A big welcome to members of Southwell Garden Club! I hope you enjoyed my talk last night! Here’s more photos of my garden, to give some inspiration for creating spring colour.
Our garden was created from a field. We moved here when we were in our 20s.
We planted 260 tiny sapling trees which came from a scheme promoted by the Woodland Trust and Rushcliffe Borough Council. The plants were free to anyone converting farm land to woodland.
Down one side of the plot I planted a kind of ‘avenue’ or ‘holloway’ of ash trees given to me by Michael Beeby. He was a lovely, keen gardener who lived in our village and wanted to save the little seedling saplings growing all over his garden. He regularly visited the garden to see how his trees were getting on. Sadly he passed away a few years ago. In memory of a kind and generous gardener I’ve named this area of the garden the Michael Beeby Walk. And every time I walk along this path I think of Michael and how he cared about nature. He was always smiling, always supportive and encouraging. He’s not forgotten.
There’s a gap in the hedge. I walk to this point every day and look through the hole in the hedge. I see hares, deer, owls. No one can see me.
I mark the changes in the seasons. Each day, the view is different.
All the trees we planted have grown to produce a lot of shade. Over the years, the lavender, penstemons and salvias have had to give way to woodland plants. Snowdrops thrive in the cool shade. Madeline is a favourite with its elegant ‘lightbulb’ shape and delicate yellow markings.
I have a little helper in the garden. He’s three years old. We are at the same stage in life, both marvelling at the beauty in everything. Living in the moment.
Hellebores also thrive in the semi-shade of trees. I bought a few colours from John Massey at Ashwoods Nursery in Birmingham. They have seeded all over the garden in shades of white, cream, pink, and inky- black.
Floated in an inch of water in an old zinc container.
Thank you for inviting me to talk, and for reading my blog.
I’m karengimson1 on instagram.
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Now for the ‘blue’ photos this week. I’ve chosen morning glory, Ipomoea purpurea. This is a seedling from a selection I’ve grown for years. Morning glory is an annual climber reaching 4-5m given a warm sunny fence or wall. Mine grow up through my climbing French beans. I’m hoping the flowers will attract pollinators which will benefit my vegetables. You can see the nectar guides in this photo. Flowers have visible and UV guides or lines directing bees to the nectary. Sunshine has highlighted the lines. It’s almost mesmerising. I save my seed each summer and store it in a cool, dark place over winter. I’ll start them off again in 3″ pots on the kitchen windowsill in February. Recommended varieties include Star of Yelta, Grandpa Ott and Heavenly Blue. All easy to grow, and once you’ve bought a packet of seed, you’ll have morning glory for ever more. Such a lovely thought!
My cut flower tulips are in bud. Tulips in the sunny front garden are already flowering early. I’ll cut a huge bunch of daffodils and tulips for the front windows. Vases of flowers will cheer up anyone passing by, even though they can’t call in to visit.
The horseshoe pond can viewed from the potting shed windows. There’s a gently-sloping boulder beach to stand on, and this gives easy access for hedgehogs, frogs, newts and grass snakes. It’s very calming to stand and watch the ripples from raindrops. Today the pond is a cauldron of frogs, mating and producing frog spawn.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this slide show of my garden at the end of April and into the first week of May. Enjoy your Bank Holiday weekend. I’m hoping to spend some time just sitting in my favourite garden chair. If I can possibly ignore all the weeds growing rampant in the background!
Bramble Garden 