New Year's Eve

This laurel provides a nice bit of lush green at this time of year. The frost has stayed around and we've even had a few of those rare winter sunny days. Staring out of the window has been a major occupation of late.

Getting frosty

This is a eucalyptus leaf; the frost really shows off its colour and leaves no damage. The back garden has been looking exceptionally pretty in the frost.

Santa on high

This year is our first try with a rooted tree. After Christmas it's going outside to recover and get all healthy for next year. That's the plan, anyway.

Star for December

This little shrub is looking great right now. I don't know what it is. It's at the back of the border so I need to move it towards the front by about two feet. That's planning for you.

Best broadies

Broad beans - the best and easiest things to grow. You can totally ignore them after sowing; they may collapse and not look very neat but they still produce. No appeal for slugs either which makes them more appealing for me. I've sown two triangle's worth in my new veg plot. Seeing new growth now is the best thing to get through the barren winter ahead. The netting is cat-proofing, by the way.

Hanging on

There are very few Field Maple leaves left. Unfortunately when these disappear we are back looking at next door. Roll on May...

By the way, I've made leaving comments easier so if you feel the urge, please let me know if you're reading (I need incentives this time of year).

All alone

This clematis, Ville de Lyon, is holding on despite quite a few heavy frosts. Can't quite remember when it started flowering but it's early days (only second year) and I didn't prune it last year. Have just read it's in pruning group three so I need to hard-prune it in late winter (mid-Feb) by cutting all stems back to 25cm above ground level. Each pruned stem needs at least one good pair of buds on it. So hopefully I'll now remember to do this (will write on the calendar).

Fruity

I've finally decided what to plant along the fence by the new improved veg plot. Autumn fruiting raspberries, Autumn Bliss. I already have some of these and this year they have been tasty stuff. I've also planted some Guilder Rose whips at the far end. I'm big keen on these, see how they look in spring.

Looking sharp

The front of our shed gets the worst of the west's weather. Chris gave it some armoury to help it through another winter.

Progress

Back in March 2006 I had a big plan for a nice mixed hedge.

By September the hedge had really established.

But this year, things are more how I like them.

Veg explosion

This was how my very neglected veg beds looked in July. Everything had gone to seed, the borage had self-seeded everywhere and the paths were overgrown and very weedy. The area just wasn't working so needed some rethinking.
I started by lifting the gravel paths and clearing the area. I decided to keep the pretty variegated sage, the golden oregano and the parsley (which was grown from seed and has been one of the few things that have been great this year),
After lots of mulling, I came up with a design and started to lay it out with canes.
And this is how things look now, not quite finished. I ditched the golden oregano in the end - spreads too much and I never use it in cooking. Felt a bit ruthless. I recycled the tiles from our shed (now dry with a nice-looking green roof) to create the beds (the sticks are cat-proofing), put membrane down over the new paths and used the old gravel to start covering them (need a bit more). I'm pleased so far and looking forward to planting.

I'm planning to sow some autumn broad beans and then have spring bulbs in the circular bed followed by annual flowers in the summer. I've up-ended some tiles against the fence to stop the grass invading (a constant battle) but am planning a small hedge all along this area. It might be a living willow screen or guilder roses. I haven't quite decided yet - my next autumn project.

Things that work

This isn't a great photo but I wanted to show this combination of plants that I really like. Not at all planned so a bit of a flook but that just makes it sweeter. You can just about make out a year one clematis on the left of the pittosporum. I'm going to train it further into the shrub so next year this should be quite dazzling.

Things that change

This has always been known (to me anyway) as my problem bed. It's taken me ages to get it right but I think it's looking the best it has. Shame about next door's goal, I'm working on a screen to hide it.

Early on, it looked like this. Too angular.

And then this. Not so terrible really, but the catmint turned into a mistake when the neighbours introduced two kittens so it had to go. The penstemon was nice but was never going to get any taller; I replaced it with a red-stemmed dogwood that provides more height. It's also a rapid grower so has done the job. The catmint was replaced by a bay; slow growing but it will be great when it gets taller and it's done so well this year, I am happy to be patient.

Big yellow splash

I had to wait a year for my coreopsis, grown from seed, to flower. Top show.

Pah!

Hmmm...said I was a bit concerned about those seedlings (see how this looked in April). This will shift the post holiday feta-belly.

Spring growth

Three weeks away in May seemed like a good idea. Think the garden got a bit carried away.

Lovely spuds

I've opted for the quick and easy route with spuds this year. I've done five big tubs, different varieties (they were labelled but unsure now what's what). Hadn't planned on how they would look here but am really pleased with the result - they add a nice touch of green next to the deck.

Splendid woodruff

I seem to have woodruff all over now, under my shrubs. So easy to dig a patch up and move it along. It looks its best now. Good stuff indeed.

New box

My mum gave me six wee box. I hadn't planted them so when she came to visit she dug this mini border and interplanted them with some Veronicas that I'd grown from seed. Should be good in a couple of years.

Stars for May

Birthdays in May are the best. New friends come in fancy dress.

Herb pot

I never really have much success with herbs in pots. The Bay here is very yellow, the Greek Oregano has disappeared and I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do with the Welsh onions. Still, Mrs Jessops' Upright Rosemary and the common thyme are doing well.

Spring clean

This is the new bed for this year (remember how it looked back in January). Some willow whips at the back (to hide the compost area), a Red Robin moved from another bed, couple of baby Choisias and a handful of sticks as cat deterrant. I'm a bit concerned about all the seedlings that have appeared. Not sure what they are but I suppose digging around here has spread them around good and proper.

Lone star

We don't have many daffodils in the garden. Any that we do have always face into next door's garden so we just get to see the back of them. This one looks good below the bare Field Maple hedge.

Spring snow

My sweet peas made it through the snow (this isn't them). The snow lasted all of two hours until the sun saw it off.

Pricking out

I think I've overdone it with the Verbena - well they all came up. Sowed a whole packet and as I can never bear to through any away, have to pot them all up. Nice job on one of the warmer spring days. Think I'll have to hand out to friends and family - the cold frames are going to be a bit crowded...

Star for March

This quince looks excellent next to the ever-expanding Euphorbia I have (shame that photo didn't work out). Spring means lots of star turns...but will they be the same as last year (I seem to have completely forgotten what was new in)?

New friends

We made a new bird feeder from a hefty old branch and put it just beyond the deck so we can see it from the back door. These Goldfinches are regular visitors and are learning to stand up to the bullying bombing blue tits. The niger seed definitely attracts smaller birds; we've seen Chaffinch, Pied Wagtails and Goldfinch. It's better than watching the telly.

Spring seedlings

I sowed these Echinacea two weeks ago and they are already out of the propagator and in the windowsill. I'm going to put them in a bed with Bergamort (sown at the same time) and my purple elder (which needs to be moved - third time lucky) into its permanent home.

Gooseberries

This is the third attempt at locating these two gooseberry bushes. They were an impulse buy from my local Co-op. Every time I move them my mum says, 'You know gooseberries don't like to be moved'. They survived the last move so fingers crossed. If they survive, I promise I won't move them again.

Next project

I've ventured out this week for the first time in ages and it feels good to be back in the mud. I've already moved a couple of things around as we've had a lot of rain lately and not much frost. The ground is all soft, just a bit sticky for digging.

This is the next area to be tackled. I was going to get some whips (not sure what though) to put here but, on reflection, I might have enough things in pots to fill the space. The area is packed full of acquilegia that have been happily self-seeding here long before I arrived on the scene. There's a good mix of colours so I will probably dig them all out to get at the brambles and weeds then put them all back in again. The area looks good every spring but then fails after that when the weeds take over. I need colour for July onwards so I'm planning to grow some perennials from seed so that I can have lots of the same thing. I'm big on drifts of colour at the moment.

Plugging the gaps

This isn't the greatest of photos but the subject isn't too good this time of year. As you can see, the Eucalyptus has grown up high, taking its crown with it. This has left a gaping hole into next door - grim. It's not so bad when the quince (on the right) comes into leaf but for now I have moved a Potato vine that was hidden behind some hedging further along. I'm really not sure it's going to take as the main root was just like a dandelion - heading vertically down into the heavy clay. Being a foolish thing I lopped it off. Fingers crossed.

New year sprouts

Now then, this is more like it - new growth in the middle of winter.