Past it

10th May

It has been at least a couple of years since I have done any sort of proper gardening.  We had someone to cut our lawns and another someone to do the weeding and that kept us ticking over back in Bury.  Here we are with a brand new garden to get in place and I am decidedly past it!

Ken and I did three hours in the garden and you can barely see anything for the effort.  I have to commend my other half for being a huge help at fetching and carrying and doing anything with weight in it.  He abhors gardening and has no interest in the  finished result as long as it looks tidy.  He stuck it out and did a load of stuff for me.

Besides some general tidying up this is what we managed to do.....

old faithful and newbies

Round pot on left has some of the begonias and hardy fuchsias, the square pot has three perpetual strawberries.  The magnolia at the back is the only plant I brought from home, so I am desperate for that to survive.

Strawberries again in square pot, begonias in tall chimney and hardy fuchsias in small chimney

These aren't the same variety that did really well for me for years but they are ever-bearers so may be OK.  Worth a try at £3.99 for three from Aldi.

sweet peas

My daughter bought some sweet pea plants and had several left over so I thought I would give them a go on two of my pergolas for this summer which will save me buying two clematis.

'early sensation' clematis

Another Aldi buy at £5.99  Just saw identical plant and in same condition for £12.99 in Pentland Plants so feeling smug.

unknown! clematis

Yet another Aldi purchase.  To be fair it probably was named but guess who didn't look beyond the fact is it 2.5m tall and then chucked the label away.

my herb bed near the house

Only the herbs I actually use (and then not all that often)  Sage, thyme, parsley, chives, rosemary and mint in its own pot as it is a thug and will take over your garden.  Not sure how well they will do as it is decidedly chilly here and windy and the garden is pretty much in the shade.  Hey ho.  This year is all about finding out.

olive tree

I bought a pair intending them to go in the gravel garden at the bottom but I have so many odds and bobs in there I decided one at the front door and one at the back.  Again may be a challenge on this side of the house (north facing).

the garden

You can hardly see any difference for three hours work times two people!  I can feel the difference - absolutely aching from head to foot - never knew I had so many muscles and joints.