This Week In The Garden ...

Good Morning!

I've got a few photo's to share with you today of what has caught my eye this week in the garden and what I've been up to. 

You can certainly tell Autumn is on it's way as there's been a bit of a chill in the morning now, however Autumn is one of my favourite seasons and as you can see the Cotoneaster which was one of the very few plants here in the garden when we moved in, is looking forward to it to with all it's lovely red berries!

Rather surprisingly one of my Auricula's was in flower yesterday morning. These usually flower in the Spring so it was a lovely surprise, the cold mornings we've been having must've encouraged it. I need to get a cover for them sorted soon though (or in my dreams an Auricula Theatre) as your not meant to get water on the leaves!

The pot of Begonia's is providing some late summer colour whilst many other things are dying down.

Over in the Greenhouse I decided to strip the Tomatoes of their leaves to try and help the remaining fruits ripen quicker as this should now focus all the plants energy on the fruits.

Due to not being able to plant my Winter Bedding out yet as the Dahlia's are still going strong in the front border, I potted on the plugs which were ready. Instead of keeping them in the trays and them becoming root-bound over the next couple of weeks potting them on should encourage them to become bigger and stronger plants by the time of planting them out. I potted on the Bellis & Wallflower's.

Lastly I got a lovely surprise from a neighbour offering me the following large Teracotta pot. They were revamping their garden and it'd of gone to the tip otherwise. Now I just need to decide what to plant it up with!

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 you missed it last week I have added a page tab below the blog banner where I will add each Checklist so you can find them in one place for future reference. 

Let's get started!

1. Dead - head Rhododendrons - This isn't the easiest thing to do if you have a large mature plant due to the size, but if you have one in a pot like me then it's pretty straightforward. Simply cut back the flower heads to the base where they meet the leaves.

Of course if there is still one bloom in good condition then of course you can leave it on for a few more days!

2. Cut back Aquilega's - Although they are pretty not everybody wants a garden full of Aquilega's. Once the flowers start to fade they produce seed heads which can spread around the garden. This is great if you have a new garden and wouldn't mind 2 or 3 more plants popping up the next year, but if you don't now is the time to cut them back to the foliage.

3. Prick - out seed sown Winter Bedding - Not all of the bedding types will be ready yet, but if like me you have sown some Wallflower seeds in the past 2 weeks you will have noticed how big they have gotten. Prick them out from the Seed tray into some cell trays. 

TIP - Prick out by gently teasing each seedling apart with a dibber / plant label to avoid damaging the plants.

You will also notice once you have done this that you have a lot more plants than you think. How many would you say are here? 20? 30?

Well it turns out there were 80! 

Whether they all turn into healthy young pants however we shall have to wait and see!

4. Keep cutting Sweet Pea's - By now your Sweet Pea plant should be producing lot's of lovely flowers.

Make sure that you keep cutting them every few days otherwise the plant will start to set seed pods, which results in it failing to produce flowers as it thinks it has finished flowering. 

5. Tie - In Climbers - At this time of year climbers are putting on lots of fresh new growth. Some of which, such as Clematis, can get a bit unruly. Ensure that they are tied in to their supports and have enough supports. You can use items such canes or stretched string for instant support.

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

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX