July 28th July - A garden tour

 We missed out on a proper April this year, as far as I remember... I think it was in the middle of the cold and dank Spring. As the seasons of the year are all a bit anyhow at the moment, I don't mind a bit of April sunshine and showers now. It certainly saves on watering the pots at the moment.

I've been out sowing MORE flower seeds in one of the sunny moments;

but 'watched seed trays never hatch', or something similar so I will have to curb my impatience. I'm hoping for Miniature roses, Brompton stocks, Michaelmas daisies, pansies and delphiniums so far. We shall see what happens.

While the sun was out I took a few more quick pics; following on from the sunny border yesterday, we go down the garden to 'the woodland orchard' - one apple tree and a dark shady area. 

Across the back of the garden is a massive laurel hedge; seriously huge; 'That's not a hedge, it's a wall' remarked James-the-tree-surgeon after an awed silence. He hadn't seen it for about five years since last time. It extends a further ten feet down the bank to the public paths and woodland behind us, which we can get to through the gate and along a twisty secret route. I'll take another photograph after he's worked his magic. 

Coming back up the garden is 'the shady border', although there is more light at the end since we cut back a lilac tree. 

Coming back up the garden is 'the shady border', although there is more light at the far end since we cut back a lilac tree. 

Halfway up the path is 'the vegetable garden', not very successful this year, but I have to say that I think my neglect had as much to do with it as the unsatisfactory weather. I have a chair and a little table where I can sit and commune with the veg as it grows.

Then 'the yard'; doesn't every garden have a patch like this? This has been the case for every garden we've ever had. The white sack contains the rest of a load of 'pukkamuck' which was for mulching the beds. Unfortunately we had some dry weather before we had finished, so this will have to wait until spring.

The 'real' shed. As in 'workshop' and 'not for storing all the junk that we don't know where else to store  while waiting to tip/donate/recycle'. Can you hear the hollow laugh? But we are making (slow) progress at clearing garden oddments into the sentry box sheds and moving stuff out.The chair and table are for heatwave days as they are in the shade all afternoon. (ha ha ha). I was glad of them last year, though.

Moving swiftly on. 'The pebble and container garden'. This is the year the wooden barrels have started failing one by one. The staves rot and crack, and the hoops drop to the ground... so this area is 'under development'.

The 'lower patio and dining area' and 'the upper patio, sculpture garden and water garden'. 

Oh, alright, it's really just a broad step to the dining room with a cheap solar fountain in a plastic basin, and some garden ornaments which came from my parent's garden before they moved into a flat. I really want to replace the violently green watering can with something more discrete; we use it to prop open the patio door.  

'The herb garden' is around the kitchen steps (mint and basil are supposed to deter wasps and flies)

 

and finally 'the nursery' is at the side of the house.

I expect you spotted the second pukkamuck sack; we were sharing a sack with a neighbour, so decanted some for them. Unfortunately, some previous own used up the entire space at the side of the house for an extension, and so the only way to get anything from the front to the back, or vice versa, is through the house... We are all still working on plan B (and C, and D...) 

One day (in my dreams!) I will have tasteful signs all round our patch with 'to the orchard', 'to the nursery' etc on them, just like a Real Garden like Borde Hill, or Nymans. Well, maybe not. I think of this as a 'toy garden', a lot crammed into a small space.   

I haven't bothered with picturs of the front garden as it is currently 'under deconstruction' and distinctly lowers the tone of our street. Have patience, dear neighbours - next year it could be full of delphiniums...