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. 

Gardening takes time

It would be great if we could invite TV gardeners into our patches, or afford substantial, mature plants to create an instant garden.  However there is huge satisfaction in creating and nurturing a garden into maturity, so why not take time to learn about your soil type and what will and won't grow while the plants mature with you.

This beauty is prunus serrula, also known as a Tibetan cherry.  It has the most gorgeous conker coloured bark that will look great in the winter.  We bought it online as a bare root tree from Ashridge Trees. It's not the first time we've bought plants online and while I much prefer to check plants thoroughly before buying them, we couldn't find this tree locally.  The staff at Ashridge kept us fully informed of the process at each stage and let us know that there was a delay in dispatch due to their suppliers not lifting them until the right time as the longer summer meant they weren't yet ready.  As luck would have it, this couldn't have been timed better as work on the removal of the huge conifer hedge began this week.

It's a long drop into the garden at the rear - 5 or so feet!

This pair of brothers worked through two typically wet November days to remove the hedge and erect a fence which when dry enough will receive a lick of dark paint. 

They left the Yen and Pink Gardens very messy - but it was dark when they finished and it was only the small scrubby stuff to clear.

The Man That Can spent a good few hours cleaning the drive and patio on Friday afternoon.  Which meant the weekend could be spent concentrating on the Yen Garden. 

Firstly the beautiful prunus serrula went in at the rear of the arch into the Yen Garden.  As this matures, the trunk girth will increase and will provide a vibrancy against winter snow.  We purchased as large a specimen as we could afford which gave us a good thickness and height.  In the spring the foliage will go some way to provide some privacy from the houses at the rear, and that will increase as the tree grows of course, but in the low winter light will not block out light from their windows as it is deciduous.

All the containers were returned to their original spots to enclose the Yen Garden.

Next to be planted was the liquidamber styraciflua Lane Roberts.  Now bereft of its vivid autumn overcoat, it's amber coloured trunk will eventually stand out against the fence once painted a darker colour (however, that will likely wait until the spring).  It's not as far along as the prunus serrula, but it'll soon grow and again provide privacy during the months we spend most time in the garden. 

A large haul of bulbs have been planted in the sunniest part of the Pink Garden, and I've marked them with some leftover sticks so we can mind them when it comes to replanting.  These include pink tinged narcissi, bright pink alliums and tulips in various shades of pink.

There's still a lot to put into order, including clearing away the detritus left on the gravel of the Pink Garden and erecting the Folly door but now the lantern is back in position and rhododendron Christmas Cheer looks great through the moon window of the pergola, at least the view from our house is ready for winter.

Bugs and beasties

Some are beneficial, others not so much.  In early summer, common wasps (vespula vulgaris) are actually on the beneficial side of the fence as they eat nectar, pollinating plants.  They collect aphids, caterpillars and flies for the larvae in the nest.  However, they also noisily strip wood from fences and benches to help create these beautiful nests.

The larger queen wasp lays up to 100 eggs a day in these nests and the adult workers are all female which will go out to find food for the next generation of larvae.  They are rewarded with a sugary droplet from the larva they feed.  This means as summer moves into autumn and there are fewer larvae to feed, wasps seek their sugar fixes elsewhere, thus becoming a nuisance to us.

At this time, the queen will start laying up to 1500 queen eggs, along with male drone eggs.  Once these have hatched, they will couple up with mates from other nests.  The male drones will die off while the now fertilised queens will overwinter to start the cycle in the spring.

One such site for a nest this year was one of our compost bins.  TMTC began emptying the first bin and discovered a small nest. 

Closer inspection reveals the intricate cells containing the next generation of wasps.

The birds enjoyed picking out the larvae.

A lot of wee beasties have been busy in the composting area.  We have 4 bins that we spend all year filling with prunings, clippings, leaves and fruit & veg waste from the kitchen.

The compost was sifted and matter yet to decompose put back into the compost bin.  The last bin was also emptied, sifted and again, matter yet to rot down put into the first bin.

Out of just two bins, we've gained almost two pop up hoppers full of lovely crumbly friable garden compost. 

Some of the compost has been added around the base of key plants after being given a watering can full, to help lock in moisture and try to help them cope with the drought.  The other two compost bins will be tackled in the coming weeks in the same manner.

It's not an easy task and can be back breaking, but so worth all that effort.