How Does Your Garden Grow? Week 18

This last week we have seen all sorts of weather. It has be gloriously sunny and hot one day then cold and wet the next. We have even had a couple of frosty mornings!

The garden certainly did need the rain and I love the seeing the plants glistening with water droplets. Plus it gave me the perfect excuse to grab my camera and capture their beauty.

Our garden is full of colour from the various wallflowers that the hubby planted last year. We are amazed by the size of some of them, they are doing so well. The Allium Purple Sensations are in bud and as these are a favourite I cannot wait to see them open up! Last year we bought a couple of reduced Clematis to grow up the front of the house. This year one is still small but the other one is covered in buds and is starting to open. Many of the plants in our garden are ones that we bought from the reduced section and we have shown that with a little TLC these plants can thrive.

This is how our garden has grown this week...

How Does Your Garden Grow - Week 13

At last there are true signs of spring and colour in the garden.

When I look out of the front window I can see blossom starting to bloom on trees. It is such a delight to have some colour return. Colour is the one thing that I miss seeing over the winter.

We now have a mass of yellow flowers from the forsythia and daffodils that are continuing to open up and buds are forming on the shrubs and fruit trees. Some of our plants seem to be behind others. I have seen pictures of magnolias and camellias flowering but ours are still tight in bud. However I know that soon they will be gracing us with their beauty and colour will be everywhere!

This is how our garden has grown this week...

How Does Your Garden Grow - Week 12

This week has seen the hubby dead heading the hydrangea. I love hydrangeas and even as they are dying off they have a beauty about them. Therefore I feel sad seeing it cut back but I welcome the beautiful, green new growth that is shooting through. As the hydrangeas were cut back we were able to see the new peony growth coming through. I always love the front of our house in the summer and this year I will love seeing it develop even more. Last year we added a lot of plants that were from the bargain section so they didn't do much, but this year they should bloom. We also moved my beloved magnolia to the front. At the moment it is still tightly in bud but it is covered in buds so it should be full of flowers when the time comes.

As for the back garden, well what can I say, Opie and Jax, the puppies of anarchy, have well and truly taken over. They have recently discovered that they can dig. Thankfully at the moment they are digging in the area where we are going to be extending but we do not want them to carry on. We have found a lovely holistic dog trainer who has been to see us and she has given us a lot of tips for how to stop this so fingers crossed they will stop. Failing that the hubby will be building them a sand pit!

Anyway, this is how our garden has grown this week...

As always I am sharing how our garden has grown with the lovely Annie from Mammasaurus.

How Does Your Garden Grow? Week 9

Last week I wrote about all of the changes that were happening in the vegetable plot. This week the changes continue.

We now have a second shed up and the hubby has started to build a soft fruit cage. Last year we grew strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries but as soon as the fruit came the birds had them. We put some netting over the strawberries which did save the majority. This year we are wanting to grow more soft fruit. We love eating the soft fruits but I also enjoy using them for baking and making jams. We had looked at fruit cages but could not find one that was big enough, within budget and exactly what we wanted. So the hubby is building one.

So far he has built the frame and shelving. Next will be the door. We plan to have strawberries on the shelves, raspberries along the side then gooseberry, tayberry, blackcurrant and redcurrants under the shelving. The frame should be finished at the weekend then we will look forward to planting and reaping, or should I say tasting, the benefits from the frame.

We are also planning to make changes to the main children's area of the garden. Since we moved here we have noticed that during the winter and wet months the centre of the garden become so muddy and boggy. This winter it has been a mud path leading to the vegetable plot. To make walking down the garden easier and safer the hubby is planning to create a gravel path leading down the centre.

This week has seen many changes and I can guarantee that there will be many more changes to come!

This is how our garden has grown this week...

Two new beds have been dug
and shrubs have been planted

 The fruit cage being built

A second shed has been put up

We have glimpses of colour returning to the garden

As always I am sharing how our garden has grown with the lovely Annie from Mammasaurus

How Does Your Garden Grow - Week 8

I haven't posted a How Does Your Garden Grow post for a few weeks simply because not much has been happening in the garden due to the season. However last week we saw a lot of change in the vegetable patch.

The hubby and my dad were busy all weekend trimming the large conifer that separates the vegetable patch from the main garden, an area was built for some new sheds and a stunning conifer chipping path going through the patches was created.

When I look back at the pictures below of how our vegetable patch looked just last year I am amazed by how much it has altered. It is all thanks to the hard work and passion of my hubby.

Here is how our garden has grown...

March 2014

April 2014

Our vegetable patch now...

 

The main part of the garden has also seen some changes. The hubby has placed an edge along the conifer border using leftover conifer chippings as a mulch and at last we are seeing the signs of spring with new life returning.

The latest addition to our household, 10 week old Opie, is also loving being able to get out in the garden!

As always I am sharing how our garden has grown with the lovely Annie at Mammasaurus

How Does Your Garden Grow? My Parents Beautiful Garden

This is a post that I have wanted to write for a while now and I wish I had done it during the summer months when their garden was in full bloom. This week I am sharing some pictures of my parents garden.

My parents have got a beautiful big garden that is divided over two sections, the lower section houses their vegetable patch, green house and large open space which the children use as their football pitch and the top section is mainly dedicated to their flowers and an orchard. Their garden is so beautiful thanks to all of the hard work that they have both put into it.

As far back as I can remember we always had a lovely garden and my parents were keen gardeners. This is where my love the gardens has come from and what I know now is mainly from what they have told me. Having grown up with big garden spaces full of flowers and features this is what I want for my children too. Luckily the hubby had a similar home life growing up to me and wants the same.

I am extremely thankful for what my parents have shown me and how they have passed on their love of gardens to me.

This is how my parents garden has grown...

As always I am sharing my How Does Your Garden Grow with the lovely Annie at Manneskjur.