Quite a bit more achieved on the great back garden clean-up!

I finally got around to squeezing myself between the Pyracantha and the fire-escape and cleaned up the areas underneath the fire-escape.  I now remember the concrete there is actually a lovely honey colour rather than grim and grey. Though I do still have to paint the fence panel right next to the Pyracantha, the one behind the toolbox and the one right up against the fire-escape railings.  May be a job for this coming weekend – weather permitting.

I planted some long abandoned and only recently discovered cyclamen in the two small beds next to the deck – there are already a couple of Ajuga repetans in the corner bed with the truncated Acer griseum (it appeared to die a few years ago but is now shooting from the base).  The winter and summer jasmines are also now underplanted with cyclamen and some self seeded Forget-me-nots.

The pots on the deck and path are chugging along nicely. The lillie and Agapanthus are going strong, as is the Buddleia ‘Buzz’. The slightly overcrowded looking pot on the left had a great showing of daffodils/narcissus and also has three different types of mint growing in it.  And I’ve potted up a a couple of Geraniums which overwintered.  I’ve always struggled to overwinter them well – these two were dug up from some pots at the end of summer and I put them in a large plastic bucket on the fire-escape. I’d intended to replant them before winter set in – but forgot – so they overwintered with just their root balls and sitting in a a bucket which contained quite a bit of water.  Apparently total neglect will ensure in great over-wintering! (Excuse slightly out of focus photo – these were taken at 7:45pm on Sunday and I was a little tired having been up since 5am)!

The bay (left below) is flowering and the Victoria plum has just finished flowering…

…and I just potted up some more Asiatic lillies which I’d bought in February.

Tasks for the coming weekend (if the weather holds) are:

1. Finish painting the fence
2. Scrub the deck and path again
3. Get a coat of deck oil on the deck
4. Edge the path with gravel
5. Put a fresh coat of paint on the boards of the raised bed
6. Clean and oil the garden furniture (two chairs and a small table)
7. Add manure and soil conditioner to the two beds on the right hand (shady( side of the garden (one for veg and one for flowers)
8. Add manure to the vegs beds on the left hand side of the garden
9. Finish sorting out these pots:
   • an old red hot poker I rescued a couple of years ago and a self seeded Buddleia  both of which will go down to the new allotment plot
   • replant the two strawberry planters and sort out the two green strawberry planters (which are old and need throwing away once the strawberries have been rescued)
   • see if the blackcurrant sage which is in the final large pot survived winter
   • wash and store any plastic pots and other stuff on that bed and then manure it!

And then I need to finish planting up the herb pots and other pots on the fire-escape!

I’m hoping a final push this weekend will see most of it done (um…or perhaps not looking at that list above!) – but that all depends on how much time I spend down on the existing and new allotment plots.  And I still have to dig out some of the garden decs from the attic – hauls from past Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows!

At least if I don’t get it all done I have time the first week in May – as I have Thursday 5 and Friday 6 off work!