GARDEN TRELLIS & ARCHWAY FEATURE

This is my most recent garden feature project that I constructed for one of my gardening client/ friends.

The idea was to split up the rear garden into two, which I think was achieved with this trellis & archway.

I made the the trellis & arch by hand, as buying the correct sizes from a builders merchant would not have been possible and offcuts would waste too much wood.  Besides, I think making your own is much stronger than buying trellis put together with a nail gun, as is often the case with ready made trellis work.

I also dug a couple of flower borders for roses & clematis to climb up the trellis.

Compost was added to the soil as it was quite a heavy clay type and needed breaking up a bit.

As the plants get more established the trellis will not be noticed so much and will create a sort of hidden garden effect.

Wildflower Patch

This year we have set aside a piece on our garden for Wildflowers, which include Poppies and Cornflowers. There are many different types of wildflowers among the mixture, which are currently looking very nice.
We just put two packets of Wildflower seeds over an area we did'nt really use and up they all came.
I think it also helps attract the bees which are in decline lately here in the UK.
We are also getting a Hedgehog visiting our garden at night, so we put food and water out for him too.
Its so important now to attract wildlife to your garden and to stop using things like slug pellets which kill Hedgehogs and Birds, etc. Much better to have a garden without any chemicals & poisons being used.

THE ALLOTMENTS ON FILM -July 6th 2013



Allotment Views



BUCKFAST ABBEY- Devon - June 2013

Buckfast Abbey

Lavender Garden

Sculpture & Fruit arch garden

Sculpture "The Family"

 

Just back from a short break in Devon, where we visited among other places, "Buckfast Abbey" which has lovely gardens tended by the Monks. Mostly perennial planting as you'll see from the above photos. One garden is a mixed variety of Lavenders, others gardens are roses and mixed perennials lanted within tall hedging, so they are contained. They have a few sculptures in the gardens too which fit in very well.

On my own garden now its a time for feeding a lot of my containers and the greenhouse Tomatos and Cucumbers. They flowers are now appearing on those which is the correct time for feeding. I use "Tomorite" for the greenhouse and containers. On the allotments I use "Growmore" which is a general fertilizer you spread on the soil to hoe in. I don't use horse manure as i think it contains too many nitrates from the horses feed.  Besides we use our own poultry and rabbit manure which is composted at home . Its proving very effective this year too.

At Home with The Ducks...The Hens....The Rabbits...and Guinea Pig.

A video of most of our rescue pets here at home, except "Parsley" The Cat.

Its always entertaining to watch the Ducks splashing around in their water.

We have 9 Ducks , 4 Hens , 6 Rabbits and a Guinea Pig.....and a Cat.

THE DOROTHY CLIVE GARDEN- Shropshire/North Staffs/Cheshire Borders UK

Set amidst glorious countryside where the borders of Staffordshire, Cheshire and Shropshire intersect, this beautiful 12 acre garden has continually evolved since 1940. In that year Colonel Harry Clive began landscaping a disused Victorian quarry into this garden for his beloved wife Dorothy. It really is a garden to visit and in different seasons. Very scenic and planted in a natural way too. I have added a short Video I filmed there on the day we visited. June 16th 2013.

BLOOMING JUNE

Honeysuckle

Cottage Garden

Tomatos & Cucumbers

Patio View

Iris

Campanula

Everything is growing very well lately now that the warmer weather is here. We had a few heavy showers last week that helped a great deal here and on the allotments. In a few days everything grew quite a lot. Also the weeds!....so I have to keep on top of those too. I trimmed the privet hedge with my shears, which usually gets done three times a year.  The Tomatos have flowers on now so i've started feeding everything in the greenhouse, including the Cucumbers. The Honeysuckle is a mass of flowers now and very scented also. The Pyracantha bushes are in full bloom too, so maybe we'll get loads of red berries this winter. So all in all, things are looking very promising this summer.

THE ALLOTMENTS- June 2013

Allotments Forward View

Poached Egg Plant

Backward View

Picnic Table

Strawberries

Rhubarb

Lettuce in Cold Frame

Tomatos

Dana on Allotment

Things are growing nicely so far on our two allotments. The weather has picked up and currently much drier and warmer, which can only be good after the cool spells we've had of late. Just planted the Pumpkins and Tomatos ouside. Also the young Celery & Celeriac plants.  Currently got the weeding to keep on top of, which appear to grow much quicker than anything else. We have quite a few water tubs on our plots, but you soon get down the water in dry spells. They have to be topped up by a hose, which is connected to a tap quite a distance from our plots. So a long hose required!.

It appears the danger of frosts has now gone for this year , so now the potatos are through we need not worry so much.

Front Garden Rockery

Rockery

Angellica

Hosta

Apricot & Cherry

Almost June now and the rockery is looking very colourful indeed. We added a few new plants on there earlier this year which have made a difference. Its probably the best time of year for our rockery too.

The Aubrietias are at their best and the phlox too. Still others to come into bloom as well.

The Hosta plants are looking very lush and no sign of slug damage as yet. We put gravel around them to help deter the slugs. We have a plant called Angellica which is a type of Herb and that has grown very large this year. The flowers have an unusual scent too.

Also at this time of year the hedges usually need a trim, so i'll be trimming mine very soon. Its very important to wear some protective clothing and  goggles to protect your eyes. Especially if you use a mechenical hedge strimmer. Mine uses petrol which i prefer to electric ones with cables.

The lawns here I can usually get trimmed using our pet rabbits!