Cold, wet and gloomy is the summary for this week but undeterred nature pushes on. On a particular dull morning my eyes fell up on a treat. A small twinkle at the end of the garden:
One
The first blossom has appeared on one of the plum trees. It caught my eye and also that of a passing ant!
Two
The magnolia tree also sprang into life this week. It’s full of beautiful blossom and I love it but I think it needs to have someone who knows what they are doing come and prune it. It is full of water shoots growing away from previous pruning cuts. Something for me to research.
Three
The last time I had someone who knows prune a tree we talked about moving an apple tree that had been planted hard up against a fence in a dark corner of the garden. The wet spring delayed the job but finally a moment was grabbed and the tree was moved to its new spot. It’s in amongst the redcurrants which might be moved next year. And for a bonus item, the patch behind is where the potatoes finally got planted. First earlies Ratte and Arran Pilot went in this week.
Four
The first of the tulips came into flower this week. Yippee! It’s Tulipa ‘Nicholas Heyek’, a
triumph tulip. It’s not one of the many that were planted last November – I’m still waiting on those. These were planted out in the first year in the new garden and left in the ground over the summer. This is their second year of flowering.
Five
Not so exciting is the damage that comes with all the exciting new growth. The slugs and snails are active and the Thalia that looked so lovely a week ago have been shredded.
Six
I too was stirred into life and began sowing some seeds. This tube contained 30 seeds of Antirrhinum White Giant. They were tiny. Here’s hoping they love the warmth that’s heading our way next week. I also sowed Calendula ‘Indian Prince’, Zinnia pale mix, Nasturtium Alaska, and Tithonia Torch. Still more sowing to be done. Yes, exciting times.
There will plenty more gardening life on show at The Propagator who hosts the internationally famed #SixOnSaturday meme. Enjoy your garden.
n20gardener 
Poor Thalia! but your magnolia is splendid. And here I have been crowing about my one lonesome blossom!
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Share it! Even one magnolia blossom is worth having.
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So sorry about Thalia. Those slugs and snails have been waiting, hungrily in the wings.
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They certainly have but at least one of my delphiniums has got ahead of them 🙂
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Snails and slugs busy in my garden after the first rain in nearly a month!
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And here we are longing for some sunshine!
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Exciting times is exactly what’s happening in your garden. That magnolia is wildly beautiful. And that you successfully transplanted the apple tree at that age . . . must’ve taken some muscle, but so glad it went well. Love the green tinged tulips & am w/you on the slugs eating my garden. Time for war, it would seem.
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The muscles were not mine! And I have warned that I might not get fruit this year but it really is in a better place.
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It’s a shame to see your Thalia eaten by these (f***) slugs. However, we were able to enjoy it last weekend. Like all of us, you have started sowing annual flowers that will give more and more new ideas for next SoS!
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That sounds like a lovely selection of annuals. I’m glad you reminded me how small the antirrhinum seeds are – I sowed mine about 3 weeks ago and can just see some minute seedlings, which I was worrying might not be them, but sounds like they are!
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It’s hard to believe they will grow into giants! Good to hear yours have germinated.
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Sounds like we are on the same wavelength – I planted my Arran pilots today and sowed some calendula too.
Gorgeous magnolia. I drove around a housing estate yesterday where every garden seemed to have one in bloom – I never tire of them.
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That Magnolia is huge!!
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I have not yet been troubled by them. But they are there. Hiding. Waiting. Hungry. Om nom nom.
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Beautiful Magnolia. Mine is yet to flower so I’m enjoying everyone else’s. Interesting syringe thing. I just threw my antirrhinum seeds around a bit. They’re yet to emerge so maybe I need that kit!
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Mine have just germinated, with teeny tiny leaves!
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Is that another apple tree behind the one that was moved? It should get pruned before bloom. At least your season is later.
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There is. It’s quite old, it was pruned in January and I’m planning a gradual cutting back over next two years. Should I be more severe?
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I am guessing from the picture that it should have been pruned more severely. If you are doing it gradually over a few years, it should be fine; as long as there is ‘less’ after pruning next winter, and then less the following winter, and so on. As you tuck it in and bring it down, it will develop more spurs on the interior in response to improved sun exposure. I prefer to prune them severely all at once, but that compromises production for the first year afterward. Also, trees that are pruned too severely are susceptible to sun scald on the interior limbs. If the tree is blooming now, you do not want to prune it until next winter. It could be pruned after the apples are harvested if you want to do it earlier, but winter is best.
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It’s just coming into bloom so it will be next winter now. Thanks so much for the great advice.
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Poor Thalia! I usually rely on nematodes for slug control and crafty placement of plastic containers with turned-down rims for snail collection. This year, though, I’ve gone firmly down the organic slug pellet route. So far it’s working well, with only the top of one emerging lily munched off. At the moment I’m more concerned that I have an outbreak of vine weevil as I’m killing too many adults for comfort. I’m busily sowing seeds too though Antirrhinum are not on my list this year as I get eye strain trying to sow them properly. I always wonder why solitary ants appear in all sorts of places at this time of the year. In relation to their size, they are going on interplanetary survey expeditions, presumably to report back to HQ where the most likely sources of whatever they want to source are. Or maybe they’re just curious?
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I had a bit of vine weevil panic- see this weeks six- but I can’t see any evidence of them. Keep thinking about nematodes, must move on to the doing stage! I’m getting behind with the reading and the gardening! Another area to improve 🙂
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