Foxgloves and Fruit Cordons

The weather has been spring-like and we've been planting Double-U Apple Cordons to divide off the Orchard in a kind of living, fruit producing fence. The Apple varieties are Katy and James Grieve, both on an M26 root stock.

But we have also been busy planting Foxgloves throughout the garden. These are a personal favourite of mine and no garden I ever have will be without Foxgloves. Their spires of flowers look wonderful and add welcome height to a border. In the central round bed I planted Digitalis Virtuoso White while in a long, curving drift in the main herbaceous bed, I planted Virtuoso Cream.

In the long border my choice was Digitalis purpurea 'Giant Spotted' with its very pale pink flowers and throats spotted with dark purple dots.

Everywhere I look now I can see the green shoots of Alliums and Tulips appearing through the soil. It's the beginning of the journey into Spring and one which will gather pace each day from here on in.

The cold grip of Winter loosens

It's been cold here at Ordnance House. Minus 9 was the lowest it reached but we were lucky compared with many other parts of the country. Not that this has damaged any of the plants we have planted recently but it did bring us to a halt for a couple of weeks.

However, this past week we were able to move forward and on Monday I was even able to plant out some grasses in the early evening. The grasses included three Micanthus Sinensis, an old favourite, plus twelve Panicum Virgatum 'Heavy Metal' - switch grass. Heavy Metal is a tall upright blue/green grass and I have planted these at the bottom of the grass mound in the corner of the garden in the hope it will provide structure and a focal point.

I also got the plants I ordered from Beth Chatto's nursery in the ground in the main border. These included:

• Geranium phaeum
• Euphorbia griffithii 'Dixter'
• Gaura lindheimeri
• Astrantia 'Buckland'

I will keep the Perovskia 'Blue Spire' in the cold frame a little longer before planting out.

I have also been adding an Oriental Poppy, Papaver orientale 'Patty's Plum' to my collection in a drift in this main border. I have 17 now planted and I also found 6 x Campanula glomerata 'Bellefleur' Blue to add to the front of the border. This is the first 1st year flowering Campanula glomerata on the market and its upright stems producing clusters of deep blue flowers will attract both bees and butterflies.

In the central round bed I added four Aquilegia 'White Barlow' to contrast with 'Black Barlow' that is dotted around the bed. And I found nine white Foxgloves with purple spotted throats (Digitalis Virtuoso) to add to the same border.

I added two more trees to the long border - a Silver Birch (Betual pendula) and a Hazel (Corylus avellana).

Meanwhile at the front of the house on a steep slope I planted half a dozen Nepeta Six Hills Giant and another eight Nepeta Walkers Low with a Dianthus deltoides Albus.

After such a cold snap it has been great to be back outdoors again and with the bonus of the lighter evenings, I think we can hope now that Winter is finally loosening its cold grip.