My Garden Through the Year

Very Slow Progress!

2011-06-17T11:17:00.000+01:00

As I expected, very slow progress is being made with the renovations to our garden. I am hoping it will be completed by the autumn -but maybe I am being too optimistic!

I do however have a lovely sitting area now which is almost complete, it is a very pleasant spot to sit in the sun and have a coffee - when it isn't raining of course, which we have had loads of lately and everywhere is very muddy! I spent a lovely time at the garden centre recently buying some cottage perennials that I haven't had for ages in the garden because the dogs trampled everything that was planted in the ground, so these planters are the solution to that problem!

I love Astilbes. This dark red one was the only one at the garden centre, but I will be looking for more soon! I want a cream one too.

We had to move our Hazel which we had only just replaced as our original one died, but it didn't like being moved and has died, hence the dead twiggy thing in the middle! We will get another one though and try for third time lucky.

Yum Yum - First Strawberries!

2011-06-03T13:48:00.000+01:00

I thought it was time to update again! First of all and most important - the first strawberries are ripe! These are the ones we grew last year, this year's new plants in the strawberry planter aren't ready yet. I had 3 and they were delicious! Can't wait for the next ones to be ripe!

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Also, we have got a girlfriend for Alfie (photo on previous post). We might breed them in a while and maybe keep one of them too! Her name is Alice, she is shy like Alfie, I had hoped she had been handled more before we got her as she came from a home breeder but I will have to work with her like I am Alfie, he now feeds from my hand but still won't let me pick him up!

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Not much has progressed with the garden renovations due to hubby being back at work! A couple more planters have been built and we have a new bench!

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Our garden is long and thin, and goes quite a way back. We have a gate which some people think is the end of our garden, but beyond that is the pond and veg patch (we also have an allotment but grow some things here too).

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The first Cosmos is flowering, I buy these every year and try and get a mixture of colours. They flower for ages as long as I dead head them regularly!

These Canterbury Bells seed and grow everywhere in the garden each year, we have blue and white ones. They can get a bit untidy but are lovely nonetheless!

I always grow sunflowers every year but had run out of seeds so I pinched some from the wild bird food! Not sure what type they will grow into!

And finally, thank you Janet for identifying my Crown Imperial Lilly!!

Major Changes!!

2011-05-20T15:30:00.001+01:00

There is quite a lot going on in the garden at the moment! We decided that as we have 3 dogs and they have ruined the lawn, we would dig it up and make some major changes! So as to have a clean canvas to work from we also decided to take up the path that was there too. So at the moment it is a huge mess as things are in the process of being renovated, but of course there are still plenty of flowers and lots are in the front garden which isn't being renovated - yet!

These are in the front garden, I just love this perennial geranium, it is a mass of flowers

Before

After!

We are having planters placed around the garden so that the plants have more chance of survival, plenty have been trampled by the dogs over the years, which is such a shame. I will update the blog in a few days as lots more changes have taken place since I took these photos!

I have wanted a strawberry planter for ages, we had a search round the local garden centres and couldn't see many we liked. We finally got this one which is smaller than I would have liked but will do for now!

And finally our new addition to the pet family, a baby guinea pig we have called Alfie. He is painfully shy but we are working on getting him more used to us!

Bluebells and More!

2011-04-27T14:17:00.000+01:00

I love bluebells, we have some in the front garden. We did have some in the back but they seem to have disappeared so I am not sure what has happened to those! I have an idea the dogs may have flattened some that were attempting to grow!

We have these perennial cornflowers flowering in abundance in the front and back garden, no matter how often I pull them out they come back and spread even more!

We have some pots of pansies on the front door step and they have been flowering for weeks and look gorgeous in the sun!

The first of my aliums are just breaking into flower. These are new ones I planted last autumn, I can't find any trace of the ones that were in the garden from last year so it is a good job I put some new ones in!

We have a lot of yellow Welsh Poppies and every so often an orange one appears!

And finally Thomas who was watching me take the photos of the flowers!

Glorious Blue Sky

2011-04-19T12:11:00.000+01:00

Today there is a gorgeous blue sky, and our lilac is in full bloom, it smells wonderful and looks so pretty against the blue!

Here is a lily, not sure which type, I think we forgot to keep a note when we planted them!

Some more of our lovely daffodils and narcisuss we have had this year. They were planted a bit late so are still flowering!

And here are Thomas and Annie, our 2 Diamond Doves. They love to sit in pots and dishes!

Dusting off the blog for 2011!

2011-04-14T10:25:00.000+01:00

Well it has been a while since I posted on this blog, coming up for a year in fact! But I have dusted it off and cleared out the cobwebs and am going to be posting some pics again! I took several in the garden yesterday and here are a few.

There is a lot of colour in the garden at the moment and it is one of my favourite times of the year as it all looks so fresh and green still and not dried up by the hot summer (if we get one!)

Bluebells, Cornflowers and Aliums

2010-06-02T12:41:00.000+01:00

Oh dear, I am a bit behind with updating this blog - I don't know where the time goes! Anyway, here are a few photos of some gorgeous bluebells, cornflowers and aliums, and a photo I took yesterday of a mum starling feeding her baby - I took it through the window as it was raining which is why it looks slightly murky!!

Forget-me-Nots

2010-05-03T12:53:00.002+01:00

I think these little flowers are so lovely in Spring - I just love the blue and we have a lot of them growing in the garden that seed themselves every year so they move around and pop up all over the place!

One of our dogs is a collie with long white hairs, and just about every time I take a close up photo of a flower you can bet there is a hair on it - just like in the second photo!

I also like this photo of the raindrops on a leaf and managed to get an insect in the photo too!

Beautiful Spring Colours at the Moment

2010-04-16T13:45:00.000+01:00

The garden is absolutely full of beautiful colour now. I wish they would stay into the summer as I think this is my favourite time in the garden. The Kerria Japonica is now in full bloom and competing with the Forsythia! The Clematis Armandii is gorgeous and smells lovely too. Here are a few photos of some of my gorgeous plants!

Violets

2010-04-05T13:21:00.002+01:00

We have a few violets in the garden, but due to having 3 dogs who don't respect flower beds they are in a pot for their own safety! I love it when they come into bloom, such little flowers but so pretty.

Forsythias

2010-04-01T12:03:00.004+01:00

I love the forsythias in our garden, they make such a beautiful show especially when there is a blue sky like today as a background to them. The Clematis Armandii is also now flowering, as is the flowering currant - all very lovely!

First Tulip

2010-03-28T11:42:00.003+01:00

We have one very early tulip flowering, which has been open for a few days now! The others are way behind so I don't know why this one is so ahead!

Spring is Here!

2010-03-24T13:11:00.004Z

At last after what seemed like a never-ending Winter Spring seems to have arrived! The garden is full of patches of colour with the daffodils now in full bloom, pansies flowering here and there, the forsythia is almost out in full and buds are appearing on all the shrubs, lilac, flowering redcurrant etc. It is a very welcome sight!

Lots of Colour!

2010-03-18T12:55:00.004Z

Now that the sun has arrived and warmed things up lots of the bulbs are opening up at last! It looks lovely outside at the moment, let's hope it continues!

Winter Aconites

2010-03-15T10:56:00.006Z

I wasn't entirely sure what these were as I couldn't remember from when I planted them last autumn! But they are Winter Aconites and have now opened up to a gorgeous bright yellow and look really cheerful in the lovely sun out there at the moment! (Thanks Janet, I had anemones and aconites in my head and wasn't sure which!).

First Daffodil Nearly Out!

2010-03-08T11:15:00.003Z

I found a daffodil bud that is nearly opened! We have a bit of a problem with rats at the moment - nasty horrible things! And one of the problems with them is that they keep eating my bulbs. They dig them out and bite off the shoots, leaving them lying on the ground, which is so annoying. I have lost quite a few bulbs this way this year, crocuses, hyacinths etc. which accounts for the lack of colour at the moment in the garden.

I also spotted these while wandering round the garden. I can't quite remember what they are from when I planted them last Autumn, anemones maybe?, but will hopefully be able to identify them when they open fully!

Snowdrops

2010-02-27T12:09:00.002Z

I am not sure where the snowdrops are in the back garden, as they were mostly on the rockery which got dismantled last summer when the aviary was built! I am fairly certain they got replanted around the place but so far no signs of any. Luckily there are a few in the front garden, but I think we might need to acquire some more as I do love to see them and they make me thing Spring is on its way!

A Frequent Visitor

2010-02-19T09:21:00.003Z

We have a pair of robins in the garden, who I have named Robin and Robina! I managed to get a photo of one of them through the patio door, I never seem to have the camera to hand when they are about usually!

Winter Colour and my Diamond Doves!

2010-02-13T11:16:00.003Z

I have just been for a wander round the garden, looking to see what is growing and I managed to find a few bits of colour!

The winter flowering Jasmine is started to open with its pretty little bright yellow blooms.

Some polyanthuses are managing to flower too.

I am not sure what this shrub is called, I must look it up! But it is full of bright red berries.

Here are my Diamond Doves, Thomas and Annie, who don't seem to mind this cold weather too much and are cooing away happily in their aviary!

Witch Hazel and some more Journal Pages

2010-01-30T12:56:00.003Z

There are little yellow blossoms appearing on the Witch Hazel, just about visible in amongst all the bare twigs and branches in the borders!

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I have made a couple more pages of my Journal for January, seeing as we are nearly in February and I hadn't done much!

Snow Still Here!

2010-01-07T13:11:00.004Z

It snowed all day yesterday and there is still plenty out there today, but with blue skies and sunshine today so some is melting!

Snowy Morning!

2010-01-06T12:08:00.005Z

It has been snowing all morning without stopping so I went out in it to try and get some photos and the dogs came too! Shame the washing line gets in the way of photos!

Frosty Morning

2010-01-04T10:38:00.002Z

There was a very heavy frost last night so I nipped outside and took a few photos of some of the lovely frosty leaves and berries!

January 2010

2010-01-01T13:29:00.003Z

I still haven't completed my 2009 album, but will catch up with that very soon hopefully now that Christmas is out of the way!

For 2010 I am doing something slightly different. I now have 3 full 12 x 12 albums of the garden and so this year I am making more of a Journal, with a bit more writing and a few less photos as a lot of our plants are the same and so the photos would be the same each year!

Today is a lovely bright sunny day so I have started my Journal with a few pics I took this morning in the garden.

Roses

2009-11-16T12:26:00.004Z

Oh dear, I am way behind with my scrapping for this album this year!

I love roses, we don't have many in the garden unfortunately, but what we do have are beautiful! I want to get a few more next year, maybe for the front garden.

French Marigolds

2009-10-14T13:07:00.003+01:00

I just LOVE these little flowers - there colours are so varied and vibrant. Unfortunately, the slugs love them too! But this year we mostly won the battle and had a lovely display of French Marigolds and they are still going strong.

Camellias

2009-10-09T10:32:00.004+01:00

Oh dear, I am very behind with this album this year! I have been taking plenty of photos just not getting round to scrapping them.

I wanted to get this one done of the Camellias we have, because the large bush at the top is no more! It has been in our garden since we moved here 24 years ago and has never flowered as fully as it should do, despite being moved to what we thought would be a better position. It only ever has had a handful of flowers on it. So, a few days ago it was chopped down to make way for a new rabbit hutch! We do still have two smaller plants so hopefully they will grow and flower well in the future!

Irises

2009-08-21T13:21:00.003+01:00

Irises are beautiful flowers with delicate veined patterns. We have a few different colours and types - I would love some more though!

Photinia

2009-08-14T10:55:00.002+01:00

I love this shrub - it has lovely green leaves that change to russety brown and little clusters of white flowers in spring. I would like another one to put somewhere else in the garden too but we are running out of room!

Allium

2009-07-23T12:38:00.003+01:00

I love these Alliums but only have a couple of bulbs left so must remember to get some new ones to plant ready for next year!

Ceanothus

2009-07-14T10:07:00.003+01:00

I love this shrub - it has the most fab tiny blue flowers and looks so bright in the garden.

Spring Lilacs

2009-06-29T13:17:00.002+01:00

We have a lovely big lilac tree just a few feet away from the patio window and I sit and look at it when I am on the computer. We have bird feeders hanging in it as I love watching the birds and in spring the flowers are beautiful and smell gorgeous in the evening. We also have a little dwarf lilac in the garden, which took several years to flower and still only has a few each year!

Flowering Currant

2009-06-11T10:44:00.003+01:00

This is a lovely shrub, very aromatic if you rub it. We had a large shrub of this in our front garden but it unexplicably died last year, and we only have a smaller version in the back garden.

Tulips

2009-06-04T12:06:00.002+01:00

We had some gorgeous tulips this year, mostly pinky/purpley ones except for one very dark almost black one that survived from last year!

Clematis Armandii

2009-06-03T10:41:00.002+01:00

This clematis is a lovely early one with beautiful white flowers - it has completely taken over an arch over our gate in the garden but I love it and won't let hubby chop it down!

My Little Helper!

2009-05-23T09:28:00.004+01:00

My granddaughter came to tea the other day and wanted to help us in the garden - so we let her! She had a great time - and found a worm too!!

Kerria Japonica

2009-05-18T12:47:00.003+01:00

This is another lovely bright yellow flowering shrub that brightens up the garden in Spring, and we have several as they spread like mad!!

Daffodils

2009-05-11T10:57:00.003+01:00

I absolutely adore daffodils and like to have a variety of different colours and shapes. They are so bright and cheerful in the garden after the miserable winter!! I remember the days when you could buy bunches of them for 10p and I would always get some for the windowsill!

Speckled Wood

2009-05-09T08:15:00.003+01:00

We got lots of lovely butterflies visiting the garden, but of course photographing them is not always easy - they wait for me to creep up on them and then fly away! We had a flurry of Speckled Woods recently and I did manage to get this photo!

Fantastic Forsythia

2009-05-08T10:20:00.003+01:00

I just love our Forsythia shrubs in the garden, we have several, and they never fail to give a glorious display of bright cheery yellow flowers in March. Here are just a few of the photos I took.

Spring Crocus

2009-05-05T11:25:00.003+01:00

I love crocuses - this year we had mainly yellow ones in the back garden, with a few purple ones in the front. No white ones (a few cream but not very spectactular!) - I must remember to get some for next Spring!

Witch Hazel

2009-04-28T10:32:00.005+01:00

We have a beautiful little Witch Hazel that has lovely yellow flowers early in the year before all the leaves appear. In the autum the leaves turn beautiful colours before dropping off. I have made a LO of the first part of the year and will do another later in the year as the leaves change.
I have seen a picture of a witch hazel with orange flowers and would like to try and find one to have somewhere else in the garden.

Snowdrops

2009-04-27T11:25:00.004+01:00

I love to look out for the first snowdrops appearing in the garden - I think it is a sign Spring is on its way and Winter is coming to an end! Not always the case but I like to think so!

What a Lot of Snow!

2009-04-26T08:41:00.004+01:00

Well we certainly had a lot of snow in February - over 6 inches in the garden, apparently the biggest snowfall for almost 20 years! The dogs had fun playing in it and I took quite a few photos! I made a DLO for the Garden Album with some of them.

Sarcocca Hookeriana

2009-04-25T11:04:00.000+01:00

This is a lovely plant, growing in a tub on the patio doorstep. An evergreen, which has white flowers in winter and beautiful glossy black berries hidden in amongst the foliage.

First Snow and First LO

2009-04-25T10:50:00.000+01:00

This is the first sprinkling of snow we had in January - little did we know what was to come a few week's later!!

And my first LO of this album for 2009 showing the snow and some beautiful berries.