I've never been so active in the garden
Ican’t remember a time when I was still so active in the garden. The week before Christmas I finished mulching the main flower beds. Not only will it provide winter protection and nutrients, but it also looks so ‘finished’! Now I’ve only got to apply a bark mulch to the fernery and more gravel to the paths.
I’ve reduced the height and thickness of the ivy which always threatens to overpower the fence surrounding the apple tree; careful not to overdo it so that birds and wildlife can still enjoy its shelter and berries. As the ornamental grasses die down I’ve been chasing their wispy leaves as they fly all over the garden. On the patio, containers have been raised onto pot feet, hanging baskets have been stored under cover to preserve dormant hostas and fuchsias, but I shall leave the canna leaves on as protection.
David has installed a new water feature by the rill; a cast iron hand pump given as a gift. He’s switched off all water supplies and relocated all ornaments and water features under cover.
He also fixed up two rusty old birdfeeders so we've now got eight on the go. The choice of seeds and mealworms has attracted three parakeets, four squirrels and six pigeons, as well as our regular garden birds, under the watchful eyes of our cats, who keep up a constant vigil from the ‘catio’!
My favourite plants right now are the bare stems of the contorted hazel, which were until recently adorned with David’s festive lights out front, and the red twisted willow, underplanted with variegated grasses, in the centre of the rill water feature in the back. Chartreuse-yellow hydrangea ‘Little Honey’ highlights the
stark rose bed now and some crimson cyclamen have popped up under the apple tree and Fuchsia thymifolia is covered in tiny magenta flowers. Clematis ‘Freckles’ is flowering all the way up the ornamental eucalyptus trunk. Contrasting Japanese sedges ‘Evergold’ and ‘Everillo’, avoided by some as they can be invasive, are a boon in the shady border at this time of year when everything else can be so barren at ground level. I’m so glad I planted two new evergreen euphorbias and Helleborus foetidus to add some winter interest to the perennial borders. Everything except the dried grasses has been cut down on the
roof terrace, transforming it into a mini prairie. Early-flowering narcissi and iris are breaking through already, furry buds adorn the magnolia, bunches of daffs and tulips are on sale at the nurseries, spring mail order catalogues are starting to plop onto the front door mat. Roll on spring 2020!