Monday 12 April 2010

BACK TO THE GARDEN

At last time for the garden again. I have had a busy time and so not been able to garden or blog. Two weeks away from a computer doesn't help either. Now I am home there is so much to catch up with.

At least I returned home in time to enjoy the daffodils in flower.


The trough is doing really well despite the prolonged snow we had this winter.

Delphiniums are doing alright by the front wall, they were grown from seed last year and put in late summer and then some of them had a late flowering. I must have a good weed before they get too big.
One thing about whizzing around the garden with a camera you get to see all the many jobs waiting to be done,


The Bay trees survived the snow and the new rose Sophie's rose was planted in a cardboard box in the centre. This is a useful tip when planting roses in the same place as ones that have been previously growing. I find an A4 box the perfect size.
As ever the ground elder is fighting back and I really do need to try the poison on it this year I meant to last year but where does all the time go?

Despite my absence the tomato plants are busy growing, I was lucky to have Mike then Rebecca on watering duties.
I am back to growing Moneymaker this year again, but also Chelsea Mini and Tumbling Tom.

The Passion flower on the trellis by the back door was a casualty of the snow so I decided to plant a Clematis Montana Mayleen there instead. This was a present from Rebecca and although the space is a bit limited for a Montana it is about the only space in the garden that I could consider planting it.

The primroses, primula and cow slip are fun on the stand which came from Columbia Road Market.

The sinks need a face lift but at least there are some flowers coming. The bird is sitting in front of a disastrous attempt on a hypertufa face having been inspired by Frances of Fairegarden. My attempt leads much to be desired!

The spring garden is looking nice at this time of year, last years sorting out is producing the rewards this year.

I moved the crocus to the front edge of this border and must have another dig through to remove any more bits of ground elder before planting up. The Leucojum are looking particularly nice so I won't disturb them just yet. A good excuse to put that task off.


Some of the Hostas are showing, the primroses are looking nice and again I planted a few crocus around the edge of the pond.

The daffodils in the vegetable area are looking nice. I have had a busy couple of days digging out the old Lavender and replanting with small ones grown from cuttings a couple of years earlier. The grape Hyacinth look particularly nice along the edge but they can take over. I have added Thyme grown from seed last year but struggling a bit and cuttings of pinks which I had growing in shallow pans. They should do well facing the sun especially whilst the Lavender is so small.

Mike has been very busy with the vegetables and all is coming along well including the Raspberries.

I didn't get my corner seat and it may well go elsewhere but these two old school chairs make a nice perch from which to enjoy a different aspect of the garden.


The Delphiniums are doing fine but not much space for the spare plants I grew last year.

This was the bottom bed that has been renewed like the other two and a few Alchemilla Mollis plants have also been added hopefully they should do well if I remember to water them. I like things tumbling towards the path but don't always remember to plant far enough in, with such a narrow path there isn't space to encroach onto it. Years ago I edged it with Thyme and it was lovely but I had planted too near the edge. I had hoped to do something similar but the seeds I sowed last year didn't do as well as I had hoped.

Lots going on in the greenhouse, lettuces and even a couple of rose cuttings fingers crossed though because now is a difficult time when they start to shoot but may not yet have grown proper roots.

Mainly Nerines but a few other things.

A mixture of Lillies the orange ones always do well but my favourites are the Regale Lillies. I find they do better for me in pots as the ground is a bit clay, so wet and cold in the winter.

Sweet Peas and a few Tomato plants which would not fit in the porch. This is a cold greenhouse so there is a possibility that a cold night could damage them.

Pleonies are coming and the box cuttings are ready to pot on as the roots are coming out of the bottom of the pot. Box are probably the easiest things to grow from cuttings, hence all my box hedges.

Even my potting bench is looking cheerful.

The nursery area is rather full but I just deleted the other photo by mistake. When I dig ground elder out of a bed I pot on any plants I rescue, this allows me to see if any have any unwanted weeds in and when I plant up an area I usually have lots of things to choose from.

The Rhubarb is coming along and the daffodils are doing well.

The Primroses and Primulas are looking pretty.

One of the few Camelia flowers

The Hostas are growing but so are the weeds!

Wanda deserves a photo to herself.

Hardenbergia Violecea was a plant I bought some years ago but it often struggles the flowers are delightful, I wish I could take a cutting successfully.

24 comments:

  1. You sure have a lot going on there. Busy busy you are. The blooms are beautiful.

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  2. My goodness, what a gorgeous bunch of plants you have growing there. I can hardly wait to see everything in bloom. You certainly have a green thumb.

    FlowerLady

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  3. It was very interesting looking around your garden. You seem to have made a good start to the year. I think I have lost my Passionflower too due to all the snow. Very annoying as it was in its first year. Lets hope we get lots of warm weather over the coming weeks!

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  4. I was just thinking about you the other day, wondering what you've been doing.
    Your garden is looking great. I love all of your Daffodils! I wish I could take some of the Delphiniums off your hands :) I love them, but between slugs and kids they don't last long in my garden.

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  5. Oh my goodness....
    There is so much going on in your garden this spring. The daffodils are just lovely and I can't wait to see your delphiniums bloom this summer. It is nice to see a plant that I currently grow in my desert garden as well. Hardebergia violaceae - I have six currently growing. They have just finished blooming for me this year.

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  6. What a wonderful garden you have! I love it.

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  7. Wow! what a tour, simply wonderful. Host in pots. I have to replant hosta in the ground from pots. It gets too cold to winter over. Hosta in pots looks soo cool. jim

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  8. Welcome back
    Your photos are superb, I can almost smell the flowers, garden and English air!
    Here they are promising more snow before "spring" my daffodils and tulips are about 1 1/2 tall so now I can sit back and enjoy yours.

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  9. Oh I love your garden! So much going on, so much grow and hope of even more loveliness to come. Really am hiding this blog from my hubby I think it would make him cry - it's just his dream garden. Bravo to you and to Mike for keeping up with all that watering xxxxxxxxxxx

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  10. Glad to see you back Joanne :) Your garden and greenhouse look glorious in their spring colours. Is that long trough full of thymes?

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  11. Hi Anna The trough has a mixture of Thymes, sedums and house leeks and possibly some Adjuga in one with the moss carefully arranged by Mike which makes the whole thing look as if it has been there years.

    It is good for practising my reversing skills!

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  12. Hi Joanne, I posted a comment, but got the Blogger error page, so I'm reposting. Sorry if it creates a duplicate.

    You have so many interesting areas in your garden right now. Your large clumps of daffodils look great, from the pretty white and yellow combination in the front of your house, to the large yellow bed behind. You can really notice each individual primrose when they are on the stand, instead of lost in the garden. The spring garden looks pretty, too. Isn't it satisfying when you rearrange, and see the results the next year?

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  13. Joanne your garden is a joy!

    Good tip about the cardboard box to overcome replant sickness.

    So, you went to Columbia road market. Very jealous, I haven't been since I don't know when, the 1980's probably.

    You really are making use of that greenhouse, I bet you refer to it as HQ. Good stuff.

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  14. I just loved looking around your garden ... you've got such a lot of great things happening. I so loved that first photo ... what a gorgeous entrance to your home.

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  15. I love your garden, Joanne! In this post, I saw some places which I haven't seen before. Nice! I love your "black" window!

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  16. Joanne, I am so glad to see you back to your garden and blogging again. I missed you!

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  17. Hi I know my blog is slow to load and worse since I added the Seven facts about Lyme disease video so I decided to delete this although it is accessible on my Looking at Lyme Disease blog.

    This was a comment from a fellow blogger Joco which she e mailed me because she took 30 mins to download my blog and then couldn't leave a comment. I was so flattered that she was so patient in waiting and hence my decision to remove the video.

    ' Hiya Joanne,
    Couldn't find your name on the GBBD Linky list, and see that here's 'one you made earlier':-)

    You are truly gardener of the year! I get tired just looking at all the plants you care for. And how well and happy they all look. There seems to be no end to the nooks and crannies and mini-gardens you take us into. Some bits I recognize now from my visits, but many angles are totally new.
    One thing about groundelder plants: beware of using Roundup on them. I have brought down huge shrubs whilst the weeds happily survived. And I was very careful. Try cutting them back to groundlevel repeatedly and then cover with black plastic for a few months.
    Your photos are so clear and informative.'

    Many thanks Joco.

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  18. I wondered where you've been. Welcome back home. We're so glad you're here. Missed your musings and the beautiful photos. Love it all. Your garden looks very healthy and raring to go.~~Dee

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  19. I Love Your Garden!!! Can't Wait To see It In Full Bloom....DeeDee

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  20. There are so many cozy and interesting places to explore in your garden, I was especially drawn to all the textures and your curving path.

    Can you say more about planting your new rosebush in a box? I'm about to plant in the same spot as a previous bush.

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  21. Hi Gardenscraps The idea is that if you plant a new rose in a cardboard box it protects the rose from the soil that an earlier rose has been growing in. By the time the box disintigrates the soil seems to have restored to being ok ie roses get sick if planted in the same space as another rose has previously grown. I have done this several times and so far it has worked well.

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  22. Joanne, Your garden is so inspirational! Absolute magic! I love all your use of saplings and will copy you there!! Not the poison however... and your greenhouse is so productive ... I look forward to seeing your gardens grow. I would love your tip on cuttings of boxwood... do you use sand? Wonderful post! Carol

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