The "Nearly Did Not Happen" Garden Part 1

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The full-on rain yesterday made it completely impossible to do any outside work. I finally got round to transferring a big batch of photos from camera to computer. I stumbled upon some more transformation shots and thought they would be good to share.

In Spring last year I was contacted by a friend of an existing client. She was in the process of moving house locally and the garden at her new house needed some work. She had seen the creation of her friend's garden and how it matured over time and was adamant that I should remodel her new garden, too.

I remember, I was nursing a cold and was so poorly with it that I decided not to work for a few days to get some proper rest. Only her persistent pleading made me pay her a visit at her old property (she wanted to move some plants) and also the new property.

April is always a busy time for me and I needed another renovation project like a hole in the head. The other issue to consider was that by the time the garden was ready for planting we would be into Summer and a new planting scheme would require regular watering. Would the garden owner be around and vigilant enough to care for the new plants? If the plants don't settle in, would I get the blame? No wonder that this garden nearly did not happen.

However, this lady clearly loved her old garden and was keen to enjoy her new garden this Summer.

The new garden was mainly a garden at the back of the house, quite small, a lot laid to lawn which was in a terrible state and an L-shaped border which was narrow and weedy. The garden had been used to house chickens before and no maintenance whatsoever had been carried out for a long time.

Ivy coming over from the neighbour

Bare, barer, barest

A tiny bit of Forsythia to brighten up the corner

Flowering currant - this one stays!

After inspecting both gardens I realised that the job was not huge. Due to the size of the shrubs in the old garden and the size of the new garden, only a few plants of sentimental value would be moved, two roses and an acer.

My new client agreed to get the lawn taken up and new turf laid by a contractor. We discussed what she wanted from her garden ("no bedding - can't stand it", "lots of colour", "I really want to see a lot of bees and butterflies") and I agreed to come up with a design that would fit the bill.

My week of misery turned into a few days of joy. The design work could be done despite my cold. And for once I did not have to slot the designing into the evening after a hard day's work and family commitments, I had the luxury to do this during the day. An empty house, no interruption, no pouring over planting plans with the light fading. Best of all: not feeling guilty for not working because I was working. Bliss!

Lavender

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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.

After the rain

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After a (for Central England) long dry spell, we finally had some rain last night. It was much needed, as fields and gardens alike are coping with a very dry year.

When gathering my tools to head out this morning, I walked past this little beauty. The raindrops nestling on the leaves caught my eye. Consider it as a friendly gesture after yesterday's pictured.



Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Purpurea' (spurge)

Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Purpurea' (spurge)

 One problem with spurges is that they can really spread themselves around and quickly take over a border. Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Purpurea' is much better behaved and I find the odd seedling but there is none of that "constantly pulling out bits of plant" business.

The foliage is bluegreen tinged with a deep red. It is evergreen and thrives in dappled shade. In Spring it has gorgeous limegreen flowerheads that seem to be suspended above the leafy canopy. Once faded I simply cut off the flowered stems. That's it until next year.

I did not get a chance to inspect the rest of my garden but had a quick peek in the coldframe. The peas sown about 10 days ago have all germinated. Yes, satisfied grin on face, 100% germination rate.

In case you do not get what the fuss is about, let me explain. I trialled a short variety called 'Douce Provence'. This is sown in Spring for Summer harvesting. I needed two attempts to get about five pea plants. I binned the seeds. And started again, this time using 'Kelvedon Wonder'. They did better. By July it is too late in the season and peas for an Autumn harvest have to be sown. 'Ambassador' is the variety I chose.

Pea 'Ambassador' ten days after sowing

This is what I did this time:

• root trainers
• slug pellets
• cover
• placed in open cold frame

I think the only difference (apart from the different variety) was that the cover was popped on the root trainers. But really this should make no difference at all because you can sow peas straight in the ground and this is how most people would sow them. I would love to hear your theory. 

Don't look if you are squeamish

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A reader suspects that my own garden looks beautiful. If only.

I will share my musings with you on this one another time but for today let me share some "finds" from earlier today. Some finds that one rather not finds. Some may find this a bit off-putting, so skip the pictures.

I am talking about garden pests and like most gardens I do get them in my patch. Let's have a look at the damage caused by number one:

Leaf cutter bee damage on rose

Two years ago I planted a climbing rose to cover an obelisk at the front of the house. It is "Tess of the d'Urbervilles", a crimson red beauty. This year it flowers for the first time with some enthusiasm but the foliage looks awful. On first glance you could be forgiven to suspect vine weevil. Vine weevil damage on foliage however is more characterised by smaller roundish notches as the weevils actually munch the leaves. In my case the damage is neat semi-circles with very clean edges as if cut by scissors. I suspect it is damage by leaf cutter bees; these bees cut out sections of leaf (they adore roses). The cut out leaf is taken away and not consumed but rolled up and used for nest building.
Since the rose is healthy otherwise with plenty of new growth and bees are essential for pollination, I have to live with the damage. It is not a great advertisement outside my front door ....


After the bees I quickly inspected another rose at the front. No leaf damage (yet) but this critter caught my eye:

sawfly

Right in the centre on the stem was a winged insect which I suspect to be a sawfly. The flies themselves are not the problem, it is their offspring. From the eggs this fly lays which grow onto the larvae stage. In this case this will be tiny caterpillars which will happily munch away the whole leaf leaving behind (no pun intended) just the rib system. These critters truly have a voracious appetite and since there's never just a single caterpillar, they can reduce a fine plant to a skeleton in very short time.
I squished the fly and need to patrol over the next few weeks to pick off and dispose any caterpillars that I can find.

Last but not least, my dahlias. Both "Arabian Night" and "Bora Bora" have been plagued by black aphids this year. As I try to garden to organic principles (note the careful wording here), I have tried to limit damage by giving the stems a good dowse with the hose pipe. It works to a degree but tonight I saw the most phantastic sight:


ladybirds on dahlia stem


Dozens of ladybirds (or ladybugs, depending on where you live) have moved in and are all over the dahlias. I wish them 'bon appetit'.

Budget Garden

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I love a good challenge. So when I was approached by friends (R&T) of a friend whose garden I look after, I promised I would have a look at their plot.

I think they are a typical family: both parents work, Mum does a 3/4 job in education, so has more time off than most of us Dad commutes to London and works long hours. Two children at school. No home help. They want to enjoy the garden but it sort of got neglected. R loves gardening but is not very knowledgeable, T sees it as a chore. They don't know where to start. Also, they don't want to spend a fortune.

Bienchen, you have your work cut out here.

This is what works for us:

• Limit time spent gardening: I come twice a month for half a day; we have all learned that Rome wasn't built in one day and as long as my clients see a difference, they are happy.
• I get help: if there is a lot of clearing to be done, I bag up the rubbish but R&T take it to the tip. If school holidays are looming, I try to arrange a slot when someone is around and will man the shredder, help with weeding, or whatever can easily be delegated. It means more work gets done in the 4 hours and money is spent on skill rather than unskilled labour. R&T also cut their grass although I maintain the edges.
• We prioritise jobs: it is vital to balance essential seasonal jobs against jobs the client would like to have done immediately. Start close to the house where effort will be noticed and gradually move along to the far end of the garden. We agreed that a bit of plot just outside their dining area was completely neglected and a complete eye sore. Tidying this and planting it up to give year round interest was a top priority much more than dealing with neglect at the bottom of the garden. Pruning those lovely big apple and pear trees which had not been touched for a few years in the first winter; this became the first job in February 2010.
• Keep what is worth keeping: we have been hanging on to most shrubs that could be renovated. Buddleia, hydrangea, fuchsia, lilac, rhododendron are all mingling in the sunny border. The sunny border will never look as good as a border designed from scratch but it is tidy and weed free, gaps have been filled and spring bulbs have been planted. By hanging on to established shrubs R&T have saved money on plants and retained a sense of maturity.
• Don't skimp on Spring bulbs: soon after I took on the budget garden, I noticed that Spring bulbs were virtually absent. The foliage for Spring bulbs arrives long before blooms make an appearance; it primes my client that "something will be happening" and the bulbs will the gap when the snow has melted and the shrubs are still bare.
• Plants need to give value for money. On the whole I chose plants with a long flowering season, plants that are reliably hardy and generally troublefree. This principle is followed losely, for example Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve' is not terribly long lived nor particularly hardy. It is cheap to replace though and gives colour for at least six months, so it got voted in.
• Because I buy wholesale, the budget garden could be stocked more cheaply.

March 2010

February 2011



April 2011





When I look at this patch now, the grasses are about 6 foot tall. Whichever month I visit, at least one plant is in flower, often more. Currently Thalyctrum and Erysimum are competing for attention.

The rest of the garden is still a work in progress. More than half of the existing borders have been renovated following the above process. The current project is to finish clearing the ground under the apple trees and to plant it up as a shady border.