Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
It's time for my Weekly Garden Checklist ...

1.Seeds - There's still just a bit of time to get those Hardy Annuals and Biennials sown for next year. Here you can see I've sown some of the 'Apricot' Foxglove seeds along with some Black Pansies for Spring Bedding. There's also still time to sow some veggies!

2. Winter Bedding - Along with seed sowing now is the time to start thinking of Winter Bedding! I know we're only in July but if your buying online it's a good idea to get it sorted early before all the best ones are sold out! Here you can see I've decided to get some White Primroses and some vibrant 'Amber Kiss' Viola's as a contrast and last but not least some 'Thalia' Narcissus bulbs.

3. Hedges - Now is a good time to keep hedges looking presentable and to give them a light trim to tidy them up.

4. Quick Plants - If you go to a Garden Centre and decide to treat yourself why not try this quick and easy way of giving yourself even more! If the plant is well established in a decent size pot, tease the plant apart into sections and pot on into individual pots. In an instant you've doubled what you bought! You can see that I have done this with the 'Trifolium' I bought recently.

I also couldn't resist buying myself this Oxalis at the same time ....

... or this Hosta.

5. Dead Heading- Keep up with deadheading, not only does it help promote more flowers but it keeps the plant looking tidy and reduces the risk of grey mould.

You can also remove the old leaves from Water Lilies that are past their best.

5. Cuttings- Continue taking cuttings of the plants you would like spares of incase anything happens over winter, or if you simply want more! Plants such as Pelargoniums, Dianthus, Surfinia's and Penstemons are good to take now along with soft wood cuttings from shrubs. 

Don't forget to check any cuttings taken a few week's ago for signs of root growth and if needed, potting them on. 

As you can see below I managed to create extra plants from my Sempervivums and Echeveria's as I suggested last week.

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Frosted Flowers ...

Good Morning!

We've had a few frosty mornings where I live over the past fortnight and even though it's not ideal for us Gardeners, plants can look magical with a touch of frost!

Here's a few snaps that I have taken, I hope you like them.

The Rose 'Princess Alexandra of Kent' was still in bloom at Christmas and the frost gave the edges of the petals a sparkly outline.

The white Polyanthus are my favourite's when they've been frosted, the leaves also take on a magical look.

The buds on the Primroses also catch your eye.

The Cyclamen Coum, Hellebore, Heuchera and Azalea have all been given a frosty outline ...

Finally the one bloom on my 'Passion' Dianthus was given a sparkly transformation too.

Thanks for popping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Cuttings Catch Up ...

Good Morning!

Today I thought I'd share with you how some of the cuttings I took a few week's ago are getting on. If you remember I took some of my Pelargoniums as it's much easier to over - winter them when they're a smaller size, specially if you only have a little GH like me!

The cuttings had developed a good root growth last week so I decided to pot them on into some Teracatto Pots and give them a top dressing.

I have set them out across the top of my staging, with some space between each which will improve air circulation and fingers crossed help keep grey mould at bay!

As you can see one of the 'Bergpalais' cuttings has even flowered.

The Clematis 'Winter Beauty' cutting has also successfully rooted so I potted that on too and gave it a little support for the new growth it's developed.

I also decided to pot on my Dianthus plants and give them a top dressing too.

Also the seeds I sowed a few days ago have already germinated and seem to be doing well! I should hopefully be able to prick them out into individual pots soon.

Lastly I have also made a start on my Winter Baskets. I decided to have some with just Trailing Viola's in. They're rather dinky now but once they get going they'l spread out.