. Pot On Seedlings - Seedlings such as the Antirrhinums I pricked out a few weeks ago should be about ready to pot on, a few of them are still in the trays needing a little longer, but as you can see quite a few of them were ready to go into 9cm pots. They will also need pinching out to help promote bushier growth.

3. Roses - April is usually the time to start spraying roses with a product such as Rose Clear to help prevent Pests and Disease. When using the spray do so either around 8am or 8pm to help prevent any harm to bees when spraying as this is the time they are least about, also avoid spraying in full sun. Repeat this process around every 6 weeks.

4. Pots & Containers - Permanent Pot Plants that live outside could do with a bit of a spruce up at this time of year, as you can see here by Hardy Fuchsia had developed moss on the surface of the compost. Simply scrape back the surface and revitalise with a fresh layer of compost. Not only does it help the plant but it's also much nicer to look at!

5. Support - Plants such as Clematis have leapt into growth over the past week which requires support. Why not place a few stakes together, tied at the top with string for them to clamber up. Once the plant has outgrown this support I will be replacing it with something larger, but for the time being it does the job and adds interest for the eyes!

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

Well I bet you didn't expect to see a Garden Checklist post so early in the year, truth be told neither did myself lol However I had a few things to do around the garden these past few days so thought I might aswell list them for all of you, incase you needed to do them too.

1. Cut back Hellebores - It isn't essential and not every one does this,
but I like to.
January is a good time to cut old Hellebore leaves down to the ground when the new flower buds are showing. This helps the new growth get as much light as possible and also lessens the risk of disease. Here is a photo of the tidy up half way through, you can see it looks much more visually pleasing too.

2. Cyclamen - If you have been keeping Cyclamen in an un-heated conservatory like me recently, you might want to consider moving them into the Greenhouse. Due to the lower temps we've been having and heavy frosts it's been a bit too cool for mine in a north facing conservatory, but a day after moving them into the GH they perked up.
Also don't forget to remove any yellow leaves or signs of mould on the plants, it can soon take over!

3. Greenhouse Plants - Sticking with the Greenhouse theme it's also a good idea to look out for yellowing leaves on other plants such as Pelargoniums and Auriculas. Removing them as soon as you see them will benefit the plant and it's a good idea to check them as often as you can.

4. Feathered Friends - If your feeling the cold then you can bet that our feathered friends will be too. If possible why not set up a bird table or simply hang up a feeder with some feed in for them?
Bread is okay but other food stuffs such as Winter bird seed, Apples that are past their best and Chopped up Raisins, Currants & Sultanas are better for them, Robin's even like small piece of mild cheese! You can also buy specialised suet blocks with added extra's such as mealworms as you can see here.
Also don't forget to keep an eye on small ponds & bird tables, water can soon freeze over limiting their water supply.

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

It's Monday so it is time for another Weekly Garden Checklist. 

Incase this is the first time you have seen this particular themed post, it's a quick list of jobs you can be doing in the garden this week.

Let's get started!

1. Deadhead Buddleia's - Buddleia's should be getting into full swing of flowering now and the best way to keep them going, like many plants, is by dead-heading once the flowers have started to fade. This also helps stop the spread of seeds as they are notorious for popping up in places you don't want them to! 

2. Weeds - Weeds will also still be flourishing in this weather so keep checking between and behind plants for them, they will be fighting with the plants you do want for water and nutrients in the ground so pull them out when you see them.

3. Collect Seeds - Now is the time to collect seeds from your favourite plants, such as Astrantia's. All you need to do is make sure it's a dry day and shake the heads over a little brown bag to collect the seed. Alliums should also be ready now and you can either collect them like I have just mentioned or leave the heads so the wind can carry them around the garden.

4. Prune Summer Flowering Shrubs - Shrubs such as Philadelphus will benefit from a summer prune right now to encourage flower stems for next year. Cut back the stems that have finished flowering this year by about a third and if you want to you can also cut back some of the old woody stems (approx 1 in 3) down to just above ground level to encourage new growth next year.

5. Identify Leaf Problems - Leaf problems such as Black Spot, Powdery Mildew and Fuschia Rust are quite common at this time of year. I have had a few cases of the latter two in my garden! Simply check your plants leaves each day and if you spot anything, pull them off and dispose of (but not on a compost heap!). 

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX