The big winter tidy has begun

It’s just over eight years since I set the old rowing boat as the main feature in my beach garden and planted up around it. Now, I think it’s the plants that act like the glue, holding it all together. A recent tidy up and cut back revealed it’s quite badly damaged and rotting in places. The large Helleborus argutifolius has started to grow through its base as well. Fingers crossed it lasts a few more years yet! Verbena bonariensis is still looking wonderful out the front, too. There are about seven or eight stems in full flower, giving some drama to the plot. I’ve recently completed fleecing all my palms and delicate plants.

I had to invest in new ones this year as the strong winds last year decimated all those I had. The Butia capitata in the centre has grown far too tall to be able to protect its fronds, so I’ll have to cut some of the outer damaged ones off next spring. I’ve fleeced one of my Torbay palms. Nearly all palms are fleeced to protect their fronds from the salt-laden winds here on the coast, rather than from the cold. I’ve also tidied up the alley at the side of the house and safely stored larger agaves in the dry for winter.

I moved my mandevilla in from the garden and placed it in the back porch, along with several aeoniums. It seems to have flowered more this year and still has many new buds waiting to come out. It creates a lovely image looking from the inside, up the garden across the pond now.

One plant that always looks great now is aster ‘Barbados’. I’ve had it many years and it never disappoints. The mauve-purple flowers are a tonic for fading borders from late summer to autumn. I was surprised to see double marsh marigolds flowering again in the pond last week, too. All the hedges around the garden have had a good trim.

It makes the garden look smart and tidy. This year I’ve used a local collection service to remove garden rubbish. It’s worked really well. The service stops now for winter so I’ve tried to cut everything back that I need to.

Read about the garden at www.driftwoodbysea.co.uk.

The palms are all being covered with fleece

Sadly, my feature boat is starting to decay