It seems like spring has definitely arrived here much earlier than usual. I'm not complaining of course especially compared to March last year when around this time we were still covered in snow. Last Sunday was warm enough that we were in t-shirts for most of the time we were pottering outside.
Euphorbia characias 'Silver Swan' enjoying some early spring sun
In general the main task in the garden is to do as much tidying up as possible as we do have lost time to make up for. This lovely weather we've been having has been a great help in our pursuit and if it carries on like this then we'll be catching up with tasks we've been lagging behind pretty soon.
Cutting back the dead foliage of a clump of Miscanthus I rediscovered the beauty of this Rhododendron roxieanum var. oreonastes which I wrote about before about having a lovely scent all year round
The only other thing is that, with it only being March, a lot of plants are still bare, dormant, or at least just starting to show signs of life. It still feels a bit early, early to make decisions where some plants will go and feels early to buy more plants. And speaking of buying plants, most nurseries are still minimally stocked despite the deceivingly beautiful weather we've been having that makes it feel more like May rather than March.
The evergreens and the deciduous
Vision, visualisation, and imagination helps though. We have been doing some planting on top of tidying up. On plants that are still bare we imagine them in full leaf as we figure out appropriate places for them. And as our plant buying for this year has barely started we have to leave lots of gaps too for whatever plants we may be buying in the months to come. Not long to wait now as the proper plant buying season starts in April. And speaking of gaps they will be handy as places to stand on to for when we paint the new fences and exterior of the new jungle hut, a task we ought to prioritise really (there you go, I'm organising myself as I type this!).
Replanting has begun on the middle patio border although more tidying up still needs to be done
And some more progress on the border to the other side of the jungle hut towards the jungle walk with more clearing out done.
Oh and we have to order some more compost, topsoil, bark mulch, manure, gravel...
The towering Schefflera alpina has been liberated from its pot and is underplanted with Illicium majus
Lovely March weather it may be, it still feels early on various aspects of gardening. But doing a little bit here and a little bit there all adds up, and when the warmer months of spring arrives it should help in making the remaining tasks much lighter.
Everything looks so much nicer on a sunny day, including these empty pots!
And two of those pots were planted up by the end of the day. I like this photo, it looks rather 'conceptual'...
And isn't that one of the nice things about gardening? Sometimes you just go out there and do a little bit here and a little bit there and later on you find yourself getting calmer, relaxed, revitalised, with a clearer and better vision of bigger things to do in the future. Wonderful!Mark :-)
