Warming Up

 

Things have been mad so far this week, and so just a shorty, as I have to head out to work.

 

The weather has been really dry and sunny for about a fortnight now, and plants are starting to grow in earnest. Work is all consuming, as things are gearing up quickly into the growing season, and more and more paperwork fills in the spare gaps in free time. We were really reckless on Monday, and took the day off to work in our own garden, which had become a mess. There was jet washing, timber treating, re-potting, cutting out dead growth etc, and we now at least have the framework with which to progress into the summer.

 

 

Apart from all of the usual garden maintenance tasks that have to be done at the various properties, the Sandbanks house has been getting some progress made to it's front garden.

 

Tons of soil have been removed to bring the levels down, borders re-shaped and made, and some planting done. A hedge of Photinia 'Red Robin' runs down either side, although the plants are quite small at this point. We generally prefer to use smaller plants to start in this area, as watering can be a problem, and they demand less to start out than specimen shrubs.

 

The perimeter by the railings now has a young screen of Fatsia japonica, which we shall keep to about the top of the railings, and these are fronted by closely planted Cornus in red, yellow/green, and orange. On Friday afternoon, along with the sons-in-law and a great big skip, the remaining pile in the above picture, and the grass to the right will be removed. The border to the left enlarged and re-shaped, and planted up with orange Hemerocallis and blue Agapanthus africanus. Still plenty to do.

 

All of the physical stuff has left both of us a little battered, and we need to get a little fitter by way of cardio vascular exercise, and so early each morning we now take a jaunt along the seafront at Sandbanks. It's easy when the weather is this good, but the challenge will come when the rain starts to fall. Still, one has to start somewhere, and keep on 'keeping on' as my old vicar used to say.

 

Take care