Spring Update

I cannot believe how long it has been since my last entry and I simply do not know where the time has gone. Although now when I stop and think about the last six months I have been very busy so will recap some of what has been happening up until now.

At the end of August T and I celebrate our Wedding Anniversary so last year we spent a long weekend on Lindisfarne (Holy Island, off the Northumberland coast).  We have stayed on the island many times before as it is so peaceful there especially when the causeway is flooded.  The Gertrude Jekyll garden was, as ever, beautiful 

and we walked the Pilgrims Way across the causeway 

  (the village of Lindisfarne is on the right in the distance) and

 in bare feet naturally!

In September, I managed to visit some gardens on my own namely The Beacon (Stocksfield) and Birkheads Secret Garden (Sunniside, Gateshead). 

The Beacon, Stocksfield

Also in the same month we had a family trip to the gardens of Blagdon Hall (Northumberland).

At the beginning of October on another family trip we visited a garden which had been on my bucket list for many years - The Garden of Cosmic Speculation in Dumfriesshire. We went on a drizzly Saturday and despite the appalling weather, the garden was spectacular.

At the end of December, we had another family trip to Gibside Pleasure Gardens (Gateshead) for their  Winter themed illuminated trail through the grounds. The lighting and music made for a very atmospheric evening.

Since the beginning of the new year I have been hard at work in the garden (weather permitting). I am still in the process of cladding the inside of what used to be the “guinea pig shed”.

I have also been tweaking the Italian garden with additions of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Ellwoods Pillar (for structure), also in the Italian garden, I tasked myself with the job of filling in gaps left by perennials which have died.

 

To celebrate Valentine’s Day T and I visited Durham Botanic Gardens, it was blissfully quiet, with very few visitors and as ever the café provided a delicious lunch.

 

I have also had a change of opinion regarding the colour of manmade structures in the garden.  I have now decided that the trellis and obelisks currently painted black are too gloomy so am now in the process of changing them all to white. 

 

Over on the front lawn I felt the blue border was too “one season” (June) so have dug up the two clumps of Zantedeschia aethiopica and replaced them with box balls (£12 each from a local home & ware store). The box balls carry on a theme throughout the garden - of structural conifers and clipped box.  Incidentally, here in the garden I have no issues with box blight, presumably the exposed positon has something to do with that.

I shall now endeavour to record and photograph at more regular intervals.

Happy Gardening

 

Autumn Fireworks

Autumn is well under way and the garden has splashes of seasonal colour throughout, beautiful explosions of colour which remind me of fireworks.  

In the rose/winter bed the kalimeris, 

rudbeckia goldstrum, 

heuchera 

and cyclamen shine in the watery sunlight. 

In the blue border a few perennials are also still putting on a lovely display. 

A  scabiosa, 

salvia Amistad (earmarked for a move) 

and a clematis, with its velvety purple petals, are warmed from the heat of the south facing stone wall.

In the glasshouse, where it is a jolly sight warmer, colour is provided by both flowers and leaves – Clerodendrum ugandense, 

bromeliads, 

hedychiums, 

and a red cestrum.

The Amelanchier lamarckii -  its leaves seem to glow tones of reds, oranges and yellows.

The acers in the oriental garden are clothed in fiery reds.  I don’t think I’ve seen them display such vibrant colours before.

Callicarpa bodinieri sits in a sheltered spot in the Italian garden, known as the beauty berry, the purple berries are shine like jewels in the autumn sunlight.

As winter approaches I plan to spend some time converting my son’s (now redundant) guinea pig shed into a summer house.

 

Here, as you can see, I have already made a start.  I have removed the old internal hardboard side panels and am now in the process of replacing them with pine tongue and groove.  This has turned out to be a time consuming job as I did not realise that the whole shed was actually leaning over to one side so the walls are not strictly dead vertical.  Each panel has to be checked using a spirit level.  I reckon I have about March to finish.

Enjoy the autumn colours before the leaves wither and fall.

"Let It Go, Let It Go" according to Elsa

The other day I went on a group garden visit to a fellow club member’s garden. The garden, in my opinion, was stunning although the owner thought it was only at its best in June/July. The garden’s topography is similar to mine ie it lies on a steep slope, the only sizeable flat area being where the house stands.

I was interested to find out from Derek and Pat (the owners) how they managed to keep the plants so green and lush on such a steep slope.  I also wanted to know how they kept all the soil in place instead of sliding down the slope which happens in mine garden.

First, I asked Pat what sort of fertiliser she uses and how often it is applied – Pat said every spring a very thick layer of garden compost, bought from Newcastle CC HWRC site, was spread everywhere.

Then I asked her why the compost and plants didn’t end up at the bottom of the slope as it does in my garden.  The answer to this was simple – Pat said that the plants are allowed to grow densely so that the compost is kept in place by the plants themselves.  

In fact, when walking round the garden I noticed that no soil could be seen and that the plants are left to grow into large clumps so they merge with their neighbours.  Pat went on to say that she does not divide perennials but only digs things up when she wants to sell a plant for charity.  

This was a revelation to me because as gardeners we are constantly being told to divide perennials up every 3 / 4 years which is what I have been doing until now. 

Lastly, Pat gave me a bit of advice, “Let it go, Let it go” she sang happily which is what I am going to do in future.   I am going to let plants spread and grow towards their neighbours thus creating a continuous expanse of colour.  Come spring I shall be out there piling on homemade compost and mulch in even greater amounts than previously.

On my way home I mulled over my visit.  I thought to myself “This is why I love visiting other people’s gardens.   I had learnt a new take on fertilising the soil and the garden had inspired me to start new projects and to try new things. What an enjoyable and inspiring visit to a beautiful garden”.

 

The following day I was still buzzing from the garden visit.  I felt that there were bare patches in some of my borders which needed filling.  I paid a visit to my local garden centre and bought a few plants to put in some gaps.

The heucheras and ajugas went in the rose/winter border, geranium Rozanne - the south facing blue border, the limey leaved golden marjoram  - the herb garden, the ferns ended up in the fernery and the three little anthemis went in the south facing rockery style border.

Derek and Pat have a beautiful garden filled with so much colour. It contains many ideas one can take away and illustrates what is possible on a challenging sloping site.   

August Update

We are at the end of August and already there is a slight autumnal feel to the mornings.  When I get up and open my bedroom window I can smell the crisp, fresh air, and everywhere is bathed in a bright, clear light as the watery sun creeps higher in the sky. (I did want to include a picture of the view from my bedroom window in the morning sunlight but unfortunately for 7 mornings running it has been either misty, overcast or raining, perhaps another time).

In the garden the June/July perfusion of colour has finished but there is still some splashes of colour here and there.

At the foot of the terrace on the south side of the house runs the blue border. 

Here the Agapanthus are doing their stuff in the free draining baked soil, they are spectacular shades of deep blue, this one is called A. Blue Dot.  

Further along the blue border is Clematis heracleifolia Cassandra.

I gave the hardy geraniums a trim just to tidy them up and I have been dead heading the roses as often as I remember to.

In the fruit cage I have had a good supply of fresh fruit.   The redcurrants and blackcurrants have finished fruiting and we have enjoyed many variations on Eaton Mess as well as summer fruit pudding.

I under planted the blueberries with Fragaria vesca (wild strawberry) and these tiny little plants have provided us with lots of delicious fruits and with little-to-no slug damage.

The wineberries need picking now – what we don’t eat fresh will be turned into jam.

This year’s new canes of Raspberry Malling Jewel need tying in to supports and I can already see lots of flowers on Autumn Bliss.

The wildflower hedge was such a great success that I celebrated by buying 20 Harebell plug plants.  As they are so small I have potted them up and will keep them protected until they are bigger and stronger then I will plant them out.

 

Out-takes

You may remember Pippin from a previous entry – here she is again.

A Long Border and How to Manage It

On the south facing side of the garden is this long border which is planted up with Geranium macrorrhizum Bevan’s Variety.

It is virtually maintenance free, requiring only a short trim with shears after flowering to encourage a second bloom. 

This  border, however, has two small patches of couch grass at either end so I used the strimmer to cut back the geraniums.

Then a quick rake over to gather up the old growth and to expose the basal roots. Now it is easy to see and weed out the couch grass when it grows back.

Every year in early spring this bed is strimmed to cut away the previous year’s growth.  I find it keeps the plants less congested and easy to weed.

I hope you find this method of coping with large areas of the same plant interesting and useful.

Happy Gardening