Making the Best of It... (Was 'Blog from an Untidy Garden')

[tonyg]

Robin - here is the answer!  I must learn to write less perhaps?

First repot to flower (10 days ago) was Cochicum montanum - a narrow petalled form collected as seed near Gavarnie when Ruth (who is going to go to bed soon !!!!!!!) was just 1 year old (she's now an insomniac thirteen year old)  

Glad you like what you see ... and he's a very special cat.

[tonyg]

As the rains fall and the temperature drops so the autumn crocus put in an appearance.  The feature in this post is a group of Crocus niveus that I planted out 8+ years ago.  They have survived in good numbers while other species planted at the same time have disappeared or dwindled.  Mind you, they have had a lot of overgrowth to contend with over the years.  I worked hard to clear most of it before they emerged this year .... and now a fresh crop of weeds have come up with the crocuses!  A week ago, noses only; Tuesday, flowers not opened; Thursday (sunshine) flowers; Saturday, they have survived Fridays storm .... and its raining again now!

[tonyg]

A view across the North end of the front garden with the slate top dressing.  Part planted up 13 months ago and part planted up recently with bulbs in net pots.  The older planting has matured nicely and the bulbs are returning and looking happy so far.  Crocus niveus (again) two different forms (and different to those in the last posting).  This species has some of the largest flowers in the genus with the added bonus that they are quite robust and stand up to the weather better than the smaller species.  Colchicum cupanii has been overgrown by the happy clump of Campanula cochlearifolia.  I do not think that this will disadvantage the colchicum too much ... and the campanula will continue on its travels next year anyway!
In the newest planting Crocus pulchellus and Crocus kotschyanus brighten up the slate.  I am happy with this top dressing but will look to introduce some smaller and a few larger pieces to make it look less uniform ... and perhaps a bit more natural.

[tonyg]

Finally found time to get back to work on the garden make-over.  Mostly clearance work so far, Jacinta loves the 'slash and burn' part of gardening ...although here it is really slash and recycle   We cut back a 'dwarf' conifer today - that was the easy bit, now I have to remove the stump

The plan is to create a garden room, somewhere to sit, eat, talk and enjoy the garden.  I am imagining raised beds and alpines around it.  Jacinta is imagining Lavender hedges.  The girls are imagining a table tennis table   It will be an area 10ft x 15ft approx. sited against the wall.  We saw a similar space in a garden we visited, it had a pergola over the top, climbers around the edges.  We liked it ... but that won't be table-tennis friendly.  (Estimated completion date 2012 ... hoped for completion date summer 2011 )

Many Cyclamen hederifolium used to grow along the wall.  Most of those which survived under the overgrowth have been relocated.  The leaves are really as good as the flowers.

[angie]

Looking forward to see who will be the winner. Somewhere nice to sit sounds good to me.

Angie

[Luc Gilgemyn]

You've been a busy lad Tony !
You obviously need a nice place to have a rest (occasionally  ) 
I hope the raised beds will win... so much better than boring lavender hedges...

[fermi de Sousa]

I hope the raised beds will win... so much better than boring lavender hedges...

Perhaps a compromise: raised beds edged in dwarf lavender?

cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

I hope the raised beds will win... so much better than boring lavender hedges...

Perhaps a compromise: raised beds edged in dwarf lavender?

cheers
fermi

With a table tennis net across the middle?

[tonyg]

I hope the raised beds will win... so much better than boring lavender hedges...

Perhaps a compromise: raised beds edged in dwarf lavender?

With a table tennis net across the middle?

I knew I could rely on my friends for some helpful suggestions

[Ragged Robin]

Great expectations in your garden Tony!  I love the C. hederifolim patch and agree that the leaves give equal pleasure and more enduring than the flower. 

I am a fan of lavender and it's great to run your fingers through it, dry it for sachets and sprays to give to friends and a dwarf one could make a good edging to clip.  Butterflies and bees would love it all summer long and so good for Photos and ID (Amy?). A raised alpine bed/wall is wonderful too at a height to enjoy in detail when you are eating al fresco and provides lots of little niches to blow seed in to (Ruth?)

Badminton is a great game for all ages and provided hundreds of hours of entertainment for our family as they grew up with a net attached to two extending poles and it's easier to find the shuttle cock!!!

Good luck with all your ventures in your lovely garden 

[tonyg]

Thanks Robin.  I'm sure lavender will feature somewhere.  Badminton was my game when I was growing up, only one I was any good at.  Not sure we've got space for it  ... shuttlecocks fly high and wide

When will we see more of your alpine garden adventures?

[tonyg]

Not great gardening weather!  Always good to check things outside though.  I did get the frame cover back on the autumn crocuses before the snow came.  I had removed it to let the recent rain give them a drink. 

The seals around the glass in the lights of my aging greenhouse are failing, resulting in 'glass slip' where the glass slides out of the open light, especially in frosty, snowy weather.  I have had to push them back into place and expect I will need to do this again ... and again until I get round to making repairs.

Inside the greenhouse I have had a repeat visits from a Blackbird.  (Timmy - where have you been?) These feathered vandals are searching for juicy grubs and do it very messily.  I have had several pots of bulbs excavated but not eaten, it's not mouse!  I have seen the offender, don't like to think the greenhouse is a rich source of food for him but hopefully he has removed a few pests as well as this Dionysia aretioides cutting!

November snow again here - not a lot (yet) but already the garden looks better
I had prepared a pic of Crocus laevigatus dark form before the snow, here it is, still flowering in the winter after many years exposure.

[tonyg]

Rather more snow now!  Can imagine how much worse it is in the North having seen 2ft of recent snowfall in the alps one summer.

The slate beds out front are quite curvaceous under six inches of snow while the greenhouse and frames are loaded down.  I decided to clear the snow as more is forecast.  The weight might be enough to do serious damage.  Note the sliding glass mentioned earlier.  Under the  snow, especially at edges and along gutter area was ice, up to an inch thick.  Much heavier than the powdery snow, I removed this also.  The end result may not be so pretty but leaving it to build up might have been truly ugly!

Cyclamen mirabile got caught in the snow leak but I am afraid that other peoples gardens still look better than mine, even in the snow

[angie]

Hi Tony

I did the same yesterday, the snow was really building up so I too cleared as much as I could. The guttering  on the house has buckled. Last year I couldn't believe the damage that was caused to polytunnels at a nursery in Edinburgh so I push as much snow of as possible.
It's really nice to look at but I can see some of my bushes are damaged already. To think we are still in November.
Your house looks lovely in the snow.

Angie

[tonyg]

As the days begin to draw out a little and the mild weather awakens the early flowers here is the first update for 2011.

After the harsh cold of December, January has been dull and increasingly mild.  The first weeks of February have continued in similar vein bringing quite a rush of colour to the garden as crocus, cyclamen, snowdrops and irises appear.  Here are just a few, the first shot showing flowers in the slate bed  which was shown snowbound in the last post of 2010.

Iris 'Katherine Hodgekin' was planted out as some undersized bulbs two years ago.  After a non-flowering season last year they are now nicely settled in.
The Crocus tommasinianus shown is one of the best 'pink' forms I have, just as good in the garden as in a pot and needing less looking after!  The small striped Crocus vernus is not to everyone's taste, although it is often admired.  It's chief virtue in my eyes is its indestructibility in the garden.