Wednesday 30 April 2014

End of the month view - April


The end of the month view is decidedly pastel ! Pale fresh greens, yellows and pinks lurk round every corner, punctuated by the richer colours of the tulips.

Usually I start my EOMV garden walk at the bottom of the garden and walk up to the house, but this month, I am doing it the other way round. Who says I can't think outside the box !

The photo above shows Betula Jaquemontii with its beautiful white bark, which is even better for a quick clean! We have recently bought a couple of solar spotlights which, despite my Eeyore - like predictions, work very well, and light it at nights, making it glow in an almost ethereal way . 

The grey- green mound of foliage is Hebe 'Pewter Dome', which keeps its chin up whatever the British climate throws at it. The yellow at the back is Kerria Japonica, the pale pink is Bergenia, and the stronger pink is self seeded Honesty.


Friends gave us these two lovely old chimney pots, which remained intact throughout a long journey, only to roll and become damaged during the turn into our road ! In the small pots on the table are various Sempervivens, and the large pots contain hemerocallis,  Agapanthus and Hostas.




The greenhouses are groaning under the weight of tender young plants, and I have moved lots of larger things out, to give more room. I am hardening off my rose cuttings from last year, and miniature roses grown from seed sown in January this year (Rosa 'garden Party'), before planting them out.

I have posted recently about the Auriculas, which are now in flower, which you can link to here , 'Auricula spectacular' ,  if you would like to.



The large tender plants, which have over-wintered in the greenhouse, have been moved out and are getting a breath of much needed fresh air again !


This bed is ready for an overhaul, as the plants are having to vie for space, and the thugs, like the Lamium, are busy planning a total take-over.


Aquilegia buds are swelling now, and the self seeded plants have popped up in all sorts of places.


One of the dependable stalwarts - Erysimum  - plus a HUGE dock leaf, which I have just noticed !





The photo above shows David Austin's  English rose "Geoff Hamilton', with Sambucus 'Black Lace' behind and Euphorbia  Amygdaloides Purpurea to the left .


Above and below - new growth on Gallica rose hedge 'Charles de Mills', underplanted by the extremely mildewed, and sad looking Rosa 'garden Party', grown from plug plants last year.






Oh dear, my least favourite plant in the whole garden! Why did I plant it ? I just can't think ! I hate the way it resembles raspberry ripple ice cream. My usual rule is that I don't do bi-colours, so I don't know how it slipped through.


Now you're talking ! One of my favourites ! Tulip 'Queen of the Night'- all dark and luscious !



Edging geraniums are still under control at this time of the year, very soon they will be lanky, unruly teenagers, sprawling all over the place!




The photo above shows the weeping birch and the poor old Acer, which longs to grow big and tall, but has to put up with me constantly checking its growth.


The stunning bark of Prunus Serrula, with the border edging of Festuca (grown very cheaply from seed), Piceas and a Lonicera desperate for a haircut !




This shot is looking back up to the house, through the subtropical garden. It is just coming to life, and (phew!!) the Tree ferns seem to have made it through the winter, and they, plus all the ferns, are sending out new fronds.


The Gunnera is deceivingly small at the moment but will soon morph into a monster. It is bottom right in the photo above, and one of the new leaves is pictured below.


The fronds of the Tree fern looking distinctly primeval.


The baby apple trees in the orchard are in blossom, and I am kicking myself for not making a note of the variety of each tree!





The pond is a seething cauldron of life and we saw our first newt in there a few days ago.

Well, Spring has definitely sprung, and has done so spectacularly, putting us, I reckon, a couple of weeks ahead of the norm. Some of my roses are already budding and will be flowering before long, which is much earlier than usual.

It is such a fantastic time of year that I want to spend every minute of every day out here, listening to the frogs and the birds and the lawn mowers ...


Thankyou, as usual to Helen at   The Patient Gardener for hosting the EOMV mem, and if you care to hop over there, you will find much to interest you !





















38 comments:

  1. Your garden is breathtaking! There's so much life.....and it's so lush. A lot of TLC has gone into it. It must be wonderful to walk through and take in all the beauty.....I've never seen some of your plants...the Tree Fern is new to me...I'm looking forward to seeing your garden grow!

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  2. So many pots! That's a lot of watering, but a lot of interesting shapes and textures too. I have the same ridiculous stripy tulip in my front garden, and a dock leaf appearing in the middle of a Hebe that I only noticed later in the photo. Maybe its compulsory? Your garden looks lush and pretty, I look forward to seeing the tropical garden erupt over the next month. Your rose with its fresh reddish foliage has given me an idea for how to knit my Acer into the border.

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    1. Hi Janet, I love how blogs are multi purpose ! I pore over other people's planting ideas and get so many ideas ! It looks so easy when it is well done, but it is much different in reality!
      The pots are labour intensive , but I love the flexibility of them. We have had a drive over the last few years to replace annuals with permanent planting - more environmentally friendly, cheaper and easier !

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    2. Also, meant to say, Janet, do you love or hate your raspberry ripple tulip ?

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  3. Your garden is beautiful, Our tree fern died during the very bad winter a couple of years ago. I say died but it seems to be sprouting low down the 'trunk'. I have also carried out a bit of a cheat.

    AS for sambucus niger - ours grows enormous ever year even when pruned severely.

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    1. Ooooh the cheat on the tree fern sounds interesting ! Ours all died in 2010 so all the ones we have currently have been bought recently .
      Our sambucus never grows, it hates us, it just sits and glowers at us. I have had it for ages and tried moving it, but nothing seems to make it happy! What is your secret Sue ?

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    2. I'll be posting about the tree fern treat later . We started with just one small plant and now we have two sambucus niger (from cuttings) on the plot which grow about 8 feet high each year after being chopped down each year. That have been much admired especially when fill of pink flower and so two plot neighbours each have had cutting which are growing away. My sister has a plant taken from our cuttings that is huge. We also have given cuttings to friends and have one in a pot in our garden. In a pot to try to restrict its size. We just leave it to get on with it - no special treatment. The ones planted at the plot are in heavy clay soil.

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    3. That's how I expected mine would behave ! Yours are all obviously extremely happy and loving where they are !

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  4. Glorious, and some really interesting plants. Gunnera and tree fern definitely on my list. Strangely, for me, I rather like the stripy tulip although I'd have them in a patio container rather than in the border. Come the end of May you will have a blaze of glorious colour!

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    1. Hi Rusty Duck, yes, I agree that the raspberry ripple tulip is more suited to a container than the border.
      Gunnera would look very well in your garden ! It is very tough and hardy yet looks very exotic.

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  5. You do have a long garden, for some reason I hadnt realised that before. So much texture and interest. Thanks for joining in with the meme again this month.

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    1. Hi Helen, I think the garden is a bit deceptive ! It is about 60 feet wide, so is quite long and thin. It covers half an acre in total and, thankfully, is South facing.

      Thanks again for hosting EOMV meme as it makes for great blog-hopping !

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  6. You have a beautiful garden and thoroughly enjoyed your tour for the end of April. Looking forward to joining your tour again for the months ahead!

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    1. Right back at ya!! Love your garden, and your commitment to creating that exotic feel with mainly hardy plants. I also love Will Giles' garden in Norwich, which I bet you are very familiar with ?

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  7. What a beautiful natural garden, I envy you the walls that I have spotted in this and some of your earlier posts.

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    1. Thanks Rick, the walls are a joy as they hold the warmth and provide a backdrop to the orders, as well as being great to plant stuff on, including slightly tender stuff. The downside is that they are now of an age when they need repointing or else they will collapse ! And I speak from bitter experience here !

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  8. Enchanting! Love the country look of your garden! So glad to connect with you. ♥ Brooke

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  9. What a wonderful tour of your garden, it seems to go on for ever!
    Our Sambucus Balck Lace grows to about 10ft, we prune a third of the branches away each year to keep it to that size and so we still have the lovely flowers any time now. Our soil is very heavy clay so I think they must like moisture at their feet!
    We used to have a Gunnera by our pond but it died in the bad winter a couple of years ago, yours looks very healthy! Have a lovely weekend!

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    1. Hi pauline. Thank you for your comments. I think you are right about Sambucus, as mine is just not happy, and I think the soil just does not retain enough moisture for it. Yours sounds ecstatically happy!
      Our Gunnera had its growth severely checked in the winter of 2010 and had lots of dieback. It has recovered quite well. Hope you have a great weekend too!

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  10. Your garden is a real credit to all the effort you have put in. There is something of interest in each individual section. Your trees, the Betula and Prunus are amazing specimens - I'd be out there with the duster every day ;)
    Your sub tropical garden is one I can only dream off - it's wonderful and good too see it all coming to life.
    Have a great Holiday Weekend :)

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    1. Hi Angie, thanks for your lovely comments. This time of year is such hard work, isn't it ? Just keeping up with the weeds/ lawns/new growth is so hard. I keep meaning to strip old bark from the Prunus Serrula because I know it will shine like a new conked underneath - just can't find time to actually do it !!

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  11. What an inspiring tour. Our Spring is late, late, late, so to see such abundance is a real treat.

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  12. Hi Susan - you must be desperate or that lovely spring growth to kick in ! Can't be long to wait now ...

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  13. I've loved this wander around your garden, Jane. Everything is looking so lovely and green. Like you, I wish I could be outside more. It is such a wonderful time of year. I've just discovered my first self-sown aquilegia here. I lost all mine some time ago and have been meaning to plant more - but now I hope they will plant themselves, too!

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    1. Hi Wendy - don't worry, aquilegias will self - seed all over from now on ! Enjoy!

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  14. That tree fern looks like the creature from 'Little Shop of Horrors'. Overall your garden is looking very idyllic, and I'm amazed at how much you're doing with containers.

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  15. That tree fern looks like the creature from 'Little Shop of Horrors'. Overall your garden is looking very idyllic, and I'm amazed at how much you're doing with containers.

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    1. Hi gardeninacity - how right you are about the tree fern ! I looks like a triffid about to take over the world !! be afraid ... be very afraid ...!!

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  16. My what great big gardens you have! Nothing blooming yet here in zone 3 but we are clearly heading in the right direction at least! You can see for yourself here: http://astudentgardener.blogspot.ca/2014/05/end-of-month-april.html

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  17. Hi Derek, I will hop over and see what is happening in yours !!

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  18. Very lovely!
    Congrats and thank you!

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  19. I'm late in catching up on my blog reading but wow, am I glad I saw your post. I don't know which is more amazing - the tree ferns or that Prunus serrula bark. I think I'm in love!

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  20. Hi Sarah , never too late to catch up ! I love the Prunus Serrula bark when the sun shines through it. It is translucent red and totally gorgeous!

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  21. Jane, you gardens are just so very beautiful! I'm going to come back and visit them often. And thank you so much for the comment you left on mine.

    I was wondering what the trellis/archway in the second photo is made of? My husband is planning to build one (was thinking from wood), but we were wondering about the ones made of different material, that can be purchased.

    Diane

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  22. Hi Diane, many thanks for your comments. It was a pleasure to pop across to visit you !
    The arch and trellis in the second photo are made from coated metal and were a bargain buy from a Garden Show. Fine for the money we paid, but not very substantial, and will blow over in wind.

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Thanks for visiting and reading.
I really welcome comments and have learned much from them, over the years of leaning over the virtual garden gate ...