Enjoying the Garden in Spring

 Hello Lovelies,

How are you doing today? Well, it's a Bank Holiday weekend so...YAY!

Her favourite place to nap

Before I go on I just wanted to thank you Penny and Nicole for your kind and thoughtful comments on my last post. You are both so lovely and I appreciate your kindness.

The Garden Past

I thought I'd share what's been going in the garden of late. I was browsing through our garden pics of a year ago and was surprised by the progress that we have made.

Victoria repotting her cactus collection

When we first arrived all the beds were squished up along the sides of the garden. Not only that but they are so overcrowded, positively squished.

Poor plants! I found one rose bush that was all but choked out. The plan is to have more beds and entertainment spaces than lawn. I just love a lush English cottage garden full of colour and wildlife! That's the end vision at least, we have a long way to go.

Clemitis about to bloom

Step one was to clear out the narrow beds of invading ivy, holly, and sticky weed. I can't stand sticky weed, it's the pits!

Last Years big clean up

As we watched the beds over the summer we realized how many fabulous plants there were and how they really were not getting to show off their best being relegated to the outside reaches of the garden. So we (and by we I mean DH) got to digging and widening the beds. Then we added another and this is where we are today...

I cant wait to see the beds come into themselves this summer!

The Garden Future

... (hopefully like in the next few months future not years future) DH will be doing a bit of hard landscaping with a patio under the Gazebo area with a gravel fire pit seating area beside it which will be surrounded with some of my favorite plants...Hydrangeas. I'm picturing fairy lights strung up around the gravel fire pit area and lovely summer evenings spent laughing and sharing with friends. When autumn rolls in we will cozy it up with blankets, warmed cider, and perhaps sausages sizzling on the open fire. In winter I look forward to seeing the gravel fire pit garden flanked by skeletonized hydrangea heads coated in their delicate frosty cloaks.  Can't wait!

We are also going to create a memorial rose garden for my grandma, she loved roses so it's a fitting way to keep her close to our hearts and thoughts.

Delicate White Hydrangea - new addition

I picked this lot up at Sainsbury's for a bargain. They are usually so expensive in the garden centers for this size so I snapped this lot up when I had the chance. I have actually propagated 4 new plants over the autumn and winter but these have taken a bit of a hammering with the late frosts and will take a while to recover and of course, grow up.

Hydrangeas are one of my favourite shrubs. I now have 11 in my garden. 

I've missed showing you my spring pots full of daffodils and tulips but take my word for it, they were just beautiful this year. My plan is to plant all the bulbs that were in the pots into the garden for next year's spring show and pot up fresh pots this autumn. That way our spring garden will just keep getting better and better each year.

My daughter's garden project this year is to create a mini cottage garden on our deck. Her vision is to have a wall of flowers that we can enjoy over the summer. She has started the lot by seed. She has cosmos, lavender, stocks, delphiniums, sunflowers, wildflower seed mix, and the list goes on.

What I'm Enjoying in the Garden Right Now...

The garden is definitely one of my happy places! I love quietly watering the plants as needed with a cup of tea in hand. It's soothing to the soul watching the water fall on the leaves and form little crystal beads that sit so delicately, adorning each leaf and flower jewels. I love watching the insects move from plant to plant ignoring my watering efforts and just getting on with their own business.

Soon the clematis will be in flower. I have a feeling I should not have cut mine back when I did as they seem rather small. From now on I will let it climb all over the fence without cutting it back in the autumn. I'll see what happens to it next year.

My Peony is growing by the day! I planted this little plant last year and am looking forward to more blooms this year. I'm always amazed that these plants die back to absolutely nothing over winter and then come back so lush and full in the summer.

The Virginia creeper and the roaming jasmine are slowly waking from their winter slumber. I plan to fill the pots in front of the little garden shed at the end of May. I wonder what would look good? Last year I had sweetpeas but they were a big disappointment so it will be something new this year.

What's happening in your gardens right now?

Do you have any plans? Please do share, I'd love to know.