From grass to gravel in a day

Our side lawn has been given a makeover, after 2 years, the grass has lost the battle to moss and poor draining soil. So I had to give in and get rid of the grass but I still didnt want something that was not green, or gave the impression of 'green-ness'. So from rock garden to zen garden to 'get the job done with least cost', we ended up with gravel, rocks (courtesy of our house developer, dug up from the back garden), and a few hebes. With a team of 2 and a half and the surprising coorperation of the weather, we got it all done working from 9 in the morning till 7 in the evening.

Once the winning shot of the new mow-free side lawn ( I guess we can't call it lawn anymore) was taken, I realised that I forgot to take the before shot. I had to dig out an old photo, see below, just imagine the grass looking less green and more yellow. 



Before ... taken almost 2 years ago

New mow-free look!

Muscari Carpet

I had a load of muscari bulbs which I planted in two separate locations, both locations are known to be 'hostile' towards anything that I try to plant. The bulbs in area at the bottom of my garden failed to sprout except for a few straggly bits which were promptly chomped by slugs/insects. The area at the top of the veggie plot however is proving to be muscari friendly...hooray! finally something that will grow in this area! 



Up close and personal

Rhubarb ..babab babab

The rhubarb is back with a vengence, how I love plants like these, didnt even have to codle it through winter. It was hard though last year to fight the temptation to pick the stems as it was just the first year. This year though, we've already had 2 samplings for desserts, the excuse for picking early was that the large leaves were encroaching in to my lines of onions so they had to go and once picked where else but into the tummy they go!

The veggie plan







My little gems .... nice and cosy indoors



 

This year, potatoes are off the list, though I've grown them for 2 years with some success, I find that I would prefer to get some leafy greens in the ground this time round. So, we have (or are going to have) Kale, Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli and Leeks. Not wanting to clog the window sills in the house, I put them in the shed, hoping there will be enough warmth, alas, there wasn't, so into the house they go and no longer than 5 days have passed, I see the little shoots peeking out of the compost. 





Three weeks ago ...

Raspberry canes ... the new arrivals!

The canes down in the bottom right corner where nothing seems to grow...touch wood!

My neighbour's mom is an avid gardener and she had promised to swipe some raspberry canes for me when she next visited her mom out in Ballater. So one stormy evening (it had to be) there was a buzz on the door and lo and behold, my neighbour was armed with a bunch of canes. Brilliant! so despite the pouring rain, I plonked them into the bottom right corner of the garden. A few weeks later, I'm glad to report that they have taken root and seems to be doing well. So, now the only thing left is to be vigilant and keep pesky birds away and we might just enjoy some homegrown jam and fruit tarts!

One of the cane decided to grow horizontally...there has to be one!!

Here comes the Tulips

The tulips have arrived, due to the abnormally hot week we had, the tulips sprouted in record time. These are the ones under my climbing rose, I thought they were deep red in colour but turns out they were yellow! haha!

Photo above was taken yesterday, this morning the weather turned and below is what happened! I hope the plants will survive the sudden chill.

Spring in my garden

At the end of last year there was a bit of a bulb buying frenzy and the bulbs were planted in every crook and cranny. Because there were so many, I'd forgotten what was where, when spring arrived recently, lovely surprises were popping up here and there. Above is a selection of the first few to arrive. What a pleasure it is to look forward to see what could be coming next.