This week - lots of gardening

This week the forecast is to be good so I am planning a few days in the garden (fingers crossed). On Monday I took middle son back to Lanark for his train back to uni. I then did a few errands to the council office, the farm supply shop for chicken food and wild bird food and to drop a big bag of stuff at the charity shop. I managed to only buy one book in return, but one of a series of novels I am planning to read. Then it was back to the house for cleaning and tidying and a walk to the local village and back with Bracken. 

Eye popping colours at Morton Hall Garden Centre

Tuesday was a wet miserable wet day spent doing some computer work, sorting out photos, dealing with paperwork and emails. After lunch we drove into Edinburgh to take the camera lens I use the most in to get looked at. It has been over exposing photographs which is very annoying. After a couple of minutes looking at it and twiddling the lens the guy had it  fixed, probably a piece of grit jamming it. We dropped into Morton Hall Garden Centre on the way home as I needed some labels. I also picked up some shallots and a pretty yellow double Primula which is sitting on the table on the patio now.

Pelargoniums looking colourful in the greenhouse

The seedlings are tall enough to get their prop tops off and I've moved them
to the top shelf to make more room

The birds are enjoying the new bird table



Wednesday as forecast was dry, sunny and warm! It was so good to be working in the garden and feel some real warmth from the sun. I started off by tidying and watering both greenhouse. I moved some of the hardier pots out onto the patio, top dressing and feeding them as they went. I also took the bubble wrap down from the wee greenhouse, it is warm enough now to do without. The cuttings I took from shrubs and climbers left behind in the last garden are doing well and will need potted up and put outside later in the year.

Euphorbia mellifera in the wee greenhouse
with lots of flowers

Before tidying, en route from greenhouse to patio

After, some pots from the greenhouse, tidied, fed and top dressed

A cutting of Ribes 'Koja' flowering,  determined
to grow!

After the greenhouse I worked along the troughs and pots of plants moved from the last garden, weeding, tidying and topdressing some of the troughs where the plants had been moved around and were a bit high. It's great to see all my old friends growing and moved successfully, although there were a few losses in pots, to be expected. I used the compost from these pots to top dress the troughs.

A garden in troughs and pots!

I also sowed the next batch of seeds in the greenhouse, this was a mix of flowers and veg. Dwarf and runner beans, mixed squash, courgettes and peppers. Then there were some sweet peas, poppies and Liquorice! After that I swept the patio and decided that was a really good days work and went in for coffee and a shower. It was so good to potter about doing all these bits and pieces in comfortable warm sunny weather.

The next batch of seeds sown, last batch on the shelf
above

Thursday was dry and sunny again, wow! Today I planned to finish of the Prairie border started at the weekend, see here . I dug over the remaining bed and decided to leave a path through the middle. The large bed was easy to dig over but the second bed was full of roots from the removed willow. That said the soil was nice and dry so it was a lot easier than if it was heavy clay (which I had in the last garden). Although you can't see the plants, the two beds are full and it will be exciting to see them grow and my plans come together (hopefully).

Praire bed at the start of the day

One of the beds dug over

Finished and planted up

Bracken enjoyed being out in the sun with me while I was working

Finally, looking good in the garden this week:


Chrysosplenium macrophyllum

Can't stop photographing these Crocus 'Cream Beauty'

Dew on the Dogs tooth violet leaves

The double primula I bought on Tuesday

Salix gracilistyla 'Melanostachys'

Have a lovely weekend and happy gardening

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Comments

  1. Oh my goodness you are putting me to shame. I have started seed sowing in my little greenhouse. In fact the sweet peas are romping away, and I've noticed little shoots appear here and there among some of the veggies too. I still have so much more to do. My garden is just depressing me, and I really need to give myself a boot up the bum, get out there and tidy it all up I only have an average sized suburban plot, so it shouldn't be too much of a drag.
    Have a lovely weekend,
    Leanne xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Leanne, no shame at all, its not easy to fit it all in, I am lucky at the moment I'm not working and not started studying yet and this is a minimal garden, I don't want to do too much to it as its only temporary until we move again. I also think you have to be in the right mood too, there have been dry days when I really haven't been bothered to do anything. But the sunshine and a bit of warmth this week definitely help. My last garden was 2 acres and latterly I was working full time, looking after the kids, working on getting a new relationship off the ground and the garden became such a millstone instead of a pleasure. I find tackling one job at a time or a small area of the garden works for me instead of thinking about it all and being overwhelmed.

      Have a lovely weekend too x

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