Spot the Difference!

Karen - An Artist's Garden — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:51:21 +0000

Clicking on the image will take you to a larger version of the “after” shot.

The end of the month all-ready! I am not sure where October went.

So this is my “end of the month view” post – hosted by Helen, The Patient Gardener.

October has been the most glorious month, which means that I am extremely busy at work and I am really looking forward to things slowing down – although that wont be for a while yet.

As you may be able to spot – we have also been very busy in the garden – although to be honest the majority of this work has been done by Shedman.

But to begin at the beginning ……

Regular readers may remember I had a camellia – which got a “mohican” last April.

Well – after contemplating it for 6 months, Shedman and I decided that we would take it out completely.

I meant to write a post about it ages ago, but time ran away from me.

I will just say that despite me assuring Shedman that it would be easy, I was convinced that it would be fairly shallow rooted …

I was wrong!

Shedman tackling the below ground monster

Very, very wrong!

It was an iceberg of a shrub, and took us about 7 hours to get it out.

It did however leave a large circular hole, and both Shedman and I thought it would make a lovely pond.

I walked around for a week very confused – as this was the area I had earmarked for grasses and mini-prairie planting

(Pond or prairie, pond or prairie – You get the picture).

Shedman, however settled the matter while I was at work one day, by digging out the pond, enlarging the border and marking out grass paths to lead through the planting.

View from up-stairs, showing the grass paths that will go through the planting, eventually.

I should perhaps mention; that we all-ready have two ponds and did we really need a third? It will however, be a wildlife pond, so will have a comply different habitat.

So I should also confess here, that when I went to Hall Farm Nursery, I did come home with a few grasses.

They have not been planted yet, but are just placed in their pots in the soil until we finish the edges of the pond but they are

2 x Molinia Skyracer

3 x Calamagrostis acutiflora “Karl Foerster”

So exciting

So while we still have some work to do on the new pond, by getting rid of half our lawn, Shedman has created some new planting areas for me to play with.

Quite a lot of the grass was covering rubble, so in some areas I am hoping to get away with “gravel gardening” just don’t tell the plants they are in rubble rather than gravel.

The majority of the new planting will have to take place over a few years.

For next year I will be sowing annuals – clouds of cosmos, verbena, cornflowers, poppies etc.

I am quite worried – there is not much garden left for Shedman to dig up!

Just that bit of lawn in the middle between the two grass paths

I wonder what he will do when that’s done?

An Artist's Garden » pond

Spot the Difference!