I spent a good chunk of April in Uzbekistan. It was just so good to be travelling again after 26 months of being grounded by the pandemic. And Uzbekistan itself is a fascinating country to visit.
But that trip, combined with work and visits from friends, meant I spent little time in the garden. So there’s not much horticultural activity to report.
Spring is doing its thing
Not much horticulture isn’t the same as not much happening. After all, it’s spring.
And I guess it’s been a more normal spring than last year. Whereas April 2021 was incredibly dry and cold – 22 days with ground frosts – this year has been milder and wetter. As it should be. We’ve already seen the magnolias flowering two or three weeks earlier than last year, and the same applies to almost everything else.
Remember those hundreds of bulbs I bought last autumn? They’re all coming up. Bare trees grew buds and leaves began to emerge. Fern fronds tentatively unfurled. Flowering shrubs, like spirea ‘Bridal Veil’, became covered in flowers overnight.
Tulip mania
Tulips somehow don’t look real. Too perfect, symmetrical, flawlessly coloured. That’s not a complaint, by the way, just a sense that they’ve been so carefully designed. Which isn’t far from the truth, I guess.
I was worried that the tulips would wait until I boarded my flight then burst out and be over and done with before I got back. Happily a sunny, warm Easter brought a lot of them out before my trip. And there’s still plenty to see now that I’m back.
I love the jewel colours I’ve chosen and the colour combinations. The smaller botanical tulips planted directly into borders are sweet and satisfying too.
Don’t say pesto
What do you do when your garden suddenly seems to be 90% wild garlic? It’s everywhere. I’ve tried giving it away; forcing carrier bags full of the stuff on my guests. But it’s barely scratched the surface.
Laura strimmed away the growth on and in between the steps, but there’s still more wild garlic than any human can possibly eat in a lifetime.
You take your eye off it for a minute…
In the two weeks that I was away, the entire place went BERSERK.
It took me a few days to feel anything but impressed and slightly oppressed by the extraordinary growth the whole place has put on in my absence. Sure, there’s a built in contrast between the drier climate and landscape of Uzbekistan and the verdant green of Dorset. But it was as though everything here was sentient, thrusting itself at me and watching for my reactions.
Trees went from bud to a few leaves to full blown arboreal madness. Here are two of my favourite Japanese acers giving it all the green.
And two huge Norwegian maples, adding different colour to the scene.
The handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata) is covered in creamy-white bracts that give it the name. Last year there was only a handful and I thought the tree was past its best. But I suppose I should blame that cold, dry April. This year it would put the ladies’ accessory section in an old fashioned department store to shame.
Other jobs in the garden
Even when I’m not here, Laura is around to keep things straight. This month she:
- moved hydrangeas and hebes from other parts of the garden to the corner we recently cleared outside the shed
- removed some underperforming persicaria from a bed we’re planning to fill with perennials
- potted up bare root astilbe and begonia corms that arrived by post
- weeded upper veg beds
- strimmed wild garlic and steps
- cut back ferns on the upper bank
And finally…
Simon cleared an area between his study and the greenhouse which has become overgrown and unloved. It was a dumping ground for branches and cuttings the previous owner couldn’t be bothered to get rid of properly. When we had the holly cut down, it opened it up a bit – providing both eyesore and opportunity.
Hopefully we will know what we want to do with this area by the time I write my next post.
Be First to Comment