Wednesday 20 April 2011

My Garden in Spring







I have waited till now before showing my garden as the different textures and greens are particularly good at the moment. Being a small garden I have tried to create interest throughout the year and have something in flower most of the time but I believe the garden is at its best in June, the colours are softer then.



I suppose it's a cottage style garden as the majority of the plants are cottage favourites and I grow food among the flowers such as strawberries, asparagus and shallots I also grow salad leaves and tomatoes which I grow in pots on the patio.






Before last year there was a small oval lawn in the middle of the garden now in its place is a path made from old roof tiles.







Its not a very neat garden I let things seed themselves and I grow organically so you will see holey plants but I don't mind this as I would rather see lots of wildlife. I use my own compost to mulch/feed and make Comfrey liquid feed for pots.







Comfrey flowers can be slightly insignificant but this plant is a particularly lovely purple variety.




We have a big snail problem in this area, I've tried beer pots berried in the ground which works but then you get the nasty job of emptying the pots which is really unpleasant, so now I just don't grow plants the snails like to eat, the only downfall with this is that I can't grow those beautiful vivid blue Delphiniums which I love, so I have to make do with Larkspur.








See the snails around here are just blatant.








I can honestly say I'm never a hundred percent happy with my garden I'm always changing it but this little corner at this time of year works quite well, I like the contrast of colours and textures, plus it covers my black plastic compost bin, slightly ugly but I find essential.








I have a particularly sandy bit near the patio area and its here I gown alpines, I like the tight round textured forms they create. There's also a small Euphorbia which is particularly lovely this time of year and only gets to a foot high and a purple Iris at the front.







I have a few box ball's at the back of the garden and of course herbs are everywhere, great plants, wonderful flowers, lovely scent and the added bonus you can eat them.





This Acer is over ten years old now and growing slow and gracefully on the wonk! ...I can live with this though.



I have a few peony's in my garden, a lovely ruby red one which is so old I cant remember its name a few pink Sarah Bernhardt's and this tree peony, it flowered for the first time last year and the blooms were the size of dinner plates.









This herb is Marjoram, which has a slight citrus flavour, it forms a low mat of green this time of year and I love how the viola has intertwined with it.









This Euphorbia is the first plant I see as I come out of my kitchen door, its quite a tall one its about 3-4 foot tall and it really glows.








A strawberry pot but I found the strawberries never did very well here so I now have alpines and succulents growing in it.




I'm linking today with Sara over at a beach cottage for Good Life Wednesday

16 comments:

  1. What a post! Great reading. Learned alot. Very
    inspiring.

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  2. It lovely to see where all your flowers come from. Looks like a beautiful place to spend some time.
    Have a great Easter Best Carolyn

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  3. Beautiful garden. I have so many of the same plants as you... the euphorbia, succulents, that vivid euonymus at the top of your posting. Snails here too, but have managed to prevent them getting a the hostas and they have never eaten the delphiniums for some reason... obviously not as tasty as yours! And I haven't seen that particular comfrey(we make feed too) ... ours is white, but love the purple and think the two together, if I can find a plant, would look good. At the moment I am loving the contrast between deep rich purple honesty and pure white Spirea 'Bridal Wreath', though the latter is now just beginning to go over. But statuesque alliums by the dozen are now standing proud above smaller plants like anemones, alchemilla mollis (another favourite).
    An overall shot of your garden would be interesting I think? And thanks for reminding me I need a new marjoram!

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  4. You are fortunate to have a garden to putter around in, no matter how small. We are in the midst of another dust storm. I have two balconies but my poor plants are suffering from the harsh weather. It is very hard to keep anything alive and forget about keeping anything clean. :/ Enjoy the bounties of your lovely garden space. Best wishes, Tammy

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  5. Beautiful. I too am trying to create a cottage garden here in the States, but it takes a lot of nuturing with our long dry summers. For now though, it is very wet, so it's coming along nicely... although about 3 weeks behind the UK... Enjoy the warmth there. Lx

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  6. I am absolutely amazed at how much further along your garden is than mine, but I didn't realize you are in the UK until now. You have the perfect garden climate and a place I have always wanted to visit. How do you make your comfry tea for the plants? I have a large comfry plant and would like to use it to benefit my other plants, especially after it has gotten so large and flopped over and becomes unsightly. You have beautiful gardens!
    Cindy

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  7. I love the first photo with the blue pot peeping out :)

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  8. Lovely garden. I enjoy seeing photos of all the different plants you have growing there.

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  9. What a lovely garden you have - so full of colors and texture - just what we all strive to reach. Good job!

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  10. Gorgeous - had a feeling it would be! X

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  11. Hi - just saw your comment at Happy Homemaker UK and was intrigued by your blog name so came to have a read.

    Your photos are lovely - and I really like the bright fresh airy feel of your blog - (as well as all those shift dresses - they are wonderful)- will do some archive reading now. Just wanted to say hello. :)

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  12. Lovely garden! I wish I had such a green thumb. Whenever I have a plant to take care of, I generally forget that it needs water...

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  13. Your garden is so pretty! I love all the different varieties and textures that you have. We have such hot humid and dry summers sometimes it is so hard to keep certain flowers from year to year and I don't have a green thumb. :) I can't wait to get going in my garden though, it feels good to plant and see what I do have grow. :)

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  14. I love your garden it is so lush. Love the big pots and jars you have too. Love Linda x

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  15. Please keep sharing with us your garden. We love to see all the beautiful flowers.

    -Zane of ontario honey

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  16. i must say you have an amazing garden! thanks for sharing this wonderful post with us!
    garden decorations

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