End of Month Review April 2017

April has been extraordinarily cold with several frosts over the last seven days, it has also been fairly dry though it looks like some welcome rain is returning.  This has meant that pots of tender plants that had been edged outside where whipped back into the greenhouse and conservatory.  I have also held off sowing many seeds as it seemed best to wait for it to warm a little.

Outside the weeds have not stopped growing, you will see a lot of weeds in this post.
Weedy picture number 1- this is from the front drive. There are quite a few cowslips also in this picture and they are what I want you to focus on.  I planted them a year or so ago and they are spreading rather well.  The soil is poor and very well drained and it seems to suit them.
The side front lawn is in great need of mowing and the wave of aconite leaves can still be seen.  I am not ready to mow it yet, I need the aconites to gain as much strength as they can so I walk quickly past so that I do not think about it too much.
The view into the back garden looks quite lush at the moment.
This part of the Coal Bunker Border, which is directly in front of the coal bunker, it one of my favourite parts of the garden at the moment.  The Euphorbia stygiana, the tulip and self-seeded poppy are working overtime to look great.
This is the view from the corner of the Conservatory Borer, the dark tulips are making good accent points and there is a flush of bluebells to the right of the photo that I rather like.
Further down the Conservatory Border I am liking this euphorbia, which might be stygiana or melllifera,  I am not totally sure.  The tulip Aladdin fits very well as does the contrast of the dark foliage of the Sambucus nigra and the cardoon.
I am also really pleased with this Akebia quinata arch that goes from the Pond Border into the Bramley Tree.  I strung a piece of wire from the plant support into the tree and the Akebia did the rest.  The light shines through the dark flowers in a very pleasing way.
This view across the pond with the Spring Border behind me also works well.  I am amazed at how lush and green it all looks.
The Prairie Borders are growing back but still look scrappy at the moment.  They need a bit more time to recover from their haircut.
The Woodland Border and Bog Garden are currently highlighted by the Malus 'Rudolph'.  I lifted the crown on this young tree in the autumn and it has rewarded me by being totally covered in blossom.
In the Wild Garden the cowparsley is currently queen.  There are also bluebells and camassias in this part of the garden.
The Wild Garden is coming on quite well this year.  The yellow rattle has started to show itself again but it is over-nettled at the moment.  I am going to have to deal with this.  I always leave some nettles but there are too many.
There are white-bells in the Wild Garden,
and lots of this cardamine as well, more than I've ever seen before.
There are pink-bells in the Pond Border.
I love this view of the Pond Border, the Coronilla and the Euphorbia Griffithii work so well together.
and the white standard wisteria has turned mauve.  This is odd, I wonder if it is reverting?
In the Exotic Border the echiums and euphorbia are doing well.  Who knew that not so long ago I disliked euphorbia and yet now I have many.
The ferns in the fernery have settled in well and growing fast this year.  This makes me very happy.
The veg beds are waiting for the sweetpeas and dahlias to be planted out.  You might think there are rather a lot of nettles in this picture; you would be right.
In the greenhouse it is looking more empty than it did when it was sheltering my precious things.  It is mainly full of dahlias and a few seeds and cuttings.  You might just spot Flossy sleeping at the end of the greenhouse on the fleece that has been left there just in case it is needed again.
I finish as ever on the pond, which is not as full as I would like for this time of year.  It has been getting a bit blanket-weedy recently so I have hoiked it out with a rake and treated the pond with some organic stuff.  There are also a couple of small barley bales in there to try and help.  I am worried that I cannot see any tadpoles in there at all.  There were loads but they seem to have disappeared.  If I am lucky they are hiding in the depths of the pond because its been cold, if I am unlucky the newts have eaten them all.  Time will tell.....

Thanks as ever to Helen for hosting this meme.

Comments

  1. I was recently on the receiving end of a "neighbourly lecture" about the length of the grass in my front lawns (Cutting is at least 6 weeks after last bulb flowering) and about my dandelions (they're not allowed to seed but are there for the bees as long as they're yellow). I killed the argument with a response about the need to deadhead centranthus ruber (which has spread around the close like topsy). Now I'm off to poke lots of sticks in the ground and stretch string between them to denote my coal bunker border (s'pose I have to build a bunker), pond border, conservatory border, et al. But I do have a "woodland walk", so there! :)) I love your garden, by the way. Muchos jealousoso.

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  2. Are whitebells and pinkbells are real thing or are they a hybrid of bluebells? I don't think I've seen any before but noticed some on one of the allotment paths at the weekend. PS I hadn't realised how huge your garden is until now!

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