Christmas Eve planting

A year ago we were suffering the worst Winter in a generation. We were still at Linden Barn and not at all certain where we would be living next Christmas Eve. So it is a joy to have put the stresses of moving home behind us and to be in a wonderful new house creating a garden from scratch again. Of course, to be able to be outside gardening at this time of year is a real bonus and I have been busy planting more box hedging, raking gravel pathways, staking recently planted trees and planting another Apple in the Fruit Garden.

I have been pondering how to divide off the Fruit Garden from the main garden for some time. A beech hedge maybe? Or a more formal arrangement of Yew cones? Vanessa then came up with a stroke of genius - why not plant 'U' shaped Apple Cordons. These have the advantage of being fruit trees and as such work well with the other trees in the Fruit Garden while also providing an informal boundary. Today I planted the first of what will be three trees that make up this boundary. It is an Apple Braeburn U-Cordon. This is a dessert apple and was originally discovered in New Zealand. It has medium sized, crisp, firm, aromatic red fruits which can be picked each October.

Nothing like planting a tree to raise the spirits on a Christmas Eve. And I shall be raising a glass of spirits this evening as we enjoy the begining of Yule-tide. Merry Christmas!

Tulip Planting

It is very late to plant Tulips but Jo and Tim at DirectBulbs have kindly given us 500 Tulips to plant in the garden with the proviso that we take pictures of the displays in Spring for them to then feature in their catalogue and on their website.

With days so short at this time of year it has taken most of the day to get them in the ground. But come Spring we should have the most wonderful diplays. The colour combinations and varieties are:

Cracker - A pinkish Triumph planted in the central round border flowering late April into May.

Blue Diamond and Orange Princess - both double lates, flowering at the end of April through to early May. Planted on both sides of the path that leads from the central round bed to the long garden seat.

Synadae Orange and Ballade White - both lily flowering in early May. Planted along the curving path.

Jackpot and Graceland - both purple and white Triumphs flowering late April into May. Planted at the Parterre end of the long central path.

Spring Green and Eye Catcher - both Viridiflora flowering early May. Planted on both sides of the long central path at the end entering the Fruit Garden.

American Dream - An orange Darwin Hybrid planted on its own amongst ivory coloured wall flowers along border with Vegetable Garden. It should flower at the end of April and the beginning of May.

Tres Chic and Claudia - both lily flowering. Tres Chic is white and Claudia is purple and white opening in early May. Planted in the front garden amongst box balls and Himalayan birch. Tres Chic also planted with orange wall flowers along garaging wall.

I am sure all will come out on time as nature has a wonderful way of catching up so fingers crossed for Spring. And hopefully my back will have recovered by Christmas Day!

The Fruit Garden

The fruit garden is now completed in terms of its planting. The last four trees are planted, two are Plums:

* Plum 'Czar', which produces medium sized, oval, dark purple cooking fruits which are excellent for pies, crumbles, sauces and jams.

* Plum Avalon - Krimsk, one of the very finest dessert fruits with large round-oval red fruits.

Avalon came from a specialist nursery along with a cullinary Damson we also ordered. This is called Shropshire Damson 'St Julien'. We also picked up a Pear, 'Concorde', locally which is a very heavy cropper with sweet, juicy medium to large fruits. It joins the collection of fruit trees we have previously planted:

* Cheery 'Stella Giesla'

* Apple 'Royal Gala'

* Apple 'Discovery'

* Crab Apple 'Malus Hupehensis'

Added to this are the 3 x Step-over Apples that divide the Fruit and Vegetable gardens (1 x Apple 'Pinova' and 2 x Apple 'Ambassy'.)

The Crab Apple is already producing the most wonderful array of red berries which we will use amongst our Christmas decorations.

We also had time to construct a leaf bin out of tree stakes and chicken wire. Our leaves have been collected in a very large and very white dump bag. Not ideal for long term use and something of an eyesore. The leaves will also rot down quicker now with the air flow that the chicken wire allows.

But we are most pleased with the Fruit Garden. Yes, it looks like a collection of twiggy trees and stakes right now, but given time and patience it will look lovely come this spring and many years to come. And we get the benefit of the wonderful produce it will provide.

A time for division

It's time to add to the plant stock by dividing up healthy growing perennials. An example in this garden is Nepeta racemose 'Walker's Low'. Since we moved in it has certainly been long flowering (a beautiful blue/deep purple colour) and more upright than most Nepetas. It has been a joy and we want more of it. It has been a struggle to find any in local garden centres to supplement the stock of plants so division is the best and certainly cheapest option.

By digging up each plant and dividing each I was able to gain 12 new plants and probably saved myself around £50 to £60. I have used the new plants alongside the lower end of the main pathway that divides the garden. At the far end I have further divided plants, this time Nepeta Six Hills Giant, an old favourite of ours. Come Summer the pathway will be awash with the deep purple blue of Nepeta and humming from the sound of bees.

I also managed to divide some quite large Crocosmia which I planted last Summer adding numbers and the drift effect I am after. And I purchased some Sisyrinchium striatum and was able to create more plants by dividing each straight out of the pot. In most cases each pot yielded three decent plants. 3 for the price of 1, a pretty good deal I'd say!

Bulb Planting

As Autumn draws to a close and the shorter days of Winter take hold it is time to think of next Spring and the promise that comes with it. Planting bulbs is my way of preparing for Spring and taking my mind off the dull, dark days ahead.

Our delivery of Allium bulbs has arrived from our supplier Direct Bulbs and today we were busy at work planting all 300.

Mount Everest, Purple Sensation and Nigrum are our favourites creating, when planted together, a wonderful raspberry ripple effect. In our central round border, we have the tall white Mount Everest in the centre with Purple Sensation running around the mid section and the smaller white Nigrum at the front.

In another border Purple Sensation drifts, serpentine-like, through and around the border. Meanwhile, Nigrums frame a curving path at the end of which they mix and mingle with Purple Sensation.

Spring is many months away but for today at least, it seemed that little bit closer.

Hedge Planting

A hedge is a wonderful thing and I have been waiting patiently for some months now to start the process of planting hedges. Today was that day and I have laid over 60m of bare root beech hedging in three specific sections of the garden. Firstly and most importantly, alongside the Parterre creating a clear division between the back and front garden. Secondly, to close off the Nursery Garden in the middle of which access is provided by our old oak gate. And finally, two runs of hedging against our western and southern boundaries overlooking open fields.

It was hard but rewarding and the effect immediate. An investment that will be repaid in full over the coming years.

Transformers

Trees have the most wonderful way of transforming spaces. I love the way they add height and perspective to gardens.

We have been searching for four key specimen tress that will be the focal point of the garden here at Ordnance House. The round central border acts as the centre piece of the garden and the beds and borders radiate off it so these trees will be seen from all parts of the garden.

But what trees should occupy such a key space? Well after much deliberation we decided that Crategus Prunifolia was the best option. This Hawthorn has pale ivory flowers in Spring and dark leaves which work well against the backdrop of the house.

With the central bed prepared with a rich loamy soil, all four went in pretty easily and once staked they now stand tall and imperious.

The whole garden has been immediately transformed by their presence and I think they look great.

Planting for winter colour and spring promise

November will keep us busy with the planting of more fruit trees as well as the feature specimen trees in the garden. But in the meantime we are kept busy with planting for winter colour and spring promise. The spring promise comes in the form of wall flowers. Orange alongside the garage wall and Ivory beside the new lawn in beds opposite the veg patch. Come April and we should have a fantastic display.

Meanwhile the veg patch has its own winter colour with purple and white cabbage and kale to cheer up the gloomy months ahead.

Indian Summer

The weather has been fantastic and the garden basks in the heat of an Indian Summer. I am busy planting out the main herbaceous border with plants that catch my eye and fit the colour palette.

This week it is 3 x Sedum Spectabile, 4 x Erysimum 'Bowles' Mauve' and Verbena bonariensis. I have also added an additional Virburnum tinus standard.

Meanwhile the grass seed is taking well in the new lawns and lush green lines are appearing in the grass after mowing.

All in all, the space has the feeling of a proper garden at long last.

The price is right

Collected the remaining Lavender from Long Barn on Friday and as fortune would have it they had an end of season sale of plants. I'd say £1 for plants that retail at £5.99 each was a snap so I purchased:

• Monarda Gardenview Scarlet x 1




• Nepeta Souvenir D'Andre Chaudron x 1




• Veronicastrum vir. Alba x 1




• Sisyrinchium Striatum x 6




• Nepeta Longpipes x 1




• Achillea 'Mondpagode' x 3




• Aquilegia Barlow Black x 4




• Sedum Mediovoriegatum x 3




• Hemerocalis (type unknown) x 3




• Campanula Perisicifolia Blue x 2




• Iris Ceasar's Blue x 3




• Campanual Prichards Variety x 1

Great variety of plants and not normally found in garden centres so I am extremely pleased. And Saturday was fun planting them all out. Then cracked on with planting the Lavender border.

Lovely lollipops

Planting of the key structural plants continues. I have been busy this week planting Ligustrum (Privett) standards along the side of the main path that disects the garden.

In fact these lollipop standards are a theme in the garden and we already have a grove of Portuguese Laurels and Viburnum Tinus standards standing to attention in areas of the garden.

I have also now pretty much enclosed the vegetable garden with box hedging underplanted below pleached Hornbeam hedging.

So progress is good and steadily the outline structure of the garden is beginning to take shape.

A firm footing

I have spent each evening this week barrowing 14 tonnes of decorative stone around the whole garden to top dress the many paths and walkways.

It's been hard work but the transformation is dramatic.

The garden now begins to actually look like the garden designed long ago in the depths of my mind. But the garden is, of course, devoid of planting.

We have reached, nonetheless, a watershed for from now on the garden will be all about the plants and the colour schemes that will define the space.

I cannot wait!

Coming along nicely

The new fruit garden is looking good. The latest edition are three step-over Apples and a Cherry.

One of the step-over varieties we have opted for is Pinova (M27). This dessert apple is a new mid season variety which seems to have a high resistance to both mildew and scab. We should also be able to pick the first crop late September next year.

The other two are Ambassy which appears to have large juicy fruits with a red flush and is a heavy cropper.

I have always wanted step-over Apples and they have always been part of the plan to provide the boundary between the fruit and the vegetable gardens.

Meanwhile, I have planted a dessert Cherry (Stella Giesla) in the fruit garden itself. This is a self fertile sweet Cherry with dark red or even black fruits and should be ready to pick in late July next year given luck.

The boy loves the black stuff!

For two days now a pile of pure black gold has stood steaming on the drive. This lovely stuff is recycled garden waste from the local council and it will do the garden and its many new borders no end of good.

Year after year we imported this wholesome material into the garden at Linden Barn and by the time we left the soil looked almost volcanic. But it was wonderful for the plants which thrived. It also surpressed weeds and kept in the moisture while improving the very structure of the soil.

Our rather thin soil will be much improved by this vital material. But barrowing it around the garden is very hard work and I fully expect that by the end of this weekend I will be a wreck! Nevertheless, I assure myself it will all be worth while in the long run.

The end of the beginning

I have been busy planting box. With the hard landscaping at an end (although we are still awaiting the decorative stone dressing), we can now get planting structural plants such as box. Buxus sempervirens or Common Box (European Box also known as Boxwood) formed an integral part of our old garden and we intend to use this old friend again here at Ordnance House.

An example is the central main bed around which the whole garden circulates. And today I have been planting the box that encircles this key bed. The box plants are small but I believe planting small develops stronger more resilient plants in the long term.

Meanwhile, the grass seed sown last week, has taken and a green sheen can be seen on the new lawns. I see all this as progress. It's fun watching a landscape transformed by machinery but it scars the ground no matter how careful or light footed you are. And it is now time to let the garden start to settle. It is the end of the beginning...

Putting down new roots

At long last I can now plant in the newly installed main bed. And the very first plant to be planted is a Crocosmia - 'Walberton's Bright Eyes'.

I divided up some clumps in the Spring at Linden Barn and then they came with us in pots before spending most of the Summer in a nursery bed at their new home here at Ordnance House.

In between the Crocosmia I planted Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' an old favourite. The smokey purple will work well with the burnt orange of the Crocosmia.

It feels strangely liberating to again be planting. A sign that we really are putting down new roots at our new home with our new garden.

I love a decent mound

As we near the final phases of the garden build, much moving of earth from one part of the garden to another has taken place. The skill of Ian on the digger is mesmerising and almost hypnotic to watch. And today Ian has been busy levelling what will be the lawn areas on the garden's southern boundary.

Adjacent to this area is a mound atop of which sit two majestic old Beech trees. For some time I have been pondering what to do with this mound. After all, not every garden has such a thing so I feel very honoured to have one.

It is rather intimidating. To reach the summit one can either take a running surge or a gentle ramble. But one does tend to look at it and calculate a route to the top.

Do I have the mound sculpted into two doughnuts, one small sat on top of a large one? No, I have decided to have Ian carve and mould the mound to accommodate a curving path that will gently climb to the summit around the edge of the mound.

The idea came from the many hill forts that are dotted around the landscape of this part of southern England. I love the gentle architectural curves of the earthworks. So, to create your own hill fort in your own garden has to be a fun idea!

After Ian has finished his masterful work, I plan to seed the area and sow it with wild flowers leaving the grass uncut. It will be a lovely spot to look out over the garden with a glass of wine in the evening or a mug of tea during the day.

Height and division

Our plot is flat. It may be on the side of a hill but believe me it is flat. I have used the term that the plot was gouged out of the hillside and this really is the case. The way we add height and use division of the areas will be key to the layout and design of the garden.

Prior to the groundworks beginning, all we had was a patchy lawn and the eye would jump to the far ends of the garden. But with division of the areas and the introduction of height using trees and hedging this will all change.

The first application of this philosophy has been the planting of a pleached Hornbean hedge that backs onto the new vegetable garden. This hedge will eventually surround the vegetable garden from the main garden and in time look wonderfully ornamental. But even in its current immature state, the architectural nature of the hedge is there for all to see.

A kindly gift

Having opened our old garden at Linden Barn for the Yellow Book, one of the real joys of doing so was meeting so many gardeners. Whether or not this comes from some goodness that transmits itself from the soil or if the very act of gardening nourishes the soul I have no idea but what I do know is that all the people I have met through gardening have been kind and sincere.

Today I popped over to Sara who had offered me some Irises as she is in the process of clearing sections of her garden which she plans to restructure. Sara and her husband Dick's garden is very beautiful. The garden envelopes the lovely period house and the plot nestles into the soft folds of the landscape just on the edge of the village. It is a setting with a very real sense of place.

Now, I confess that at this moment in time with a new garden to plant up from scratch, I welcome any plants people are willing to give me. All the better if these plants come from such a wonderful garden. The Irises are Gold of Autumn and will work well in our new garden and fit the planned colour palette and planting plan.

So, thank you Sara. Your Irises have found a new home where they will be welcome and very much appreciated.

More than a fancy

I confess it, I have always had a fancy for Hamalayan Birches. Tall, elegant things with long limbs, pale and translucent and as haughty as a catwalk model. Now I can indulge myself.

Having removed the fountain and ornamental pool in the front garden and which we inhereted with the purchase of the new house; I have prepared a bed and planted three statuesque beauties amongst some box balls.

The effect is immediate and quite satisfying. I am not against water features of course, rather I prefer plants. And no plants go together better than box and birch.

It's comforting that amidst the mayhem in the back garden, now a building site, the front garden is serene and calm. All the more so because of my pale and elegant birches.

An exciting day

Work has begun and a digger has been busy ripping up the garden and preparing the site this morning.

It is day one of the creation of a new garden here at Ordnance House and one I have been looking forward to.

And to add to all this happiness this morning I also received delivery of six truely joyous Portuguese Laurel Standards which will form a grove in the new Parterre. And very elegant they are too.

Long way to go but a good start has been made.

Marking out

Good news! The landscape contractor can slot us in a month ahead of planned and work begins on Monday (8 August).

Now is the time to make absolutely certain that the plan translates to the site, on the ground. So, I have spent the last couple of evenings marking out the site and the good news is it works.

On Monday the site will be stripped and levelled and so I will need to mark it all out again on the bare soil. But I needed to resassure myself that the plan did work.

Fingers crossed for Monday then.

A place to sit and relax

Until the hard landscaping starts in September most of the work in the garden is somewhat peripheral.

One such area is a seating area that is needed for the long oak bench and pots on the far side of the garden. This is actually a key focal point seen from the house.

So, out with the pickaxe and on a rather hot day it was hard and exhausting work preparing the base. But having excavated the trenches and laid the wooded board edging to retain the membrane and decorative chippings, the job was done.

Lots of effort for something that looks pretty simple!

Box planting

Our intention is to create structure with Box edging throughout the garden. As with our old garden at Linden Barn, we will again use Box hedging as a central theme defining areas of this new garden.

As work on the back garden begins in earnest in September, it is the front garden that offers us the opportunity to get some real work done in this regard.

We love the effect of Yew and Box balls contained in Box hedging and we will use this extensively throughout the garden. But Box is not inexpensive so we are buying small plants and allowing them to grow and develop. In the end I am sure these will be happier and healthier plants than those bought in larger sizes.

An apple a day...

The garden cries out for definition and structure.  Until the main ground works begin in September, all I can do is play around the edges and do what I can.  To at least create the sense of structure with what we have and the promise of what will be.

This applies specifically to the new fruit garden and orchard.  This area will be largely unaffected by the bulk of the landscaping and we have already allowed the grass to grow long cutting paths through.  It already has a certain sense of place.  But by adding some fruit trees this effect will be greatly enhanced.

So, this weekend we purchased two apple trees and a crab.  I confess that I was a little worried that apples would do well on our very alkaline soil but the local nursery who are quite reputable and respected say that they are able to grow apples on their fruit nursery with no ill effects.  So, let’s give it a go.

The varieties I purchased and planted were:

Royal Gala (MM106) – Originates from New Zealand.  Cross breed developed Cox's Orange Pippin and Golden Delicious

Discovery (MM106) – Dessert Apple.  Early season flowering. Scarlet and juicy fruit in August. 

Crab Apple (Malus hupehensis) – Small tree with ascending branches.  Abundant fragrant soft pink flowers opening white in May and June followed by small deep red fruits.

I ensured I dug a good planting hole (I tend to make these square based on latest advice) and filled it with good thick organic matter.  I then removed the fruits, teased out the roots, stuck in a stake, filled the hole, watered thoroughly and mulched well.  I then uttered the words advised by Alan Titchmarsh...”Grow you bugger, grow!”

The wonders of Lavender

Yesterday attended a fantastic tutorial given by Richard over at Long Barn (www.long-barn.co.uk).  This enabled me to see close up the many Lavender varieties they grow and propagate.  More importantly it enabled me to finally select the key varieties that will form one of the central themes of the new garden.
My selection of Lavender is: 

Main bed (dimensions 5m x 20m x 3m x 10m x 8m).   

Angustifolia:

• Hidcote
• Blue Ice
• St. Jean

Intermedia:

• Sussex
• Edleweiss
• Gross Bleu

Parterre:

• Bowles x 5 plants needed
• Nana Alba x 5 plants needed
• Beechwood Blue x 5 plants needed
• Lodden Pink x 5 plants needed

Pathways:

• Pathway 1 (10 m each side x 2 = 20m) – Gross Blue (22 plants needed)
• Pathway 2 (5m each side x 2 = 10m) – Sussex (12 plants needed)

So, the order has today been placed and planting will start around the second week of September.

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An arbour is a lovely thing

An integral element of our old garden was the rusted arch walk.  We had purchased these wonderful arches from Secret Gardens Furniture (www.secretgardensfurniture.com) and I think they were a wonderful feature and beautifully made.  So pleased were we that we commissioned an arbour which we designed and had them make.  We have brought this arbour with us and it will be a lovely place to sit and take in the vegetable, herb and cutting gardens. 

There is much work yet to do in this area of the garden but I was conscious that the arbour had been left in bits, taking up room in a corner of the garden since the day we moved in.  Best to get it in place now and we can build the beds around this central point.  I have to say it went back together a lot easier than I expected which was a relief.  And having cleared and prepared its site, I then laid a membrane and covered it with the decorative stone chippings.  I think a two seater wooden or stone bench will be perfect to finish it off and we will keep an lookout for one. Once planted with clematis around the outside to grow up against it and flowerpots overflowing with planting it should look great.

Wild and wonderful

We have deliberately left a section of the South Western part of the garden wild to encourage wildlife and to create a free and naturalistic feature. In time this will become a rustic orchard growing old varieties of fruit trees. My hope had been that we might grow apples here but the ph level will, I think, be too high. But more of this plan soon.  In the meantime we have placed staddle stones around the space along with a bee hive Vanessa repainted in colours that harmonise with the main house.

I have also cut a pathway through the long grass to create a sense of journey.  In time this will run to a summerhouse which we hope to build.  For the time being the path merely suggests a path across the wild areas going to places unknown.

The long border

Vanessa has been busy clearing weeds and grass from the long border on the southern boundary up against the old privet hedge. She did a great job on a task that took three or four days in total. Having dug up around the bases of the existing planting which included Laurel, Photinia ‘Red Robin’ and numerous other varieties of shrubs, I edged the border, watered well and laid a thick mulch of mushroom compost we had delivered in a massive bag.

It is amazing how creating definition to the border immediately produces a sense of order while elongating the perspective and line of sight.

The start of the pathways

Central to the garden will be a number of pathways that interconnect the sections of the garden.  The main pathways will be laid in September but we have sections of lawn that need replacing with paths immediately around the house and which need to connect terracing. So, some hard work was required digging out the turf, preparing the base for each path and then digging small trenches that we planted with box to edge the pathways. These box hedges, which have been planted with small quite young box, will soon develop into strong curving lines and structures. 

It has been difficult matching the decorative aggregate which has been used on the driveway.  After much searching, it is in fact a Cotswold chipping from a quarry called Horcott in the Southern Cotswolds.  10mm will do the job on the pathways.  Now completed and given time for the box to grow I think the effect will be great.

It starts with the Soil

Well, they always say start with the soil and so I dug test pits around the garden to take soil samples and to establish what we are working with.  The soil samples and the test kits came up a deep dark green indicating Alkaline (pH 7.5).  No real surprise, you can see from the surrounding countryside and what little gardening I have yet carried out that this is a landscape of chalk.

The plot seems to have had most of its top soil removed and the garden area levelled presumably when the new house was built.  But there seems no signs of any cultivation on the site at all.  Certainly no sign of old vegetable beds or produce production.  As the previous house was an old Ministry of Defence property and therefore not privately owned perhaps this is not surprising.  So, at least we know what we are up against.  We have to choose the right plants that will be happy in the conditions.  But it is also good to know that most fruits should be fine and vegetables too for that matter and both are new challenges to my horticultural knowledge.