April 12, 2010, Multiply, The gardening starts no 8

Gardening No 8
Today has been warm and sunny with virtually no wind and a clear blue sky;

It’s so very nice to be out in the garden.

Most of the daffodils are in bloom with lots of buds still waiting to flower.

The containers of pink bedding plants I bought a couple of weeks ago are all looking good

 and the primula is popping up every where.
Several of the plants I thought I had lost are still alive. I was convinced the lovage would never grow again but here is its distinctive feathery leaf, bright apple green on a red stalk.

 This pot of chocolate mint looked like a pot of frozen dead earth a month or so ago

 and now it’s bursting into life again, spreading its gorgeous scent all over the garden.

The rhubarb which I was sure I would never see again has shot up and already has two new deeply veined leaves both bigger than my hand.
My privet hedge has not fared so well. I don’t know why but I had to spend a couple of hours pulling out lots of dead wood. I lost about 4 privet bushes, they were dead down to their roots and the whole bush lifted out of the ground.

I am left with a hedge full of holes which offers virtually no privacy and a huge pile of dead wood and rubbish left by passers by which will take me a while to dispose of. 
I guess I’ll have to live with the holes for most of this growing season but in place of the dead privet I’ve planted a variety of native hedgerow bushes. I think I’ve planted Holly, Dog Rose, Dog Wood, Rowan, Silver Birch and even Hawthorn. I’m hoping that in a couple of years the native hedgerow takes over from the privet which will maybe even attract nesting birds.

Tags: garden, plants

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delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Apr 13, '10 my tulips are close to blooming :)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Apr 13, '10 brendainmad said Too bad about the hedge that you lost because it did protect your privacy. yes.............its a shame because now I have no privacy and the new shrubs will take one or two seasons to grow. I'm beginning to think it was just a very old hedge. Much of it turned out to be rotten at the base and just lift out of the ground. I also think my radical hedge trim last year exposed a whole lot of dead wood that was previously hidden by new growth. I don't think privet is native to this country which is why i'm replacing it with native hedgerow plants. I'm hoping they will be hardier and encourage the native wildlife into the garden.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Apr 13, '10 I think you have had a better start at spring then we've had here in the centre of Spain although flowers are finally coming out.We had a beautiful day on Sunday and today bad weather again. Can't wait to see your garden as it advances. Too bad about the hedge that you lost because it did protect your privacy.

delete reply djdx wrote on Apr 13, '10 I did some trimming and found nests in what I cut. I have a topiary shaped like a bird and just let the tail go wild, but it needed trimmed. I got a good laugh at finding bird nests in a bird's tail. Lovely photos, it looks like your garden is on about the same schedule as here.

delete reply hadenough1 wrote on Apr 12, '10 Sp pretty -sure puts you in that Spring mood.

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Apr 12, '10 Nothing will kill chocolate mint. I love your plants; my daffodils are up as well, they were when we came home. The late blooming ones are up now.

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Apr 12, '10 life cycles and the seasons....and all things considered, it all looks great to me, Loretta. i am positively MAD for those primula! ; D

forgetmenot525

loretta xxxx

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March 16, 2010, Multiply, The Gardening starts no 6

Another little garden update;
It was Mothers Day on Sunday and my daughter asked me if I would like to go the the garden center with her (silly question!!).
She bought me a couple of trays of bedding plants, she said she thought I would rather chose bedding plants than have a bunch of flowers. What a wise daughter.
Sure you remember these ... 'containers' from last year when they were full of multi-coloured bizzy lizzy throughout the summer months.
 It's so nice to have them planted up again, this time in various shades of pink.
This is my most recent eco-addition to the garden. I haven't figured out a way to have a water butt in the garden to collect rain water BUT;.... these cut off milk containers will (in theory)  collect the rain water ready for me unscrew the 'lid' and fill the watering can. One container only holds 2 liters but if I get enough of them fixed to the fence it will certainly help.

Tags: garden, plants

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delete reply agnes128 wrote on Mar 18, '10 A few years ago, I put some tetra brik bottle into a few pots. The brik was punched with holes and the neck just showing. It was my answer to pots with water reservoir included that I was not able to afford ;-D It worked so well I still use the concept.

delete reply djdx wrote on Mar 17, '10 Bedding plants, what a great idea instead of a bouquet! They look lovely.

delete reply hedgewitch9 wrote on Mar 17, '10 Oh Loretta what an excellent idea re: the milk bottles!!!! You never fail to inspire :D

delete reply agnes128 wrote on Mar 17, '10 What a good idea!

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Mar 17, '10 The milk jugs are a excellent idea!

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Mar 17, '10 very nice to have all the color after the winter whites :)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Mar 17, '10 secretcorners said Are you planning on moving the primrose out when they finish blooming? I shall see how it goes, my purple primula bloom twice every year, once in the spring and once in the autumn. I shall maybe find some nice summer colour for the containers.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Mar 17, '10 bennett1 said Lovely Mother's Day. Can you plant outdoors now? Are you frost-free? morning Bennett, yes... frost free (I hope) and even if we do have the odd frost I'm pretty sure the primula will be ok. I have loads of yellow and purple primula that have been out all year. I thought the pink would be a nice colour addition.

delete reply mitchylr wrote on Mar 17, '10 That was a nice gift from your daughter. That's a really good idea for catching/distributing rainwater, and a good way of recycling too.

delete reply initiativestain wrote on Mar 16, '10 Fitting gift from you daughter Loretta. It's ironic as I here Mothers Day is within the second week of May, and you would think that a "crown" country would have it at the same time. Regardless a very Happy Mothers Day to ya.

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Mar 16, '10 Lovely Mother's Day. Can you plant outdoors now? Are you frost-free?

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Mar 16, '10 Very nice idea for Mothers Day, ours is in May and I will be planting some new beds as gifts.

delete reply secretcorners wrote on Mar 16, '10 By the way, your recycled plant containers are cute.

delete reply secretcorners wrote on Mar 16, '10 Are you planning on moving the primrose out when they finish blooming? Later in the summer they will need less sun. They had some at a Lowe's here that were 50p a pot, but I left them since they won't winter over here.