My only job for this month was to cut back the lavender border, deadhead the roses and trim the lawn edges.
Showing posts with label lavender. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lavender. Show all posts
Friday, 17 August 2012
The small town garden in August
This week took me back to the small town garden. Nicely maturing (it is in its fourth year), it is on the whole very low maintenance.
My only job for this month was to cut back the lavender border, deadhead the roses and trim the lawn edges.
My only job for this month was to cut back the lavender border, deadhead the roses and trim the lawn edges.
Sunday, 7 August 2011
The 'Nearly did not Happen' Garden Part 2
Design time. Let's talk about colours.
Since this was a small garden, I suggested a two colour scheme. I drew inspiration from the few shrubs that were already in situ: a Leycesteria (very dark red) and Forsythia (bright yellow). One of the roses to be moved luckily had a label, so I could identify and look up the colour, badly needed since it was April, far too early for roses to flower. It proved to be Whisky Mac, a fairly bright yellow.
With my client being advanced in years but very young at heart, I suggested purple with yellow. I set to draw up a shortlist of suitable plants and armed with good quality photographs we met up.
For me this is an essential step and a bit of a shortcut. If I find the client does not approve, not much time is wasted at this stage as no plans have been drawn, plant numbers worked out and costed up.
I was lucky and my client loved the shortlist.
I shall spare you the finer details of how hard it was to prepare the site for planting, the planting and autumn bulb planting. Let's leave it with some pictures taken at planting stage, a few months after and finally after one year.
The gaps between plants are gradually disappearing as plants are filling out to their eventual size. Work is now concentrating on cutting the lawn, trimming lawn edges, deadheading and feeding, all fun stuff in my book. Oh, and enjoying the view.
Hope you enjoy it as much as my client.
Since this was a small garden, I suggested a two colour scheme. I drew inspiration from the few shrubs that were already in situ: a Leycesteria (very dark red) and Forsythia (bright yellow). One of the roses to be moved luckily had a label, so I could identify and look up the colour, badly needed since it was April, far too early for roses to flower. It proved to be Whisky Mac, a fairly bright yellow.
With my client being advanced in years but very young at heart, I suggested purple with yellow. I set to draw up a shortlist of suitable plants and armed with good quality photographs we met up.
For me this is an essential step and a bit of a shortcut. If I find the client does not approve, not much time is wasted at this stage as no plans have been drawn, plant numbers worked out and costed up.
I was lucky and my client loved the shortlist.
I shall spare you the finer details of how hard it was to prepare the site for planting, the planting and autumn bulb planting. Let's leave it with some pictures taken at planting stage, a few months after and finally after one year.
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| June 2010 - newly planted, new turf! |
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| May 2011 Gorgeous Alliums with Iris 'St Crispin' |
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| May 2010: Turf has held up very well despite hot and dry Spring |
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| July 2011: Penstemon 'Raven' and Achillea 'Coronation Gold' |
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| July 2011: Lavendula angustifolia and Achillea |
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| July 2011: Dahlia 'Arabian Night' |
The gaps between plants are gradually disappearing as plants are filling out to their eventual size. Work is now concentrating on cutting the lawn, trimming lawn edges, deadheading and feeding, all fun stuff in my book. Oh, and enjoying the view.
Hope you enjoy it as much as my client.
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Lavender
I use lavender a lot in gardens. It is deservedly a popular plant. For a start you get that gorgeous structural foliage in varying shades of grey/green, depending on the variety. You get flowers, mostly purple but also shades of mauve, pink and white. Personally, I prefer the purple and mauve colours. You get incredible scent. You get bees and with the recent decline in the number of bees supporting these pollinators is a very good thing to do. You get a long flowering season, from as early as May until you cut them. You can use the flowers either fresh or dried for a multitude of things. Lots of reasons to grow lavender.
There is this little area at the rectory formed like a thin wedge of cheese. It is where the gravel steps meet the gravel path to the greenhouse. Nothing was growing there. Actually, the gravel steps did not exist either, just a muddy garden path. I was planning to plant up a dozen lavenders along the edge of the wedge and came along a good offer of half a dozen lavender plants with pale green foliage. Well they came home with me and have done a good job for the last two years at the rectory.
The grow to about 3 or 4 foot and make a serious statement. But they are getting a bit too big and are starting to obstruct access to the greenhouse.
August is the time when I trim lavenders. Yes, the flowers are still in bloom but if I cut them now, there is plenty of time before winter arrives for new foliage to appear and they will look great over the winter. I rather than a soggy tangled mess of stems.
So yesterday was time for drastic action. Out came hedge trimmer and secateurs and I cut them back a little harder than recommended. They will either come back and be a bit neater or they will be replaced with a named variety, probably 'Imperial Gem'. Please do not try this at home because lavenders will not readily reshoot from old wood.
The end result was this:
and several of this:
The lavender clippings were fed through the shredder and I have to say that was the most incredible experience. Much reduced in size, the lavender has been added to the compost heap where the woody material is expected to balance the grass clippings.
There is this little area at the rectory formed like a thin wedge of cheese. It is where the gravel steps meet the gravel path to the greenhouse. Nothing was growing there. Actually, the gravel steps did not exist either, just a muddy garden path. I was planning to plant up a dozen lavenders along the edge of the wedge and came along a good offer of half a dozen lavender plants with pale green foliage. Well they came home with me and have done a good job for the last two years at the rectory.
The grow to about 3 or 4 foot and make a serious statement. But they are getting a bit too big and are starting to obstruct access to the greenhouse.
August is the time when I trim lavenders. Yes, the flowers are still in bloom but if I cut them now, there is plenty of time before winter arrives for new foliage to appear and they will look great over the winter. I rather than a soggy tangled mess of stems.
So yesterday was time for drastic action. Out came hedge trimmer and secateurs and I cut them back a little harder than recommended. They will either come back and be a bit neater or they will be replaced with a named variety, probably 'Imperial Gem'. Please do not try this at home because lavenders will not readily reshoot from old wood.
The end result was this:
and several of this:
The lavender clippings were fed through the shredder and I have to say that was the most incredible experience. Much reduced in size, the lavender has been added to the compost heap where the woody material is expected to balance the grass clippings.
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