A new year has begun and the sight of our poor garden (after 2 years neglect) has shamed me /o\ It has been niggling at me, which has eventually turned into insistant nagging especially now that Spring has gotten underway. The Forsythia shrub and the Daffodils announced the beginning of Spring for us. Then the weeds decided in the last couple of weeks the weather was "just right" to grow in abundance. Well, I can't really complain because if I had been looking after the garden in the first place I'd not have so many weeds to pull :) I'm putting it down to experience. Not only am I learning what is a "weed" and how tenaciously they grow, but what plants they've been hiding!
Whilst on my knees pulling these dastardly weeds out, I've discovered:- Jacobs Ladder gets everywhere if you let the lovely blooms go to seed... 10 Jacobs Ladder, 11 Jacobs ladder, oh look another Jacobs Ladder!
- 3 lovely Primroses, from which I gained about another 7 more!
- a Peony!
- Mon bretia - I think...
- Tulips, with beautiful pointy red petals unlike their larger versions.
- Possibly another "Viburnum" hidden under the great sprawling bush. It could be a viburnum, looks similar to two tall shrubs I have,... which I think are Viburnums
- Clematis - Bagatelle
- Oriental Poppy - Salmon Pink
- Centaurea montana
- Forsythia
- Daffodils
- Possibly another clematis - yet to really discover, still hidden
- Primulas
- a couple or maybe three different types of edging plant. Could be Phlox subulata...
- Rose in a tub 1 & rose in a tub 2. No idea as to what kind they are, previous owner left them behind.
- Piris (in corner behind the Mon bretia)
- mystery plant, found digging itself in the pebble patch.
- Straggling Hebe
- Unidentified plant 1, 2, and 3.
The weeds I have been grappling with are Ground Elder, Creeping Buttercup, some type of grass and Dandelions. Have you ever looked at a Dandelion flower? Forget the rest of this "weed", just look at the flower. Is it not beautiful? No I'm not bonkers, promise. I like how the petals are set out and the yellow colour. My is it Yellow. Just take a look next time you see a bunch and observe.
I've always wanted to go out and do things in the garden, but just haven't. Not sure why it's taken 2 years to do so... maybe it's the sun, the need for fresh air. Could be Nanny's influence, she liked gardens and flowers. Whilst we were at her funeral this year, I think I made a conscious decision to create a garden wherever we lived so that she would still be with us in some way and as a means of saying thank you. Now, I can't stop :D The tulips we planted in pots in the backyard have come up trumps, they're like blooms of sunshine when they open up. They've inspired my neighbours on the row too, they're pots everywhere ;D
There is so much to observe and do. I have much to learn and it's so satisfying to see what you've completed at the end of the day. So long as I don't do what I did the first day I went out. I think all the shrubs felt pretty chilly after their trim and as I kept on cutting I had a fair amount of tidying up to do over the next day or two. Lesson learnt, a little goes a long way. This past week I've been out 3 evenings pulling a bucketful of weeds each time. Easier to measure my progress that way, I get fresh air, garden looks neater and I sleep well that evening. :)
Time to go out and tackle the small bed in the F.G now. Bis spaeter!
No comments:
Post a Comment