Last Post

It is now 13 years since Doc and I moved to Springfield.  We were in our mid forties - relatively young empty nesters - and free to take on new challenges and projects.  We were ambitious for our generously sized garden and set to work.  Then we worked some more.  Then some more.  If we weren’t working, we were spending money on hard landscaping and heavy duty machinery.  Had we known beforehand what a challenge restoring and developing a 1 acre plot on the side of a hill was going to be, we would not have moved here.  Ironically though, the fact that we foolishly rushed in where everyone else feared to tread was a blessing because our garden has been a joy, much more so that the house will ever be.  We soon grew out of our over-active imaginations but we stuck at it and reaped immense rewards.

Unleashing the garden’s potential consisted of hacking-back decades of uncontrolled ‘nature’ and felling dead trees, followed by building sheds, a greenhouse, pergolas, fencing, a garden room, raised beds and lots and lots of paving.  I cannot count the times we dug up plants (and weeds we thought were plants) and carefully moved them to a new position only to discover that we would have to move those same plants again the following year - sometimes back to where they came from!  Doc cannot count the barrow loads of soil, gravel, compost, manure, bark, green and brown ‘hackings’ and all manner of building materials, he carted up and down the garden. However, he did calculate that during one 3 hour stint of hauling chipped bark, he walked 5 miles.  I remember spending so long de-greening some felled tree branches with loppers that my arms froze in my shoulder sockets and even a restorative hot bath did not revive me.  Days spent in the garden left us filthy and groaning but since both of us had had stressful jobs, physical tiredness was a more welcome bed fellow than mental tiredness. 

Paradoxically, for quite a while there wasn’t much actual gardening to do but when we started to grow produce, we were infected with a renewed energy bug and our war with nature was turning into satisfaction. ‘Trugging’ was the task of choice and we would relish our harvests even if some of it required copious amounts of washing and processing. (Cabbages have so many unnecessary leaves!)  Standing 7 hours in the kitchen preparing and cooking a huge vat of the most delectable damson chutney was pure heaven and spending a softly lit, dewy autumn afternoon picking and sorting through buckets brimming with fallen apples, was sublime. 

Sometimes it was difficult to see how far we had travelled because there was always so much to achieve. But Doc is an optimistic and stoic plodder and I am a good manager so together we ploughed on as a team.  We have learned a lot, failed a lot, learnt some more and often we succeeded.  The garden gradually took on a new shape and when we dared to spend an idle moment wandering around, admiring it, we realised it is all ours and were thankful.  We felt we were so lucky to have such a large, interesting garden that is rich in plants, produce and wildlife.

They say pride comes before a fall.  We thought we were in control and that the summit was within our grasp.  Doc was getting nearer to retirement, the list of new garden developments was reducing and we were looking forward to enjoying and relaxing more in our lovely garden. Then just over 2 and a half years ago I stepped off a stool and everything changed.

I broke a bone in my foot and although most of us don’t regard that in itself a major disaster, for me it was unfortunately very different.  I won't go into details but complications ensued and I am still in pain and at times disabled by it. It is doubtful I will ever bound around our physically challenging plot like I used to.

To say that the last couple of years have been difficult would be an understatement.  I would report that I have battled and won, been courageous and seen off tragedy with a brave heart.  But I am not a hero. I am ordinary, not super-human. Coping with gnawing, constant pain is tough but grieving over what I have lost and living in a world that operates in steps, has at times been unbearable.  

Doc and I went away for a few days last week and we drank wine, ate good food and laughed together.  So something has changed.  I don’t know how we got from despair to here but we have.  I just keep getting up in the morning and try to be as useful and occupied as I can be and Doc continues to be the stoic and optimistic plodder he always is. He is my rock and always will be.

As I try and potter in the greenhouse or lightly prune the odd rose or two, Doc races round with his barrow and tools - doing everything else.  When my tears blur my vision of our wonderful garden, he notices and brings me something he has picked or points to a beautiful flower.  He has never complained once, never pleaded exhaustion and Springfield continues to be cared for.

Gardens never stand still, do they?  Neither do we.  Life changes.  We don’t know what the future holds.  How can we?  Doc and I are in a better place than we were a year ago so maybe things will improve more.  We hope so. We will stay here for the time being and Doc is determined to finish the development work.  After that we may hire in some help.  One day we will have to move to a smaller place and we will know when it is the right time.  In the midst of so much uncertainty, there a kind of freedom.  We are taking things one step at a time, literally and enjoying what we can, whilst we can.  One thing I am absolutely sure of is that I am so glad we came to Springfield.  I would not have missed it for the world.

Our journey continues but it is a journey that Doc and I must do on our own.  I have enjoyed writing posts and sharing the story of our garden.  Thank you to everyone who has dropped by and sent me kind and generous messages.  Take care and I wish you health, happiness and good luck.

Happy Gardening!

Sizzling Colour

First Attempt

Nature does colour well, doesn’t it?  A vase of cut flowers from the garden lifts the spirit.  Number One Daughter (And Very Experienced Floral Designer) gave me a good tip.  I initially used some white flowers to compliment the reds, yellow and orange tones.  She says this is a common mistake when using colour.  She suggested I add some lime green foliage and as ever, she is right.  She also reminded me that less is more so I must curb my enthusiasm to achieve a more satisfying result. The subsequent vase looks so much better - though clearly I still have a long way to go.  She also suggested that pink would work equally well but I could not find a suitable pink flower with the right tone.  Maybe next time….. 

Improving

A little snooze on the side.....

Most people find preparing for holidays stressful. There is a lot to do and if you a gardener you have to make sure there are watering systems or babysitters organised for your precious plants.  We decided to increase the pressure level and have our new Garden Room built just 2 weeks before our trip. In hindsight it was good to have a tight target to work to but supervising the Electrician the very afternoon before our departure was cutting it fine. However, once the electrics were installed without any problems, Doc and I unwrapped the furniture and did some hasty ‘room styling’ before moving on to packing for our holiday. Needless to say we did not actually sit in the Garden Room other than to test that the furniture was okay.

The Garden Room had to be finished because 4 days after we got back from the Baltic cruise, our family came to stay for a week. It was just the surprise we had hoped for (lots of wows and ahs) and we could not prise Doc’s mum from the new home-from-home. In fact at one point there were 9 people in the retreat which seems like a contradiction in terms but no-one seemed to mind the crush.  In fact, it reminded us of our caravanning holidays. It has a cosiness and friendliness about it.

Doc had shifted 2 bulk bags of cotswolds chips for the drainage strip around the perimeter of the Garden Room and we are still admiring the chips when we go in and out of the door.  We know the effort it took to bring the gravel down the garden!  A barrow load looks substantial until you lay it on the ground. Doc laid some temporary paving and now has to plan for a newer, larger paving area, flower beds, pergola and water feature. However, the next step is to finish the steps behind the Garden Room and put hand rails across the banks. That is all before we plan any new planting.  We had hoped to be doing that in the Autumn but have revised that ambitious target. 

We had concerns that we would not use the Garden Room enough to justify the expenditure but we need not have worried.  Because of my disability, I sit in it the most and even though Doc is running around doing jobs he is still finding time to eat meals in there and take a tea break in comfort. Now we have somewhere lovely to sit, we go there and because the room is winterised with insulation and a heater, it really is a home-from-home all year round.  An internet connection was a must too and now we can watch TV programmes or listen to the radio.  What we like the best is the fact that the room is actually in the garden, away from the house.  Once we are inside, relaxing, it is going to take Herculean effort to leave our haven and do some chores.  Yawn, I feel the need to go and sit down right now……  

This and That

We have been very busy this last few weeks.  We had a wonderful cruise to the Baltic countries and then family and friends came to stay for a week.  Since then Doc has been assessing the garden and trying to catch up with maintenance but the harvesting is getting in the way.  But that’s nice.  Home produce is always welcome and a full trug is satisfying and useful in the kitchen.  Rosy tomatoes will always bring a smile to our faces and the smell of the leaves is intoxicating.

The strawberries are abundant and we are full to bursting.  I have decided to try freezing some of the surplus to make jam in the autumn.  Using frozen berries works with raspberries, blackberries, red currants and blackcurrants so we will see if it works with strawberries.  I doubt the flavour will be as good so I will add lemon juice to perk it up.

The sugar snap peas are doing well and lots of pretty white flowers means there are many more pods to come.  We eat them raw or steamed.  I have never tried freezing them but we don’t have a glut - yet!

The courgettes are slow in getting going. The plants are still small though there are a couple of flowers.  I have a couple of spare courgette plants in the greenhouse and they are producing tiny courgettes so that is nice. The squashes and pumpkin are just about the same size as a month ago which is bad news.  I blame the cold May and June. 

The cut flower bed experiment is not quite as glorious as we hoped.  Again, the cold weather earlier in the season did not enable the plants to get established quickly.  The plants sulked when put outside and they needed a boost of warmth and sunshine.  Still, we have picked some bunches and together with some bits and bobs from the rest of the garden, the house is looking a little more loved.  Our grand-daughter liked the Helichrysums or ‘Strawflowers’ because of the papery, crispy petals.  They are remarkably long lasting in the vase too.

A friend brought me a large bunch of yellow roses and I cannot resist posting a pic.  The gypsophilla is homegrown and it looks good with yellow.  The flowers are only starting to fade but they have been amazing.  So far, we have had them 11 days and they still look good.  I change the water every day.  This was a top tip form our daughter.  She is a florist so she should know.  It works!

The very wishy washy pale pink peony is delightful and the scent is heady.  This was a plant that was here when we moved in over a decade ago.  Half of it was dead so we rejuvenated it.  Then it was moved several times and then had to sit for a few years to recover from its trials.  We did not know the colour of the blooms and assumed it was the same as the other peony which was also hiding in a border - a beautiful magenta.  How different could it be?  Anyway, last year I staked it and a couple of large flowers were well supported.  However,  this year the stakes were not quite high enough, there are masses of flowers and it rained on them.  The plant nearly keeled over in exhaustion!  I had to pick most of the flowers and they were a bit of a mess but I have saved a few for the vase.  The plant is huge now so next year we need stakes of nearly a metre to support the almost dinner-plate sized flowers.

The summer is rolling along and the garden is full of colour.  The foliage is starting to billow and it won’t be long before the wisteria needs a bit of a tidy up.  It flowered well this year.  We missed the whole show because we were away.  Gardeners should never go on holiday……..

Green is the colour

I know a lady who hates yellow flowers and another who loathes white ones.  Me? Well, I have no hang-ups about colour. I am cheap and cheerful, easy to please and content to mix and match colours with scant regard to tone, hue or matters of ‘good taste’ - whatever that is. I like bold and brassy, cool and sophisticated and I don’t mind mixing the two.  Life is a struggle against pain, there are too many long, grey winter days and in any case, more than one notable gardener has said that since nature does not create a colour scheme in the wild, why should we?  Nothing clashes and colour literally brightens us all up. 

The colour we often take for granted is of course green. This is probably because it is forms the very structure of our gardens and the power of it is that it blends in, is easy on the eye and has a very calming effect. It is not until we visit a green-free zone in a town or city that we feel a strong sense that something is missing.  

At flower shows there are often gardens where the only interest is a mixture of different shades of green in different textures.  I do ‘get it’ and quite like to see such creativity but it has never been ‘our thing’ at Springfield.  I started with a hot border, a cool border etc but over time the poppies seeds fly off and mix it all up and I am happy if the plants are happy.  

For me it is the pops of colour fizzing in front of a green backdrop that excites me.  There is one exception however (does that prove the rule?) and that is my small collection of hostas. They demonstrate perfectly how infinitely varied the colour green is and how our perceptions of green can be altered.

This hosta is outside our back door in a big pot and it is a delight every year.  In spring it awakes from its winter slumbers and erupts into tightly furled cigar shaped shoots and within a few weeks these open out to reveal acid lime green and deep green leaves which are glossy and corrugated in texture.  It is a joy to behold when I go out to the dustbin I cannot resist touching it.   It lights up the passage way leading to our garden. 

Of course as the season progresses we may see the results of a slug or two nibbling the edges of the leaves but keeping a hosta in a pot topped up with coarse gravel, minimises the invasion.  Sometimes I even put copper tape around the top of the pot and sprinkle over a few organic slug pellets, but not always. I also find that the thicker and glossier the leaves, the less the slugs attack them.  I assume the leaves are too tough for their little teeth.

The pots of hostas by our garden shed do well in the semi-shade but hostas seem to do well anywhere in our garden. I split them all this year and Doc dotted clumps around the garden.  That is the beauty of a perennial.  You buy a plant, grow it on and within a couple of seasons you can dig it up, cut it into sections resulting in free plants to plant out or give away .  

I am told that you can have too much of a good thing.  Number One Daughter bought a house from a hosta collector and yes, you’ve guessed it, the garden is full of them.  Needless to say, I can take a few off her hands.  She is all ‘hostered’ out….!

Droning on

The fact that the use of technology is accelerating faster than it takes to send an email is an understatement.  Doc and I like to think we are nifty when it comes to computers, email, digital photography etc and our ipad is so well used that the cover is wearing out.  However, Ashley, our neighbours’ teenage son has been showing us that we don't know nothin’ yet!

Ashley has a drone that takes pictures and he called round the other week and politely asked us if we would like some aerial shots of the house and garden.  We jumped at the chance, well who wouldn’t?  ‘Shall we take the washing in from the line?’ we asked him.  ‘Oh no, you don’t need to do that,’ he said.  ‘I can edit that out later.’  Heck.  It crossed my mind to ask him if he could neaten up the borders and add a few ornamental trees to create more of a wow factor but decided that maybe we might be accused of mis-representing the garden.

The drone an impressive piece of kit.  It is no bigger than a frisbee and very stable when airborne.  Ashley is well practised with the controls and he can zoom it around smoothly and quickly.  After a few circuits of the garden, he nipped over the garden wall and in no time at all, we had a couple of really good pictures. The drone also takes video too which Ashley adds a soundtrack to.

Doc wondered about asking Ashley if he could do a survey of the roof of the house.  Old houses are so high it is very difficult to find out if there are any slates loose.  Technology is great, what’s not to like?  Thanks Ashley!   

Farewell

Funeral Flowers?

Doc chopped down our beautiful column ornamental cherry tree this morning.  He said that wielding the axe felt even more savage because the tree was just coming into flower.  He came in from the garden, carrying an armful of branches bursting with pink blooms.  We put the branches in a vase and now the hall is filled with a delicate fragrance.  

There is a lesson to be learned from this sadness.  If you plant a tree you are investing in the future and planting something that will take a long time to mature.  All the more reason to think carefully what you plant and where you plant it.  Think how big it will grow, what the spread will be and how it fits into the landscape of the garden.  It is not a decision to be taken lightly. 

Our cherry tree was simply outgrowing its space and planted so close to the boundary and high hedge beyond, it was straining to get to the light and bending instead of growing upright.  It did not look right at all. It had to go.

We shall of course plant another tree, but somewhere else.  There are so many moderately sized ornamental trees.  We have a fruiting espalier cherry tree in the vegetable garden but I would like to replace the ornamental cherry tree.  We will probably never see a new specimen reach its maturity, but that is a good gardener's lot.  We will leave something good behind.

I spotted some fritillaries underneath the new damson tree in the orchard, nestling alongside some grape hyacinths.  They helped lift our spirits.  I am glad today has something positive in it.

The Trug gets an airing

The hungry gap of late winter/early spring is over.  Doc lifted down the Trugs from the top of the cupboards in the utility room and we are making the most of the first harvests of the season.

We have had brilliant parsley which has brightened up our cooking over the last month or so.  It over-wintered successfully both in the greenhouse and in a raised bed outside.  However, it is now well and truly upstaged by the asparagus, which is poking through the soil triumphantly.  

Last year, the asparagus crop was disappointing and plagued with asparagus beetle.  However, with due diligence (repeatedly squashing the little critters) and a judicious spreading of manure as soon as the spears had finished cropping, we have seen greater success this season.   We have enjoyed two meals so far (poached eggs, hollandaise sauce and asparagus) and there are loads more spears to come.  The price of such a delicacy is smelly wee (the side effect of eating asparagus!) but who cares? 

The second star of the trug is forced rhubarb.  We only have one forcer and have now decided that we need another one so that next year we can enjoy more of these pink, luscious, sweet stems.  I have lightly poached the rhubarb with stem ginger and only a scattering of sugar.  Doc made Birds custard and we could have easily eaten two bowlfuls each.  

The rest of the rhubarb crowns are growing well and we will soon be cropping those too. But we will have to leave the forced crown to rest for the remainder of the season because forcing saps the plant’s strength.  Each year we choose a different crown to force.

In the greenhouse, I sowed plastic ‘grape’ containers with cut-and-come-again salad leaves and they are now producing fresh, tender leaves.  We now have a carton on the kitchen table with some scissors.  The snippings liven up salads and sandwiches.  We love the peppery salad mixes the best.

This is just the start of the fruit and vegetable season. With radish seedlings emerging from the soil and strawberry plants starting to flower, there is lots more to come.  Doc planted out the mangetout plants and they are already scrambling up the obelisks.  This year we remembered to put holly branches around them to deter the pesky mice and bold pheasants.

There are flowers on one or two of the tomato plants in the greenhouse.  I don’t know whether to remove them and allow the plants to grow bigger or leave them and see how early the fruits develop.  Decisions, decisions!  I shall nibble another lettuce leaf and think about it.

Gardening is such fun

We gardeners share so many delights in our gardens: beautiful flowers, delicious produce, peace and tranquility, vibrant colour and sweet scents…..However, we also share the not-so inspiring aspects of our chosen passion.  

Doc has recently spent a lot of time and energy experiencing (yet again) the hard, manual graft of so-called gardening.  He continuing the re-landscaping of several areas of the garden including hard pruning a border - though this is an understatement.  It is his second massacre event and Doc would feel more at home on a building site or in the Amazon jungle.  

The paths between the raised beds in the vegetable garden are laid with bark to prevent weed growth and in theory this is easier to manage than grass or gravel.  However, the bark is popular with birds and disappears over time. What do they do with it, I wonder? What is left eventually turns into compost and despite having a membrane underneath, it becomes home to weeds. This year Doc and I agreed that the bark would have to be topped up. 

Doc would have loved to buy a few bags of bark chips from the garden centre and get the job done easily and quickly.  However, Springfield is much more challenging. Firstly, it needs enough bark to empty a forest and secondly, the bark has to be barrowed from the driveway at the front of the house, down to the vegetable garden, which is inconveniently on a hill and feels further away with each barrow load.

Barkgate

It took Doc 3 hours with 2 pit stops at the back door for some elderflower cordial and biscuits.  What we thought was more-than-enough bark is about half of what is required to finish the job.  The paths are more like bottomless pits than walkways.  2 more expensive bags the size of the one above will have to be ordered so we are hoping it lasts 5 years.  Or better still, could it not possibly ‘see us out?’

A Drop in the Ocean of Bark

Doc was ready for a break but there was still work to do. After the bark debacle he disappeared into the long border along the fence and emerged a couple of days later, during a rain storm.  He had to climb from behind a wall of debris and then barrow it to the bonfire area.  Reluctantly, he reserved some of the larger branches which he will take the axe to to feed our log burner one of these cold winters.  (Well, we have to offset the cost of the bark, don’t we?)

When Doc has recovered he will be able to appreciate the result of his labours. He will see that the long border is actually a lot wider than we originally thought, with lots of potential.  There are some prize specimens such as the lovely variegated holly which has layered itself in a couple of spaces and these young plants will make nice presents for the family.  The rhododendrons, amanchlier, azaleas and pieris japonica are already breathing a sigh of relief and will soon sprout again, filled with renewed vigour.  In a couple of years they will provide that area of the garden with colour and interest. The juniper tree, however, adds nothing to the new picture and will have to be felled.  We will plug the gap with something more manageable and attractive.

Indiana Jones in the Garden

Damson seedling is now a tree but the Juniper behind it has to go....

More scope with the Holly haircut - don't put the saw away Doc!

In the meantime there are 2 large bags of Cotswold stone chips to be barrowed, paving to be laid, and a whole day spent burning a small forest.  Oh, and not forgetting the bark when it arrives! Doc is doing a wonderful job and I am so lucky that he is strong, willing and able.  My disability holds me back and all I can do is cheer him on from the sidelines.  I must go and put a couple of bottles of beer in the fridge for him and make sure he has double pasta rations for supper.   

The show goes on and on........

The spring flowers are spectacular this year and I love them so much I would be happy if they bloomed all season.  Or perhaps, their fleeting visits is all part of the magic?

The primroses are vibrant this year and some of the clumps are very tightly packed with flowers. I split quite a few varieties last summer and dotted them around the garden and they soon bulk up. I don’t have a favourite colour - lemon, pink or violet - they are all stunning.  I love the cottage garden look they bring to the garden.

Bonuses amongst the spring flowers include the red and mauve hyacinths.  They started life in pots in the house and a friend suggested I plant the bulbs outdoors when they had finished flowering after Christmas.  She said they would eventually revert to bluebells.  Well, we do have lots and lots of bluebells which join us later in the spring but currently the hyacinths are attracting our attention and show no signs of 'reversion'. They are growing very well and I wish I could get close enough to test if they still have a fragrance.

Tulips are a firm favourite when it comes to spring and early summer impact.  Gardeners are advised that these short-lived bulbs should be layered in pots for the best effect.  We are also told to regard them more like an annual. Tulips don’t like the wet so they will often rot if left in a border over the winter.  But take a look at these little stars!  They are breaking all the rules and thriving on it.  

These dainty red tulips underneath the large beech tree, have lived in light shade for years and years. They were here 12 years ago and show no signs of rotting off.  More importantly, it is useful to note that the area of the garden where they have set up home is congested and hardly every touched. (A lesson in neglect, I think.) The hellebores do their thing, the tulips nudge amongst them, then white and pink Solomon’s Seal take centre stage and by the middle of the autumn the beech leaves and beech nuts fall and cover over the whole area.  Everything appears to be growing happily, no one plant has its nose pushed out.  Why are some things in the garden so difficult and some things so easy?

I dare not disturb the harmony under the beech tree, apart from some clearing some of debris now and then.  Some things are left well alone!

The Lenten Rose

The hellebores in our garden were in residence when we moved here over a decade ago so we have always regarded them as a gift. They like the conditions because they come up year after year and add sophistication to the spring show.  Some people say that the foliage lets the flowers down and whilst I agree that the leaves often look unattractive, sprawling over the soil and looking blotchy, when it comes to hellebores, it’s all about the flowers. 

Hellebores are shy creatures. They dip their heads and you have to get down to their level to see the detail.  It is worth getting down on all fours to examine them closely because the markings really are exquisite. Hellebores enjoy secluded attention and nestle quite happily in dappled shade - though I am told that they will grow well in sunshine too.  Much of our garden has a woodland feel to it, so there are lots of large shrubs and trees offering plenty of leaf mould to keep our hellebores fed. 

Our hellebores get very little attention and seem to thrive on it.  Now and then we split and transplant clumps to increase their presence in different parts of the garden. They also quietly seed themselves around. If the leaves do look tatty in the spring or show signs of a virus, we snip them off and put them in the council green bin. This keeps the plants healthy and the flowers show up much better, especially when the fresh foliage starts coming through. 

We have two other un-named cultivars, a ‘stinking’ hellebore variety (with slightly smelly leaves) and a creamy coloured specimen.  But who cares if we have not been formally introduced to our hellebores?  I adore the pinky-plum colour and the flowers look rich and welcoming when paired with the yellow narcissi and purple crocuses.  

Apparently, you can treat hellebores as cut flowers but I never brought them into the house.  For me, the hellebore belongs in the garden, tucked into a corner where you least expect to see it.

While I have been away .....

When I saw the date of my last diary entry, I couldn’t quite believe how long it is since I checked in.  We spent a week in Northern Ireland in February, visiting our family and we have been very busy doing things at home too - but I cannot exactly recall what we have achieved!  It is one of life's conundrums - how can we spend so much time, doing nothing in particular?

Anyway, this morning, camera in hand I had a good look round the plot.  There is plenty of colour with masses of snowdrops and crocuses in fine fettle.  The clump of snowdrops embedded in the gravel driveway is my favourite.  It must be the most inhospitable place for a snowdrop to set up home but this family looks very happy.  

The hellebores are just making their entrance and lots of shrubs and trees are budding.  The winter flowering heathers still look good and the yellow jasmine brightens up the terrace. It is a cold, bright day but we have had a lot of rain and there are boggy areas scattered around the garden. All in all though, the garden is promising abundance and we are looking forward to the new season.

Doc is in the early stages of The Latest Project which involves building a retaining wall of sleepers in front of one of the steep banks in the lawned area of the garden and levelling some ground ready for us to take delivery of a smart new Garden Room.  Now that the cheques have been written (!), we feel very excited about it. It will be fully winterised with double glazing and a heater so we will be able to enjoy that part of the garden and the lovely views, all year round.  For a long time, the formal lawned garden has been not much more than a green corridor on the way to the productive vegetable garden and greenhouse further down the garden.  However, there is huge potential for us to engage with all of the garden, not just part of it and the Garden Room is going to be a great focal point.  I am not going to feel guilty taking my Kindle down to the den for the afternoon......

Doc also plans to restore the border in front of the Garden Room which will involve cutting back some enormous rhododendrons, azaleas and trees. If that isn’t enough he intends to build some steps back up the bank, behind the Garden Room and some paving and a pergola at the bottom of the steps along the terrace.  It is an ambitious undertaking but he has done his research. He found the design of the steps on an Americal University website of all places!

We have already restored the border on the opposite boundary of the lawn and the mature shrubs which Doc virtually massacred (!) during the last couple of years, are now re-energised. The Camelia is in flower and we realise just how much we have missed it.  Sometimes you have to be brave.  It was tired and overgrown and sacrificing a year or two of blooms is a small price to pay for keeping a mature specimen healthy.

I love the magnolia at this time of year, almost as much as when it is in flower in a few weeks time.  The little silvery-grey, fury buds are fury to touch and are poised, ready to burst.  Magnolia trees just need enough space to spread and then need little more than a quick snip to tidy them up now and then. Ours is a small variety - Stellata - and it has star-shaped white flowers and is slow growing. Ours was planted 15 years ago and it is a comfortable 10 feet high with a lovely, natural shape.   

The extended day length and gradually increasing levels of sunlight mean that the greenhouse has woken up from its dormancy.  The pelargoniums, chrysanthemums and tarragon plants have perked up and are putting out fresh growth.  The fuchsias are slower to react but this is usual for them and I expect to see new buds in a few weeks time.  I must ask Doc to collect some compost so we can give them a fresh start for spring.

I have been sowing seeds and there are several trays with baby plants which I enjoy nurturing every day.  I could have bought plug plants and although they save time, I prefer watching the magic happen before my eyes and sowing seed means I have a greater choice of varieties.  Watch this space to see if my cut flowers are successful!  I have never grown them, en masse, before so it is just the sort of challenge I am looking for.  I regret that I cannot help Doc with the heavy work but hopefully, there will be something nice for him to look out when he puts down his tools and takes a break.

The tomatoes and chillies are up and about and my first lettuces have come up without a hitch.  We are not growing quite so much veg this year but we hope the garden will be filled with colour when the Irish contingent come for a holiday in the summer.  It has crossed our minds that we need to invest in some outdoor games to keep an almost 3 year old amused.  I already have a child-sized set of gardening tools and a mini watering can.  I somehow think that the strawberry plants will receive a lot of attention!

The red fresh growth of this euphorbia brightens a dull corner

It feels good to be back

High winds during the past few days sent our substantial Barbecue reeling.  There is now a large dent in the lid but Doc doesn’t seem to think the damage will prevent us from eating al fresco in the summer.  It does look rather ugly though and reminds us that the Barbecue needs to be taken into the garage for the winter months.  

Unfortunately, our beautiful Vibernum Opulus – or Snowball tree – is not so fortunate.  It is doubtful those creamy white pom poms will ever light up the garden again.  Instead of breaking a limb, the wind ripped vertically through the main trunk and the injury appears to be terminal.  Doc has been trying to rescue the tree today but his medical expertise will not help save it.  He has done the decent thing and cut it hard back but only Mother Nature will decide whether it will survive, let alone bloom again.  These are the rhythms of the garden.  We must always celebrate the here and now because tomorrow it may be gone.  

 My troublesome foot has been less troublesome of late and I managed to help Doc in the garden today.  Before-foot-problem we would drift off to our respective tasks on the plot but now we spend more time doing gardening jobs together.  The sun was shining, there was a refreshing chill in the air and it was nice to chat as we cut down the autumn fruiting raspberry canes and cleared leaves from the bed.   It is at this stage of the raspberry year that we look forward to seeing the fresh, acid green leaves sprout from the stubbly crowns. 

It may be January but there is a lot going on in the garden and it is not just about destruction.  We were thrilled to clear a pile of leaves and see the first arrow-like stems of the snowdrops, bursting forth in total defiance of winter.  There are also daffodils pushing through the turf in the orchard.

In the flower borders the pulmonaria are in full flower with healthy, lush green foliage.  They are such underused plants but they really earn their keep, flowering from winter to late spring and offering good ground cover.  I love the flowers.   They may be dainty but they are incredibly hardy and the pink and blue combo looks so pretty.

Spring is knocking on the door but we know too much to get carried away.  By 3.30 pm today, the light had faded, the chilly breeze changed to an icy blast and it was time to shut up the shed and go inside for a hot mug of tea.  But as we walked back up the garden path, there was exhilaration and energy in the air.   

As for the Vibernum, it may have left a gap but in every gap there lies an opportunity waiting to be explored.   Who knows what 2015 will bring?