Early Summer Views on my Garden.

Maytime is often one of the most colourful times of the Gardening season I think.

My garden is no exception and this year is full of colour . The Clematis are flowering well and varieties like "Henryi" and "The President" (Photos above) are proof of that. I have a few more that are due out soon and there are plenty of buds on those now.

The Ceanothus (Californian Lilac) shrub has also flowered very well this Spring with an abundance of its Blue flowers on each of the five bushes I have of that.

The Rockery (Photos above) is also doing very well with the Alpines having a good season this year. Maybe a result of the Warm & Sunny April we had here In England. All plants seem very forward as a result and some were quite early Indeed.

Currently there are a few Irisis In flower around my Ponds (Photo of the Blue ones above left), but its a shame they are relatively short lived. I have Yellow ones in my Larger pond too.

The Leafy Hostas are growing nicely with no signs of any Slug damage as yet. Though I do put a few Slug pellets down to deter them. Otherwise there would be a lot of eaten leaves.

One of my Hostas are pictured above on the right, with a pale yellow edging to the leaves.

Hostas prefer shade and moist ground. So around trees or in pots in shady areas, they grow best. Maybe a Mulch around the base they would enjoy , to conserve moisture. I use Bark Chippings or you can use gravel too. If Hostas become too large you can split them up, using a spade, then plant the smaller sections where best suited. This is preferably done In early Spring or Autumn. This year I'm also trying a few Strawberries in a Terracotta planter, positioned on a post. This is pictured above on the Left hand side. The Strawberry plants are In compost with some gravel at the base of the planter for drainage. Already there are a few Strawberries forming on the plants.

I have just completed all my Summer bedding, which looks well this year with a few welcome showers of rain to help. Much better to have wet ground to plant into, than dry soil.

Otherwise you have to water In each plant, which is a slow process Indeed.

So these will all look at their best In July & August I reckon.

Photos of these will be posted here later In Summer.

CIRCULAR PATIO PROJECT

I decided to build a Circular Paio, just before Spring arrived this year.

First I needed to remove an old lawned area and clear the whole area around it.

Then I dug out the existing shrubs and cleaned out the soil, by removing old roots and anything that should'nt be there. Then dug over the whole area and firmed it down again, to try to make it as level as possible, for the Patio to be laid there.

After making the soil firm, I decided on where the slabs were to be started, which was next to an existing pathway. I used a mixture of dry Cement & Building sand to lay the pavings onto.

This was also raked, to make it as level as I could, then firmed again.

Each one was checked with a spirit level, to make sure the patio would be level, which is Important. The same process was done with every patio slab, until all the Slabs were laid.

Quite easy to see how the pattern goes, as you lay them. Firming them down as you lay each piece to see they are not loose. If so, just add more Cement/sand under each slab or corner of a slab, so the level is reached. When all Slabs are laid, use a Patio Grout to fill in the gaps and joints of the Slabs. Brush it in with a handbrush, compacting it in the cracks as you do this.

Any excess grout can be brushed off later after it has set. It usually takes a few days to harden fully, as it contains an adhesive in the mixture, which is brushed in dry.

2007 New Season on my Garden

Welcome to another Gardening season on my garden! Already been very busy on it and I've created a new feature on my back garden, which is a Circular Patio area, which replaced a lawned area, that had got very tired looking, with an overgrown bush on the fencing, that was killing off the existing lawn anyway, with it's roots.

So I decided to get rid of that and make something less labour Intensive.

The New Patio is 3meters In diameter and allows you to add containers to make it look more attractive. I've gone for a "Lavender" coloured theme with it too.

Lavender coloured pots, with lavender plants around the edge of the boardings.

So it should look attractive In summertime. When the other plants are all in bloom too.

On the soil I've added Chipped Bark, which you buy in large bags. This conserves water in the soil, acting as a "Mulch". Important as our climate gets warmer , with less rain around.

Also the added bonus of less weeding to do!....as it stops so much light getting to them.