What did you do in your garden today?

[Marck]

Today I went in the front garden to work on a climbing hydrangea. It is very tangled and needs some cleaning to reduce rubing sprouts and give it some more air and light. My plans to reduce it's size might change as I noticed two bird nests in it.

This was the occasion to spot some first colour signs for this winter. Are these winter aconites?

Yes, this is a Winter-aconite (Eranthis spp.), most likely the southern European Winter-aconite (Eranthis hyemalis), which is usually the earliest to bloom. Other species of Eranthis, in the Buttercup Family (Ranunculaceae), occur in Anatolia, central & eastern Asia, and Japan. Some of them have white flowers.

 

[Sheal]

Moved a couple of dozen rocks and cut down a lot of Cytisus (Broom) that's been gradually moving across my garden boundary from the neighbouring field.

 

[Sean Regan]

Doesn't look much, but I replaced the rotting cross member on the pergola above the French windows.
The long screws that secured it put up a fair bit of resistance. I was concerned that the rot might have spread to the main 2" X 9" beams. But fortunately it hadn't, the many coats of Dulux Woodsheen over the last twenty-odd years had protected them,
The replacement is tanilised, but I gave it a coat of Cuprinol just to be sure. I've still to seal the screw heads with some silicone frame sealant, but I'll wait until it's a bit drier. It will need painting too.

 

[Sean Regan]

Did nothing today, other than turn off the water supply to the garage. With no koi pool requiring water these days, it's only necessary to have water available at times I need to use the sink in the garage. Less chance of a burst pipe in freezing weather. Most of it is speed-fit or alkathene, but there is some copper under the sink.

 

[Logan]

Armchair gardening because I'm recovering from cataract surgery

 

[gary350]

Garden is ice today. We never have continuous cold like this I hope my potatoes rows don't freeze. 18° last night, todays high 25°F.

 

[Sean Regan]

Nothing today, it was a golf day.

 

[gary350]

Nothing today, it was a golf day.

I have a black powder cannon that shoots golf balls, they are gone never to be seen again when shot into the sky like military artillery. LOL. We shot a golf ball at a cement wall the ball splattered. Shot a golf ball all the way throw a barn.

 

[Marck]

I admired, photographed and smelled the first Snowdrop this morning. It's the common hybrid, Galanthus x 'Magnet.

In recent years, my Winter seems to play out as a long, slowly merging Spring. This year particularly, a number of plants are blooming early: Pyrus kawakamii, Felicia echinata, Rosa banksiae 'Lutea', etc. The usual winter Salvia and such are blooming well too.

The first Snowdrop was not the first bulb this Winter. The week before, Winter-aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) bloomed, as did one clump of Muscari and a few pink Hyacinthus orientalis. A week before that a single specimen of Crocus sieberi ssp. sublimis 'Tricolor' also flowered.

The first Pokers (Kniphofia rooperi and Kniphofia sarmentosa) are also starting, with their cousins the Aloe, Bubine, and Bulbinella lining up behind.

Back in December both the commonplace Paper-white (Narcissus papyraceus) and the stunningly exotic Teal Cape-hyacinth
(Lachenalia viridflora) both bloomed, but that is actually quite typical for them.

However, what was especially odd is that a clump of Summer Snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye's Giant') began blooming in November and is only now going out if bloom!

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I have a lot of clear corrugated plastic that I saved from the roof of the aviary when our owl died last year, and I have been spreading that over parts that I dug over and mulched last week in the hopes of raising soil temp. a little before planting next month. Then I thought 'What if it gets windy?' and went round putting a brick on each corner.
Then I put up a washing line at the back of the garden, much more sun in winter. We have a tumble drier, but the last time it was used was to set the waterproofing on a rain jacket, it eats energy and simply pumps it out of a pipe at the back. Bad for our bills, bad for the planet.
It was very cold, I couldn't deal with knots and the line with gloves on and had to come in a couple of times to warm my hands.

 

[Sean Regan]

Cleared the last of the leaves from the front garden.
As you can see, the area under the azaleas is always a pain to clear of leaves when they fall, from the tree, the rhodos, viburnums and the azaleas.

To make it easier I keep this "gangway" clear between them and the party fence between our garden and that of the adjoining semi. (I took the photos earier in the year). So I can blow them towards the fence and then drag them down towards the house. Avoids a "hands and knees," job.

I'm still pleased with this fence I errected over 20 years ago. Just painted 3" square posts set in postmix, with three strands of thick garden wire, supporting a roll of mesh fencing. It's still as good as new. It's less "in your face" than the usual concrete post and waneylap panels of all the other fences in our our road.

 

[Fabguy1958]

Today Planted 6) 6ft tall Ficus bushes, moved boards to rear of backyard to start building compost boxes tomorrow morning.
yesterday planted 2) berrie bush's, 2) grape vines, 1) assorted (grafted) apple tree, 1) peach tree, 1) plumcot.

 

[gary350]

It has been 13° to 18° every morning for 3 weeks. I raked up more pine needles from under the pine trees to cover up the 5th potato row. The whole garden soil is frozen 2" deep hard as cement but not the 4 rows covered with pine needles. Pine needles appear to allow good air flow so water evaporates away and no water to freeze the soil. Water freezes to ice and soil hills do not freeze with no water.

 

[Sean Regan]

I got into the back garden today and cleared all the dead azalea, rhodo and camelias leaves, these won't completely rot down. but I do blow the last few to the back of the border. I filled the green bin.
The lawn, to use a technical term, is looking "dog rough," but will respond to a bit of attention when it gets warmer.

 

[Sean Regan]

I'm up to date now.
The front garden is clear of dead leaves, leaving the way for the few dozen clumps of bluebells which will soon be apperaring.

The lawn just needs a bit of warm weather, though I might add a bit more seed later.

The viburnum, rhodo and azaleas are very tall now and screen the house from the road, but I have to be very careful when taking my car out of the drive as it's impossible to see traffic coming up the road from the right.

I've cleared the area under the azaleas to the side of the patio. A bit of a pain to get at through the wire fence that stops cats pouncing on the birds on the patio. The wire's an unattractive but necessary addition, but gets screened by the azaleas as they grow through the year.

The York stone flags need a dose of, "wet 'n forget," but it's too cold at the moment, it needs to be above 5c.

I've pruned back the jasmine on the back of this fence and cleared all its dead foliage in the bed, that's given the cyclamen a bit more light.

We've still got a bit of colour with these primroses on the patio steps.

I've had re-use my homemade bird feeder that the woodpigeons can't get at. They re-appeared when I removed it a month or so ago and used an open plant saucer on the steps. They make far too much mess.

Hard to see, but the snowdrops I removed from under the azaleas in the front garden and replanted here on the top of the rockery in the back garden, are just making an appearance.