FENCE
Water butts are full again after heavy rain – you could almost hear plants saying thank you as the garden received a welcome drink. Not as welcome, sadly, were the unseasonal gale force winds and no matter how you try to take precautions against them, damage always results. In keeping with our regime of changeovers on the patio, a pot-grown rose (of sentimental value) has now replaced the crinodendron, now taking a rest at the bottom of the garden. Bedding plants are all settled in, enough for a display in the front garden and a small raised bed in the back, with other bits used as gap fillers in borders. The wayward clematis planted through the mature ivy at the bottom of the garden has at last got the message and is flowering at a sensible height instead of trying to escape over the top.
My daily ‘fishing’ expeditions to remove pondweed appear to be successful so far, but I’ll keep doing my garden gnome impersonation until none is visible. A couple of rogue bamboo shoots I must have missed during my spring onslaught on the clump in the front have been removed and it looks so far so good.
A tree peony planted over 30 years ago that’s always been troublefree appears to have succumbed to wilt; the job of removal was made a little more bearable with the sight of a few healthy new shoots from ground level, so fingers crossed. Obviously there must be something in the air as the fig on the garage wall has started to drop a few leaves. A little research suggests a lack of water, and this was borne out with the use of a moisture probe; hopefully an easy problem to overcome.
In the greenhouse, the daily picking of strawberries is a delight, and with tomatoes and salad crops growing apace, that lovely ‘growing smell’ shows summer is here. Now there’s no vine to offer
shade, man-made mesh shading will have to do for the moment. and leaves. I managed to get black, white, deep pink, yellow and lime green paint. The conservatory soon became my ‘artist’s studio’!
The outside garden lamps were the first job. I took them to pieces to clean, including the glass, then painted them with the metallic black. Next was the crocodile, which I painted all over in dark grey. I gave him definition by using a lighter colour to outline his features.
I was loving this new challenge and the flamingo was next. Using a wire brush I removed all the excess rust and was ready to go using a pale-pink paint as the base colour. I experimented with all the colours to add detail to the beak and body. When all the paint had dried, he was screwed back into place on the edge of the middle flower garden.
My favourite garden ornament, ‘the lady‘, was next. She had been
Together with the daily pondweed fishing expedition, a spell of pruning and chipping awaits as a few shrubs require a trim, and then, of course, the enjoyment of a summer garden awaits. a surprise Christmas present from my partner, Eric, a decade ago. He’d positioned her outside the conservatory window in the snow and had called me to look. I remember being delighted and she’s always had pride of place in the centre of the flower bed. I mixed the paint to get an orange colour for her skirt, then did a deep pink midriff with lime-green for the bodice and hat. I used black to outline. When she was eventually finished it was a wonderful feeling seeing her once again. Finally, the slate flowers and leaves were ready to be painted. They’re usually screwed onto the concrete edgings of the garden but have become insignificant from lack of colour. I mixed a gold, pink and lime-green to put on the individual flowers and then added detail using black or white.