It always takes much longer than you expect.

After watering the seedlings in the greenhouse, I decided to mow the lawns.  The weather was dry and warm  so it was quite pleasant particularly as the mower is working really well.

If you get the edges done well it doesn't matter how well you do the lawn it still looks good.  The detail is important.  The grass is sending up flower stalks now and my cylinder mower finds it difficult to cut these off.  I just go over and cut them off with some edging shears.

I did some topiary on the hedge in the front garden.  It is amazingly simple to get a good smooth surface but I still think that I need to continue to practise.    I worked with the hedging shears because the electric shears's battery is not working.  Although the electric shears are quicker, they do not give such a good finish as the hand shears.

It is another skill worth having so I will continue to work at it.

The front lawn had just as many grass flower stalks and it took some time to cut them all with the edging shears.

Both the front and the back lawn look reasonable now.  The variegated ivy that I cut hard back is sending out some good growth.  I have to keep a good eye on it because it is sending up shoots that are not variegated.   I am cutting these out rigorously to make sure it does not revert back to the non variegated type.

Filled two large compost plastic bags with lawn mowings and hedge clippings and decided to take them down to the allotment and put them onto the compost heap.

I stopped at the new allotment to make sure that the brassica seedlings I planted yesterday were ok.  They were a little droopy so I gave them all a really good watering.  The netting seems to have kept the pigeons off them.  

At the new allotment I went around and watered everything.  I hoed between the swedes, kohl rabbi and turnips.  Tomorrow, I will hoe all the allotment and tie up the sweet peas.

Planted out another two tomatoes in the allotment.  Maybe the sweet corn ought to be planted out as well?

Two of my grafts have come.  The Corylus avellana purpurea on Corylus avellana  and the Malus domestica "Ribston Pippin" on M9 rootstock.  The apple graft is the one I am most proud of.  If the Moorecroft apricot on St Julien A grows I will be even more chuffed.  The root stock is growing but there is no sign of life from the scion.

I need to sow some more peas tomorrow.

What has happened to Webbs Wonderful lettuce seeds this year?  The are not germinating at all.
I will sow some more lettuce tomorrow.