The Prunus flowering in my garden is always a sign that spring is most definitely here. The arrival of the flowers is accompanied by the pollinators and there is a constant humming as you work in the garden under the tree. In fact over the last few weekends the sound of bumble bees has been a constant soundtrack to my gardening and I am sure there are more than in previous years – maybe the milder winter temperatures has been good for them.
The first tulips are flowering. I think these are Purple Prince and am rather taken with them. I like the way the petals look like crinkled silk, the color is so iridescent. I generally plant the bulbs out in the borders for the following year but after the experience of the badger trashing the garden the winter before last in its pursuit of the tulip bulb I am a little hesitant at doing this; something to ponder. Though looking at the photo below I think these might look good amongst the foliage of the conifers
The weather has been gray and damp with rain showers so outside gardening was a non-starter today but I did get some tidying up and weeding done yesterday. The small conifer planting is looking quite nice with the various muscari adding a splash of color. I’m not sure about the geraniums here but again they will add color until the conifers spread out.
The original woodland border has also had a tidy up. I have been editing the planting in here and adding taller perennials and some shrubs to the back of the border to give it some more interest – it was all too low and tiny and bitty. I have some other late summer perennials to add from the slope which I hope will do well in this slightly shady spot; but I have to wait for Hosta Sum and Substance to put in an appearance as I can’t remember where it is!
As you can see my son has cracked on with pushing the stone wall back to allow space for a bench in the tiny new seating area. Sadly it didn’t get finished due to the rain; there is so much clay in the soil that it becomes unworkable but he is getting there. Once done I can order a load of gravel to cover the seating area and the steps leading to it. You will notice the old tin bath in front of the shed. I have had this a few years having bought it from a flea market. It started life as a pond on the patio but didn’t really work; I think the location was too sunny and hot. In recent years it has been used as a planter for various seasonal interest and it peaked last year when I filled it with masses of bargain basement tulip bulbs. I had thought about using it for a courgette plant or two but the more I look at its new location the more the idea of reinstating the pond seems to be the way forward. It will mean sealing up the drainage holes but we were looking for a solution to the water
Knowing that I will be ordering a load of gravel in the very near future I took the opportunity yesterday to remove the rotting wood chip from the top path. The wood chip has been added to for several years but has rotten down so it is more or less compost and full of weeds and perennial seedlings. The path has irritated me for a while and is one of the areas that has seen a lot of neglect over recent years while I was too busy. I have decided to replace the wood chip with gravel. I know it will get weeds growing in it but I think it will look smarter and I am trying to keep the different hard landscaping material types to a minimum. The composted bark has been tipped down onto the slope for me to work into the soil.
Due to the rain showers on Sunday I went off garden visiting but I will post about that later in the week. I do so love this time of year, so much promise.
