With all boxes now unpacked and items within found a home, I can put the move from Benson to Henlow behind me now and set to in the garden with a clean conscience and renewed passion.
The weather has been so warm that I have high hopes of the BBQ summer, from last year, turning up this year – so I set to cleaning all patio furniture and placing it in several locations in the new garden to see where to actually build the patio.
- One I inherited - Aquilegia
Apparently there was a very large conifer in my garden before my move in, all I found was a huge stump – it would appear the grounds-men decided that I wouldn’t want it and removed it! I am now left with a large area of ‘dead’ ground having, as yet, no idea what to do with it. AS I have put a shed in front of it, it will most likely be turned into a ‘working area’, which means a place to hide my pots and compost, I shall then hide this with a trellis and some planting, of which I have yet to decide on. Exciting times!
I have put some raised beds into an existing border which runs directly from the back door, having filled these with a mix of multi-purpose compost, top soil and some of the garden soil, I am currently planting them up with salad leaves, radish, spring onions and a variety of herbs – being just outside the back door makes for excellent access should it turn out to be a wet summer. Surely not!
- Azalea I bought this to remind me of my beautiful cat Charlie
Some plants that have come through the move looking good are a beautiful orange Azelea and my Flag Iris – whilst some of the inherited plants are looking
- Flag Iris
lovely too, a couple of Aquilegia – one a lovely bright yellow and the other pink and yellow – thank you previous owners! Also from the inherited plants is a brilliant rose which is a deep orange in bud opening to a lovely yellow – the scent is heavenly. I wonder how the previous owners knew my colours of choice are yellow, orange and pinks and purples!
- No perfume - but what a stunner this is
At the front of the house is a huge Euonymus fortunei, another bright yellow offering! I’m undecided as to what to do with it as yet – whether to trim it into a tidy shape or to move it to the back garden, as currently the back consists of the 60’s style lawn and thin border all around the edge.
The current plan, on the table, for the new garden is to cut an island area coming out of the border, thereby softening the view and building in some interest that you have to walk around, sink a pond (hubby isn’t aware of this yet!), add my metal arches to get height into the middle of the garden, add trellis all around the 4foot fence for climbers. Oh and then there is my allotment to set to work on. Happy days
