Much May Maintenance!

Partially draining the pond

It's not just been about opening plant theatres!  Preparing for the Open Garden season means lots of maintenance jobs like flushing out the pond and cleaning the filter - again!  There's been weeding, pruning, trimming, planting out,not to mention endless mowing & edging!

Since a rabbit breached defences and scoffed all the Genever Sweet Peas, I've replanted with some Sarah Raven plants.

Much has been happening in the greenhouse, with potting up cuttings, potting on Pelargoniums and hardening off plants in cold frames ready for their season out in the elements!

The vegetable garden is, at long last coming together!  With such a cold start, things are late but pea germination has been MUCH better than last year.  Everything is squashed up together as I was determined to put in a row of Chrysanthemums for late cutting.  Do I need a bigger vegetable patch I wonder??

I also chose a freezing cold day to go to the Malvern Spring Show and practically contracted hypothermia on the NGS stand!  I did return with a few purchases - namely a Festuca for Easter Island Man and a rusty sculpture!

Better get back to work!!

The Gardens of Wichenford 2019

A little slide show of Pat & Brian Finch's gorgeous garden down the lane.  They will be serving lunches and hosting a full bar in these fabulous surroundings!!  Pity they're so camera shy!!!

Garden Theatre Opening!

GALA PREMIERE THEATRE OPENING!

PEAR TREE COTTAGE PLANT THEATRE

Curtains rose for the very first time at the Pelargonium Palace Theatre today as a cast of miniature and dwarf Pelargoniums made its way along the red carpet to their new venue!

Let hope Jack Frost doesn't put in an appearance as they could take an early bow & then it would be curtains!!

Wisteria Moments.

One word. 

WISTERIA!!  For the first time in 9 years, we stopped the birds from stripping the flower buds.  It turns out that birds don't like Mozart or Beethoven.  That is, they don't like all their CD's hanging on the Wisteria.  They weren't overly keen on the plastic owls or the agricultural bird scarer either.  However, they didn't mind having their food station moved to the other side of the house!

The result of discouraging our thieving gannets is unrivalled SUCCESS!  After years of Wisteria annihilation, we have waterfalls of purple perfume flooding down the walls running for 36 yards around the house. When the windows are opened, the perfume floods in.   We even have purple curtains! Never have I taken more photos of one single plant!!  If I could, I'd share the perfume!

No Smoke but lots of Mirrors!

1 pot becomes 4!

Great progress has been made on the plant theatre. All the mirror glass is now fitted and also the surrounding beading. Chris carefully replicated all the angles and hide the tiny chip I managed to inflict!  He also cut some leftover oak to hide the edges of the ply backing.  I just need to carefully stain these additions and burn its name on the already made blank sign!  Alas it's far to cold to put out any Pelargoniums but I couldn't resist popping a couple of pots of pansies on until the weather eventually warms up.....whenever that will be!

Chris has very cleverly ensured that, should we have any avian residents, the front panel can just be lifted off in order to clean the interior.

Maybe I should say a word about the mirrors. Not only is the raised border in front of the plant theatre reflected but the mirrors at either end of the shelves give that effect of infinity. By angling these mirrors, the length of each shelf is vastly increased. The last advantage is of course, the number of plants resting on the shelves are increased!  The only BIG disadvantage is that I can't photograph it from centre front without seeing my own image!

I've placed a recycled seat in front of it - well, it is a theatre!!

Elsewhere

Gale damamge'

He didn't quite get the photographer!

Meanwhile, our regular Saturday Chris battled with the gales while wielding a pole cutter and and a pressure washer!  By the end of the day the boundaries were looking very smart and the granite path gleaming.  The rest of the garden was strewn with leaves and branches all ripped off in the high winds. Having managed to prevent avian predation in the buds for the first time, Wisteria racaemes were littering the terrace path. Such a sorry sight.  That's gardening for you!

Gleaming granite!

Getting More Theatrical!

My scaled blue print!

Checking for perfection!

A 2 Chris Saturday and freezing damaging gales in April!  Absolutely appalling weather conditions!

Wrapped up in 2 fleeces and a scarf in I could hardly believe the change from last week when it was too hot in a short sleeved shirt.  Anyway, we set to work on Phase II of the plant theatre/dovecote.  To keep out of trouble with our master builder, I'd drawn a plan and using an 'S' hook worked out how we could draw perpendular hanging shapes.  Scallops don't lend themselves so well to slopes and the expert had advised a more vertical take on my curves!

Ensuring symmetry in lead.

Chris's eye for detail and precision means an perfect upstand against the wall - not shown on my scribbled picture as I hadn't thought of such a clever addition! With a lead roof, it now weighs a TON.  Hopefully phase III will see a front panel in the top triangle with apertures cut out and landing platforms for potential residents!