I am new to gardening, having moved to a new house last year with a large garden. I have been working quite hard to maintain the garden, but am very aware of my lack of knowledge about plants and general gardening know-how.
Given my lack of gardening experience, I am hoping to learn from this website.
10 December 2009 17:52:18
28th March 2009
Finished putting up the second roll of netting wire opposite the kitchen window. Hope to plant the clematis tomorrow. Noreen bought some more of the wire in ALDI. Watered the clematis in preparation for planting tomorrow. Planting the clematis is one of my main gardening objectives this year, so that the back garden walls are covered next year with colour.
Dug up the reeds in the back wall border. This wasn't too difficult especially where they weren't too well established.
Cleared up a large section near the pump and it looks well.
29th March 2009
Summertime begins today - an extra day of brightness in the evenings. Should be able to get extra work done in the garden from now on.
Cut the grass at the front of the house today (Setting 4, previous 2 cuts were at Setting 5). Did some weeding under the hedge. Daffodils at the front wall are beginning to come on - I'd expect flowers in the next week or two.
The front garden is my second objective for 2009. I did a lot of work on it last year and I want to continue with it this year. Today, I weeded the front border and it is all finished now (for the time being).
I finished cutting back the cordylines and phormiums.
Cut grass in the back garden with a lower blade setting. Weeded and tidied beside the Crocosmia "Lucifer" - still a lot of work to be done.
Found a well-established climber with the label still on. It's behind the bamboo in the middle of the border. It's called Lonerica x brownii "Dropmore Scarlet" (see p.168 RHS Plants & Flowers)
Applied two watering cans of phostogen to shrubs and flowers in the front border and to the daffodils. I'm not sure if this is enough - a further application is needed in 2 weeks time.
30th March 2009
Today is the first day of the long evenings and I just finished in the garden at 8.10. Tonight, I planted the the first of the 3 new clematis plants. It's called Clematis Cartman Joe and it has a white flower. I planted it opposite the kitchen window, following the instructions on page 74 of Toby Buckland's book "How to make your Garden Grow"
I also "found" another climber (two, actually) at various stages of growth - I have no idea what they are. My third objective for 2009 is to discover the names of as many of the plants in my garden as I can.
I put up some more netting wire for one of the climbers I found.
I finished off doing a small bit of weeding and watering the plants in the front garden and some of Noreen's containers as well.
31st march 2009
Another bright evening and the weather is lovely. Noreen brought Toby for a walk in Rosslare and I did some more work in the garden. I weeded and cleared the area at the back wall that Noreen had done some work on last year. I cut a big branch of a tree there - it was growing in the wrong direction. I also cleared the weeds and scutch grass from around a nice shrub under the tree.
I did a small bit of weeding on the plot on the left hand side of the back door. That's nearly cleared in full now.
Watered the plants in the front garden.
The clematis I planted last night looks fine and all the shrubs at the side of the garden are doing well after I put Miracle Gro on them last night.
1st April 2009
Applied lawnfeed, weedkiller and mosskiller to the front garden.
2nd April 2009
Applied lawnfeed, weedkiller and mosskiller to the back garden tonight. I didn't apply as much as recommended (only about a third of the recommended amount) because I'm a little unsure if I got the quantities right.
I started to clear a new area between the pump and the big tree. I haven't done any work here before, so it was fairly tough going.
I cleared the middle of the pebbled area by the decking. All of the middle is now finished. Next, I need to go around the edges.
I weeded the area to the right of the back door. I had done work on this last year, so it wasn,t too hard. As far as I can remember, I had got about half way through this bed, so I might be as well to try to finish it this year.
One of the things I did wrong in 2008 was not to prioritise the work in the garden, with the result that I didn't reach on some sections at all and didn't get to finish some other areas where I had done some work.
08 December 2009 22:05:48
21st March 2009
Cut the grass in the front and back gardens today, the second cut of the year. I also weeded the border at the front of the house. I finished weeding underneath the hedge at the front of the house. Finally, I pruned the shrubs in the front and back garden. My overall plan for 2009 is to get the front garden sorted, following on from the work I did in the last few years.
22nd March 2009
I tied up the roses in the front border. I cut back the dead leaves on the phormiums and cordylines. I did more weeding on the front borders. I did a general clean-up of the garden.
I did some weeding of the border opposite the kitchen window. Noreen and myself weeded the left-hand bed opposite the back door.
Note: The normal secateurs is not strong enough for phormiums and cordylines. We probably need a stronger cutting implement, but the garden saw is not a bad substitute.
23rd March 2009
Weeded more of the front border, not finished yet, but will be, hopefully, by the weekend.
26th March 2009
Visited Springmount on the way back from Dublin and bought 3 clematis plants, 2 growbags and farmyard manure.
I bought wire netting in the new ALDI supermarket (it just opened today). Also bought netting staples in Woodies, which changed over from Atlantic Homecare today.
27th March 2009
Put up the first roll of netting for the clematis on the wall opposite the kitchen window. If the weather ok, I hope to finish the job tomorrow.
13 May 2008 20:31:30
Cut the grass in both the front and back garden tonight. Did a small bit of weeding in the bed close to the back door. This is my second year working on the garden and I can see it coming more under control, but it sure takes a long time to get even a relatively small patch sorted.
I'm going out for a drink tomorrow night and I'll be away on Thursday and Friday, so I won't get much more done before the weekend. Anyway, the weather forecast is not too good, so maybe there's no harm done.