It has been super dry over the past six weeks, so the lawn is looking a bit sad, but other than that, the rest of the garden is absolutely thriving. We planted the Ceanothus on the left hand side of this photo a few years ago, it has grown quickly and fills the space well, with sumptuous blue flowers.
We planted the lavender, prostrate rosemary and David Austin Rose, ‘Vanessa Bell’ around the same time as the Ceanothus, and they are all looking fantastic too. The holly leaved hellebore was in situ when we first started working in this garden, and it continues to go from strength to strength. A real, hardy plant. It loves to self seed and does so prolifically.
The ruby red acer used to be a large tree, but became frost damaged over a few years. We removed limbs year by year, hoping that it would survive, but eventually it was in quite a bad state, so we made the decision to cut it right back. We decided to leave a high section of trunk, to see if anything might happen, and in the least that it would make a good habitat for wildlife. Then last spring we saw signs of life, and a year on it is looking wonderful. It just goes to show, don’t remove plants from your garden too hastily without giving them a chance.
The Parthenocissus quinquefolia on the left hand fence took a bit of a hit a couple of years ago when we removed a Clematis armandii that was growing next to it. The Clematis had become too heavy for the fence and was shading out a lot of that side of the garden. It looked quite bare at the time, but now it really feels like the best decision was made as that space is lighter and more open, giving other plants a chance to thrive. The Parthenocissus is such a great plant. Super fast growing and eye catching at different times of the year.
We prune the Photinia in the background of this photo in early March each year, we are so pleased as it is looking magnificent. Come back another time to see what else we are up to in our Secret Gardens…
