Thanks to the glorious Easter weather we had I have finally managed to get some gardening mojo back.
I have added two trees to the gravel area and had the borders widened to five feet.
The borders were both supposed to be four feet deep - it turned out our 'landscaper' had managed to cut one four feet wide and the other three feet.... yes, I know ???? So my original plan was to get the three foot one made right which led to..... "they look very puny, so why not do both".
They definitely look much better - less like a strip down a fence and more like two proper perrenial borders.
It was also the opportunity to move some plants around, do the weeding and top dress with some fresh compost. We did a lot of price comparisons but in the end an offer at Dobbies worked out the cheapest per litre.
We moved some 'edging' plants forward as they were left in a silly position mid-border. I removed six achillea which were swamping the bird bath. A neighbour had a couple which I love and sadly the others found their way to the brown bin. This is where I miss my 'home' where I had some folk who would have given them a home. I also moved three salvia from the white rose border as they turned out to be in strong competition with the roses rather than a companion plant. Also that border needs four such plants and one had died over the winter.
I do have a huge dilemma with the trees. They were an absolute bargain from R & B Nurseries at £23 each plus VAT. As they are Amelanchiers they have been grown into a single stemmed tree from something which really wants to be a multi-stemmed bush. They have, therefore, been trained along a cane and pruned to shape. The problem I have is - should I remove the cane and then stake normally to prevent root rock or leave them to 'settle in' for a year and the reduce the cane by a third each year for three years. They are very tall and whippy (thin stemmed in proportion to their height) and we have an incredibly windy garden.
I forgot to take a photo when they had all their blossoms, so this is just a 'taster'. Amalanchiers are good all rounders. They tolerate pretty much any soil and situation and have blossom in summer, light leaf so no dense shade in summer and the leaves turn fantastic colours in autumn. They pay back for sure.
