The Sunny n’ Shady Beds in the Tidy Garden–Spring 2013

 

The Tidy Garden is east facing, which means we have a shady side (perfect for us non-sun worshipping types) and a sunny side for those hoping to catch some rays.
Today’s ‘sharings’ are from a few weeks back of the Shady n’ Sunny beds. Since these photos were taken during my spring re-vamp a lot has happened but I thought I’d quickly share what it did look like. Be warned…there are images of bare soil, so turn away if you are easily offended my soil nakedness!

So we’ll start with the garage end of the Shady bed (see garden layout page)…almost too much soil nudity here for me…so let’s move on quickly…

….slightly better shot up towards the garage, last years Foxglove seedlings are filling out, Ferns unfolding, my trusty Lamium is giving us a bit o’ colour and wait….what’s that on the right hand side…a slither of sunshine.

A view down the Shady bed towards the shed…more Foxgloves, Doronicum (I divided the one plant we had into about a gazillion plantlets, give or take) and they’ve all taken so well. Our grass was edged with common house bricks about 13 years ago and they look so rustic now and not one has broken (despite warnings that they’re no good for edging lawns….hmpf!)

And finally the shed end of the Shady bed, our woodland section, where any old branches are laid for insects and other critters to hide in or nibble through. Our curly Salix is a major feature in the Tidy Garden, it’s branches providing the perfect dappled summer shade.

And now on to the Sunny bed…

View from behind the apple tree, again these are all from a few weeks back. The Gunnera at the front is still in its winter slumber (I’d stay there til’ August mate…..still too cold out in May!) Favourite daughters old boots, that Mr TG recycled last year into planters, have been been planted with an Aquilegia in one & seeds (can’t remember what type) in the other.

 

Ranunculus have set seed but I don’t care. They’ve even turned up in pots in the front garden.

In the background you’ll see 2 Palms, the offspring of our tall tree hit by the terrible snowy winter we had a couple of years ago.

Yellow Ribes, which was actually a ‘headstone’ plant for one of our cats Molly who was buried in that spot. In fact, the whole garden is a mini-burial ground for deceased pets. Archaeologist in the future will have a field day excavating the Tidy Garden.

Anyway, I wanted something special & I think the Yellow Ribe is just that.

Phlox, Snowball Viburnum (Viburnum Opulus 'Roseum') starting to form it’s snowy buds & Virburnum Carlesii at the end filling the entire garden with its sweet perfume.

So there you have it…the end of the spring re-vamp in the Tidy Garden
Or is it….mwhahahaha!
All I can say is Veg Beds….but I’ve said too much already!
Until next time ….

Tulips From…Welwyn Garden City

(Survivor – Pink, General de Wet – Orange, Fragrant)

I’m delighted to be able to share some images of tulips planted in one of my clients gardens last autumn.


(Abba)

There were 400 planted at the time and I must confess when I heard someone on TV a few weeks back saying ‘don’t be surprised if some tulips don’t make an appearance this spring because of the extra long winter’, well…mild PANIC set in!!!


(General de Wet – Orange, Fragrant, Attila – Purple)

At that stage I hadn’t visited this client since planting so my return this year was with some intrepidation (….and fear that they might have thought I’d merely taken home the bulbs instead of planting them!)


(Apricot Beauty)

But I needn’t have panicked….Mother Nature wasn’t going to let me down. OK…we had a couple of ‘mutant’ looking stems & buds but all in all I think every single one grew. And they look amazing!


(General de Wet – Orange, fragrant, Survivor – Pink)

They’ve mainly be grown to provide indoor cut flowers but there are so many…enough to supply the whole neighbourhood.
They look truly beautiful.

Now a question for you. We have a few tulips in the Tidy Garden that have been there for years and still pop up each year. So, do you lift or leave your tulips in?
Loads of conflicting opinions & advice out there…what works for you?

Thank you to the Edwards family for allowing me to share images from your garden.
All bulbs came from http://www.peternyssen.com/

The Tidy Garden End Bed–Spring 2013

 

Another part of the Tidy Garden that needed a bit of an overhaul this spring was the End bed. Tree & major shrub wise it was perfect but bed wise…hmmmm….let’s fast forward shall we.
Out went 2 more hand-reared Lonicera Nitida that sat beneath the Pyracantha tree collecting dead leaves and we said adios to a slightly ropey-looking snowball Viburnham that I’d grown from a cutting yonks back.

In came a Yucca transplanted from the front garden and a white Ribe was moved to the left.


I dug up a huge clump of Doronicum from the Shady Bed and split it into about 30 chunks and transplanted some into this bed alongside more Polyanthus (Gold laced) ‘splittings’…


Finally, the bed has been planted with more of Mr TG’s beloved fiery coloured Geums to create a zingy end to the garden this summer. I’ve also added patches of Campanula in between to create an evergreen carpet that’ll burst into a flash of purple later in the year.


This is the birds favourite part of the garden….places to hide, drink & be fed. There’s a white Lilac (Madame Lemoine), large Choisia, a blooming Magnolia & the Pyracantha is full of sparrows.


Sunny view from above of the End bed.

Re-Vamped Patio Bed – Spring 2013

The Tidy Garden Patio Bed had got a bit…you know…boring. It looked ‘ok’ in the summer but only ‘ok’…the rest of the year it had got a bit….well…boring.
There were tired old conifers on either side of the French doors, like a couple of old, heavyweight bouncers, just there, not ‘luring in the ladies’, so they had to go. Woody Lavenders needed replacing, the Peony had used up it’s 5 lives & there were several Spirea more worthy of front of house than back stage positions. So everything, except the Acer, small Prunus & lollipopped conifer, was dug up, trimmed, roots buffed & replanted in the right place.


A few purchases, a bit of tweaking and the spring Patio bed is complete & poised for summer.


So here yer go… centre stage has gone to a pink Flowering Currant (Ribe) which, believe it or not, just appeared in the Shady bed a couple of years ago from nowhere. I’ve put it in the middle to grow into an ‘architectural’ feature rather than a ‘blocky’ shrub.


Pulsatilla,


Multi-headed Tulips,


My all-time-favourite plant Auricula,


Prunus,


Some of Mr TG’s purchases, he buys plants like I buy wine, if the label looks pretty, that’ll do for him.


Snake’s Head Fritillary and…


loads of lupins. There’s also Eryngium, Alliums, fresh English Lavenders, Linum, Rudbeckias and Arenaria.

.
Boring no more!

Re-Vamped Apple Tree Bed–Spring 2013

Following on from my post last week, I’d like to say that of all the areas of the Tidy Garden this spring that have had a makeover, this (The Apple Tree Bed) has seen the biggest. Mr TG would slap his hand (again) to his forehead, shake his head & give you one of those ‘she’s delusional’ looks while swirling the index finger on his other hand in a circular motion beside his temple.


It’s not my fault…if a job needs doing or a bed needs revamping then I’ll go whole hog into it.
Now the Apple Tree bed, so named due to the ‘Cooker’ that stands centre stage, had originally been a feature bed, lined with grey bricks & coated in purple slate. That was back in the days when most of the garden was carpeted in an annoying shaped lawn that took for ever to mow. However, when the garden underwent its major transformation back in the summer of 2010 the grassy outline disappeared & slate paths took over and slowly, over time, the feature bed merged & slowly disappeared.

 
Like a woman-possessed, I’ve removed all the slate from the bed and dug up almost every plant (clearly NOT the tree!), divided clumps of Black Grass, Auricula & a variety of Polyanthus, which amazingly have taken to their separation so well that they’ve rewarded us already with a whole heap (technical gardening term I’ll have you know) of new blooms…





Mr TG made a ‘little purchase’ or two…

…or 3 (ahem!) of Wind Anemone.


An old Narcissus ‘Rip Van Winkle’ has made an appearance.


The mini pond (a simple pebble-pool sunk into the bed) was put in several years ago and is teeming with critters & is regularly used by Mr & Mrs Blackbird to cool their feet & wash their feathers. EVERY garden should have one of these, so easy to do…a hole, a simple plastic pond (this one was about £20), a few plants…oh and water always helps…and away you go. A  top up every now and again & chop down everything at the end of the year…but for gawds sake….DON’T put fish in it…they’ll fry! (no pun intended) Let nature find its way there.


To complete the new look MR TG has indulged his passion for Geums & festooned the bed with more new plants ready for summer…a fiery profusion of orange, red & yellow…can’t wait! To complete the look I scattered a layer of well rotted manure just to hide those bits of slate I missed et Voila! That’s the Apple Tree bed this spring, back to being one of several ‘feature beds’…lots finally happening. The Japanese Anemone planted in this bed years ago is already starting to appear and what with Mr TG’s Geums…it should look A-mazing…if I say so myself!