Wednesday 11 April 2012

Opportunity knocks




As the extreme cold weather in February (apparently the worst for 15 years) made way for warmer days it became clear just how many plants in the garden were in a terminal state.. The hedges were brown but deep inside there were signs of life, lots of shrubs and the fruit trees had blossom but there many casualties too.




Despite being the hardiest of the palms, that cold for that long was just too much for the newly planted specimens by the pool. Unfortunately it was also too much for the huge clump of bamboo which provides (or did) essential protection from the Autan winds.



In the herb garden the bay, thymes, tarragon, sage and rosemary all bit the dust turning browner each day. Not much help with summer cooking likely!








One by one the casualties were removed and as the pile of bonfire fuel grew ever higher and spaces were revealed it became more and more apparent that this was actually a great opportunity to do some rethinking and make some changes in parts of the garden which had just been left as they were when we arrived.

So we now have a bigger new herb garden, new shady beds at the side and behind the house and a nice new tree at the front.











Now every time I go out I have a good excuse for buying plants ( but come to think of it when did I never need that). There's just one thing though - it would be nice to have a really good garden centre ( one of the few things I miss living here) the local one still has its own dead palms for sale!

4 comments:

  1. Yes it really was a bitterly cold couple of weeks, my rosemary I think has seen better days despite having cut it right back. Even my bay-tree looks like it has had a fire through it. I am hoping the root has survived and that it will shoot from the bottom. My thyme, mint, oreganum and sage although looking very sad with a good cut back are all sprouting green again. We do have a fairly good garden centre nearby at La Rochefoucauld, but I have to admit to not looking at the palms since winter!
    The garden is slow this year but hopefully it will soon be back to its usual self. DCiane

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    1. yes Diane I think some of the herbs would have sprouted from the bottom but as I was moving and extending the herb bed it seemed as well to start again. No sign of any life in the bamboo though - we now have a thicket of yellow sticks!

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  2. I so miss the coffee shops that we had at most of our local garden centres in Buckinghamshire. Having a browse amongst the plants, then a sit down for coffee and cake, then back to have another browse, made a wonderful outing. My garden is not too bad, but all the mimosa trees in the area have died, which is a shame. Hope your garden makes a good recovery and happy shopping for plants. I use Planfor on the Internet. Helps me to budget and not spend too much in the gardening centres!

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    1. thanks for the tip Vera.
      A pity about the mimosa trees - we have a pink acacia which was lovely last year _ it looks as though it is ok but its a bit tall to see properly

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