Beautiful day - Front Garden Update.

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The months are rolling by for us all. Already it is April and the devastation caused by the severe frosts we had in the UK are becoming a distant memory……..The garden is changing as the seasons roll by. The early Spring bulbs like Tete a Tete daffodils and primroses are coming to an end, the Anenome blanda is in full bloom and the bluebells are opening and providing beautiful carpets of blue in woodland and garden alike. The Tulips are standing to attention and this is where I begin my update of the front garden.

Attempting to stick to a theme of silver, lime and purple, the Euphorbia, Japanese thistle, the Anenome Blanda and the Puple, nearly black tulip make up this planting area.

This is a wider shot of the bed where this planting theme is.

This is the whole bed

The garden has taken on a life of its own. Things are popping up that I thought were a risk to plant in the first place and after the frosts I thought would never make it, how wrong I was…………..

Rodgersia Bronze Beauty is popping up all along this cool, damp shady border right in front of the house. Next to the Hydrangea ‘Lady in Red’ They should compliment each other really well and brighten up a dull spot

The shocking pink Rhododendron which was my husbands request, will look nice next to the white azalea, Euphorbia and Solomans seal which is a total surprise!

When the tulips have finished, the next show of bulbs will be the Allium, purple sensation, Christophii and Karataviense Ivory Queen. I now needed something to take over for a late splash of colour. The choice was Canna General Eisenhower which is a large orange with bronzy red leaves, interplanted with Verbena boneriensis. Also dotted around the Yucca and the Phormium are blue Agapanthus which I split a few weeks ago and got bitten by a spider as a bonus!!

You may remember from an earlier blog after I had originally planted the front garden that I had set some Echium Candicans around the Yucca and they looked a lush green. I am pretty certain that these were finished off by the frost so I hooked them out today and replaced them with Echium Pininana Snow Tower. I will give them a bit of protection this Winter just to make sure as being biennial they will not flower until next Summer. I am going to pot up the Candicans just in case there is a bit of life left in them.

The whole garden looking out towards the road. The Canary Palm is reasonably happy where it is and there are signs of the Crocosmia Lucifer bulbs poking up through the grit in the pot.

There are signs of other things poking up which I was concerned about losing last Winter. The first sign of growth on the Hedychium Tara. That has got a place marked out in the back garden.

A Rodgersia Tabularis or Astilboides Tabularis as it has now been re-categorised. This is going in the bog garden in the back

And finally the Orange clock vine (Thunbergia gregorii|) which has surprised me for 2 years now. It is kept in a pot with a bell cloche over it during the colder months. I will remove the cloche once the nights have warmed up.
There will be an update when the Alliums are in bloom and the shrubs are in flower.

• 20 Apr, 2009
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