Monday 18 April 2011

Carefully selected corners

This is the time of year when my garden is at its best; when the bulbs and blossom are out, but the weeds have not yet grown to swamping level. Once the weeds do take hold, it is a constant battle for me to keep up with pulling/digging/burning them out.

This is part of the wild area (which fills quite a large proportion of the lower half of the garden). The cow parsley is coming up nicely. I love to see it when the white flowers are swaying in the breeze.


The flowering currant bushes are all at different stages. This one is in full bloom. I love the deep pink.


The spirea brightens up this shady corner beautifully. Two summers ago, I dug over this 'bed', covered it in weed matting and planted the spirea, a euonymus and a small hebe. I finished it off with a layer of bark chippings. I was pleased, both with the effect and with the reduction in the area requiring weeding. Overnight, the foxes came to play. Oh well. At least they didn't dig up the actual bushes.

I might try again this summer and weigh the whole lot down with some big chunks of rock!


My severely lopped hawthorn tree is leafing nicely. It will be much stronger for losing all of its dead branches. Eventually, old age will win the day, but for now it has a new lease of life.


And in the very bottom corner, under the shadow of both the sycamore and the leylandii hedge, this kerria seems to thrive.


11 comments:

  1. I love that Kerria - we have to clip ours back as it is in the hedge and as a result it only has a few flowers on it.

    Also I do love cow parsley - pity it is thought of as a weed.

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  2. Back home from Ullswater, there's work to be done in the garden. That nice wild corner is just like our old garden with the ancient crabapple and the raspberries underneath, mixed with weeds of course. That's a lovely photo of one of our favourite flowering bushes. The red currant we call Ribes in Danish. I would say with your typo that its colour is Electric Pink!

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  3. It looks lovely. The colour at this time of the year is wonderful : there is a freshness and newness that is somehow captured within the colours themselves

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  4. Thank you Michael. The current is now transformed. At least it generated a reply.

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  5. I love the Kerria we have one next to the greenhouse just across from our back door - it is covered in flowers at the moment. Your Hawthorn tree looks very old:)

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  6. Isn't spring just grand! It's been quite some years since I've experienced a real spring, with fresh air and budding blossoms. Maybe that's why this spring seems extra special to me. Your garden looks lovely!

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  7. To H:- you are joking of course. You still have an e in your comment. Maybe it was tong in cheak?

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  8. Michael - The currEnt has been TRANSFORMED (in the post). It GENERATED a reply! (Was a play on the electrical reference. Gettit?)

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  9. Wow! Beautiful in color and texture! So Inviting~!

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  10. I so enjoyed seeing your lovely woodland garden! It's beautiful! xoxo

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  11. We have a kerria by the shed, but I didn't know the name. I have to trim it every four weeks otherwise it gets out of control! :-)

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