Not just yellow but pink, purple and blue as well

As well as the daffodils some pink and blue bulbs are now showing their head.

After the amusing row of gladioli bulbs I had last summer I really have been trying to plant bulbs in clumps as opposed to lines. Doesn't look like I did a very good job with either these crocuses or the hyacinths. The crocus are really pretty though.

The crocuses that had come out before last weekend all took a real hit at the weekend. It was very wet, then very cold and then very windy. I had a really pretty container of crocuses outside the front door. I went away for the weekend and when i came back they had all gone limp and looked like ex-crocuses.

The wind has been really bad over the last two days and I've been fearing for all my new plants. Especially the clematis and the honeysuckle. I went for a little look today and nothing has blown over except the fire. There was one daffodil casualty but I used that as an excuse to pick a small bunch for the house.

The newspaper had a 50 most influential bloggers list in it this weekend - I was so disappointed to not be there - surely there are 10,000 people out there hanging onto my every gardening word.. oh maybe not...

I'm now writing each blog like it is my last. Both the camera and the computer are on their last legs.... We will be updating the camera soon and hopefully I'll get one which is especially good at taking wildlife and nature photos.

1st March

I had a bonfire today to burn all the spiky twigs we cut off last weekend. I had to retie the protective green netting at the back as the wind this week had pulled it off. It now has about 50 ties in it so hopefully will hold. It really does get very windy on that back bed.





I planted 30 lily of the valley from T&M and some that came free from a gardeners world offer. The ones from T&M had really long roots and i wasn't sure if they could go in sideways or whether they needed to go straight down. I also wasn't sure if the crowns were meant to still be under the soil or whether I should plant them poking up a bit. In the end most went totally under the soil. I also planted some snowdrops in the green by the Clementius pergola.





The first little blue wood anemone has come up and another snowdrop that was planted as a pip.

The ferns I ordered for the back bed came this week. I've got 3 Asplenium Scolopendrium (hearts tongue), 1 Athyrium filix-femina, 1 Dryopteris affins (Golden Male Fern) and 1 polystichum munitum. The last three should all grow to about 3ft. I don't know how long it will take them to do that though.

The ferns that I planted last October are 3 Buckler Ferns and 2 soft shield ferns. They should all grow to about half a meter high. They are also meant to grow half a meter wide which means I've planted them to close together. I guess I'll worry about that when they've grown a bit.

I've also got a clementis and a honeysuckle to grow up the back fence.

I put quite a lot of home made compost on the back bed but didn't get time to plant the ferns. I'll do that tomorrow. Lots of Daffs have come out now plus 10 tulips (Banja Luka) near the house.

More concrete removal

We've taken up the crazy paving concrete by the house and shed today. So that will give us another big bed. I was going to leave until until next year and make it in to a raised veg bed, but we're having the concrete removed in March - so we might as well have it all taken. Also I wanted to put the tomato grow bags on soil so thought they could go on there. For now I've just put some pots in the soil. I think I'll be able to fork it over and add manure and it will be OK though.

We also put up some green stuff at the end of the garden to protect the plants in the back bed from the wind that comes from the back field. I'm going to plant some ferns in that bed but i didn't order them for today as i thought it might still be frosty. I did plant some of the snowdrops, lily of the valley and the lily bulbs in the bed though as they have arrived over the last couple of weeks. I also put the dogwoods in. I put in 2 lily oriental stargazer and 3 Lily oriental Miss Lucy. The other 3 lily oriental stargazer went in a pot.

The light got to me before I finished planting the snowdrops and lily of the valley though - so I'll have to do those next week. I've left the hellebores in the plant pots for now as well. I don't know whether to keep them in pots or plant them out.

I also had some Alstroemeria tubers that came free with one of the orders. I don't really know what to do with them as I'm not sure what they will look like. So I've just put them into pots for now.

I'm having the landscaping done at the end of March. That is when the new flower beds will get laid out so i don't want to plant anything along the two sides until they've been done.

Everything was quite dry this morning. The soil was cracking it was so dry. So i gave it a water. Then it rained all afternoon!

Lots of daffs have come out in the garden now. But it got dark before i took any pictures today.

9th Feb - bulbs coming up

As expected the spring bulbs are starting to show.

A couple of the snowdrop pips have worked. I'll be getting some in the green at the weekend though.

Most surprising is the Tulip in the bed by the house!

More plants arrived by post this week - the dogwoods. So i need to start planning and planting the back bed.

The new flower beds are going to be made in March and i'll be having steping sones and a slate gravel patio put in then as well.

31st Jan

The crocuses are starting to come out. Lots of shoots of daffs and even the tulips are starting to show.

The christmas roses in the back bed have started to grow more flowers.

I had 5 little christmas roses arrive from Gardener's World offer this week. They seemed too little to put into the ground, especially as I might be planting more in that back bed soon and was worried that I'd squish them or they'd get dug up. So i've put them in little pots for now in the plant house.

I also got some geraniums. They were a cheap offer with the dogwood I ordered that should come later this month. They came as roots and I'm not really sure what to do with them either so I've put them in pots as well. I didn't know if any of the root was meant to be above the surface of the soil. I'm not even sure what they will look like when they grow.

Then later in the week some 3 miss lucy lilly bulbs arrived. I'm not sure about planting these in the ground or in a container so I haven't done anything with them yet either. I might be getting someone to create my new flower beds this month so I don't want to plant anything else until that is done.

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