Not long after I took the above photo of the back garden path I had to give the geraniums a right good chop back as they were in danger of engulfing the path. I do hate cutting back but it means I’ll get another flush of flowers and they’ll still be going strong in October.
You can just see the left hand side of the metal archway and although I’ve planted a supposedly climbing rose there, it remains bare, that rose seems to have no intention of climbing. The other side of the archway has far too many things covering it, including a lathyrus/everlasting sweet pea which is an absolute thug and is climbing everywhere.
Below there is that disappointing (so far) red rose, pieris, foxglove, lychnis, geraniums, physigelia and various others.
In the photo below you can see my recent garden purchase – a Belfast sink! I had to laugh when I heard someone on a gardening programme saying recently that in his childhood every garden seemed to have a Belfast sink in it! Mine still has and I had a hard time tracking this one down, I had one in the old garden but had to leave it behind as the house purchasers wanted everything in the garden – grr!
The cherry tree in the photo below is growing like crazy, but I only had a few flowers on it in the spring. It has been in for three years now so I hope it gives a better account of itself next year.
Below is a Philadelphus which isn’t giving off as much scent as I had hoped it would. I think a different variety might have been better, it’s my own fault for not waiting and buying one when it was already in flower.
The Christmas tree in the photo below was one that was left in a pot by the front door when we moved in here, it was looking very sorry for itself, but as you can see, setting him free in the soil has really cheered him up. There is also a cotinus, cotton lavender and astrantia in the photo.
There’s a dwarf Japanese maple, euphorbia Fireglow, primula Viallii and a lot more in the photo below.
The so called rockery in the photo below has gone a wee bit crazy this year and most of the rocks in it have been hidden by the plant growth, I blame all the rain we’ve had. I have to do some serious weeding soon, that ajuga I planted there is on a bid to take over the whole area. I don’t think you can actually see it in the photo although it’s hard to avoid as it is taking up half of the rockery I could shoot myself for planting it!
That was the back garden at the back end of July. I’m quite pleased with it considering this is only its third year and there was only one teeny tree in it and a sea of grass when we moved in.
It is all lovely, you have done a lot of work since you first moved in. It is great to see all the progress.
tracybham,
Thanks, it’s a good way of keeping fit – I hope!
I love seeing all of the different species of plants that grow where you live. Your garden is beautiful! The geranium that you mention overgrowing the pathway is a variety that I’m not familiar with, and it’s lovely.
Paula,
Thanks. I’ll have to check but I think that geranium might be called Rozanne.
Beautiful ! I love your pretty pink geraniums along the path too . Is that another geranium in the last pic ? Pink with dark leaves ? It’s gorgeous !
There are some lovely varieties out there to buy now , but my favourite is the old variety Geranium ” Johnson’s Blue ” .
Daisy Debs,
I love Johnson’s Blue too, I have it but it is at the back of a border that I’ve widened and I’ll have to move it to a more prominent position. I think that that pink one with dark leaves is a type of sedum but I’ll have to check my plant labels.
I would love to see some before and after photos, from when you moved in just to see how much has happened and how much you have achieved.
Jo,
I’ll do a before and after blogpost soon!
Beautiful plantings. How large are you wanting that Christmas tree – which looks like a Spruce – to grow? – he might go a bit rampant…
I love the Cotinus in the same photo – such a lovely shrub with its deep red-purple leaves and looks absolutely ethereal when in flower.
Valerie.
That Spruce is less than 5 feet now but when I removed it from its pot it was only about two feet so it has grown a lot in three years, I’ll keep an eye on it but it won’t be as rampant as the Leylandii hedge that I eventually had to chop down in my old garden. I love the Cotinus too, I thought it would have grown more in the year since I planted it, but it looked very sorry for itself after winter so I’m just glad it has survived.
Your garden is gorgeous, just the kind I love. Crammed full of color and foliage, a beautiful surprise around every corner.
Joan,
Thanks. I’m trying to tread a line just on the wild side of controlled if you see what I mean. I don’t want it to be perfect, I think you get more wildlife that way and hopefully that will help with any pests.
I had to scroll through and look at all the photos twice because your garden is just so gorgeous. I can’t imagine all the hard work that went into it for you to achieve that in three years. I agree with the comment that said it would be interesting to see before and after pictures. Or a series of progressive photos? Not that I am a demanding blog reader or anything….
Jennifer,
Thanks. It has been a lot of hard work, especially digging up the unwanted grass to make planting space, but it has been worth the effort. I will do a before and after post soon!
How absolutely splendiferous! (Yeah, okay, not a real word but it should be!) I am so awe-inspired. I’m thinking that you must be working very hard out there to create and nurture all of this. Actually, if you don’t mind my asking, how much do you spend on a good weather day when you’re in the mood?
I’m all sorts of curious.
Judith,
It depends on the weather, but sometimes I am out there most of the day, but sitting down often and taking my time with things, I don’t have the strength I used to, so I pace myself! Other times I don’t do any gardening for a whole week or so, especially if it’s wet, I’m a sensible fair weather gardener!