Monday 24 May 2021

So What Is In The Borders?

 There are all sorts of plants around the border of the back garden, mainly one of each of the larger things, there's also lots of empty spaces which will let weeds in unless I fill them with something. In places there are things that spread like weeds that I'd like to take out - the "foreign" bluebells. And worst of all there is some ground-elder creeping in - horrible stuff.

It's rained at sometime almost everyday since I moved in with no chance of getting out there to do some much needed weeding.

Here's a photo tour

Stepping out of the patio doors from the living room and first on the left is a purple Acer - love this.(Edited in to say this is actually an Elder)

Next under the living room window some Hebes - Hate these! and no, I have no idea why. Looking at them just makes me feel odd (and yes that is weird!) 
Mrs F who owned Clay Cottage before we bought it in 2017 had several Hebes too and left behind several seedlings in pots which I didn't keep
To the right of the arch above (which leads down the side of the bungalow to out the front)  is the start of the border around the grass.Several things in the garden seem to have caught the late frost including this Hydrangea.   Odd really as in theory the garden is quite sheltered.
There's a young Silver Birch  with a climbing rose behind it and some Helebores in front.
In the corner are 3 small trees squashed in. A Hornbeam (or a Beech) not sure yet. Then something I thought at first was a young Apple but the flowers are not quite right so it might be a Pear but whatever it is it won't do well squeezed in between. Right in the corner is a small Flowering Cherry.

 

Also in the corner a Spirea and a Camellia and more Helebores and another Hebe and a Rose

 

A Large Ceanothus is just starting to come into flower

 

The biggest thing in the garden is a Flowering Cherry, which must be the only thing more than 7 years old, that's how long the previous owners had been here.

 

To the right of the tree are two things I'm not sure of - the yellow thing isn't a Laburnham  and the other is possibly a Weigela.

There's a Lupin and some smaller perennials
A Lavatera at the back and a Poppy and Foxglove with some other perennials and the blinkin' ground elder creeping in!

 

This is a different sort of Magnolia. The removal man plonked my old  bird bath here (we found it half buried at the smallholding in 1992), it's all on the huh! but too heavy for me to move. Just noticed another Acer at the back there

 

The bigger Magnolia is just finishing

 

All sorts of different perennials and the foreign bluebells spreading too much

 

A Peony and a few Aquilegia

 

A large spring flowering Viburnham

Another Buddleia and climbing rose on the trellises around the shed


Honeysuckle and Jasmine

Below is another Buddleia. I've popped 2 courgette plants in here in the hope they will grow.

On the left below is a small clump of Autumn raspberries - Very Very prickly and in a strange place. I have plans for a narrow Raspberry bed  beside the greenhouse. There's another climbing rose and the Rhubarb I brought with me, which is funny as the only other edible thing here is a...... Rhubarb - I had no idea

 

What's this below? Purple flowers with yellow middles like a potato flower - making it look poisonous -it probably isn't. It's not something I've had before another thing that was caught by late frosts. 

The rhubarb that was here hasn't got much room to spread

And finally by the other side gate is a Flamingo Willow Tree

 

To the other side of the patio the trellises have more climbing roses.

 

 The things I brought with me including 2 tubs of strawberries, Monkey Puzzle, Yew tree ,my Bay tree and very young Fig with the tomato and pepper plants under the cloche thing.

Well done if you got to the end of that tour!

Back Tomorrow
Sue



52 comments:

  1. From the photo of the corner with a Spirea and a Camellia and more Helebores and another Hebe and a Rose ... I don't know what a Spirea is, but it'd have to be pretty impressive to deserve space that the Helebores and Camelia could be occupying! Not to mention the Rose ! What a lovely garden you have. You will have such fun tweaking it so it is truely yours.

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    1. The Spirea is the one with the gold leaves and has pink flowers in summer. It's certainly squashed in with the camellia and in shade too when it prefers sun I think

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  2. The first photo is a sambucus nigra black lace. Veronica

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    1. Oh, thank you, so it is! That's good as I'd rather have elder than Acer. Should have realised.

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  3. The purple flower could be solanum and could indeed be poisonous. You have a really lovely garden, loads of good plants. I think we have finally found a house and the back garden borders have not a single plant! I know what you mean about hebe, makes me feel odd too, hate the stuff!

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    1. Thank you - yes I looked it up and Solanum it is. Toxic to some things - I'm not keen on keeping it even though it's quite big

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  4. Well, they obviously liked their garden and planted lots of things - if a little haphazardly! I'm not bothered about Hebes either but my pet hate is Astilbe, which we had here in the main bed - until I moved it to the side where there was an ivy-clad area of membrane and topping, which is now becoming a bed.

    I thought it was a Sambuca nigra too - had one "to bring with me" - 10 years ago? But the stem got broken and that was that . . . I'll get one yet.

    Looks like you have lots of sorting out for your soft fruits - a dedicated bed I assume rather than bunged in the border.

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    1. There's no rhyme nor reason where things are planted, it's all a bit random.

      I'm planning a raspberry bed - must have raspberries

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  5. Think the yellow plant might be Genista Lydia, a new dwarf plant. Good for a container but might need moving.

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    1. I though maybe a broom so reckon you are right,it's now completely hidden behind the lupin

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  6. What a lovely, mature garden. Yes, I know there's things to do and that ground elder - yuk, nasty stuff, good luck with it - but what a super starting point.
    I quite like hebes, to be honest. You can get some lovely variegated leaves to add interest and pattern. I'm not so good at keeping them alive though!
    The sambucus nigra black lace is beautiful but they do grow very large over time. They're a tree really, aren't they.
    xx

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    1. It's a shame the trees are crowded into a corner and the elder about 6 inches from the house!

      I would willingly give you all my Hebes if that was possible

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    2. Will you move some of the trees or are they just too mature to move? And how kind. :-)
      xx

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  7. Thanks for the tour. I am no gardener but The Dog and I do like sitting out - weather permitting. I have to admit to arranging a pro to keep things under control. I recognize a few plants that I have like you and I am looking forward to the eating apples that grew well last year.

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    1. I would like to squeeze in some fruit trees but not sure where

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  8. I love your garden Sue so many different plants and shrubs a lovely time for you in the garden with everything coming up. I have lots of Hellebores and they flower for so long and set seeed quickly. I did a lot in the garden on Saturday and cut place a Hebe and a Viburnum I am so pleased I have a garden, several of my friends moved into sheltered housing after having a garden and they all say they miss the garden partly for it is your own space.
    Well it looks it could be a nice day today I think we had rain and wind yesterday.
    Hazel 🌈🌈🌻🌻

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    1. I would like some warm dry weather so I can get out and do something - Hail and thunder and downpours today!

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  9. I don't like hebe either. The garden looks fairly mature and this summer will be interesting for you to see how it all comes out and looks like it should give you a good bit of cover and privacy.

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    1. Yes it's not too overlooked in summer with the trees in the corner and the trellises around the patio

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  10. A good variety of plants which should keep you busy sorting out.

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    1. Definitely sorting out the Hebes - preferably right out of the garden!

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  11. Love 'em or hate 'em Hebes are fantastic bee plants.

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    1. Maybe I'll leave one for the bees but I'd like some different bee plants too rather than 5 Hebes

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  12. I enjoyed the tour; thank you. Quite a well-stocked garden already! You'll be able to tweak it by thinning out what's crowded and adding your own favourites. Ground elder is bad luck, though.
    I also thought the purple flowers look like a Solanum.

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    1. Yes that seems to be the consensus, I think it will have to go as i don't like the look of it much

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  13. I loved the tour Sue - your garden is certainly not short of plants! As for the Ground Elder -I'll swap you for the Mares Tail!

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    1. Both are a pain but no mares tails here. I'll keep digging the elder out

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  14. You will be really busy...lovely

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    1. Just need some warm and dry weather to enjoy getting busy out there

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  15. That's a very well stocked garden! It's fun discovering what you have there. We've just planted a sambucus nigra - I love the colour of the foliage.

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    1. There are a few labels in the ground too so maybe some other things will appear later to discover

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  16. Thank you for the tour! It must be exciting to see what is growing when coming to a new home and garden. To see what you want to keep, and what you want to add.

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    1. Some of my favourites are missing - and I must have a Lady's Mantle somewhere

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  17. Thank you, Sue. What a lovely yard and garden! Nice to have so much already established. Now it's just a matter of your personal touches here and there to make it truly yours.

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    1. It will be interesting to see if anything else appears through the summer

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  18. You've certainly inherited a lot of plants. You're going to have fun sorting the garden to your taste. If you need any more ground elder, I can give you plenty! It always makes me think of Monty Python - "What have the Romans ever done for us?" They brought it over as a food plant. I've never tried eating it though. xx

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    1. This is the first garden I've had with Ground Elder so I've been quite lucky up 'til now

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  19. Like me you're on a discovery path to figure out what's there. You have the advantage that the gardens were cared for. Not so here as the property was a rental for many years after owner moved out. Still trying to figure out what's a perennial and what's a weed.

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  20. As my mother would have said, "They give me the Heebegeebees, dig them out."

    The only plants I can identify are a Dandelion and a handful of daisies in your lawn, other than that they are all just plants. ;-) More seriously, you have plenty there to keep you busy in between reading, swimming, grandchildren, and watching tennis/any sport available.

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    1. I thought I was odd with disliking Hebes but I'm glad I'm not the only one!
      I watched the European Swimming Championships Saturday and Yesterday - it was brilliant, GB got loads of medals

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  21. The purple shrub is Solanum Crispum, known as the "Potato Plant" because being in the same family as tomatoes and potatoes it has the same kind of flowers as them. It's a popular shrub but it's small fruits can be poisonous to children if they eat them.

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    1. I thought it didn't look very nice and now I know what it is it will have to go

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  22. A lot of plants and trees outside your home. Enjoy them!

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    1. We've had such horrible weather over here so I'm looking forward to enjoying the garden when things dry up and warm up a bit

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  23. I wonder if the yellow shrub could be a broom, are the flowers the same shape as pea flowers and do the branches weep.
    Jane

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  24. Lovely garden; you'll have lots of fun (and hard work!) getting it sorted out. I agree, lose the Hebe and Solanum.

    Peggy

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  25. Thank you for the tour. Your property is good size and features many mature plantings. Customizing it to meet your needs and preferences will be great fun.

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  26. That's a great place to start - you've an idea of what type of thing does we'll and where in the space, and even if some of it's not what you'd have chosen at least you're not bored or looking at concrete while you work your way around.
    There are some unusual choices though!
    The hebes will transplant well and it's a good time to pass the hebes on - I bet you can rehome them. I neither love them nor hate them, but as Tigger says, the bees love 'em! I'd take them off your hands for my boring front bed.

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  27. It seems a very randomly planted garden, it's a good job you know a bit about gardening and will be able to sort it out. Some things are squashed close together and others seem fine although perhaps in the wrong places.

    You'll be able to gauge what is what after being there for a couple of seasons, whereas for me in my new place it is a complete blank canvas, going from decking and Indian stone to hopefully a flower bed a raised veggie bed and some pretty plants by the end of Summer. Anything that ends up in the wrong place will be entirely my fault!!

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  28. What a lovely lot of plants and trees you've got in your new garden. I'm glad you are able to get some of the feel of the country and space. You'll be able to make new plans and create until it suits what you'd like.

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  29. Quite a selection you have to be getting on with Sue! x

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