Our RHS course college group had a school outing to Westonbirt, the colours were really outstanding this year because of the long hot summer, there is a technical reason for the various colours to do with sugars but I probably wasn't paying as much attention as I should (as usual) and can't remember all the details.
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After this years amazing temperatures and sunny weather and no rain, I'm amazed the garden has done so well. I have watered once or twice (the local council watered their hanging baskets around the town), I did concentrate on the newly planted areas.
What an improvement these beds have filled out nicely, with the phlox still flowering well. The tree is a Paulownia tomentosa - The foxglove tree. A dilemma faced is whether to pollard it or let it grow to see the flowers?
The Dahlia 'Whitemans Best' in the foreground flowered all summer long - I've already got some more for next summer at Wilko's. I'm leaving all the tubers in this year as they were reasonably priced and the soil is light and sandy, also a lot of the dahlias were cuttings this year and it was recommended I leave them in the ground till at least November to form reasonable size tubers. I concluded that if they didn't they would die anyway.
This is one of the newest beds just finished, various shades of purple from very deep to violet best describes it, with light varigated foilage plants and lots of grasses. The summer house will be placed in the middle - where the grassy area is - and we hope to have climbers etc growing up it. Over the pathway I'm hoping m'spouse will be building a small pergola to join this bed and the blue and lemon avairy bed.
This is another new bed dug out at the same time. We cheated with these two and hired a turf cutter, whilst I would say it is easier than cutting the turf by hand, on the hottest day of the year we would not recommend it. It cost 35.00 to hire for 24hrs (the cheapest quote by miles) and took about 2 hours, I don't know how ground force manage to make it look so easy - IT IS NOT. The cut turves were transported to the back garden to line the leat by the swimming pool.
The sunken bed looks well established now, you really can hide away. I don't know where all the plants suddenly came from. We managed to get hold of a small childs bench for the littlies to sit on which they enjoy, we also managed to lug 2 huge rocks from the back garden round for sitting on and eating sandwiches.
Originally these beds were meant to be one, but I decided it was too big an area and kept the path, much to the childrens delight, one more path to run round.
Our happy little quackers, unfortunately they are no longer all with us, 2 - fox, 1 - mink, but the remaining white and brown one lay one egg a day.
Told you this bed looked bright by the end of the summer.
Taken up a ladder leaning on the garage roof, the beds are getting established now.
You can see the river on the right hand side of this picture, and you can nearly not see the road, I'd like to try and screen the road more perhaps with some kind of fencing on the wall at the bottom of the garden.
Just thought the colours came together really well in this bed, hard to believe this is only 4 months old this planting, next year it will be overflowing, we probably won't be able to see the birds in there, just need to finish it off.
No 7's bed by the house is starting to grow, he enjoys going to the market in the summer holidays and buying plants for it.
Taken from the bathroom window this gives an overall impression of the size and layout of the garden, it's about 1/2 acre.
At last the steps have a covering. We decided not to use gravel (there are plans to quarry the gravel and sand from the River Usk, 1 mile from us and cause huge problems)so we are using our shredder that doesn't shred it chips instead. The wood is all the small dead branches from the woods behind, and whilst I know they will rot down they are a more enviromently friendly covering.
This bed does need a good sort out, its where we put all the plants that needed a home as they had been in pots too long. I will get around to it one day.
We managed to put up an arbour for climbers around the sunken area to screen it off even more, its linked to the red and plum bed also to screen the whole garden as I'd like not to see it all from the steps.
The long border is looking full now and I was worried that they would look empty this year. The steps are still no further along it seems, will have to do them myself I reckon. Have got temporary posts in round the sunken bed, hopefully th'spouse will think they look so naff he will replace them.
I love the colours in this border, even the lupin does appear to be blue. A lilac colour pansy has managed to get passed but as it seems so happy we'll leave it be.
The border back towards the mill, some of the plants are really getting tall now. Its interesting seeing the colours back to front too.
The small triangle bed (pink) was supposed to be part of the avairy bed, but I decided it was too large so left the path which everybody liked best. The rose growing up the post is Geutrude Jekyll.
The pond end of the stream bed even with no rain is still wet so the plants are still growing well.
This is the biggest expanse of lawn we have in this garden, and as it seems to stay damp for so long after rain we have decided to leave it as lawn, also it just looks nice and is nice to sit under when the sun is baking.
The candelabra primula's are just coming to the end, but the siberian irises are just starting to flower
The primulas are stunning now, I've just sown 2 pots of Harlow Carr hybrids from the RHS Seed list, so if they germinate I'll have to extend the stream bed
This is one of the NGS Gardens we visited for inspiration, I'd love a pond like this one, its fed by natural springs running through the property. The children loved exploring this bit, we hope to go back again in the next couple of years. The owners are getting on now and have just started employing a gardener.
The view from the garden is stunning, we could make out the mountain behind our house - 20 miles away. The teas and cakes were very nice too, it was here I first spotted a Rubus 'Olympic Double', but nobody knew what it was.
This area by the front door was sort of here when we moved in. The painted white wall surrounding it was awful and the area much larger ( I wish I had kept it big now). We replaced the wall with some sleepers, child No 7 has taken it on with the colour theme orange (because of his hair) and blue (because of Thomas the tank engine).
The steps have been dug out at long last ready to be filled with gravel, the lawn is full of daisies still, will have to get the weed and feed out soon as we get a dry day. The stocks have been grown from seed in the autumn and have made a wonderful display for weeks.
The primulas in the stream bed are starting to flower, these were only grown from seed in the autumn too. The trees have got their leaves already and the garden is looking green.
The borders are already starting to look full, I've started digging the bed for the sunken area, impatient as always there are plants in already. The avairy bed is growing too, I hope by the summer it will look overgrown. We've been sunbathing in the polytunnel a few times, and with the wood burning stove in the pool, we've actually been swimming....roll on summer.
More spring growth here all fresh and green, the double white flowering cherry tree should be in bloom soon, more bargin buys 5.00 each but they're coming along.