Some things on the gardener’s to do list are there for several weeks. My list has a few that have been hanging around for months. I am pleased and relieved to present the first of my Six on Saturday for this week. I have finally bought and planted out some onions.
One
Far from thoughtfully researching the most interesting, disease resistant and high yield bulbs I could find I simply bought what was in the nursery – radar, electric and jermor for the shallots. The wire mesh and freezer basket are in place to keep the birds off until the onions are fully rooted. I will leave these on for some months as I have learnt the lesson of taking them off too early.
Two
Still on the to do list is cleaning the inside of the greenhouse. I promise you the outside did look wonderful about a month ago. The ghostly apparition seen here is the lemon tree. Having bought myself a min max thermometer – another one crossed off – I could not avoid seeing the inside temperature fall to zero. So I wrapped the lemon tree in 17gsm fleece. The top section has two layers of fleece and I have my fingers crossed. Underneath the fleece I have decorated the tree with sachets of Amblyseius californicus mite. These are a preventative control against spider mite. And washing down the inside will also go some way towards eradicating those pests.
Three
The leaves of Pulmonaria officinalis are looking fine at the moment. This was a plant share and I am promised that the slugs avoid this one. It has really bulked up from the tiny divisions planted earlier in the year. You can also just spot a bit of new mulch. Mulching is not complete yet but a start has been made.
Four
There is often a surprise to be found when looking for the six and this week it was finding a new flower on the hydrangea. What a contrast the white makes with the pink of the autumn colouring
Five
Boxes of tulips arrived a while ago and planting up the borders has begun. These Violet Beauty are joining Queen of Night, Barcelona and Shirley to form a line either side a path that runs through the border. This border was first planted from about this time last year and it’s on the to do list to write up the story of its development. I will. I will.
Six
There is one last shout of colour in the garden. The container pelargoniums are stubbornly hanging on. Cold weather is forecast for this weekend so its seems right to give them their five minutes of fame now.
Looking forward to seeing what’s going on in your garden. Thanks to The Propagator for hosting the wonderful Six on Saturday. Read his blog posts and all the other Six on Saturday posts from around the world at The Propagator my plant obsession
n20gardener 
Frost protection already? That is a bit of work for a lemon tree. I mean, if it needs to be protected now, what will in want later in the season?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Maybe I am being over cautious. It’s my first year of growing one. I understand they can take a few days of cold and we are having a cold spell now – hence fleece. I don’t have much to offer for later in the season!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do not know what your climate is like. Protection might be necessary. I know everyone else has been talking about their autumn color and cool season topics for a while. We are just starting our autumn color here. I used to grow citrus, and lemons rarely need protection here. Meyer lemons, oranges and most other citrus get no protection.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great as usual! I was surprised that you protected onions of birds… I haven’t the problem here. Just need to push them down frequently because of the worms😂.
LikeLike
Nice as usual! I was surprised that you protect the onions of the birds … I don’t have the problem here. Just need to push them down frequently because of worms..😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
My experience is that once the onions start shooting the birds pull them up. So I leave the protection on well into the new year. I’ll watch out for the worms as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A nice combination of hard work & reward in your photos. Can you explain your freezer bag technique for protecting the onions?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Lora. The freezer basket – the white wire cage is there with other odd bits of wire mesh that I have lying around. I just use it to keep the birds off the onions when newly planted. One year I took the mesh off just as the shoots came through and 100 onions were reduced to about 12 by the birds pulling them out! Now I keep the mesh on until the onions are well and truly rooted in.
LikeLike
Oh my goodness, I’ve given myself a good laugh here. Surely I get prize for stupidest question. I read it as ‘bag’, not basket & since there were no freezer bags in the photo, I didn’t understand. Thanks for answering me so considerately. Like yourself, I re-purpose all sorts for the garden. By autumn, it looks like a hobo camp.
LikeLiked by 1 person
(Sorry for both answers…) For your lemon tree, don’t you have a place in your house to overwinter it?( not useful until 0°C , or -4°C if no fruits)
LikeLike
I’m hesitant to bring the tree inside as advice I’ve read says that homes are too dry once the central heating is on. This is going to be a bit of an experiment. I hope the lemon tree manages to overwinter. Maybe I will have to heat the greenhouse….
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re right !Not inside the house because it’s too dry but in a room with 10-15°C and 70% humidity ( if you have one…). Give us news after winter has passed
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice six. Another option for red spider mite is garlic candles. These have “replaced” the old sulphur ones and have a number of advantages – they are not so irritant to us humans – you don’t need to wait ages for the place to ventilate before entering – and you don’t need to move the plants out of the greenhouse. They also deter vampires. I’m noticing a late rebloom on hydrangeas but not a differing colour on a plant. That’s quite interesting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much for the garlic candle suggestion. I have not heard of those before and I will definitely give them a go. Loving the added bonus of no vampires – could they work against foxes?? My hydrangeas are mainly white in the summer fading to pinky reds as winter arrives. The colour change is fascinating but I suppose it is like tree leaves changing from green to red, yellow and orange.
LikeLike
Just look at that Hydrangea. Late season blooms are such a treat!
LikeLiked by 1 person