living in the kingdom of too much: garden jobs for march

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

garden jobs for march

(this is not my garden. too neat and poshy)

(joyful sedums in my messy garden)

Made a big list of Things to Do (Garden):

1.replace dead pond plant - trip to native plant nursery in Mount Evelyn (Kuranga? York Road?) (resurrected itself - no need)

2.sweet peas on triangle cones✓ in front garden? maybe✓

3.move arctosis clumps from from back to front. Divide them into 8-10, fill gaps.✓

4.Italian parsley in jiffy pots✓ (seeds), when big enough - into vegie garden✓

5.geranium mystery – solve.✓ Decide what to do about it. White only/red only?

6.rainbow silver beet –✓ (seeds) one punnet✓

7.coriander, plant lots - 2 punnets?✓(seeds)

8.deadhead euryops and agapanthus✓

9.prune correas and plectranthus after flowering, cuttings from plectranthus for behind silver birches (6?)✓

10.prune last years hellebore leaves✓

11.order euphorbias from Diggers, or go there and buy. Bright lime green ones - seen in Canterbury (my youngest brother is a Real Gardener with a degree from Burnley. He does the gardens of rich people mainly and one was in the Open Garden scheme last year. The Euphorbias were a spectacular lime, especially showy and energizing in the grey of August. see picture) (decided against this - more bulbs instead)
12.winter vegies - celery??? Broad beans, (on cones, back garden) spinach, what else?
(garlic, garlic, garlic - Digger's catalogue arrived today)✓

13.what to plant in old kitchen steamers and terracotta pots this year? (mint) Also plastic square tubs? (empty still) (see Digger's catalogue for this too. resist buying a black beauty rose, even though I want to)

14.freeze rest of basil (make pesto w/out garlic, freeze, garlic add later)✓

15.divide achillea clumps, put in gaps in front beds✓

16.prune the jasmine✓

17.potting mix for kitchen pots, terracotta etc.✓

18.give the pumpkin vines✓ and tomatoes until mid April – then rip out✓

19. ask G when to prune the fruit trees - how much off?✓

(now off to attack the Digger's catalogue with a highlighter pen....
It's my Friday night!)

3 comments:

SuseMar 10, 2010 02:55 AM
I had those lime green euphorbia (euphorbia wulfenii) EVERYwhere at our old place - back garden, front garden, even around the base of the street tree. They self seed all over the place - I could probably give you our old address and you could go and pull up seedlings through the fence or off the nature strip.

Sadly they don't grow as well here so the few I brought with me aren't yet self seeding to allow me to give you a handful.

Their lime green burst is always a welcome sight in winter though. Sigh ...
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AnonymousMar 12, 2010 01:28 AM
Plant even more flat leaf parsley than is in jiffy pots. Secreted in many foods, it becomes a Winter vegetable.
If you use fresh coriander more than once a fortnight, prepare a paddock now with sublime compost, various well-rotted animal manures and have a supply of spoiled bales of pea straw (for mulch). Plant a couple of plots of coriander seed every week during Autumn, a couple in early Winter, more in early Spring, tapering off into early Summer. Later Summer plantings will bolt, as will any planted in Summer and not coddled every five minutes with water, nutrients and being planted in dappled shade.
I am suffering from fresh coriander cynicism, I think. I use it a lot in cooking. I have such trials growing it. It really does best in cooler weather. I resent buying it, but so often I do...sigh.
Cheers, Sue M.
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librarygirlMar 12, 2010 01:31 PM
For some reason, coriander grows brilliantly for me in this garden - when planted in March-April it lasts for about six months. I hate buying it it those stupid little plastic bags/cones - grown in a test-tube I suppose. The parsley in the pots to get them bigger before re-planting because the tiny ones I planted 2 weeks ago were pulled out by birds the next day. Pests.
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