Spring bulbs look fantastic
A seaside garden in Bishopstone, East Sussex, featuring reclaimed objects and sculpture. Opens for charity regularly.
Idecided to lift off all the fleeces towards the end of March and the whole garden took on a new look. I was amazed to find a few lovely olives had grown through winter, too. The only problem was the strong wind returned a few days later but, luckily, didn’t do too much damage. I’ve still got a white bottlebrush covered over as it really doesn’t like the wind. I’ll protect it for a few more weeks.
Lots of spring bulbs have been on show this year, especially daffodils. ‘Rip van Winkle’ looks particularly stunning. The dazzling muscari have just started to shoot up around the pond, too, with their beautiful, poker-like blooms. Several hyacinths also look lovely near
the back door. Down the footpath, at the side of the house, there’s an Osmanthus burkwoodii just starting to flower, with its gorgeous, delicate, white flowers.
Last week I started the job I hate, pressure cleaning all the hard surfaces throughout the garden. It’s a week’s work, in stages, that guarantees to
deliver a bad back and sore hands from gripping the trigger! Having said that, it’s worth all the pain!
I was very disappointed to discover that two sections of a low hedge of Olearia haastii had died off through winter. I managed to cut the dead bits out and replace them with some bay, and the overall look seems to be OK.
I decided to put some decking in the area behind the studio, which had been covered in bark chip and was very uneven. Now I’ve a fabulous even base to store and hide things on during
summer openings! I’ve bought quite a lot of new plants already this
year, including two beautiful kangaroo paws, a tricoloured brugmansia and a yellow snake flower, to name but a few. I’ve potted them all up to sit on the patio when the weather warms up! You can read more about the garden and its open dates at www. driftwoodbysea.co.uk.