What did you do in your garden today?

[Tetters]

Today the sun came out for a while, and so Zigs and I planted our own avenue of small leaf lime trees. There are 30 altogether and we used canes and vole/mouse protection sleeves (so many voles here)
The whips came from the Woodland Trust and were very fairly priced and grown in root trainer plugs.

 

[Logan]

They should look great @Tetters when they've grown.

 

[Tetters]

They should look great @Tetters when they've grown.

I probably won`t see them when they reach maturity, but hope to look after them for a while yet. The Linden tree (lime) or Tilia cordata used to be dominant in our English woodland, but not so now. They will eventually (hopefully) grow to over 20metres high.
They belong to the Malva family, and have pretty heart shaped leaves. The insignificant yellow flowers send off a heavy perfume, and they attract all sorts of wildlife including bees. They attract aphids which are food for ladybirds and hoverflies amongst other creatures.
They also produce loads of sap, so they are not good for putting seats underneath - or parking the car as they make a bit of sticky mess!!
Traditionally the bark was used to make rope, and the flowers make a very nice tea so I understand.

I`m wondering now what other trees I can plant

 

[Logan]

I probably won`t see them when they reach maturity, but hope to look after them for a while yet.

At least you know that you've done something and you'll see them grow. I'm growing some horse chestnuts to plant in the small wood by us, there's a gap but i know that I won't see them when mature.

I`m wondering now what other trees I can plant

Yes go for it.

 

[zigs]

I'm growing some horse chestnuts to plant in the small wood by us, there's a gap but i know that I won't see them when mature.

When my eldest was little we dug a Chestnut seedling out of the football pitch before the mower came round. Some years later I planted it out with the help of my little boy.

Just took this, courtesy of Google street view...

Glad to see it's still there and flowering now

By my reckoning it's 27 years old now

 

[zigs]

I`m wondering now what other trees I can plant

Lemon trees?

 

[DirtMechanic]

I am disassembling the tomato growbag garden and generally policing up after our recent first freeze of the year. Cold used to come by the end of October, now it is strangely mixed with the beginning of our wet season at the end of November.

I have never reused or washed grow bags. I used 20 of the pressed cloth type, 7gallon size and it seems wasteful to trash them. Any tips? They have some moss on the outside.

Anyway it's just ordering all the cattle panel sections and rebar and post. I bought 4 camellia because I have little full sun area in summer and need some interest as well as evergreen height in the winter. I hope they will do well. I like the flowers and hope to have more varieties if this test works out. I have my eye on some treelike mohonia that will probably go out front nearer the road.

And my DW keeps reminding me I have 10 bags of hardwood mulch to put out, but that means trimming the knockouts and they are not quite ready for that yet.

 

[Tess]

When my eldest was little we dug a Chestnut seedling out of the football pitch before the mower came round. Some years later I planted it out with the help of my little boy.

Just took this, courtesy of Google street view...

View attachment 73873

Glad to see it's still there and flowering now

By my reckoning it's 27 years old now

That's so cool! Do horse chestnuts taste like the chestnuts sold at the grocery store around the winter holidays?

 

[Tetters]

That's so cool! Do horse chestnuts taste like the chestnuts sold at the grocery store around the winter holidays?

We don`t eat horse chestnuts, they are poisonous. The children play conkers with them.

 

[DirtMechanic]

We don`t eat horse chestnuts, they are poisonous. The children play conkers with them.

Across the pond we use the work "conk" differently. Somehow it has evolved to include a strike to the head. Of course this would make your video less fun.

 

[Tetters]

Conk is head - conk out is to snuff it, or for a car (for example) to break down. Conkers are what grows on Conker trees aka Horse Chestnut, or Aesculus hippocastanum

 

[DirtMechanic]

Lol oK oK keep yer pants on! Er...trousers!

 

[Sean Regan]

Not a lot to do on Christmas Day. I topped up the bird feeders.

But it was extremely cold overnight.

Both the bird bath and our Maranelli fountain were completely frozen. It several watering cans full of hot water to remove all the ice.
This wasn't necessary last year as it was never that cold.
As a precaution, I then pulled the drain plug on the fountain and completely emptied it.

I also switched off its dedicated socket in the garage. Just in case I accidentally turned it on from its switch behind the lounge curtains, when I turned on the other lights in the garden.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Nothing, raining crazy. 57 degrees, to go to 31 later. puddles about. the creek is at the brim can see that from my kitchen window.

 

[DirtMechanic]

40f, Sunny, NO SNOW!