Amaryllis

I'm amazed at how quickly this grew. Its very pretty.

My new squirrel feeder

I proudly put up a bird feeder last weekend and watched with delight as birds came to it straight away. The seeds have been going down very quickly and so I really filled it up today. Being a Sunday I had more time to watch today and realised the reason it goes down so quickly is that it is actually a squirrel feeder. They were queuing up to eat the seeds. So I've put a suet pudding out for the birds. I went back to the garden center to get a squirrel proof feeder today but they didn't have any. So the squirrels are doing quite well from my garden - I'm already concerned about the number of bulbs they've eaten. They've dug up most of the crocus pots over the last couple of weeks.

My husband did buy me some lovely new secateurs as a Christmas present though. So now I can neaten up the bushes & shrubs in the garden. The apple tree is what really needs pruning. I have been reading my pruning book but I'm still a bit nervous about what to cut off. I'm going to need the loopers and a step ladder for that though.

On Friday my friend who works for the RHS was in London visiting and so I got to talk plants with him for a while which I enjoyed. I'm hoping he'll come and help when I need to plant up the new flower beds. Plus a promised visit to RHS Wisley.

I ordered some dogwood today plus some more Helleborus Niger/Christmas roses that were on a offer in a magazine. The dogwood is going to go at the back of the back bed. The christmas roses I planted before look really nice at the end of the garden and I'll put the others nearby but in a new clump.

Over Christmas I'm hoping to finish off breaking up the path so that we can make the greenhouse i got for my birthday and put it up. I want to move all the concrete away from where it is sitting so that the soil underneath can start to break up.

These pics all look a bit dark - I hadn't realised how foggy it got whilst I was outside!

Happy Christmas.

christmas is coming

And here is my tree..

December - and I'm dreaming of how my garden will look next year (hopefully)

I've been mentioned in my dad's christmas letter and now feel the pressure to keep up the photos of the changing garden!

I recently planted three Christmas Roses (Helleborus Niger) at the back of the garden and they look very pretty. I had an offer in a magazine for 3 more which i might send off for soon. I also moved the nicotina plant further back - although I'm not entirely sure whether its a annual or perennial. I made a shelter for the two new laurel bushes to protect them a bit from the wind that comes across the back field.

I saw some dogwood in a magazine which i think would go well at the back of that bed. My uncle thinks i should stick to the bamboo plan. I think I'll do both at the different sides. All still fits in with the "forest" theme. ish. Also now that back bed is just going to be blue and white flowers. And then the greens etc from the evergreen bushes. Plus the red from the dogwood when i plant it, which hopefully I'll do over Christmas - or maybe i should wait until February. Not sure. I'll also plant some snowdrops "in the green" in that back bed in Feb. Mum is going to take me to a special place to buy some! I did buy the trillium and Paris bulbs - so they're in that back bed near the ferns. Let's hope they work at it was probably a bit late in the year to be planting them.

The themes for my two new flower beds are going to be "jewels" and "pink". I want to put two climbing supports in the pink bed for Clematis and/or roses. I never used to like roses but I've been eyeing them up recently. I'll get a late flowering one for next year to provide colour at the end of the year.

Anyway - here is a rather misty pic of the garden taken on the 9th December.

Leaves

I've spent most time in the garden over the last month raking up leaves. I've made three bags of leaf mulch in black bin bags as i didn't ever get any chicken wire. I've ordered another composter as the one I've got at the moment is full. I've had some great compost out of it already but what's in there needs a little longer. Hopefully it will all be ready by the time i make my new flower bed after Christmas. So I'll start a new one whilst that finishes.

Here are some pictures of the garden over the last month.

I need to read my purning book and get on with some pruning - although maybe it can wait until spring.

I've definietly become addicted to buying bulbs. I've seen some Paris bulbs and Trilliums i might get - although it is getting quite late to plant them now.. umm..

Bye bye concrete

We're going to get rid of the concrete path and make it into a big new flowerbed this winter...

October

I've planted 270 bulbs! Daffs, bluebells and snowdrops at back. Tulips and Alliums in the sunny bed and tulips and daffs in beds near house.

Today we planted some shrubs and ferns at the end of the garden. These photos are to remind me where i still ahev some gaps that are gpoing to need filling.

Bulbs

I'm shattered today. I planted 170 odd bulbs over the weekend. Roll on spring.

It was mainly Narcissi , snowdrops and bluebells at the end of the garden. I really want to turn that into a much more overgrown "forest". The soil quality is pretty poor so I've been feeding it manure and trying to turn it over. I think the main reason not much grows is because of the big trees in the park. I want it to be far more overgrown so i was looking in the garden center for shade loving plants with dense foliage that don't need much water.. umm..

I've also planted tulips and Anemone nearer the house. I hope those beds get enough sun on the soil.

They should be really rained in today. It's been miserable.

Flowers from my garden

Plans for next year

The weather has been a lot drier in August compared with July. My gladioli and sweetpea are coming out now - as seen in the pictures


I've been trying to plan what i want to do next year. I'd like something else amongst the grasses. I did put some seeds for wild flowers in there, but i think i put them in too late as the grasses had already grown quite a bit. I'll definitely put some spring bulbs in but it would be nice if it was a bit more interesting throughout the summer as well. it would look good with some taller flowers like poppies (papaver orientale (red) or meconopsis grandis (blue) is like what I mean. Also Helenium a red flower that flowers in Autumn would be good). In Gardeners' world this month there is a scheme with grasses and some bulbs - purple sensation. Maybe i could try introducing those when i plant the spring bulbs plus add some new grasses next spring. Actually i could put gladioli there. Or (from book):
watsonia borbonica (summer flowering pink 1 - 1.5 m)
Allium Stipitatum (summer purple-pink 1 - 1.5m)
(or any other allium)


As for the back of the garden i really need to fill that out. I could add a couple more shrubs but what I'd really like are lots and lots of wild looking flowers - like foxgloves, penstemons delphiniums and phlox

looking in my book these might be nice as well:

• symphytum x uplandicum - flower late spring / early summer pink/blue/purple
• sidalcea 'oberon' - summer pink flowers
• veronica gentianoides - small summer white flower

I also like all the flowers that look like big daisies. None of the ones I've planted before ever work though. The heads fall off about a week after i buy them and then no new flowers grow. I really do need to test my soil and get things that work well. Also work out if it is well drained or not. I'm not sure what I've previously bought and there are so many different types in my plant book that all look pretty much the same to me.

I have ordered some bulbs today. I'm going to put snowdrops and bluebells at the back and lots of daffs/narcissus in the other beds, including in the grasses and along the edge of the lawn

I def need to manure and stuff this winter and make all the beds and plants happy. The other thing I'm not sure of is what to leave in the ground and what I'll have to take out. the fast growing tobacco plant for eg - is that a perennial or an annual - there is one in each section of my book.


I've had loads of slugs and snails this year. Next year i need to get copper rings. the other things I'd like to do are:
- grow herbs
- grow tomoatos
- make a private bit of the garden
- get a proper hammock
- have a water feature
- make some cuttings from the hidden fushia
- get a mini greenhouse and grow some seedlings and cuttings that way

4th August

The garden

Yes i know the lawn needs mowing but the rest is looking ok.

New plants

I planted these on sunday. It was a lovely sunny day after 2 days of really bad rain. I spent quite a while tiding up the garden.

Back from holidays

Well there was no danger about the garden drying up whilst we were away. It has pretty much rained non stop for two weeks. It is sunny today though.

One new flower in the garden. The white "fast growing" tobacco plant I planted near the Christmas tree.









My gladioli do not look good at all. The leaves are shredded. And none of the seeds i planted straight in the soil have done much at all.

The beds near the house have exploded though - with lots of pretty pink flowers.

Plus near the back the silvery plant has a few yellow flowers on it. Not sure what this is.











We saw lots of foxgloves in Scotland which i really like. I will need to do seedlings and mini green houses next year i think.

Scottish thistle

As i can't blog my own garden this week here is some local flora

17th June

I took these photos before I went away on 17th June.

Pirton Open Gardens

I went to visit my mum and dad today and the village had open gardens so I got to go and have a nose around some beautiful country gardens. Although not open to the public we started off in the best garden of all with a bar-b-q - my mum and dads!

Bonsai

Pretty pink flowers

The sun is back

After a week of rain the sun came out on Friday and it has been lovely this weekend. Been in the gardening tidying up the beds. The slugs have got to the hosta after all.