Early March ~ magical and colourful

lovely - funny enough bought some gravel today too - it really shows plants up nicely

i am in the process of getting quotes to make the top end of my garden into a patio and gravel garden, its a long garden and i'm finding it a bit too much for me now. It looks lovely TT i look forward to making mine as pretty!!

thats a lovely dark ajuga TT, do you know which variety it is?
The gravel does help show the plants off nicely.

Another magical part of your garden, Terra. Do you have to trim out the green leaves on the variegated aubrieta? I'm picturing you on your hands and knees with small scissors doing it, lol.

The plants look lovely in the gravel. You have given me a idea. I must get some for the tops of some of my containers in Teds Corner.

Well done on trimming the lawn edges in the sunshine ... the Primroses look lovely in the gravel and that Hellebore is beautiful. : o )

Beautiful hellebore TT, one of my faves. and everything looking good against the stones. I think we all went out into the garden today, hilarious really, its been about five months for me!!! Lol. Lovely blog. x

That's lovely TT, I'm a big fan of gravel gardens myself. Love the variety of stones.

I think that all looks great TT. And all the better for having your friends send you the plants!

It looks a treat Terra,so clean and fresh, the plants and flowers stand out really well against the gravel.
Its good to think Gromit is coming out again......

Enjoyed your blog Terra, your gravel looks lovely and the helibore is a beauty. You have been busy!!

Being a gravel gardener myself I really enjoyed this blog, everything looks so pretty and healthy.

How nice does that gravel look !! Between you and Paul both showing your rocks and gravel, I have decided to have some aswell. I think it will help with my new design, and also keep weeds down.
It's a lovely shade you've got, and the plants stand out well.
I always put it on pots, but never done it in the garden. I'll have to get a nicely coloured one like you - oh not exactly the same, but a nicer colour than the dull brown I put on pots.
Congratulations on your hellibore flower :o)) It's wonderful, and a nice shade too !

Its looking good,Terra,and its lovely to see everything coming back to life again.Your gravel is a good backdrop,..I love mine,and so glad we replaced the back lawn with it....better for walking on,than soggy grass too,.especially in my slippers. ! Lol

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Sbg ~ I'm not sure on the ajuga variety ... will add a comment later if I find out.

Wagger ~ Thanks, you're right about the aubrieta. I'm planning to take out the darker, non-variegated leaves. But yesterday, my fingers were just too cold to do it !

Gravel and rocks seem to be more popular these days.
Good luck Hywel and others who are redesigning your gardens. :o)

I have to keep some lawn areas for my dogs for training.
Otherwise, I would probably have many more gravel areas.

TT...it's all looking very, very beautiful :) I am curious about your gravel (I hope I haven't asked you this before!). Do you have membrane under your gravel to prevent weeds from coming through and if so, do you find it difficult when changing/adding plants?

I agree with you that rock/gravel gardens are becoming popular....I'm certain I'll have at least a bit of our soon-to-be garden done in this way.

Hi Whistonlass ~

Thank you :o) This area doesn't have membrane.
I don't have many weeds, so those aren't a problem.

When the weather is damp, I see an occasional worm cast, but I can soon remove those tiny heaps of soil... not difficult, and I guess if I laid the coloured gravel stones a little thicker in depth, the worms would be less likely to do this.
Good luck with your soon-to-be garden ;o)

absolutely stunning photos Tt, you really do have a beautiful garden.

Thank you Yorkshire...
This area is easily visible from my house's rear windows, so that gives me an extra incentive to make it pretty over the winter and early springtime.

Thanks TT...you'll note in the "Questions" section I've asked for feedback about gravel gardens. We've been having quite a discussion (hubby and I) today about not having the turf but gravel/rocks instead.

I think your garden is beautiful and I've been looking at other photos of GoY members' gravel gardens for inspiration. In fact I've spent too much time on Goy today! I should be doing my ironing...so off I go! lol

Lol. I'll check out your question and I'll add it to GoYpedia Gravel Garden Ideas. :o)

Your garden is looking pretty and colourful as always! I have been spreading gravel too, but Im afraid mine is the boring dark grey!

Thanks Pansypotter ...
... I'm pleased you like my garden :o)

ok...very good TT...gravel garden ideas sounds perfect. I'm interested to see what response/feedback to my question comes my way.

I've put a comment on the question for you... lol.. :o)

looks lovely Terra, love those black leaves, great against the gravel :o)

Thanks, Sandra ...
Lately I've been so busy ... but trying to catch up with GoY and garden in between a lot of other tasks ... it will be nice to concentrate on gardening again and have a bit more time for charity dog shows and GoY :o)

Love your garden TT, the coloured gravel does look nice i'm also looking forward to getting my little gnomes etc out when weather gets better.

hi t.t .......... gravels looking gud , and like others we have been adding gravel here and there allso ......... wen gromit comes out , will he be haveing the compery of your new pet lol !!! xx

Thanks Clarice ~
Yes, the gnomes and other ornaments can't wait for the better weather to get out in the garden again :o)

Hi Cristina ~
I reckon the gravel suppliers are making a fortune ..lol..

Gromit and Dougal don't yet know about the latest doggie figurine ... I think they'll be very jealous ... Lol. xxx

Your gravel area looks great, TT, I just wish I could incorporate something like that here but just too wet unfortunately. I would be interested to know about that dark ajuga too :)

Lovely gravel garden, especially the cheery little primroses and the ajuga. Braunherz maybe?

Thank you, Gee ~
I'll see if I can find the label for the ajuga.
Yes, a gravel feature would be difficult to include in your garden... would soon be under water !

Thanks Annie ~
Braunherz doesn't sound familiar ...
I'll do some research tomorrow !

Difficult to believe that it is possible to have a mud-free garden at moment - everything looks so sparkling and clean - did you get out the brillo pad before the camera?
I didnt know that primulas would like gravel but they look very happy and your hellebore is a beauty.

Hi Sarah ...
My idea was that the primulas might be less-chewed by slugs etc if the gravel was around them ... and it seems to have worked ! ... and no brillo pads... lol. ;o)

Wow! Nothing is budding here in Winston Salem, NC. Your new growth is lovely!

Hi Brosebo ...
I hope your gardens wake up soon in North Carolina :o)

You have a very nice garden, TT! I love to see the different flowers in your garden! :-)) Your use of coloured gravel is a great way of showing off your plants!

Are your dogs keeping well? I don't seem to have heard much about them lately.

Thank you, Balcony ~

Yes, my dogs are well, thanks.
The most recent photos of Conker and Truffle are in my previous blog called "Thank You, Cristina" ...

... maybe you missed that one ... it's certainly not easy keeping up with everything on GoY ! I hope your allotment plans are going well ... :o)

Lovely blog Terra :o)

Hello Pip ... Thanks :o)

Update on the ajuga ...

Yes, it is Braunherz ... I checked the labels ...
Well done Annie ! :o)

I have Evening Glow planted not too far away and wasn't sure which one was which ...

...and, Wagger ... I've snipped the solid green leaves out of the variegated aubrieta !

Lovely colours TT. I like the idea of planting with gravel between the plants. I am about to plant up my heuchera beds and wonder if the membrane and gravel would stop them spreading to their full potential. I have used gravel on pots before but they were only designed to last a short time.

Hi Scotsgran ...
I guess gravel helps in different ways in various parts of the garden ... I've put gravel on a flower bed which gets full sun all summer and so becomes dry and scorched. The bed also suffers because the roots of a huge tree next door absorb all of the moisture out of the ground... I'm hoping the gravel in that bed will help plants to thrive, by keeping them moist in scorching summers ...

I think it is a case of experimenting ..

Yes I will. Having put the question I can now see that heucheras almost always grow out and up and need replanting deeper anyway so I will maybe give the gravel a go.

lovely photos terra. I love the hellabore. May need to buy that myself now, seeing how wonderful it looks!

Hi Tilly .. Thanks ..
yes ... I'm more interested in Hellebores now ..

Scotsgran ... good luck with the gravel :o)

All looking very nice TT...

All looking lovely Tt and I love your gravel colour:-)

Thanks Holly and Bornagain ...
I was gardening for a little while this afternoon ... it's really coming to life out there :o)

It all looks beautiful makes the plants stand out love that Helleborus too nice one.

WOW! Those Ajugas look gorgeous! I really like the light stones, with the dark foliage, they make a lovely combination, really stands out so well! Can you tell me please, the name of the variegated plant in the 2nd photo?

Thanks Sixpence ...
I'm very pleased with the gravel.
Conker and I chose the colour together last year when we went out to celebrate he'd had a good report at the vet clinic :o)

Hi Helenium ...
Thank you. Do you mean the variegated aubrieta, which is also in photo 6 ?

Thats brilliant news Terratoonie so pleased for him and yourself.

:o))) Thanks 6d. x

Silly me! That's the one, Thanks! Terratoonie.

As I was planting my heucheras yesterday many were mulched with bark. I have loads of well rotted bark chippings from having my trees cut down last year. I will use that in the first instance as it is cost effective and will add to the soil later.

T.T. after being off the site for what seems like months due to computor gremlins, finally got a new computor, and your lovely pictures have cheered me up a treat. Am now going to try and catch up on all I`ve missed. Look forward to seeing Gromit and pals when they move back in.lol.

Hi Stroller ..
Nice to have you back on GoY ...
I was thinking it had been quite a while since you were last commenting ... I thought maybe you were spending winter in the city with Gromit ;o)

It was freezing here yesterday and today we woke up to snow. We live south of the Forth Road Bridge and nobody suggested we were going to have snow although it has been predicted for the north of Scotland. Spring has been put on the back burner again.

Keep warm, Scotsgran ! x

Thanks TT. I should not be moaning. The north east is reporting blocked roads and accidents today. At least we are not that badly off.

You're not moaning... just giving a weather report ;o)
Yes, further north the snow is deeper, isn't it ...

A flock of around one hundred and fifty geese flew north over our house on Monday. I'm wondering where they are now.

Let's hope those geese aren't anywhere too cold ;o)

lovely spring flowers TT!Spring definitely on the way!

Thank you Arlene :o)

Lovely pictures, the gravel really helps show the plants off and makes everything look very tidy too! :-)

Hi Red aly ~
Thanks. The gravel looks even better when wet - the colours are brighter ...
... the area is easier to keep tidy than I would have guessed ... :o)

Some lovely pic's Tt.Nice and bright flowers for this time of year. I'm pleased to see this blog as last time i visited GOY, a few weeks ago, it appeared you hadn't been on for a while and I wondered if everything was ok.
As you know, i spend very little time on pc these days as it doesn't seem to agree with me!!!

Hi Paul ...
All's well here thanks ... I've just been very busy ...

What a pity you aren't on the computer so much.. I miss your comments and pics..

Yesterday I put a photo. of Conker and heathers on GoY ...
... he is the birthday boy ... seven years old !
I hope Paddy is well...

Happy birthday Conker. Yes Paddy is fine..Still like a puppy even though he'll be 8 in a few weeks time.
I find if I'm on the computer, I get a terrible burning and horrible headache(a recognised symptom of Fibro Myalgia, according to some research!)
We've also been busy.Julie's mum passed away in January. She'd also had a small fire in her bungalow.(although her passing was not related to the fire) so we've been busy clearing out the bungalow and cleaning/painting walls/ceilings. Trouble is, it's down in E. Sussex so quite a trip (58 miles each way) And we've been about 8 times since mid January, as well as staying down there for nearly a week in February!!!!

Please say Hi to Julie and Paddy for me... Sad to hear about her Mum ... I hope the year improves for you... and that you can get some relief from FM ...

Yes, it is difficult when you are trying to deal with a property over 50 miles away ... lots of travelling and fuel before you even start !

Happy 8th birthday to Paddy soon :o)

The gravel really does make those flowers and foliage glow, Tt. It will be nice to see Gromit back again! :-))

Thanks David ~
Gromit is still in the city ... he sends us emails ... he hopes to be back in his Gravel Garden in a few weeks' time ;o)