I have to say that I am incredibly chuffed with how much I have done in the garden this weekend. I know I might sound to be gloating but as I was feeling a little under the weather at the end of week plus I have been home alone I didn’t really expect to achieve much.
After my sterling efforts the week before when I painted the back fence in the evenings I was a little disappointed that I haven’t had the energy to do as much after work this last week but then I have also had to work late a couple of days and that always knocks me for six. I have pottered a lot and spent one evening clearing the staging at the sunny end of the patio. I have used it over the winter to store lots of random pots of plants that I hadn’t had time to plant out or I wanted to grow on. It’s a convenient space for covering with fleece when it’s very cold. However, with the weather warming up I wanted to start moving things out of the cold frames and greenhouse so I went through all the pots, throwing the ones that had died, luckily not too many, tidying and weeding the others and storing them at the shady end of the patio. Then I arranged my collection of hardy succulents and auriculas on the staging (top photo). I have potted a number of these up as I am hoping to enter them into a competition in a couple of weeks, if I don’t lose my nerve first. The only other thing I managed during the week was to prick out some seedlings.
I have to say that I am really pleased with the garden at the moment. Of course there are areas that need work particularly with the two projects we have on the go but the woodland border is full of spring color. I have tried to get a photograph to really show it at its best but the trouble is everything is so small that I end up with a photo of colourful dots. You will have to take my word that there are anemones, epimedium, snowflakes, miniature narcissus, primula, pulmonaria and erythroniums all flowering in this area.
The badger damage in the border above is no longer apparent and next year I am going to add more narcissus. I was thinking of some smaller ones to go in front of the Narcisssus ‘Geranium’ to hide their legs if you know what I mean. The Prunus incisa ‘kojo-no-mai’ is looking wonderful but it is about to be overshadowed by the Amelanchier canadensis and the Prunus I inherited with the house (photos below). Their blossoms are just opening and if you sit quietly in the garden, which unbelievably I have done this weekend, all you can hear is the buzzing of pollinators as they go about their business.
I have spent the weekend working on the front garden but I will show you the fruits of my labor in the End of Month View post. I also went to the local Hardy Plant Society meeting and really enjoyed the discussion, led by Bob Brown, which ranged from the identity of different narcissus, the care of primulas and auriculas, various shrubs that were good at this time of year. The discussion results from the various plants and stems that members bring in and it was as lively as ever with heated debates about the why someones anemones were hardly flowering, why someone couldn’t grow Lathyrus and ended up with a discussion about the growing conditions needed for Trilliums. I am so glad I found this group. I didn’t stay for the afternoon talk which was by Tom Hart Dyke as I was feeling quite unwell but I am glad to say I am now on the mend, thanks to working in the garden, being kind to myself and lots of fresh air.
