Five Jobs (those that should have been done by now!)

I can’t believe it’s March already and as usual I’m late getting on with – just about everything! Chris has been busy in the garden, hedge cutting and clearing last years debris, but my time management skills require improvement, I spend a disproportionate time either with my camera or playing golf! Having taken stock this week I’ve identified a few essential tasks that have usually been completed by now – so there’s no more procrastinating for me, it’s time to get on with them….

First outstanding task – our roses usually receive a final light prune and a good feed in February, but although I have stocked up on Vitax Q4, it’s still sitting in the garage! I’ve been using this product for years as it was recommended in the first David Austin catalogue I picked up. They stock their own product nowadays but I’ve always been pleased with the results after feeding with Vitax and so I’m sticking to it. We have quite a few roses so it’s no five minute job but it’s an enjoyable task and definitely my number one priority for this weekend.

Secondly, it’s shameful I know, but all my seeds are still in their packets. Time to retrieve the Super Seven and get growing or I’ll have no annuals at all, the absence of my must have cosmos and tithonia in summer would be awful. The only advantage in being late is there’s less of a problem heating the greenhouse when all the seedlings are being potted on.

Talking greenhouses – my wonderful Greenbug needs a spring clean – outstanding task number 3!

I had so many tulip bulbs to plant last Autumn and guess what – I ran out of time and so in December, I planted batches in pots with the intention of transplanting them into the borders in February. I don’t think they’ll suffer as a result of the delay, but there’s some prep work required in a few borders before I start. One major advantage is that existing border tulips are now peeping through the soil and so the risk of digging them up or damaging them is reduced, something I regularly fall foul of when planting in Autumn.

Last but not least – the pond. We may need some help with this job, as although I did some debris clearing in Autumn and Chris has cleared around the edge, there’s a deep layer of mud in the base and folly of follies in my planting, the thuggish bullrushes are taking over. It’s also got patches of duckweed growing in it already – menace!