Today I did something in my Garden

All unpacked and absolutely brilliant quality and condition! I have had to heel in all the trees - I thought I was going to pot them for a while, but they are too big and sturdy, so I will really have to get on with planting. Everything else was in pots so I have moved them to slightly larger pots and they will sit happily till I want them.

SouthWesterly wrote: »

Was out in the garden today planting 30 strawberry plants I got from gardens for Life.

10 each of symphany, Elegance and birdland cottage.

Also planted comfrey and horseradish in pots

stored yacon, apios and tiger nuts for planting out next year

A busy afternoon.
Glorious day here in North kerry.

It’s lovely to see a little activity in the garden on these short, dark, quiet days.

I pulled my coat over my pajamas this morning, threw on my wellies and went for a stroll up my back garden, with a cup of strong coffee as the sun was burning the mist off the lawn. The clouds lingered stubbornly and lazily over Muckish, so I had no view to enjoy my coffee with.

Earlier this year I divided some blue hyacinth bulbs that I bought a few years back from an organic store. I think I originally started with 10 bulbs. I must have quadrupled the stock after splitting them.

So today on my morning saunter, the thing that brought me most joy was seeing their leaves poking through, almost mistaken for blade of uncut grass.

The promise of fresh starts and new beginnings.....

magicbastarder wrote: »

At least the evenings start getting longer after today, albeit slowly...

Thought the shortest day was 21st December ?

magicbastarder wrote: »

The latest sunrise and earliest sunset don't happen in the same day, they're a bit offset. So the sunset starts getting later now, but the sunrise is also getting later too at a slightly faster rate. The end result is still that the shortest day is the solstice.

You won't notice either today though

Today I did something in my garden: pulled one beetroot to put in a stew. That's it.

Had a great run of cold, dry weather back in November, and all my outdoor jobs were progressing nicely. Then the month ended with a couple of online orders going astray (one necessary tool started it's journey in Orléans, 200km up the road - straight up the road, no left turns or right turns, just straight up, 2 hours on the motorway ... yet somehow ended up in a distribution centre in Piedmont in Italy? Then came back to Orléans, at which point they lost track of it and were suddenly out-of-stock ... :mad: ) and the weather changed to cold and wet, making it impossible to work my heavy clay soil.

So December has mostly been an arts-and-crafts month, with nothing more than an occasional trudge through the mud to look with wonder at the experimental drain I dug, now filled with water. At least that works ... just need to find a way now to keep all that water for the summer. :pac:

I went out on this beautiful afternoon and planted the last 10 trees that had been heeled in waiting for the rain to stop. The day was glorious and I put in 5 silver birches and 4 rowans. The last one was an Aronia that I am not ready for, so I put it in a pot. Also an Acer tataricum that I bought on impulse last week! Haven't planted the Gaultharias yet, or indeed numerous other things I keep buying, they are all safely stashed though and will go out when I get to them.

Looks like our outdoor space will be hosting Christmas breakfast with the in-laws tomorrow morning. Very different than normal but looking forward to it. Going to wrap up, put up lights, light the bbq for heat, and serve brekky rolls and fruit punch. Good excuse to tidy up the patio!

paddylonglegs wrote: »

Looks like our outdoor space will be hosting Christmas breakfast with the in-laws tomorrow morning. Very different than normal but looking forward to it. Going to wrap up, put up lights, light the bbq for heat, and serve brekky rolls and fruit punch. Good excuse to tidy up the patio!

Me too! I'm planning on having 2 sons, their wives, and our 3 grandchildren for a patio brunch. Bought an infrared heater (will find out if it's any good tomorrow) and I'm going to light the charcoal bbq for additional heat. Sticking up a few garden umbrellas and hoping for the best.
Have an old Christmas tree in the attic that I plan on putting up on the patio with some lights and will put the presents under that, weather permitting.
Lots of fruit punch or mulled wine and mince pies.
Trying to make it as festive as possible.

Happy Christmas to all and here's to a productive gardening year in 2021 and much gratitude for the relief that gardening brought to 2020.

I have timber and perspex (perspex that I have had stashed for nearly 20 years, I knew it would come in useful!) waiting to be a cold frame. Greenhouse would be lovely but not likely to happen at the moment. I do have a lot of seeds to start - will have to be early spring now - and not enough windowsills for them!

Sounds good, just about what I would like. No real desire to do year round gardening in a greenhouse, though a few peppers or tomatoes in the summer when the seeds are done would be good.

should i cover my rhubarb from frost or is it hardy enough??