Wednesday wandering…
I’m taking a leaf out of one of my favourite blogs, https://thecraftycreek.com
Every week, Margaret from Yorkshire has a meander round her garden and I love watching the seasons dance through the various corners of her landscape.
She does many other things as her week progresses and much of it resonates with my own interests but in this instance, I’m taking a Wednesday Wander through my city garden as I take a break from editing Michael.
I have a fondness for white and became enamoured of the shades and textures of Sissinghurst’s famous White Garden very early on in my gardening life. I love the way white has a moonlight glow in the dark of night and I rarely look past whites and creams for my own gardens. I also love greys, chartreuse greens, variegation of leaves and darkly shaded plants verging on black as a foil.
My miniscule city garden is just three years old and is essentially a garden of repetition. Monty Don said that between seven and nine species repeated is a good landscaping rule and whilst I might have a few extra in my space, I’m not far off it.
Good old cosmos – even in the dead of what passes for our winter this year.
Euphorbia Diamond Dazzler, a divine little feathery plant. I have a thing for euphorbias of many sorts. It’s only recently that I’ve started ‘noting’ plants into my garden diary – I wish I’d done it so much sooner…
Miniature white cyclamen are planted everywhere.
Scaevola putting forth one winter flower. Best in summer.
No idea what this is but love it and have repeated it here and there. It spills beautifully.
Disporum Southern Charm – chartreuse and variegated!
My fledgling fern garden. I just need some white hydrangeas on the edge of light and shade.
English primroses, also repeated everywhere.
Who knows, but I do love it spilling over the raised beds.
I’ve planted 4 dozen annual primulas around the beds, and it’s been a battle between the storms and the snails and slugs to keep them healthy.
Euphorbia Silver Swan – all had haircuts two weeks ago.
I have quite a few collectible varieties of hellebores. All white and black, some doubles and ruffles. But at the moment, the plain hellebores are the ones with a quazillion buds bursting forth.
I’ve got seven white clematis varieties and two have really surprised me by bursting into bud and leaf as this winter has plants so confused. I’ve also got white wisteria, Chinese jasmine, a weeping silver pear, white viburnum and veronicas, diosma, standard bays, two standard Japanese maples that are features, topiaried box plants, box hedges, variegated geraniums, massed Solomon’s seal and violets. But the garden is very pruned, weeded, mulched and bedded down for the winter and none of anything shows to any great degree. Perhaps I might do a spring saunter through the garden to show the change. In the meantime, I took the images below at dawn, after rain overnight.
I also have a thing for rusty garden sculptures – but as this is a tiny garden, really tiny, then everything is scaled down to fit.
I love the space – it’s a retreat from city life and as I’m not really a café culture person, this is my sanctuary when we need to be in the city. My favourite moments are when traffic noise blows the other way, the wood pigeons coo in the trees and I just sit on the sun-lounge, enjoying the sunshine and pretending that really, my patch is actually as big (and as lovely) as Sissinghurst…
The garden is looking lovely Prue xx
I think it migh explode in the Spring, Libby. Here’s hoping!