This week’s post was intended to be my adventures at the Chelsea Flower Show. We were gifted tickets for Christmas to go with Lucy’s family, but alas it won’t happen this year. The Chelsea Flower Show is still going ahead virtually, which you can view here, but I thought I’d create my own flower show and share a tour of the flowers in my garden!
Out with the old, in with the new:
In January, we took on the mighty task of removing the ceanothus in the front garden. It was overgrown and full of dead branches, so we couldn’t save it through pruning. Although it was disappointing to remove an established tree, we replaced it with an ornamental cherry. Not to worry, we have another ceanothus (California Lilac) in the back garden and it is in full bloom and buzzing with bees!
New life in spring:
Since we moved in the dead of winter, we had no idea what was planted in the garden in terms of spring bulbs. I was pleasantly surprised to see daffodils, snowdrops, cyclamen, hyacinth, and tulips emerge.
Surprise perennials:
Although I could definitely tell there was a perennial plant in the ground, I wasn’t able to identify most of them in winter. Amusingly, we only found the garden diagrams the previous owner left for us in March, hidden amongst appliance manuals! My favourite surprise perennials are the bleeding heart, and the African daisies. We also have purple and white alliums, which add structural interest to the garden beds.
Climbers:
Both Lucy and I agree that the roses and the clematis are the highlight of the garden. We have 6 roses: Evelyn coral bush rose (see cover photo), a salmon pink climbing rose on the front of the house, a white iceberg climbing rose, a white and pink dog rose, an Aloha climbing rose, and a well-established pink climbing rose.
We also have a Nelly Moser clematis (my favourite plant in the garden), a purple Arabella clematis, and a Black Prince Clematis. There is a huge honeysuckle, and a sneaking passion flower, tucked amongst the rose.
Apple Trees:
Last but not least, we have two beautiful and bountiful apple trees in the yard: a bramley cooking variety, and a crab apple. I am very much looking forward to making crab apple jelly, apple compote, and apple crumble this autumn!
It may not be the Chelsea Flower Show, but our garden makes me very happy. It offers a creative and mental health outlet, keeps me fit, and allows me to connect with nature and further my sustainability goals. Chelsea will be there next year; meanwhile I’m full of gardening inspiration, even in lockdown. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour of the flowers in my garden. If you garden, please feel free to share what your favourite plant is, or your garden plans!
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