2016 is our year for the garden. We want to get the bones of the garden completed this year so we can really start to enjoy it. Of course a garden is never 'finished'; it's a living, breathing being. It is constantly evolving. Plants die and need replacing. Seasons come and go. Pruning, dead-heading, moving...and so on.
The front garden was the first to be 'done' as it is what greets us after a long day at work. This time of year it is light at both ends of my working day. I almost always pause on the drive mid-reverse to take a quick glance at the plants to see if anything needs attention once I have parked. If so I often nip back up before going indoors (which drives the dogglies crazy because they're eager for my attention too).
The pond has been installed, and the 'pink garden' has been planted up. The patio of course has been completed and plants added.
Our final design has been discussed at great length, and almost everything has been sourced.
Since Bumblebee is becoming a teenager, he no longer has the time or dedication to devote to his plot. We have therefore decided to decrease its size somewhat, and open up the area of what is currently a very dull gravelled space. It does have a little white bistro set, but despite it being in sun (if we have some) for pretty much all the day, no-one tends to sit down there!
This is the final draft of our plan. However like most things in a garden (and in my mind) it is subject to change.
We managed to purchase most of the plants from one garden centre, but we were not particularly taken by the choice of containers and they did not have a particular tree we were after. The second (and our favourite) garden centre had the tree, the containers and what's more they delivered later the same day as our car couldn't manage the tree or the weight of the containers.
So while I pruned the clematis and honeysuckle on the top arch...
...The Man That Can began the hard graft to decrease the veg plot. He took out a large amount of the soil to reach ground level at this end...
and transferred it to some tarp beside it. The soil will be used in another part of the design later.
He then removed the end sleepers and after digging a trench at the other end of the plot, attached the sleepers to create a far smaller plot. This contains the apple tree, both rhubarb crowns, the rosemary and a selection of strawberry plants.
We're really rather chuffed with the result!
I raked the gravel away from the areas next to be worked on. There will be a raised bed coming out from the corner where the flowering cherry (prunus 'Kanzan') will be planted, and a long bed created where the climbing rose 'Dawn' grows.
Awaiting completion of the landscaping we have the flowering cherry, two acers, a wisteria, various grasses and low growing alpine type plants.
Finally, The Man That Can spotted this sign in the garden centre that I thought was rather amusing:
Love your plans for the bottom garden and knowing you, by the time we see it, it will all be done. So in advance, well done The Man That Can and Bumble Bee
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