Rockery Revival

It's taken a while but I've finally got to the focal point of the garden - the rockery. Another overgrown and sadly neglected part of the garden that was crying out for some TLC.

Dominated by a wierd looking water-feature that barely worked apart from glowing in the dark when switched on via the under-lawn electricity cable!

It had to go....and unfortunately it was one of those items that we couldn't recycle...so it went to landfill in Warwickshire!

Rosemary, Thyme, Lavender, Marjoram and a hint of Mint...once apon a time it was a herb garden but now overgrown and leggy plants dominate with too many dwarf conifers competing for space.

The good news is that I managed to move a couple of the conifers to another place in the garden  - bad news is that rosemary & lavender had outgrown their welcome, so they had to go -  there is a point at which even when cut back these 'leggy' plants won't regenerate successfully...so the only solution is to dig out and start again!

Still on the recycling mission I managed to find enough Cotswold stones from the garden to rebuild the rockery and create a space for new plants. Thyme, Lavender, some Irises (which should love this sunny spot), sedums and rock roses. Lots to look forward to in the summer when they start to bloom and hopefully if we can withstand the drought, a cheerful bit of colour at the centre of the garden!

Spring Time and April Showers

It's been a long wait during the winter months but Spring is definitely here at last together with some much needed April showers! Every day the hedgerows green up a little more and the Ash tree buds are just poised to burst into leaf. I've been busy planting up the borders with a variety of perennials, Skimmia Japonica, Hellebores, Foxgloves, a climbing Japonica and a lovely little plant called erythronium pagoda.

Early days yet and lots of gaps, but it's a start!

Our Tree Peony is doing really well, and having survived the winter and our pruning now has some promising looking buds on the top branches...not long now before we find out what variety it is!

Meanwhile...in the front garden a real treat....a little Clematis Alpina growing amongst the Ceanothus - delicate sprays of gorgeous blue flowers peek through the leaves and brighten up a shady corner.

Meanwhile, the apple tree is slowly coming to life too but mother thinks this one is a biennial variety which means we may not get blossom! :( Now that  would be a real disappointment.... so I'm hoping that for once mother is wrong and that we will soon have a tree in glorious bloom. The Jury is out on this one....only time will tell!