A Day Out............

in the garden.....
I have been neglecting the garden terribly ,for two reasons, 1) The Rain! and hasn't it!!!! 2) Sewing, I am so enjoying my sewing, I used to sew a lot years and years ago, but with children it sort of got pushed to one side, but I have started again and am really loving it.

So today being the sunny day of the bank holiday, I decided to go outside and do a bit of tidying up, I was supposed to finish tidying the other side of the shed, but didn't fancy that so did some snipping and chopping in between taking pics!

This is Nicotiana Langdorf. I saw it when I went round Highgrove and really loved it, managed to track down some seeds and lo and behold here we are. The only problem is, Highgroves where about 6 inches tall, mine are a metre!!!

This is Brugmansia San Guinea, It got left out last winter mainly because I had to dash up to be with mum. But it has gone mad this year, just waiting for flowers now!!

Beautiful sun through stripy leaves!

Tree spinach, and yes apparently you can eat it, great filler with a pretty pink tinge to the leaves, but next year I must remember to put it at the back of the border, its taller than me now!!!!

Forgotten the name of this but has the most beautiful furry leaves on top

then you turn them over, lots of spikes!!!

Isn't this to die for dinner plate aeonium (Aeonium tabuliforme) its still in the pot I bought it in, I haven't had the courage to take it out

but it has grown huge now!

Meanwhile down by the arid bed, I repotted the Agava Americana and it has grown and grown, so muc so I have to be careful walking past it.

The babies are doing so well too!

Lots of colour in the Arid bed.

Finally the prickley pear has been loving all this rain and is growing like crazy!!!

I am so untidy!!

I never used to be, when the girls where at home, I used to give everyone 'what for' if they didn't tidy up after themselves.
Now they have left home, I would much rather play than tidy!!!

Do you remember the lovely tidy potting shed in my friends garden on a past blog post. Well I came up with an ingenious idea to create more space in the greenhouse.................

move the potting bench into the shed!!

Easier said than done

As you can see the shed is full to the brim, so I have made a start and persuaded my daughter to do a car boot sale and started working through everything.

I know we are 'clutterbucks' but it happens so I have made a concerted effort with hubbies help and the potting bench is now in the shed.

Looks quite tidy doesn't it lol,

nope! still this side to sort out! there are 2 bikes, my nanas brass bed, a hangy upside down thing to help my back which I can now no longer use cos of my knee and some bits of furniture which need doing up.

then you add the big wicker baskets your daughter has asked you to mind!

So whilst doing all this I also thought it might be a good idea to try and set up my large propagator in here as well as I do have a gro-light. So this week I am going to be ruthless, the body boards will be going to the car boot plus loads more. I am going to go through all those boxes at the back. My hubby is going to have a dicky doo dah! as he hates me getting rid of things, but if it will give me more space in the greenhouse, surely that has to be good?

Changes since May

Its amazing just how much plants grow in 3 months and you don't really notice until you compare photographs!

The Arid bed just after we planted in!

and three months later you can already see the difference.

The evil Prickly Pear before we even planted it. This was one beast of a plant, so big I cut it back to give it a better chance.

So 3 months later, you can see its grown, looking a lot greener

Flowered...

and is covered in more flower buds!

Meanwhile my Trachy was flowering back in May

this year I forgot to cut the flowers off so you can actually see just how much it has grown!!

So how does your garden grow?

Trying to find my Mojo!!

I haven't really done any work in the garden for ages, no idea why, just not inspired. So having finished my daughters lap quilt I thought it was time to go out and find it, my 'mojo', that is.! So at the weekend we went all the way to Poole to visit a Facebook, Hardy Tropical friend.

His potting shed reminded me of my grandpa's tool shed, full of old wooden handled tools, it also made me realise what a wally I was having my potting bench in the greenhouse taking up precious room. So after I have sorted the flowerbed I intend to change, I will be hitting the shed!!!

I loved his garden, it had an island of plants, well actually 2 islands of plants, in the middle. Something I have always wanted but as our garden has 'evolved' this can't happen.

He also uses brush, type fencing which hides the fence panels, a nice touch.

I love his rock borders to. What I did forget to get was a photo of his 3 tortoise's.

This beautiful canna stood at least 8 ft tall.

This Salvia was also extremely tall and everything about it, flowers, foliage everything had the most amazing smell.

His greenhouse was amazing, but I was pleased to hear like all good greenhouse owners he wished he had built a bigger one!

I love the mix of colour and different shaped leaves in this pic

Just stunning

He built the pegola himself. This is what I would like down by the pond, I might even paint it red!!

So today I tackled the flower bed, the only one left in my garden, I have decided that I shall put a good mix of flowers and tropicals, but I intend to use hardy plants with tropical leaves and fill with annuals, just as Mike has done above in his garden. I have relied too much on plants that need to be brought in at the end of each year, then put out again the following year.

So these are the before pics

and here we have the first stage done.

I have planted my fig, melanthus major, and my scheflera. I have a loquat coming. Pink China and the Galo-watchymecall it one (Colocasia)are also in. I had a few left over cannas which I popped in, well you never know we may have an indian summer!!!
This bed has not been touched for years so was full of bindweed, so at least now I can see it and spray it as soon as it shows its ugly leaves!!!

So next year there will be lots of large leaved annuals.
I am totally broken, I ache in places I haven't ached for ages, but, the Pilates must be paying off as my back is fine.

Changes to the Arid Bed

Lots gone on since my last post over a month and a half ago.

This is when we first set up the arid bed.

This is today

I am thrilled with how its come on.

Looks like this is going to flower again

I hacked the Prickly Pear back but as you can see it is sprouting off in all directions already so obviously happy.

I have had no idea what I'm doing, when it has been really really dry I have fed and watered but to be honest recently with all the rain we have had I have done nothing except kill the blasted bindweed!

The colours are amazing.

This is obviously not happy at all, so will take it out and pot it up and pop it in the green house.