Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
Here are a few things you can be getting on with over the next week in your garden.

1. Apple Trees - If you are growing Apple Trees and they need a bit of a tidy up, winter is the ideal time to give them a prune. You can also prune any Autumn fruiting Raspberries to soil level now too.

2. Tools - With the gloomy weather not everyone wants to go outside, if that sounds like you then now is a good time to clean and sharpen any gardening tools.

3. Perennials  - If you don't like the look of dead flower stems over winter cut down any faded stems now and clear away. Whilst doing this keep an eye out for any pests hiding under fallen leaves.

4. Botrytis - Just like I suggested last week, keep checking for any signs of grey mould and act straight away. Remember to water sparingly too which will help prevent this spreading.

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!
Here are a few things you can be getting on with over the next week in your garden.

1. Stray Seedlings - If you have spotted any rogue seedlings growing in places that aren't ideal, such as a drive way, you can dig them up and put into a more suitable place or pots until you can find somewhere.
For example I saw that there are some Verbascum seedlings growing on my drive that need relocating.

2. Plant Support  - If you have some supports outside that you are wanting to keep in place over winter it's a good idea to check that they are secure and in good condition before they get damaged by bad weather. We've had some windy days here this last week and these can cause havoc if anything isn't in place properly.

3. Transplant / Plant - I had some Geums growing in Teracotta pots that can't stay outside over winter as they aren't frost proof. This gave me the chance to re-jig my borders and take out some plants that I wasn't overly happy with and replaced them with the Geums.
The soil is still warm enough at the moment for you to do this yourself. 

• Always make sure that you tease the roots out if they have become root bound and that you have given the plant a good water so that the root ball isn't dry before planting.
• Firm in plants once they are in the ground, you can use your boots to ensure this is done properly.
• Make sure you give the plant a really good water when you have finished, even if it's raining! I always give each plant a full watering can of water when I plant them into the ground.

4. Planning - If you've sorted through your seed packets as I suggested recently then you'll probably also be starting to think ahead to next year. Have a think about what you want to grow and start stocking up on the seeds you will need. 

I've started to write a list of the Salad Crops that I want to grow and added them to my wish list!

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. Lift Dahlia Tubers - You can choose to wait until the first frosts turn their leaves black, but if you want to get on with this job then you can lift Dahlia Tubers now. Cut down the stems to a few inches above the ground, lift with a fork being careful not to damage the tubers, bring under cover and turn them upside down for a few days to release moisture then once they are dry store in a cool, dark place, ideally covered in a crate over the Winter.

2. Finish Planting  - If you haven't already, finish planting out your Winter Bedding whilst the ground is still warmer than it will be in a few weeks! I Here you can see I have added some Wallflowers to my Raised bed to ensure colour early next year and re-vamped some pots where my Abutilon was.

3. Veggies - If you are planning on growing Beans next year, it's time to prepare the trench for them now ready for next year. You can also cut down the yellowing foliage on Asparagus plants to about 5cm above the ground.

4. Plant Out - Now you could also plant out any Perennials or Biennials that you have grown from seed this year.

5. Enjoy Chrysanthemum's - Chrysanthemum's are starting to show colour and bloom so now is the time to enjoy their Autumn colour. However make sure you keep checking them because due to the Wet & Mild Weather we are having, White Rust is very common and as you can see my plants have succumbed to it!

Thanks for stopping by,

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. Botrytis - Check for Botyrytis or Grey Mould as you may know it by on your plants. With the warm yet damp weather this will spread easily amongst plants if not checked. Simply remove affected leaves as soon as you spot them.

2. Divide  - Now is the time to divide your perennials, not only does it help stop the plant become congested but you also get free extra plants! Tease the roots apart with two garden forks (pushed in the opposite direction) for large clusters.

3. Rose Cuttings - Take cuttings of your favourite roses now. You need a healthy shoot about 20-25cm long and cut it on a diagonal just above a bud. Place the cutting into the ground and leave for about 18 months, which by then the cutting should have developed a root system.

4. Clean the GH - If your GH is looking a bit empty and your ready to start bringing tender plants back in, make sure you give the GH a good wash, inside and out. This will help rid of any pests that have made themselves comfy during the summer months. Also don't forget to check the plants when bringing under cover so that you don't bring anything in!

5. Onions & Garlic - Now is the time to get Autumn planting Garlic & Onions planted! Just make sure you don't plant your Garlic in the same place as Leeks if you have grown them recently. 

Thanks for stopping by,

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. Pot up Tender Perennials - Now the nights are getting cooler it's a good idea to start potting up your tender Perennials so that you can bring them undercover when cold temperatures are forecast.

2. Start planting out Winter Bedding  - I know I have mentioned this before, but if you haven't started to do so yet then now is a good time to start. I replaced what I had in these tubs yesterday with Forget - me not's.

3. Rambling Roses - Once your rambling roses have finished flowering it's a good idea to give them a prune. However I wouldn't recommend doing this on other roses yet.

4. Aerate Lawns - To help aid drainage in your lawns now that the weather is changing, go over it with a garden fork spiking holes.

5. Sow Sweat Pea's - For early flowers next year, sowing Sweat Pea's in the Autumn is ideal and now is a good time to start.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Around The Garden ...

Good Morning!

Before I get started I better warn you now that there is a LOT of photo's in this post, so you might want to get comfy! Here are a few snaps of how the garden is looking at the moment, albeit it's not at it's best and it's made me think about what will work next year, and what won't. But surely that's all part of the fun of gardening isn't it?

First up is the side border near the conservatory is one of the areas which I'm forever re-jigging lol Tucked in the corner is some staging with my Bonsai's, a wall basket of a Fuschia and in-front of that is a Rhododendron and an Apple Tree. Infront of that is one of my few remaining pots of Summer Bedding, a tub of Dianthus which you can only just see in the centre and then a big pot holding my David Austin Rose. I planted my 'Carex - Buchananni' in the border earlier in the week and grasses really do provide a lot of interest in the garden at this time of year.

TIP - Grasses are great for gardens which catch the wind.

Also planted in the border but is rather hard to see in the photograph is a spare Rudbekia plant that I had. The red's match the brown of the Carex perfectly.

Dianthus 'Crimson Rim' in the centre pot and also the high planters near the door.

This is the pot display near the back door, as you can see it consists of a few Evergreens which provide year round interest along with some remaining Summer Bedding. In the centre is one of my Agapanthus plants but as you can see it's decided not to flower this year. This will be moved into the GH over Winter and fingers crossed will bloom next year!

Tucked on the other side of that display is a small potted Gerbera which as you can see has lovely coloured petals. The only thing I'm not too keen on with them is the foliage.

My potted Alstromeria has been moved from the front of the house to the back and provides height and colour in one of the corners.

My Dahlia border in front of the shed has done well, there is also some deep red Rudbekia's tucked in and I shall be using more of them next year.

Next year I will also be spacing the Dahlia's out more as to be honest I knew I'd planted them a bit tightly. One variety bloomed at the start of the season but as you can see there's only one going for it now lol

If you spin around you will see my other border which is much more established, consisting of another grass and some Phygelius & Penstemons. These provide great colour and height right from the start of Summer to the early frosts.

The majority of my Penstemons are purple but there is one white which has sneaked in and I love it. It was originally labelled as Pink but I'm much more happy with the white!

Towards the back of the garden my winter climbing Clematis 'Winter Beauty' on the shed which has put on some good growth this season so fingers crossed we'l have some nice flowers at the start of next year.

My mini pond area consisting of some more grasses and an Acer in the background.

Then finally there is the Salix - Flamingo which I planted a month or so ago!

Thanks for stopping by,

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. Sow next years veg - I know you might not want to think about next year just yet but now is the time to start sowing vegetables for next year.

2. Plan next years display  - Carrying on with the theme of next year now is a good time to think about what did and didn't work in the garden next year to help plan what plants you will use next year.

3. Pot on Cuttings - Cuttings taken over the recent weeks should have started rooting and if so it's time to pot them on into individual pots.

4. Cut down Perennials - Perennials with faded flowers, such as Penstemons, need cutting back and by doing so can encourage a final flush of flowers.

5. Plant Out - Now is the time to plant out your Spring Cabbages and you can also plant out Garlic cloves.

Thanks for stopping by,

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. Take Pelargonium Cuttings - Now is the perfect time to start taking cuttings from your Pelargoniums for next years plants or just to make sure you have a back up! To do this all you need to do is take some cuttings from new non-flowering shoots and put them into some pots of compost & vermiculite. Place somewhere light but not in direct light and within a few weeks they should have rooted!

2. Keep Sowing Vegetables - Although we are getting into Summer don't stop sowing! There are plenty of vegetables you can be sowing now for your salads such as Lettuce, Spring Onions, Radishes, Chard and plenty more. Sow direct  in 2 / 3 weekly batches to ensure a constant supply.

Here you can see some Lettuce seedlings next to my Leeks along with a patch above the Lettuce where I have sown some S.Onions & Radishes.

3. Sow Next Years Flowers - Carrying on the subject of sowing, now is the perfect time to get sowing for next year. Plants such as Foxgloves, Delphiniums & Lupins need to be sown now for flowers next year.

4. Keep Pinching Out Cordon Tomatoes - Ensure that you keep on pinching out tomato side-shoots, keep checking everyday as if left alone they can soon grow and take up the plants energy. Also tomatoes are ripening now so make sure you pick them and enjoy!

5. Maintain your Greenhouse - With all this hot weather it is important to make sure that you keep on top of GH. Damp down the floor on hot days by spreading water floor in the morning and leaving the vents / windows fully open. You can also keep the door open on warm nights.

Also to help fight again GH pests hang yellow sticky traps for whitefly & Aphids.

I hope you have found this Checklist helpful!
Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Blooming ...

Good Morning!

Following on from Tuesday's post I have some more photo's of how things are doing. The front border is coming along nicely, the Antirrhinum's are flowering and the Dahlia's are doing well too.

The Cosmos in one the tubs are flowering nicely.

The Hanging Baskets are slowly filling out and starting to flower. I have added Geranium's to the centre which will add some height once they too flower.

I know I have said it before but I just love how clean and fresh the blooms of this Surfinia are.

Mrs Popple has finally started opening up it's many flower heads.

The Dianthus 'Alan Titchmarsh' has had buds for weeks and one of them has slowly started unfurling. I love the little splash of lime & pink they have in the centre!

The Perennial Viola is still doing well.

And finally here's a look at two of the Sweet Pea's that are becoming my favourite's for their colouring.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

New Additions ...

Good Morning!

Last weekend I went out and I couldn't help but buy some more plants for the garden. I know what you are all thinking, where on earth are you going to put them?! Well this is where the saying 'Where there's a will there's a way' comes into play ...

I bought a selection of Bedding plants along with a Perennial Viola for one of my planted up tubs.

Which as you can see fits in with the Conifer and Lilli of the Valley perfectly.

I also bought this Callie Petunia - Peach which I had last year in one of my baskets. I had been looking for it everywhere the past month but didn't have any luck finding it until I saw one solitary pot amongst other colours on Saturday! I decided to give it it's own  little pot this year.

I also couldn't resist this Bedding Dahlia which was also amongst a mix of other Dahlia's just named as 'Mixed'. I love the mottled effect on the petals.

There was also this Gerbera which caught my eye, it doesn't photograph too well but it's a lovely mix of Pink & Creams.

The other 2 plants were a Red & Salmon Bullseye Geranium which you can see on the top shelf on each side.

Last but not least I brought home some Bush Fuschia's from work on Friday to add to my staging display. Madeleine Sweeney, Mieke Meursing, Carmel Blue & Patio Princess. These will be joined by three more varieties once the cuttings have become more established.

Here's a close-up of what is on the other piece of staging next to the new purchases. The bottom shelf is holding 2 of the Dianthus 'Crimson Rim' plants and a Lisianthus.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX