My front garden causes me more angst than any other part of the garden, well actually that is not true, the two ivy covered sheds cause me the most angst at the moment, but they are not what I am focusing on today.
I think it fair to say that I am usually dissatisfied with the front garden. I just cannot get it where it makes me happy. The root problem is of course with me. I do not spend enough time in the front garden and so it gets out of hand and that gets me down. The solution is self-evidently equally lying with me, I need to stop it getting out of hand.
The garden started off looking like this, way back in 2007 when I moved into this house. I do sometimes wish I had left it like this, as whilst dull, at least it was easy to manage and I wouldn't feel guilty about it all the time. I have considered re-turfing it but I have not got to that stage yet as I do see the front garden as an evolution. It goes through iteration after iteration, slowly getting to that place where I will be happy with it and where it will be a place I want to maintain.
The last year or so has seen the germs of the latest iteration forming in my mind. I have in in my thoughts that the box hedging will have to go at some point as I am sure it will get Box Blight one day. I do like the cypress trees, they have done really well. A little too well some might say, I am keeping an eye on the height of them and they will need topping soon.
As I wander around the front garden I still like the basic premise of it, it just somehow does not hit squarely the 'that's what I want' button. I think it gives that button glancing blows but is never completely on target. So there I was the other day, watching one of the Gardeners World winter specials and there was a garden designer who was showing us around her garden. It was a good garden and I was enjoying the section. I suddenly became very alert when we reached her pointy tree garden. The clipped pyramids of trees (they may have been yew, they might have been something else) were surrounded with lots of soft planting that looked good in summer and faded nicely in autumn. There it was, this I told myself, this is what I had been looking for. I have the bones for this look and I can plant it around the Knot hedges and if/when the hedges have to go then the garden just spreads to fill the gap. Of course as with all my gardening plans I have to be aware of my budget, but I think I can do the majority of this with divisions and cuttings from the back garden and some seeds. I am thinking perennials and wafty floofy grasses.
This. could. work.
So watch this space - as ever, silence on the subject means I either forgot, changed my mind or tried it and it was so awful I need to rethink again. Anything is possible.....
I had to go and watch that Gardeners World episode after reading about the pointy pyramids! (Yes, they were yew, very easy to topiarise). That same episode had me thinking that it's high time I planted more roses and mentally started to strip out certain slightly unloved plants from the garden. That's probably why I don't watch GW very often - it's far too tempting! Looking forward to seeing what you do with your front patch.
ReplyDeleteIt is very tempting! I love the films they have of people's gardens, they do give me some great ideas. I shall report back on how the front garden planning goes.
Delete