2023 - What I did today

Sowed seeds, potted on toms and flowers. Made another batch of DIY compost. I really like mixing up a batch, it's like making up huge Xmas pudding.

Nothing garden related , but I finally got round to changing the front wheel on the Fergie for a newly aquired wheel and tyre. One of the front crossmember bolts was missing so I bought a new one. The problem was I couldn't get it to line up as the holes were slightly out of line.I had the bright idea of grinding a small chamfer on the end of the bolt then 'persuaded' it in with a big hammer. As Veggie would say" I love it when a plan comes together"

Other than buying seeds (oops), I am not going to get much gardening done today (upcoming night shifts, what a joy...) However, I have lifted my first germinated seeds out of the propagator Celosia from the seed swap. Who did they come from? Clearly excellent seed!

Me  its these if you are interested ( see link) . Inused them for cut flowers. They were really pretty in a vase. I think you can dry them but they were a good filler for me so I used every stem that grew. https://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/item_300...form_seeds

       

Its been gorgeous all day up until now when the heavens opened.
I made a couple of Spring wreaths to go on the wall..Quite minimal as I havent got much stuff! Worth a shot....already had a couple of people ask if I will do a spring wreath workshop - though struggling on what foliage I could use for half a dozen people.

Pruned the hydrangea and hardy fuchsia.
Potted up the Bossa Nova and Sunray begonias I saved from last year.
Potted up the David Howard and Bishop of Llandaff dahlias. I was able to prise apart one of the fatter tubers to make two plants.
Sowed some flower seeds indoors.

Good friend gave me 12 pricked out Bishops Children dahlia
Plus a lemon coronilla to replace the one that keeled over in the December freeze up.
What a lovely friend!
I spent time pricking out sorry little sad perennial gypsophila and annual helichrysum.
Both have been indoors straining for the light for far too long and have got little chance of survival.
Start later with my sowing next year!,
Also potted on a few agapanthus that I thought had died -but they have surprised me.
Geared up now for another decent day tomorrow to get things done- fingers crossed .

Planted out a few odds and ends - crocus & kale.
Moved a wormery, a big bin of chipped wood and 2 bags of horse manure to their new home in Compost Corner.
Found a dead rat and threw it into the undergrowth at the end of the garden. That's the second one this week. Don't know whether the dogs are catching them? Its a mystery!
Filled some modules and brought them into the house - need to sow some tomatoes.

I'm working nights - would much rather be at home! More things are popping up in the propagator and it would be nice to be there to whip them out as soon as they germinate rather than letting them get all leggy. Never mind. I'm coming up on a week of annual leave so hopefully I can do some catch-up gardening then.

The sun was out yesterday so I started playing the greenhouse shuffle. The now planted in modules, chitted broad beans that are sprouting can stay outside rather than in the cold frame. They should really be in the ground but i haven't yet prepared it. The onions into cold frame. Strawberries in pots come into the gh to perform. One of my begonia corms overwintered in the garage is beginning to shoot, so they came into gh with bottom warmth just to keep away the frost. Only one has popped, the rest are really solid but no life yet, I hope they're alive. As I expected the sacrificial second tomato seedlings were no more sacrificial than I am, they've been put alongside the begonias whilst their brothers stay indoors under lights. I had sown some of SC's schizanthus seed far too early so pricked that out. Sowed seed swap flowers gazania, shasta, rudbeckia, nasturtium, celosia and tagetes.

“What I did today” always inspires me.
Makes me want to sow more and more flower seeds, even though there are loads of seedlings
desperate to be pricked out.