Getting out in the garden at last!

A big thank you to everyone who helped me identify some of my shrubs last week! Here are the suggestions I got for each one: 1. Lonicera Nitida, Variegated Privet 2. Garrya Elliptica, vViburnum 3. Senecio 4. ? 5. ? 6. Euonymus 7. Winter Jasmine 8. Euonymus 9. Aucuba Japonica, Laurel 10. Pittosporum 11. Ivy. As you can see 4 and 5 are a bit more tricky. I am wondering if number 4 is a spindle tree?

This week there has been a change in the weather and I have been able to get in the garden every day. The list of jobs is endless. Where do you begin! Planting, pruning, weeding, digging? For me it started off as planting time. My over wintered  hardy annuals are now out in their beds including sweet william, honesty, hesperis, wallflowers and some cornflowers. I am still holding back on planting out the sweet peas as they will be more open to the elements in the garden and not protected under fleece.

Also this week I received my Peter Nyssen order which I had placed before Christmas. I was like a kid in a sweet shop!  When you place an order so long ago you forget about it for a while and it’s a lovely surprise investigating the contents of the box. Inside were my 12 dahlia tubers. I have never grown these before and there are so many to choose from. I decided to try a real variety including some single flowering, semi double, decorative, karma and ball ones, so by the end of the autumn I will have found some favourites. They really are very strange looking tubers. Like a bunch of different sized sausages strung together. I have read that until after the last frosts you should keep them under cover planted up in 3 litre pots. I filled my pots of this size with some multi purpose compost, popped in the dahlia tuber and covered it up to the level of the old stump from last year. Even with the 3 litre pots it was difficult to fit some of the tubers in if there was a long wayward one sticking out. Once they were planted I gave them a water and have put them out in the conservatory where it is light and frost free. You can see in the picture below the dahlias old stump just showing level with the top of the compost.

My scented shrubs have started arriving and I have been busy designing my borders this week so I have a plan drawn out of where they are all to go. At the moment I am keeping them indoors at night in the conservatory and outside in the day as it is still very cold here. In a couple of weeks when it is milder I will plant them out.  In the meantime I am doing lots of weeding to get the borders ready. This is my ‘before’ picture of what it looks like now!

I have also been a bit naughty and have ordered another couple of plants this week! I had thought I was finished and had everything I needed for my new scented border. That was until I was helping a good friend with some suggestions for her garden. I recommended to her some phlox due to its beautiful scent, and after talking about them got far too tempted and ordered some for myself too! I am finding you can’t have too many scented shrubs and plants in your garden!

Also this week I have been sewing more seeds. This time I have started some half hardy annuals on the heated propagating bench including cosmos and didiscus. It always amazes me that from a tiny seed a little plant can emerge and I probably spend far too much time going into the conservatory to see what has popped up next!

The last few days have felt very busy in the garden. It has been great to be outdoors enjoying the fresh air and the company of our friendly garden robin, who pops down beside me when I am weeding. I have also loved the company of my other little helper this week. My 3 year old daughter has enjoyed making mud pies and digging big holes beside me while I plant! I wonder what you have been doing in your garden this week?

Just a little bit of Spring to leave you with ……