Hellebores take a hammering
We’ve had more bad weather. I’m assessing the damage whenever I can get outside. The hellebores have taken quite a hammering, but are trying their best to recover and I’m pleased to see them offering bees an early feed. Clumps of pulmonaria growing over the edge of the patio have gone brown. I’m concerned that pots of erysimum and convolvulus might not have survived, but I’ll wait a while before condemning them.
On the handful of breezeless, sunny days we’ve had everyone’s mood transformed: humans, cats, dogs and birds all seemed to lift their heads, stretch and re-energise.
One early task was to cut back two robust Buddleja davidii. They must be around 25 years old. I can’t take much credit for their success, though, as I notice buddlejas growing anywhere: gutters, chimney pots, derelict walls and on railway lines.
I’ve weeded and mulched bare patches in the borders. The lawn is struggling, as always, at this
time of year, but I’m paying more attention to it now – scarifying, forking, feeding and reseeding. This year I’m germinating some grass seed indoors in plugs first, hoping that they’ll ‘take’ more successfully than sowing directly onto the ground – it’s rather like a hair transplant! There’s a slowly naturalising patch of dwarf narcissus in the lawn, glowing vivid yellow over the grave of one of our much-missed dogs. I’ve divided the snowdrops, so I’ll dig up some emerging ground elder near the boundary, yet again, and hope the snowdrops compete successfully. Once the rush of the Easter weekend was over, I visited a garden centre. So my ideas aren’t overwhelmed by the temptations on offer, I’ll set myself a budget. Some new pots with erigeron, argyranthemum and arctotis (if I can find them) plus agastache, persicaria and thalictrum are top of the list for the borders.