The great outdoors

One of the benefits of owning a garden on a hill and being on sharp draining chalk is that no matter how much rain Mother Nature throws at us, we can be out working in the garden within hours.

Today has been lovely.  Sunny and not too cold after a sometimes wet and decidedly chilly week.  Great weather to be out in the garden planting.  We have planted four Ligustrum delavayanum standards to help define our curving gravel path.  These are in addition to the eight we already have on other paths around the garden.  Their green heads look like floating footballs dotted around the garden and the effect is really pleasing.

In addition and to add screening, we have planted seven Ligustrum ovalifolium along our southern boundary.  While creating a screen they also provide a backdrop for the Orchard Room, our oak framed gazebo and their fresh green leaves are a real bonus.

But with two steps forward there is sometimes one step back.  During this last week holes have appeared where we planted Tulips in the border which divides the orchard from the vegetable garden.  Some form of rodent has obviously been at work lifting and no doubt storing our newly planted Tulips for Winter fodder.  Maybe this is a sign that a cold snap is on the way but having spent good money on the bulbs along with all the effort of planting them it is decidedly annoying none the less.  We had even soaked the Tulips in parafin as a precaution against just such an eventuality but still some bulbs have been taken.

As an insurance policy I have purchased more bulbs and planted these in individual pots in a gritty compost mix and hope to grow these on to plant out when they have shooted nearer the Spring.  It seems only to be Tulips that our small fury friends have a passion for.  Our Alliums/Ornamental Onions are unaffected so clearly they dislike the taste and aroma.

Maybe this is an indicator that next year we should just plant Tulips in pots and not the ground.  After all, they look just as lovely in a pot as they do in a border and pots can be easily carted off to the back of the potting shed when they are over and the bulbs lifted and stored.