The sun is still shining

It has been a glorious week of sunshine and a lovely weekend. On Saturday I planted up the bed on the left of the garden. The bit near the house is in the shade most of the day but the bed gets sunnier the further up you go. I didn't want anything to over the top as that's what the sunny beds are for! The bit near the house had the phorium before but that has died since being moved. I've got 5 hostas on order for there. Then it goes to the bit where the grasses were. I didn't like them as it was too much of the same but now that there is bed in front and we've covered bits up so it is less uniform I've decided to go with the grass theme. So I've got some different grasses to go there. As we move up to the beginning of the (newly painted) fence I was going to get another phornium but then I saw some Cordyline at the garden center. When I went to buy it on Saturday I ended up getting a much smaller (and cheaper) one - it will grow. Then there is the photina "red robin" which is a bit of a funny shape because it used to get overgrown with the lavetera. Now the lavatera is dead the photina will get a chance to grow and I'll start shaping it next year. This is the point wher ethe bed starts getting a lot more sun and I've a sweetpea wigwam and planted some Daliah tubers. Then the bed ends with the lovely silvery shrub. At the front of this bed I've planted 5 Elijah Blue" and 2 Heuchera "coral". I read today though that Elijah Blue are meant to be in acid soil so I don't know how well they will do. There is also a Euphorbia here as well. Going back along the border into the shade are 3 more heuchera; 2 in lime green and 1 in purple. Then you get to the new grasses. I was going to get Carex frosted curls but they needed sun so I got a carex "milk chocolate" and a carex "northern lights" plus a chondspopetall tecturum (need to confirm that spelling!).

On Saturday we also put manure on the new bed by the house and dug it over. I'd like it to be a veg patch but most of it doesn't get enough sun. A bit does though and I'll put the tomatoes there. We also moved some other pots and containers (including the Japanese maple) onto the patch so it doesn't look bare. So that freed up the patio in front of the shed for the table, chairs and the barby. The new table and chairs will go on the slate patio at the end of the garden. They should arrive in July (by which time summer will probably be over!).

I also cut the lawn and trimmed teh edges. Our mower has broken. I think its just the blade but have been having problems finding a new one. In homebase on Friday I bought one that was far too large in a desperate bid to do something other than buy a whole new lawn mowe (wich is what I really wanted - one with a roller that does stripes!). Anyway on Saturday I actually borrowed the neighbours flymo. It annoys me that grass clippings go in the beds. But what I'm not sure about is whether all mowers do that or just flymos. If a normal electric rotary mower didn't shower the beds with grass then I might get a new one. Although I have promised D that I won't buy anything else for a while.

Sunday we relaxed, ate b-b-q, drunk Pimms and generally enjoyed the garden. Lovely.

Today I spoke to P and found out I need to water garden every day. So I'll try and get up 10 minutes early in the morning. Today I left work on time and despite waiting 20 minutes for the bus was still home well before 7 and had a good 90 minutes in the garden. I gave the beds a liquid feed as well as watering them with the sprinkler. I'd been meaning to do that for ages, ever since the tulips started dying back. I also feed the lawn with a lawn liquid feed. I'll try and do that every two weeks for a couple of months to try and get it looking nice.