Laid up and gazing at the garden

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I have torn a ligament in my ankle so I am on the sofa with my leg up rather than in the garden where I want to be. Which got me thinking about the view from the french windows where I am and I thought I would share them with you. Difficult to believe that it is 100ft long but that is because it steeps down quite fast so the picture is foreshortened.

Naturally this photo would work rather better without the wide stripe down the middle but I am limited to photos I can take from the chair or sofa and it does give you a good gist. One thing that I am surprised about is the extent of the lime green in the garden. I will have to think about which colours would really zing with it that are out around now – I wonder about cerise which is not normally a colour I would pick – or a deep deep blue.

My lovely mum gave me 3 trays of old hyacinths which were going over so I planted all the darkest blues together in the back. They faded almost straight away – resenting the transplant – but they will be back next year and will work well I think.

The pot of primulas by the steps doesnt do anything for the overall picture at all and this brings me on to one of my real failings as a gardener. I love the down and dirty – the worms and the compost, the texture of leaves and the sight of an upturned cyclamen hiding underneath a tree. I am not as good at this large picture stuff. I do vaguely look out of the bedroom window and think -ahh that could do with such and such a plant but I rarely go back and forth checking what things look like from the house and I think perhaps I ought. Luckily I think the previous owners did.

Time to change lense – I bought a telephoto so that I could take photos of birdies for the blog and this is the perfect opportunity to use it.

This is my favourite plant in the whole garden – even in the winter it was statuesque but now I think it is magnificent and so much nicer to be able to have space without pollarding it (though they look good too and provide fantastic opportunities for willow weaving and living sculpture.)
Normally I would not want such a large willow close to the house but the wood at the bottom has a really high water table which I am told by the allotmenteers never dries out even during a drought so I am content to believe them.

I bought this philadelphus for my old garden and had nowhere big enough to put it. Hopefully it should do rather better here. It is meant to grow to 8ft, but my experience is that if a shrub can cope with clay they normally grow way bigger. I think it looks absolutely lovely even out of flower. Why did I buy it? The flowers smell of summer – one sniff and you are forever hooked – they are delicate almost like silky tissue, easy to place being white, and last a long time.

The shrub is not difficult to look after and can even cope with seasides and chalk, which makes it a winner in my eyes.

I like this lovely yellow green leaf – and the variety (coronarius aureus) doesnt grow as big as some of the others, but I think it is well worth checking out the dark green leaved varieties too because they set off the white flowers so well.

Hmm – not sure about this. I have a growing pile of woody prunings. I want to burn and shred rather than giving all that goodness to the council but shredders are so noisy and my neighbours object to the smallest bonfire – even in the chimnea. What to do?
I also want to replace this beautiful (not) compost bin with one I can bear to look at from the house – but that unfortunately is another job for when my foot is out of bandage. However, I have found that the sofa is the perfect place for emailing a fencer to get the wonky falling down fence replaced – result!

The primroses are really pretty – adding to the cream/ yellow green affect but I think I can get away with putting them in the lawn on the right hand side rather than in the flower beds where they are taking up so much space. Each of the clumps will make a good ten starter plants if I pull it apart mercilessly and I will wait till the weather is warmer and the flowers fading before lieing on my tummy on a camping mat and digging them in with a daisy trowel. Surely I can do that much!

Turn around you annoying goldfinch and say “Bird Seed!” oh well dont then. I had to hobble to the chair to take this photo and it made me think that I need a feeding post really close to the house. The finches are rather shy but the robin keeps looking in as if to say – “come on, where’s my fresh worms?”
so he would cope with a close feeder, and the blackbirds and starlings have been to have a look at me as well, so they would come closer as well. The blue tits and great tits are all using the peanut feeders as well as flying with that characteristic dippy flight all about the garden though they are shy but the long-tailed tits have gone I don’t know where.

It makes me think that I need to convert some of the non-rotten shed planks (skillfully hidden in a mess round the corner) into bird boxes to boost numbers still further. I will end up with a jobs list as long as my arm! No sparrows though. What is that all about – has anyone got any?

Its lovely to know you are all out there blogging – much less lonesome with my leg up feeling sorry for myself.

• 14 Apr, 2010
• 9 likes

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