*A LOOK BACK IN TIME OVER MY GARDENING YEAR!*

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I would just like to start by saying Happy New Year! and I hope you will all enjoy taking a little trip down memory lane with me. Well it has been an interesting gardening year has’nt it, well in the UK anyway lol so here’s a little recap at what I have been up to during 2008…It has been a really eventful year in my garden, we moved to the new house December 2006, and inherited a complete overgrown waste ground, with falling down sheds, cement bases, building rubble, 2 manky falling down apple trees complete with caterpillar insfestaions, – in the middle of the lawn, well i say lawn, thats a very loose discription of what we had. and practically every nasty weed you can imagine – in your worst nightmeres! so most of 2007 was spent on demolition, removal, cutting back, weeding, digging, improving soil and getting to grips with how i wanted the garden to look, basically starting from scratch with the expection of 2 nice lilac trees, a forsythia, and not forgetting my prize find under the 10ft weeds, – my beautiful Pieris….so heres what has happend in 2008!

JANUARY

well looking much neater now, got the greehouse in and a trellis pannel hiding the washing line area, a few beds cut out along the sides, some planting done, grass looking quite healthy, but all looking very bare and boring….

One or two highlights of January…..

My beautiful Witch Hazel in flower….

And there was this lovely Bergenia

FEBRUARY

As I remeber as frosty February, – as you would expect, also the arrival of my new trellis Rose arch up the back, – not really looking right as it is, but still a work in progress….

but lack of funds for that one, so I set to another little project of the year…Brookes play house!

I had already covered John next door’s dumping area behind his shed, by putting up this willow screening, which I think looks quiet effective, and makes a good back drop for my princesses play area. so next job levelling the ground, getting out weeds and digging out a flat surface for the base…

there!…also found some left over block paving bricks to make a little flower bed joining onto the woodland bed, ,,,,,,now for the other side….

I enlisted an extra pair of hands…..

All done!…..

I think she likes it…..

We also started off a few veggies in her new raised veggie bed..

And now for some highlights of the month……

Viburnum tinus

Viola ‘Joker’

Crocus vernus ‘Pickwick’

Narcissus ‘Tete Tete’

MARCH

Lots of things starting to spring into life now….

Salix ‘Flamingo’

View from left hand side of the patio

Acer plamatum ‘Orange Dream’

Pieris AKA Mountain Flame, in flower…

….and close up…mmmmmmm lovely…I do love this plant!

A few early sowings in the greenhouse…

yep all doing very nicely……mmmmmm……or so i thought, but that is a story for another blog!

A few of Brookes raddishes starting to sprout…

all in all spring seems to be on the way early…….

and then whoops…..spoke to soon….

….Still only a light dusting, gone within a few hours, nothing to worry about!….now back to spring……

Tulip ‘Balalaika’

Right hand side of the patio

Lovely Polyanthus in winter basket

Foysythia – Golden Bells

Narcissus ‘Replete’

Puschkinia scilloides – Striped Squll

and another little project…revamping the woodland bed….

Added a few stepping stones going through, to make it easier to get to the back of the bed for weeding ect. and just for display stood some pots on the stepping stones for a bit of seaonal hieght and colour..

APRIL

Days are getting longer and warmer,,,,mmmmmm,,,,lovely spring…..

Daffodil display in right hand bed – Narcissus ‘Quince’, ‘Replete’ and ‘Rip van Winkle’

Erythronium dens-canis – Dog Tooth Violet

Pieris new growth – can see why it is called ‘Mountain Flame’

Front garden, Spring display under my front window

Cherry Blossom, it’s in next doors garden, but hangs over my woodland bed nicely!

….and I just can’t get enough of this plant…can you tell it’s my favorite! lol
Summer baskets getting an early start….

…a risk taker I may be but not completely daft……a bit of protection…just incase…..

another little project….digging out a small bed infront of the patio….

mmmmm concrete under the grass, was’nt expecting that!…no wonder the grass tends to go a bit yellow in the summer in this area!

….but not one to be defeated…..

….nearly there!

and the arrival of my new bench….

…and things seem to be doing well in the greenhouse….

Really looking forward to the easter bank holiday…might even get onto that ongoing project in the front garden….

…Spring is in the air…

…La-La…

….La-La…

….Laaaaaaaaaa…..

Oh dear, there goes my foot in my mouth……Easter bank holiday weekend – late April…..

…..What a suprise!…still doubt it will settle…surely not this time of year!…

….Me and my big mouth!…..

Still Brooke is enjoying it, and she does get to build her very first snowman…

…….and on to May…..

MAY

Now thats much more like it…..

I moved this beautiful low growing Rhododendron from my last garden, it really is stunning, flowers open pink, but fade to a peachy colour, lovely effect!

Woodland Bed…coming up nicely.

Armeria xpseudarmeria ‘Joystick’

Managed to get that front garden project finished…

and the other side of my postage stamp size front garden.

The playhouse getting plenty of use….

does anyone remeber a 70/80’s kids TV show called ‘The Red Hand Gang’?…..lol

Azalea ‘Golden Flaire’

Left hand bed

Right hand bed

Cottage bed

JUNE

Really starting to fill out and take shape now…

Yep coming along really nicely…

Cottage bed in full swing…

Wild bird area, infront of first trellis on left hand side

Cottagae bed, – corner in front of the greenhouse

Strawberry wall baskets doing nicely

Clematis tangutica

Righ hand bed filling out nicely

Containers and baskets doing well…

Looks like the fleece covers really paid off…

My new half barrel planter in the corner of the patio

JULY

During July we have the event of the year….Brookes Birthday! and given the fact that it rained most of the month, not as much time in the garden i would have liked, but we did get out there here and there….

Colourful summer display in the centre of the right hand bed

Left hand bed

Front garden containers looking lovely….just goes to show how much difference a few pots can make to a boring paved area!

Right hand side of the garden – from the corner of the patio

Summer baskets – a big sucess

Washing line bed coming into action

Left hand corner at the back of the garden…just look at that Crocrosmia!

New front garden bed…that big red Rose in the centre, was actually a little pot/patio rose, with tiny flowers that had black spot, that rescued it from the shop i work, after valentines day. I gave it some TLC and look at the result, now stands approx 3ft-4ft high and the flowers are 3-4" across, and the scent is wonderful!

MMMMMM dispite the rain, all coming along very nicely…

AUGUST

More rain….but still going strong…

Pink perfection going on in the washing line bed

Echinacea ‘Green Envy’

Emilia coccinea ‘Scarlet Magic’ – Tassle Flower/Floria’s Paintbrush

View from the left side of the patio, new bed in front of the patio, and right hand bed

Sunny yellows in the corner of the woodland bed – shame there is no sun in the sky! lol

SEPTEMBER

New winter baskets, the summer ones lovely as they were, gave up early due to all the rain.

Still lots going strong though!

Rose ‘Alpine Sunset’

David Austin Rose ‘Rhapsody In Blue’

Right hand side of the garden

Salix ‘Flamingo’

Left hand bed – had a bit of a sorting out, so looking a bit bare now.

OCTOBER

Well quite a lot of work for me in October…..

Trellis went in at the other side of the washing line area, with a new curved bed inplace of Brookes veggie bed which was’nt a huge sucess.

and the start of another revamp in the woodland bed, and yes more trellis…

reshape of the beds along the right hand side, – need more room for all thougs extra plants i keep buying.

and a bit of a reshape on the left hand side to match….

yep really liking the new shape…

nice bit of autumn colour in this corner of the patio with Phormium ‘Jester’, and ornimental grasses

winter baskets doing well..

NOVEMBER

Really coming along now…..but still more to do….

Trellis all in..

Right hand bed

View from left corner of patio

And……

DECEMBER

all snugged up for the winter…..

So there you have it my gardening year…i have just realised how long this blog is…sorry about that….it’s a real monster, i had’nt intended something of this size when i started at 9am this morning lol – think i may have got a bit carried away – hope you don’t mind lol…..possibly the biggest on GOY yet? Ajay and Peter you’ll have to let me know on that…well if anyone is still reading this and managed to get to the end, i hope you have enjoyed it as much as i have enjoyed writing it, having a look back over the last year, all my adventures, sucesses and failiures and how i got from this….
January 2008

to this…..
December 2008

in the space of a year!

Fairly good going i think….ofcourse i have a few things in the pipeline for 2009….so watch this space

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

• 31 Dec, 2008
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