Battening down the hatches...

...in preparation for storm Ciara which is whipping up in the Atlantic ocean as I type.

We have 16 trees, most of which are still quite youthful and needed their stakes and ties checking, and the ground firming.  The roses were also firmed in and had a bit of a prune to help prevent wind rock.  We will check them again after the storm has passed, particularly as snow is predicted for next week. 

Since the sun was shining, it was a good day for a bit of a tidy up to allow the spring bulbs some room to show off.

We have removed the ivy from the boundary wall 

Pruned the clematis that intertwines r. Maigold.

Cleared the old foliage from around the pond, scrubbed the waterfall and removed some pond weed.

Given the Acer Crimson King a little trim to remove crossing branches and any growing in the wrong direction.  We also trimmed the staghorn branches.

Pruned all the later flowering clematis.  The Montana looks good.  We gave it a hard prune last summer/autumn as it was getting out of hand.  It won't take long before the fence is smothered again.

Juicy fat sedum buds are pushing through. 

And the hellebores are looking amazing. 

The Yen had a tiny spruce up, by vacuuming the fallen leaves.

Rhododendron Christmas Cheer about to burst open it's bright pink blooms. 

We spent 2 and a half hours in the garden, working together.  Good for the body and soul.  Time to get warm and wait for the storm to pass.

Winter or early Spring?

The sun on my face and the birds singing suggests that spring is almost here.  In the garden it's a balmy 13c...however the realist in me poo-poos the very idea that winter is over.

"Ne'er cast a clout til May be out".  Clout meaning clothing and May actually refers to Mayflower, or hawthorn in what was thought to be the original version and when exactly that is can differ enormously depending on where in the UK you live. 

Since its February, winter therefore it still is.  But as its mild, a few jobs were in order.  Firstly the Acer in the front garden was in need of attention.  

When we moved here in June 2013, almost all the trees were removed.  The front garden was pretty much impenetrable due to overgrown trees and shrubs.  The Acer was actually cut right down at the base and the stump had an x cut into it, which the tree guy said would kill it.  A year later, like a phoenix it rose up once more and we gave the tenacious tree a stay of execution on the understanding it had to be spectacular.  It didn't fail.

Winter is the best time to prune most trees (a particular exception are cherries which are pruned in summer).  Last week a large branch was removed from the staghorn tree, this week the "phoenix" acer had its turn.  All the twiggy bits were removed from the lower stems to begin to shape a multi stemmed tree.  Then any crossing branches and a couple of thick stems were cut out that were growing out at the wrong angle.  Now we'll let it leaf up and look at it again.  If any further branches need cutting out, we can make a note for next winter.

Next up, we removed all the dead foliage from beneath the bergenias (along with any slugs and snails that tend to hide out in their dark, damp bases).

The old foliage from the hellebores was also snipped off to help prevent leafspot.

Better late than never, well rotted manure has been mulched around all the roses (apart from r. New Dawn which are still in containers on the terrace).

We had friends from the Midlands visit yesterday so went to a garden centre for a cuppa and a slice of cake.  I was coerced into purchasing this new Acer Sangokaku.  Honestly, talk about twisting my arm! 😉 

It'll look amazing in the Yen with the bright red stems picking up the red details in the pergola and the red winter stems of cornus siberica.

And now we have 15 trees!

Little green shoots

All around the garden, tiny flashes of green are appearing as daffodil and tulip foliage is thrusting through the soil. 

All the snowdrops are in full fettle and look like glistening pearls amongst grey-green leaves.

I hadn't realised that this pot of vivid irises had begun flowering, so was quick to move it into a more prominent position on the terrace where it can be appreciated from inside.

Not content yet with the February display, we nipped to the garden centre to buy some potted bulbs.

Planted in the terrace seat along with r. Special Anniversary and some wallflowers, I've added some miniature narcissi, some pink hyacinths and a selection of primulas in blues and yellows. 

Pockets remain among the bedding to add some violas when I can find some suitable varieties.

At the outer edge of each bed on the patio, the crocuses have failed to materialise. Usually the striped foliage is at least visible by now.  Therefore clumps of blue irises and purple crocuses have been planted to inject some colour in what can be quite bare beds.  If the other crocuses emerge, it'll make a beautiful display. 

Pink primulas adorn the potting table. These will eventually go down into the Pink Garden when it gets replanted in the spring. 

Storm Erik passed over this week leaving our patch unscathed, thankfully.  Milder conditions continue to build for the coming week which should help to bring on further flowers from our bulbs, with narcissi looking to be next in focus. 

Happy gardening!