Daisy

I was going to tuck this into the end of the previous post but I think Daisy deserves her own entry.

Daisy was only with her previous owner for 2 weeks before he decided to rehome her.  She has had all her checks and injections, all the paperwork done. We are just waiting for our own vet to check her over.

She has learned sit and down, and is now realising that she will not be fussed if she doesn't have all four paws on the ground. 

We have had her for a little over a day and a half now and she has fitted in so well.

She takes herself off to her bed to nap.

She loves to play of course.

She has been in the car and been to the store to get a new bed and toys, along with a harness so she will be ready for her first walk late next week.  She has met her groomer (who can't wait to have a cuddle when the restrictions lift).  And is getting used to Ellie our Yorkshire terrier, who tolerates her high energy playfulness but isn't yet willing to join in and is quite happy just to watch, thank you very much.

She has a huge crate to sleep in at night and we've had no accidents at all yet (although it's only been 36 hours or so). She goes to the patio door to let us know when she needs to relieve herself. 

Today she is joining Ellie on a walk, but will be carried.  This is to help her confidence with all the sights and sounds she is likely to encounter in every day life. 

Daisy and Bumblebee are already inseparable 

PS: all social distancing measures were adhered to.

Warm Spring Sunshine

Each season I find something that makes me happy.  In spring it's the speed at which everything comes together.  The sun becomes brighter and warmer, the days longer.  The birds fill my heart with their song, the leaves unfurl and as each flower swells and bursts open, I cannot imagine wanting to be anywhere but in the garden.  

These three photos show just how quickly acer Aureum leaves explode from tightly wrapped buds when the warm spring days arrive. 

In the Yen Garden, crimson rhododendron flowers are about to bloom.

The pruning of this Japanese cherry blossom, prunus serrulata Kanzan, has paid dividends as it is now smothered in sugary pink, nectar rich clusters that are a magnet for bees.

Above, acer palmatum Sango-kaku is now in full leaf, as is the rich deep tone of what we think is a. dissectum Garnet. 

Sitting beneath the wisteria laden arch that leads to the Yen Garden, sat a large green glazed pot containing cannas.  Today I dug these up and repotted them into a smaller container of the same design. 

The larger green pot is required for a greater purpose, which be revealed at a later date.

The increasingly rare sighting of our very own Bumblebee. He doesn't often venture into the garden, however the lockdown has caused many folk to behave in unusual ways, and the wildlife are thriving as a result!

In the meantime, The Man That Can has been a busy bee also.  Last week I removed the rotting log roll from either side of the arch on the patio.  This week, TMTC has removed all the concreted stones along the edge of the left hand side and along the Long Border.  This has created a trench of around 7 or 8 inches in width. 

He then filled the trench with a mixture of old compost and top soil, before removing the rotting log roll. In the coming weeks I shall bring some of the lower growing plants forward into this new space to blend it all together.

Hard work over for now, it's time to enjoy the garden.  A pleasure for all the senses. 

Mugwort's Retreat

Regular followers will know that we recently changed what had been the Pink Garden into a new seating area, altering the flowerbed and planting another two birch trees to create a shady, secluded spot to enjoy a book and a cuppa in the heat of the day. 

Before:

The massive (beautiful but hard work) hedge was removed.

And replaced with a fence.

The detritus left by the fencers was tidied as well as possible but the gravelled area just never looked neat.

The new trees were planted and Bumblebee and TMTC painted the new fence.

The Man That Can marked out the new shaped flowerbed and utilising all the bricks found under the soil over the time we've been here, made the red brick edging...

...and most of the plants were put back in.

Footings were dug out and the red bricks were also used for the new mini patio.

Now the job began to fix the issue with the litter among the gravel.  Over three weekends, TMTC and I painstakingly riddled the stones over some tarpaulin, removing twigs, weeds and leaves and soil that had lain over the weed membrane from composted leaves etc.

Gauging by the buckets we used, we collected 50 litres of home made compost from the gravel. Talk about something for nothing!

A couple of cushions and a little table, and Mugwort's Retreat is ready for summer. 

Finally

The sun is shining and we're not at work, have nowhere to be, have no-one to visit and no-one is visiting us...the garden is finally at the top of our to-do list!

We recently discovered that our garden is at 523 feet above sea level.  That's higher than Khufu's pyramid (the Great Pyramid of Giza) which stands at 481 ft.  It's higher than the Statue of Liberty which is just 305 ft from the ground to the tip of the torch, and higher than the Victoria Falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe which are 354 ft!

It is a fact that at the bottom of the drag to the village you can wear a t-shirt but by the time you reach the village you're donning a coat...and we're actually not quite at the top here!  It makes winter more interesting, that's for sure.  

Anyhow, I digress.  In the garden it's time to plant up and move and create.

Angel is intrigued but sensibly stays out of the way.

TMTC and Bumblebee are struggling to extricate rhododendron Christmas Cheer from its pot.

The soil needs to be scraped from the sides of the rootball to get it past the lip of the pot.

Teamwork!

It looks a good bit smaller now it's in the ground but it should soon grow into a large shrub.

Look at the beautiful colour of this bark.  It's the Tibetan cherry.

Also in the Yen Garden, the viburnum Dawn has been planted. It didn't flower this winter but that might have been due to the upheaval to make way for the hedge being replaced.

The viburnum Tinus pair on the other hand are flowering their socks off on the patio.

The three r. New Dawn survived winter in their pots and have now been replanted in Mugwort's Retreat.

The new outline has been marked ready for moving the brickwork edging.

At the top of the steps is a gentle honey scent coming from this Spireae japonica. It'll soon be smothered in tiny white flowers.

So many plants are coming into bud now, it's a job to keep up with what is new!  The trees all have varying degrees of leafing up.  This is the cherry blossom in the Yen. 

The clematis Shikoo winding it's way along the espallier apple tree already has flower buds!

And the tulips around the garden are waiting for their turn.

Elsewhere in the garden, I busied myself weeding the Long Border and the Patio Borders, moving crocuses from behind daylilies where they were hiding, planting snakeshead fritillaries, and dividing snowdrops whilst still "in the green" which means still having foliage.  I've also divided some native primroses and dwarf narcissi, and trimmed the Sarcococca confusa (Christmas Box) now it has finished flowering. 

The cheap hyacinths are such a welcome addition to the garden.  They add a wow factor, not just visually but they are extremely highly scented.  Their perfume wafts around the garden, reminding you of their presence like a spoilt child should your attention wander.

Since the blooms were beginning to flop due to the sheer weight of the flowerlets, I snipped off those most affected, added a few double daffs and a sprig or three lemon wallflowers for a posy inside.

The scented bouquet is so heady that it has to remain in the kitchen where it again stamps it's feet impatiently crying out to be noticed! 

Pure flower power!