Garden Checklist & Merry Christmas!

Good Morning!
Even though it's the Festive season there are still little things you can be doing in the garden.
Oh and I know this post is a day late ... let's blame it on the festivities lol

1. Planting - The ground is still warm due to the unseasonal weather so you still have chance to plant or relocate any shrubs, roses, trees and hedges. This is also a good chance to check any plants that are currently needing support if you are experiencing windy weather too!

2. Winter Pruning - If your looking for a few jobs to do this side of Christmas then giving your Acers, Birches and Vines a prune is a good thing to do! Pruning will allow you to to create shape and get rid of any dead bits.

3. Summer Flowering Bulbs  - I know that Summer is the last thing on everyone's minds with Christmas in just a few days, but why not start deciding which Summer flowering bulbs
(such as Dahlia's and Gladioli) that you'd like next year whilst the widest choice is available. 

Also if you haven't done so already, order next years seeds!
The sowing season will soon be upon us!

Dahlia 'Cafe Au Lait' from my garden in 2014

4. Lawns - Keep off your lawns in frost and wet weather as walking over the grass can damage the grass and result in unsightly patches.

5. Greenhouse - With the extremely mild weather, Botrytis (Grey Mould) can be more of a problem undercover in GH's that have insulation as ventilation isn't as good as when your GH isn't insulated. Make sure you check your plants daily, I have been finding newly affected plant material each time I take a look and remove any of the diseased material straight away. When watering make sure you do it sparingly and try not to catch any of the plants foliage to limit infection.

6. Climbing Plants - Plants such as Ivy, Virginia Creeper and other climbers that are growing on houses can have a little trim if they are approaching windows and guttering. Also check that Climbers elsewhere in the garden are tied into their supports.

7. Autumn / Winter Bedding - Check over any bedding that you have for signs that it is past it's best. Most of my Viola's were looking tired and had caught Black Spot this week so it was time to transfer them to the compost bin! Replace any tired plants with fresh bedding or winter flowering shrubs ... a perfect excuse for a trip to the garden centre! 

As mentioned in my last checklist Primroses can be instantly cheered up by removing fading / discoloured leaves and dead - heading. 

8. Clean Up - Finally if you don't have any of these jobs above to do, keep up with clearing any fallen leaves on lawns and ponds to reduce the spread of disease and give any dirty pots and trays a good clean, it's not the most exciting job but when it comes to sowing seeds and potting on next year good plant hygiene is a must for successful growing!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!
For as long as you keep reading I shall be back with the Checklist & Problem Area posts next year along with some more snaps of my Garden, Plants and other Gardening topics next year ... 

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. Frozen Water - If you have any ponds then keep an eye out for them freezing over in these lower temperatures, if left frozen they can cause problems for any fish or plants under water and also wildlife looking for water If your pond does freeze over then gently break the ice as soon as you notice it, you can also float items such as a tennis ball or polystyrene on top which helps prevent the whole surface freezing and can easily be removed if it does to provide an area of open water.
TIP - Keep an eye on Birdbaths too for freezing over.

2. Leaves - Keep collecting leaves for Leaf Mould, even if you think you already have enough, you never do and it's not available to buy on the market.

3. Bare-root  - Aswell as transplanting and planting shrubs etc that I suggested last week now is also the time to start thinking about planting anything bare root. Plants such as Tree's and Roses are becoming available to buy bare root this season and they are often a cheaper option to buy instead of being containerised throughout the rest of the year.

TIP - When planting bare-root make sure you soak the roots in a bucket of tepid water for 24hours as plants may have been dug up hours, days or weeks before you have bought them. Dig a planting hole of a suitable depth and double the width of the plant. Make sure the plant isn't buried any lower than it's original planting depth, you can usually tell what this is as there will be a variation in colour on the main part of the plant.

4. Botrytis - Grey Mould can soon occur daily on areas of plants that were fine the day before, especially on plants under cover. Daily removing of affected areas is important to keep your plants healthy. With the lower temperatures you may not want to open your Greenhouse's but just an hour or 2 of fresh air a day can be extremely beneficial in reducing the risk of this disease spreading, and of course the plants will welcome the fresh air!

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's a few things you can be doing in your garden over the coming days.

1. Lawns - Autumn is the time to give your lawn a little bit of maintenance! One of the things you can do after mowing is give it a good rake through to remove any moss that has built up, trust me there will be soon! This will improve the health of the lawn. You can also aerate it with a fork and remove any weeds you see growing through.

2. Planting - Autumn is a good time to get plants in the ground before winter. The ground is still warm over the next couple of weeks so if you have any evergreens, hedging or shrubs sitting around waiting to be planted, now is the time to do it.

On the flip side of this now is the time to dig up and move any tender perennials that need protection of winter before the frosts come! We've already had a couple of light frosts this week.
You can also lift and divide any congested Perennials and re-plant in various areas of the garden!

3. Healthy Plants - To keep your plants healthy keep checking them over for anything that can prevent them happening. For example as you can see below there are some faded flower stems that need pulling out and a sneaky snail that has climbed into one of the flowers!

Alstroemeria - Inca Ice 'Koice'

4. Harvest - Plants such as Chilli's are still ripening and ready to harvest, snip them all off once they are ready and store in a freezer if you won't be using them right away.

5. Over Wintering - If like me you are over wintering various plants, I like to reduce them in size around about now, such as with my Pelargoniums. In my personal experience I find by reducing the amount of foliage it helps prevent the chances of grey mould, which in a bubble-wrapped greenhouse can occur quickly. It also reduces the amount of water the plant needs to take in and the energy it uses. You can also re - pot into smaller pots if you are tight on space.

6. Roses - Keep collecting fallen rose leaves from around the plants base, especially if they are affected with blackspot. If they are left the spores can lay in the ground and raise the chances of the plant getting blackspot next year. 

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!
I know it's been absolutely AGESSSSS since I last posted and I certainly didn't plan it to be. What with work, course work and rubbish weather I haven't really had the chance to get much done in the Garden recently apart from the occasional dead-heading over the past few weeks.
However I'm back today with my Checklist and a few other photo's for you!

1. Feeding - What with the low temperatures this Summer my Tomatoes haven't really got going until recently. There's still a few weeks left for them to ripen so don't despair too much! Carry on feeding them once a week and remove excess foliage to allow plenty of light at the fruits. If the weather turns and we have yet more cooler days keep an eye on your watering and make sure you don't give them too much.
You can also give your Chilli's a feed to help give them a bit of a boost too.

2. Pests & Foliage -Keep an eye out for Pests and Foliage problems. For example just yesterday I spotted Viburnum Beetle all over my Viburnum Tinus, the little blighters!

In a GH you may come across Aphids which can be dealt with simply by squashing them.

Make sure you remove any yellow / brown or mouldy leaves on plants as this can help spread grey mould. Don't forget to keep an eye out for Caterpillars too which can be found hiding between leaves!

3. Winter Bedding - If like me you ordered some Winter Bedding and planted it up in trays a few weeks ago they will soon be ready for potting on. All you need to do is pot them on into bigger trays to all the plant to grow and develop a good root structure before eventually being planted out.

4. Plan Ahead - You may not want to hear it but now is a good time to take note of what did and what didn't perform well this year. This will help you decide what to have in your garden next year. For example I really liked the Cosmos that I grew this year and although I have decided to cut back on the amount of Annuals next year, if there is only one that I grow it will be this one!

'Cosmos - Double Click Snow Puff'

My 'Agapanthus - Queen Mum' will also be sticking around as after sharing no flowers last year it made up for that with not one but three giant blooms this time around, they haven't stopped flowering for weeks! I have the plant in a pot next to the back door and is at a perfect height to greet me at eye level every time I go past.

5. Cyclamen - If you have been looking after last years Cyclamen then now is the time to start giving them a water after their Summer break.

TIP - With Cyclamen it's always a good idea to water them from below instead of the top as this can cause the corn to rot if it's left wet.

6. Bulbs - Now is the time to start thinking about buying and planting next years Spring bulbs!

As you know I bought 60 - 'Narcissa Thalia' which all need planting in the borders. I'm hoping to do this soon when I give the borders a good mulch!

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 time again for my Weekly Garden Checklist,
Okay, let's get started!

1.Plant Up Summer Pots - Just like the Hanging Baskets it's also time to make a start on your Summer Pots. This year I'm keeping mine simpler with just one plant in some of them. I am using a mix of Multi Purpose, John Innes No.2, Water Retaining Gel  (2 scoops) and some Slow Release Food. If your plants have been growing in a Greenhouse or somewhere sheltered then its a good idea to start hardening them off before putting them permanently outside. To do this simply put them outside during the day then back under cover for the night, also there's still a chance of frost! Do this for all new plants and Bedding Plants :)

TIP - If you are creating permanent pots where you won't be changing them at the end of the season then use John Innes no.3 instead with some added drainage.

2. Vegetables - Keep an eye on weeds around your Vegetables and if you spot any, pull them up right away. It will give your plants a better chance and stop them competing for nutrients.

3. Pests - Keep an eye out for pests such as Aphids, Slugs and Lily Beetle shown below. 

If you spot one of these it's best to squish it right away.

4. Protect -Another way to prevent young plants from being attacked is to place Copper Rings around those that are vulnerable. I like to use them against Slugs and Snails instead of pellets. You can also use Nemetodes which is a friendlier alternative that you just water onto the soil.

5. Grey Mould - With the warmer wetter weather Grey Mould can still be a problem in the GH, keep checking your plants and hanging baskets and remove any affected areas right away, if left you could end up losing a whole plant.

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. 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