Taking advantage

My pergola has a small flowerbed along one section that in the summer is really colourful - Clematis Tangutica and Clematis 'Hagley's Hybrid' cover the trellis, there are a few hardy Fuschias, a couple of Colchicum and a good clump of Gladioli all add to the enjoyment but the plastic edging was collapsing onto the paths so action was needed. I reckon that Cherub from Peter's garden was definitely at my shoulder. Before I knew it I had the trusty trolley out lined up to the blocks. Using the Principle of the Lever my father taught me as a child, I manouvered the blocks into position round the bed. 

It took a bit of ingenuity because I didn't have enough of the more simple single blocks but I am happy with the result! 

It is amazing how easy it can be to topple a really heavy block - since my back surgery I am not allowed to lift anything heavy - so it took most of the day, but the result was a real sense of a job well done! 

I had hoped that I would be able to top up the bed with some lovely home-made compost today but the Weather God says no! 

The upright block at the end of the bed will be filled with compost and something pretty and cascading will be added!

Crocus loves sun!

 At last the sun found its way to Laois and boy oh boy didn't my crocus just love it! My last blog showed a cluster of crocus just about holding their own against the elements but look how they look today!

It was as if they were smiling up at the sun! But they are not the only ones - just the most spectacular! 

And a better close-up! 

Some more crocus are scattered around the garden.

I always forget these other crocus until they appear and delight me each Spring!

And finally here is Pulmonaria Augustifolia "Blue Ensign" - 

Thank you Jacinta! And  am keeping an eye out for seedlings to return it to you!

Between the raindrops

 When I was a little girl and complained that it was raining when I had to leave for school my mother would say "Run between the raindrops and you won't get wet!"  I remembered this today when I took a quick trot around the garden.

I went to check the post and then just continued round taking photos of anything in flower!

 I'm sure if my neighbours had seen me they would have sent for the men in white coats!

If you look closely you can see the shine of the rain on some of the leaves!

These crocus are standing up well to the rain!

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Taking photos

 To my mind there are Gardeners who take photographs and Photographers who garden. I look with envy at the beautiful photos from their gardens of the Photographer/gardeners and then at my own often less-than-perfect attempts - particularly when I try to capture the delicate beauty of a flower close up. Yesterday is a case in point. I was enchanted by a group of crocus that were turning their faces to the sun and out came the camera - SNAP! but the results were  disappointing. 

The debris around the crocus took so much from the flowers - and then it dawned on me. Maybe one of the reasons why other people's photos look better is because they actually take the time to clear away some of the debris before they take the photo! So I gave it a lash with the same flowers today ...

Not quite professional yet, but definitely an improvement! Another thing I do is to be so delighted when I finish a task that I try to capture it even when the light is fading. I need to have more patience and go take the photo next morning instead!

Structure is king

 Just about to put on my coat and go for a longed-for walk but the Weather God struck again and we now have torrential rain! So there is nothing for it but to do another Blog!

Today's topic is how the bare branches of trees and shrubs at this time ov year can add interest to the garden. I was reading about this for years but only really put it into practice here in Gortnalee.

Corylus Avellana Contorta  called Corkscrew Hazel or Contorted Hazel really stands out in Winter. IT is a bit of an oddity and I am not a great fan of how the green one looks in leaf. I was given a present of a red and a green one on a visit to Arboretum a few years ago. Both are inclined to send up straight suckers so I need to be vigilant!

Cornus alba 'Sibirica' is finally starting to earn its place in the border! It got the recommended hard prune last year and also got a generous mulch and it seems to have encouraged it to produce more branches. 

Betula utilis jacquemontii is a strong feature all year round but particularly in winter when it positively glows.

Is the Weather God having a laugh?

 I depend on getting out into the garden or even for a short walk to keep me in a positive frame of mind. I managed to get out even when the really cold but bright weather was here. I wrapped up warm and concentrated on work that involved lots of walking up and down to the compost etc. I even managed to get my step count up to 11,000 one of the days! 

My new routine is to only fill a bucket with weeds before bringing them to the dump. This manages to help keep me warm as I change my activity frequently and ups the step count! 

My friend had brought a trailer to me for me to get rid of the accumulated stuff from the drastic cutting back of the hazels a few weeks ago as well as lots of overgrown hedgerow stuff. On Tuesday I decided to tackle the loading of the trailer as I knew my friend would be needing it shortly. It was a pretty major task and good thick gloves!!!!

I was very pleased with the result and the trailer was collected yesterday! But the Weather God got his revenge on me for the rest of the week - we didn't have any snow apart from a few flurries but the artic winds and torrential rains made life very difficult.

So I have spent the past few days with my head in the computer sorting out photos or watching YouTube garden videos. This photo ended up on my desktop so I'm just sharing it for the laugh. I'm afraid the Zen Garden isn't as neat as this at the moment!

Serious cabin fever has set in. I go to the fridge and try to see do I need to go shopping - no!

Today should really be ok here in the Midlands and I look out and at least it isn't raining but the trees are waving about alarmingly .... so now I am appealing to the Weather God - give me a break PLEASE!!!

Helebores

 Instead of boring you with lots and lots of photos of my beloved helebores I've put them into a video! I took out my actual camera instead of the usual phone and I'm happy with the results! The big plus is that I can operate the camera (a very basic point and click) with my GLOVES on!!!!

Keeping my spirits up!

 

One of the things that is keeping me sane at the moment is the finishing of the clear-up of a border in the garden. 

Some days I only get out for an hour or so but some days it is possible to get a good run at a task! 

I have just managed such a good run, and the Fairy Garden was the target. Pruned, cleared and finally mulched with willow shreddings!

 

And doesn't the mulching make all the difference! The photos are from all angles as I couldn't decide on my favourite view!

All the little creatures have been taken in for a spruce-up before the summer so I have something to do if this awful weather we are promised materialised.

I am also giving myself lots of encouragement because I have kept on top of the shredding too!

Hard work but some rewards

 This time of year I like to tackle one border at a time and clear away as much debris as possible. It is a great way to get up close and personal with what is planted there and I often get surprises when I find evidence of plants I had forgotten! The past week or so has been devoted to what I was calling the Main Shrubbery but I realised that over time there is much more mixed planting going on here so a new name is called for. It wasn't really until I came to the end of the border that I realised it is a really long border - possibly the longest border in the whole garden! So a new name has been given to it - not very original - but it is now "The Long Border"!

It stretches from the Wedding Cake Tree Cornus Contraversa at the entrance to the Fairy garden right back up to the Birch Garden. It has a good number of Day Lilies which were being overwhelmed by Japanese Anemones so I have removed as many of these as possible but I am realistic enough to accept they will still pop up but maybe not overwhelm this time! At the top end of the border there is a Sambuca Black Lace which I had left unpruned for a couple of years so it has had a serious haircut this year and I am hoping I haven't killed it!

I can't say that the work on this border was unmitigated delight as the heavy rain had made the clay soil very sticky, but I took advantage of every break in the weather to go out and do a little and now that it is done I am really happy with the result. Next onthe agenda is the Fairy Garden and I have taken in all the little ornaments to try and rejuvenate them. Yes, I know I should have taken them in sooner .....

This is the reward I got for all this slaving was when I was finishing up for the day and walking back to the house and got this unexpected view of the Birch with the snowdrops that are really bulking up in that border!

And just when I thought it couldn't get better I spotted the very first of my Anemone Blanda just trying to open! They are managing to self-seed having migrated from the front garden to the back - I suspect they may have had some help from the birds!

Replacement Project

 I am very sad that my lovely boardwalk has rotted beyond redemption. It had become totally unsafe so the time had come for me to accept the inevitable and start to plan a way forward. If you never saw my boardwalk this is how it looked when it was built in 2010.

It was a great feature when the bamboo garden behind it developed and it gave a great element of surprise when the corner was rounded and a panorama of the landscape suddenly came in view. However, 10 years later it has to go! The project is ongoing but I thought I would put this blog together so that when the project is complete it will be clear how much work had to  be done!!!

Last weekend my friend Kevin came and started on the work. The boardwalk was removed and stacked in his van for removal. I was Gofor on the job, loading the wheelbarrow for him to remove! I did a total of 13000 steps that day!!!! It was Kevin who did the original construction of the boardwalk under Brendan's instructions so we shared some lovely memories of that time. 

And so now we have an almost blank canvas to work with. I am keen to retain the quirky zig-zag route of the boardwalk and it is  possible to see that the outline is still visible in the construction site.

So as always when I am planning a project the squared copy comes out and I scribble away for a few evenings until I arrive at a plan! Here is the latest version in the notebook.

Now all we have to do is construct it!!! 

I am hopefully that when the weather shows some improvement it will be done. We have some of the materials on site already so it feels like the project is moving forward. All I can do at this point is to do a bit of clearing of weeds and bamboo roots but there is little else I can do to progress it. I am now in that state of itching to get on with it - and when the weather lets me outside it is really hard to concentrate on the more mundane clearing of the borders in the Spring clean-up.