As soon as Spring arrives and the soil is a bit warmer & drier, you can start working on the borders or making a garden project.

Last year I made a cottage garden, which was Interesting to do, adding various perennial plants. Such as Lavenders, Phlox, Lupins,Asters,Clematis and Honeysuckle climbers. A few of those plants are scented, so its nice to enjoy sitting there in Summer.

I also constructed an Arbour, which is an seat with a canopy over it, with trellis sides, for a climber or two. You can see that in the next posting on this page. To start a Cottage garden, you need to dig over the soil first and add some compost or Organic fertilizer. Then hoe the area till the soil is very fine. Plants that you buy need to be bought with their heights in mind!.

So you would want the tallest at the rear of the border. Then plant with the smallest at the front. Things like Phlox can grow to about 2-3ft tall, so they need to be towards the back.

Lavenders & Lupins near the front. The Climbers or Bush Shrubs, next to the Trellis fencing.

Allow plenty of space (2-3ft) between each plant, allowing for growth.

Water in each plant and firm the soil around the roots as you plant each one, to the level of the pot it was in. Some plants will need a cane or some support as it grows, to stop wind damage snapping them off. Remove dead flower heads too, as this will encourage new Flowers to form and old flowers left on will only form seed heads that weaken the plants growth.