Saturday, May 28, 2011

Spring into Summer....

Hello All,

Welcome to another round of tales from Higgy's garden. Apologies that it has been a while since I last posted but it has been such a busy time in the garden with ongoing projects to finish, new projects beginning and of course lots and lots of seeds to sow and seedlings to look after! This dry spell has also meant lots of watering and trying to catch as much as possible from the little rain that we have had....

I also found out that I will be requiring a new hip at some point and have recently been suffering quite a bit of pain and discomfort due to it. Don't worry I won't let this stop me gardening but I now have to slow down a bit and learn that there are some things I can't do or will require a hand with!......Very frustrating!!!

As always a big thank you for your continued support and lovely comments that I have received, to know that some of you have been inspired by my scribblings on here is a real privilege for me to say the least! Please do keep your comments coming they are appreciated and always answered.

Right then where do I start?.....Following on from my last post here is a picture of the raised beds a few weeks on from the last time you seen them....

As you can see the raised beds are now filling up quite nicely and our peas already have pods on! 

I also left you last month with a picture of an untouched area of the garden next to the new Koi pond. this area was completely overgrown with weeds and brambles and of course an old collapsed fence which I have since found out was about 40yrs old (no wonder it was knackered!!) Wow, what a job that was clearing out this old fence which had been completely overgrown by a massive honeysuckle, ivy and of course the brambles, it took with the help of my neighbour a whole day to clear an area big enough to put up two fence panels!.....

It took two of us a whole day to get to this stage!!

Two whole days.....

And finally on the third day.....
Now we weren't expecting it to be so difficult to erect six fence panels but with tree roots, old fence posts and concrete to dig out this turned into a nightmare job!

With the panels now up the job of digging out and landscaping can begin!....

You cans see here that the old retaining brick wall has been knocked down and I have started to dig away the soil to widen the seating area and build a feature rockery....

Unfortunately that is as far as I have got with this area which is proving to be quite a tough project requiring a massive amount of work and hard graft! (The fence panels were ordered from http://www.wickes.co.uk/featheredge-fence-panel/invt/209392/ after my usual supplier couldn't deliver on time. I'm not sure if these are the cheapest prices you will find but I have to say that my experience was very good with good quality panels and next day delivery which included a phone call from the delivery driver to let me know what time they were arriving!) My plan is to widen the seating area and border it with a feature rockery using some large rocks which I have acquired from a "Free to collector" add in the local paper. This rockery will be the entrance and step you up to a more jungley/tropical area running along side the pond where I intend to use raised wooden walk ways!....Watch this space for more on this project in my next few posts.

A quick photograph overview of other jobs completed during this busy spring period.....

A raised 'trellis' bed built from reclaimed wood planted with clematis and honeysuckles

'Some' of the seedlings which I have grown this year!

The wild flower meadow is growing with some flowers coming through however I am currently adding home grown plugs to increase this years flowers, Paths have been mown into the grass....

Free reclaimed rocks for feature rockery collected (with a little help!!)

Last post I also promised to show you my use of an old redundant builders wheelbarrow in my shade garden.....

The wheelbarrow was painted green with some hole punched in the bottom for drainage, part buried at the back of the border filled with compost and planted with ferns and heucheras....

A few old part buried pots add to the planting and make a nice simple feature for a shady area.

That's about it for this post except to leave you with some pictures of this months feathered (and fluffy) visitors to Higgy's garden.....

Gold Finches have made a welcome return

A cheeky chappy on my feeders

True summer visitors return...House Martins
(too fast to photograph!!!)


That's it folks, until next time.....

Next Time: More from the feature rockery project, 'I need a greenhouse' and wildlife paths come to life...

(As always please keep loggong in and sending me your comments.....I want to hear from you!!!)

Cheers

Higgy