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.