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Rachel

@_thenovicegardener_

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👩🏼‍🌾Garden life/DIY gardening
🌸DAHLIAS🌸
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No exaggeration - I live for moments like this ❤️ our little resident Goldcrest having a bath💫

There are elements of life that we all find mundane when we relive them day after day - I have plenty of those believe me😂 but the little garden birds that visit our water sources in the garden evening after evening…. That is something I will never get tired of, or find mundane. I find it to be a reminder of the magic little moments that life gives you & every evening I say how lucky we are to have these little visitors choosing our garden 😍

#goldcrest #birdbath #gardenbirds #ukbirds #wildlife by @_thenovicegardener_

I AM SO NOT READY TO LEAVE THIS BEHIND😭😭😭

The joy of cutting your own flowers from the garden after work 🩷🌸🌼

I made the decision this Kelvin had to go - I think at least one more of the remaining buds is going to flower, so as well as bringing this bloom in from the cold, it also gives him a chance to put out that last flower 💫

I’ve paired ‘Short Track’ with him for this vase display, as well as one of my seed dahlias and some foliage from the garden 🥰

#cutflowers #cutflowergarden #dahlia #growingflowers #dinnerplatedahlia by @_thenovicegardener_

There is so much joy in planting Spring bulbs, knowing that after a long winter you can look forward to colourful displays in the garden as the days start to get longer again 💫🌷

No better time to get them as Farmer Gracy have a sale on to celebrate their new look 😍😍

You can get 30% off everything and save extra ££ on top using code THENOVICEGARDENER (affiliate)

Plant now, enjoy later 💫🌷💕

#springbulbs #tulips #daffodils #planting #growingflowers by @_thenovicegardener_

One of my favourite things about this time of year 😍😍😍

The starling murmurations are back!

I literally ran down here after work to catch them on time😂

One of nature’s most wondrous wonders ❤️

#murmuration #starlings #november #sunset #wildlife by @_thenovicegardener_

*For additional ££ off on top of the site discount, use code THENOVICEGARDENER (affiliate)

For me, the 1st of November means TULIP planting time!🌷🥳

We’ve had a right few frosts now, and the days are crisp, plus the soil feels cold to touch even at midday so they are all signs for me that it’s time to get planting!

Between these two planters I planted all my new tulips from @farmergracy (they’re all pink lol😆)

I will dot some muscari and daffodils in amongst these just to add an extra pop of colour other than pink 😂

Anyone else starting to plant their tulips now?😍

#tulips #planting #growingflowers #november #gardening by @_thenovicegardener_

This is the first weekend in three weeks that I’ve had a proper chance to get stuck into a proper gardening job and get it done from start to finish without other commitments or bad weather getting in the way😂🙌🏼

This is the largest bed in the side garden and it’s a huge mix of annuals, perennials and dahlias.

All the dahlias were taken out, snapdragons pulled up (because I expect to have lots of random ones in here from them self seeding!) zinnias pulled up, hollyhocks cut back and old sunflower stems taken out. The brown bin was empty when I started and now it’s full again😂

The astilbe haven’t quite gone brown yet but I’m leaving those in situ and will cut back in a few weeks time.

I even had a little visit from a robin looking for worms😍

Doing a job like this gives me my gardening mojo back, I felt like I’d lost it this past week or so but it’s been such a beautiful, calm, sunny day so that definitely helped 💫

Still lots to clear but I’m so glad to have this bed done!

#gardening #gardenbed #gardentidyup #autumngarden #gardenjobs by @_thenovicegardener_

🌸 £25 Farmer Gracy voucher giveaway 🌸

It’s been about six months since my last giveaway, so I thought it was about time I did another! 💖

With one hour less daylight, I know a lot of us garden-loving folk are feeling it so I hope this will serve as a little pick me up to someone 💫

I also wanted to show my gratitude for anyone who has used my code in ordering from Farmer Gracy, I really appreciate it more than you know 💖

To enter:

• ‘Like’ this post
• Follow my account
• Tag a fellow garden lover!

Winner will announced on my stories on Friday 30th October 2026 and contacted via DM

Good luck everyone 🤩

* This giveaway is not affiliated with Meta or Farmer Gracy. The voucher has been paid for out of my own money.

* Voucher will be issued in ‘E-voucher’ format and will be sent to you either by DM or by email by @_thenovicegardener_

The last of the dahlias were cleared from the front border this morning🙌🏼 a long way from being the last of all the dahlias 😵‍💫 but the front border is my pride and joy when it comes to Spring, so I’m excited to have a blank canvas to start planting 🌷

Chaos planting in this border has always given me LOTS of colour in Spring 😍 So the plan is to dig a trench and plant these bulbs in little clumps of 5 or 6, and then fill in the gaps with any that are left over!! I have no idea what any of the varieties are, apart from distinguishing between tulips, daffodils and muscari so it really is going to be chaos 😆

My latest order of new tulip varieties from Farmer Gracy is still safely tucked away, but I have these earmarked for filling my two large planters by the front door. Any left over will also go into the front border.

Farmer Gracy currently have UP TO 30% off, so if you’re still in the market for Spring bulbs there’s great savings to be had, and you can use my code to save extra ££ on top 💫

#springbulbs #tulips #daffodils #plantingbulbs #autumngardening by @_thenovicegardener_

Digging my dahlias up in the middle of a storm seems to be becoming a bit of a trend for me😂😂😂 I did the same thing last year only I don’t think it was quite as bad as this morning’s weather 😆

It’s bitter here, and we currently have ‘Storm Boelo’ - all I could see were the poor dahlias in the front border getting battered, and all I could think about was the poor tubers rotting in the ground with the cold and wet - so out I went!!!

Still a few to dig up out the front but I made sure I secured all my favourites this morning❤️

Also featuring the huge vase of dahlias I went out and snipped off last night before the storm took them!!🌸🌼🌸🌼

#dahlia #dahlias #savetheplants #storm #gardening by @_thenovicegardener_

I feel like I am a little late to the party with this, but honestly - I couldn’t bear to start digging the dahlias up while they’re still in bloom! 🌸

I have cleared the planters at the front of the house so far, and one that had been totally decimated by slugs for the past while - none of them were up to much anymore!

But this afternoon I decided to be a little bit productive and clear a few dahlias from the back garden/decking. Labyrinth was still had one bloom but was unlikely to put out anymore - and when it gets that stage you know it’s time.

For digging up dahlia tubers you will need secateurs, a sharp spade and something to transfer them into. I start off by removing all clips and supports so that you’re just working with cutting off the stems and foliage.

It is advisable to have a feel around beneath the soil in the planting area to get a rough idea where the tuber is, so that you’re not sticking a spade right into the middle of a tuber! They will have spread out a little and grown in size since you planted them 🤣

I always leave around 7-10cm of a stem when cutting back, just because in previous years I’ve known the stems to have nodes on them.

Once dug up, remove as much excess soil as you possibly can, and let them dry out for a week or so. This will lessen the risk of rot in storage over winter!!

I store mine in cardboard boxes, either separately or at least a few centimetres apart so they are not in contact with another tuber 🙌🏼

Now I’m just dreading having to dig up the next 40😵‍💫🤣🤣

#diggingupdahlias #dahlia #dahlias #autumngarden #girlgardener by @_thenovicegardener_

My most prolific blooming dahlia bed in mid October 🤯💫

The dahlia varieties pictured here are:

Short Track
Ocean of Love
Tahiti Sunrise
Crazy Love
Kogane Fubuki
Red Labyrinth

This bed was giving me anxiety in July as they were still so short, and even though there had been a few blooms I never expected them to grow as much!

This is one of my many examples of my ‘chaos planting’ 😂 and I just adore how all the colours contrast!🌸🌼

#dahlia #raisedbeds #dahliaseason #garden #growingflowers by @_thenovicegardener_

Introducing…. Cafe au Lait Rose and Cafe au Lait Twist dahlias 🤍🩷

I don’t think I will ever get over the perfect combination that these two make! 😍 two Dinnerplate dahlias that I’m already excited to grow again next year!!! 💫

The wind here today has been absolutely horrific, so I was only too happy to go out and snip these off to enjoy indoors!

#dahlia #cafeaulait #growingflowers #autumngarden #dinnerplatedahlias by @_thenovicegardener_