Hello, everyone! I’m back with a little update on this year’s garden. I hope you had a great summer! We’ve been very busy, but we still found some time to potter in the garden and work on projects. What did you get up to this summer? What were your gardening wins and losses?
The Box Hedges
As I mentioned in my last gardening post Gardening Show and Tell 2024, we had to tackle the removal of two boxwood hedges, which had been killed by a caterpillar infestation. I did get a quote for removal and installation of a short fence, but it was ridiculously overpriced. Therefore, in June, Lucy and I took out the hedges by ourselves! First, we pruned the branches back to the stumps, and then it was sheer muscle and effort to dig up the root balls. Our neighbours were very encouraging and even helped a bit!
Luckily, we were able to borrow a wood chipper to mulch down the branches. We had to put the root balls in the garden waste bin a bit at a time. I think we only just got rid of the last of them, 3 months later! The plan for a fence in the front is paused at the moment. Instead, we bought a range of perennials including salvia, lavender, and skimmia. After only a few months, the front garden is looking much fuller, and the bees love the extra blooms!
In the back, we removed the dead box and planted a sedum. It’s still a work in progress as we are planning on planting a small ornamental tree in that area.
Veggie Garden
We didn’t really have much success with vegetables this year. We had a few tomatoes and courgette (including one giant one!). The biggest success was one giant pumpkin! Here it is waiting for Halloween – I hope it will turn orange!
Wildlife
Apart from being invaded by slugs and snails, we have lots of wildlife in the garden! There is a resident hedgehog and several frogs. Now that we have a Niger seed feeder, we get lots of goldfinches visiting, in addition to the regular visitors like pigeons and Mr Robin. The most recent addition is a squirrel, who seems to think that all of the bird seed is for him!
Getting ready for winter
We are almost at the point of the last mow of the year and soon we will do our heavy pruning on the roses. I’ve planted some autumn/winter bedding plants in our pots – my preference is always for violas and pansies as they are so hardy and inexpensive. Our last big project before winter is to order mulch and cover all of the garden beds.
I didn’t get as much done in the garden as I’d hoped to this year, but overall, the garden is looking healthy and lived in which is the most important thing!
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