Helen's Garden Renovation Project

The two main events this week have been firstly that I got a new fence, which not only is staying put in the wind, but looks extremely smart.

New back fence

The fence is made of concrete, with wooden panels that can be taken out and replaced if necessary. As all the fences that I have responsibility for are now made of concrete, I am hoping that I will never need any more fencing replaced, apart from the panels when foxes and badgers make holes in them. Note to anyone thinking of putting up a concrete fence themselves: the gravel boards weigh 56 kg and the posts weigh even more. Not something I would attempt, despite my twenty-five years of weight training.

Also, my plants from J Parkers came. Hooray! I emailed them about my order just over a week ago, and they responded by sending it out immediately. Although I was a bit worried about my poor plants spending a weekend in a cardboard box in the dark, they didn’t seem to mind much.

Plants from J Parkers

Top row, left to right: Kiwi Oriental Delight (yes, a real edible one), Euonymus europaeus Red Cascade, Rhododendron Marcel Menard. Next row: Sarcococca Purple Stem. Next row: Blueberries. Bottom row: Leucothoe Scarletta, Callicarpa Profusion.

They all arrived in pots, except the Euonymus, which was bare root. I soaked it in a bucket for an hour, and then put it in a pot with some compost to keep it happy until I can plant it. You are supposed to heel in bare root plants, but I find putting them in a pot is more convenient and doesn’t seem to kill them.

The plants are small, but then I wanted small ones, given that we will have a hosepipe ban starting next week and it’s unlikely it will be lifted until the winter. They look healthy and chirpy enough, so I am pleased.

Roger, the fence man, managed to tip a load of soil and rubble on top of my alchemilla in the front garden while replacing a fence post for my neighbour, which I told him was extremely unsporting. I think some people are plant-blind – they genuinely don’t see plants when they are working in the garden, unless the plants are more than 2 ft high or have large prickles. So I don’t think he could help it, really, and he did put up a very nice fence for me, so I forgave him. If the alchemilla does not re-emerge by the end of April, I will have to consider it to be buried in an unmarked grave and go and beg a seedling off my friend Sharon. Or plant some pyracantha instead.

And finally, the Brimstone Butterfly Report. I saw one on 15 March. So far I haven’t seen any others.

I am pleased to find that I appear to have made a good decision in planting my pale pink very early rhododendron.

Pale pink rhododendron, sheltered by a brick wall

It is sheltered from the east wind by the pond, and I think this is the reason why most of the flowers are still pink and not brown, despite the late frosts we have had.

Last year I planted an offshoot of this rhododendron in a more exposed place in our communal planting areas, and this one has gone much browner.

Rhododendron with frost damage

With this rhododendron, there always is a gamble. It’s lovely to have pretty pink flowers out so early in the year, but they only work if the frosts stay away. But I think I did the right thing in choosing the place where I planted it in my garden.

Also in our communal areas, we have a good sized flock of hellebores, which have been breeding like crazy in the cold winters. Here is a seedling which I dug up, flowering for the first time.

Hellebore seedling

People tell me that hellebore seedlings usually come out mud-coloured, but I think this one is pretty enough. This year I have dug up some more seedlings underneath the purplest of the hellebores, and in two years’ time I will see whether I have any purple ones.

There is no more progress to report because I am still waiting for J Parkers to send me my plants. I ordered them on 29 February, and they are supposed to be delivered within 28 days, so I hope I won’t have long to wait.

The hosepipe ban will start on 5 April. I have already started watering my pots and the newly-planted evergreens because it has been quite warm and dry recently. I have managed to get rid of a few more pots, but it’s going to be a lot of work to keep everything alive. Just for once, I am hoping for a wet summer.

Today I decided it was time to re-route the road to nowhere, leading from between my apple trees to the back hedge.

The Path to Nowhere

I thought a path between the apple trees would be useful for maintenance and would provide a route to the greenhouse and the vegetable bed behind it. However, I soon realised that it looked wrong because it appeared to just disappear off into the back hedge. Also, the area between the apple trees will get some sun, and I can’t waste any sunny bits of my garden. So I rerouted the path to run parallel to the edge of the lawn, and this will provide a dry route to the left hand corner of the garden, as well as allowing access to the apple trees and other plants in that area.

The path re-routed to run behind the apple trees.

I have ordered a little bundle of plants from J Parkers, but they say it can take 28 days for delivery, and I only ordered them 12 days ago. The plants were competitively priced. I am not worried if they turn out to be small, because small plants need less water. It is certain that we will have a hosepipe ban by the end of April, and it could be sooner. I need to get rid of some more plants in pots, either by composting them, planting them, or giving them away.

After some early morning fog, today has developed into a warm sunny day. But where are this year’s brimstone butterflies? I haven’t seen any yet.