After the War of the Roses I did some general tidy up. And now amongst the volcanic rock I have planted a spectacular birds nest fern I found at the church plant sale, along with a boston fern and two baby spider plants. Perhaps they will take this time.
In Sock's bed I have put in some more spider plants - the green kind, not the stripy ones, amongst the narrow border against the cymbidiums, so they are sheltered from frost. Before they were in the tyres down the back, but I've removed one and just let a flax grow there. Or cabbage tree - I can't tell at the moment what it will be, it's one of Beth's donations.
I am still at loss what to do with my creeping buttercup border, nothing will kill them, but at least they don't have thorns. I have tried smothering them, planting other things on top, digging them out, but they multiply like bunnies. I have two roses growing there and I am loathe to dig them up as well as they are scented ones but I didn't plant them there. I have a kowhai tree there that mercifully hasn't died, the soil is moist and in a sunny spot so I'm not sure what else I can put there, Readers Digest suggested cannas but I've already got them down the back...maybe I will continue with dietes and rain lillies and another abutilon. Or perhaps a bottle brush to attract birds and it will be a kind of hedge?
The border is too narrow to be a real herbaceous border like the English garden style which is very labour intensive. I need to find perennials as I had annuals before and they don't seem to return after the season is over, except for a few straggly sweet peas and lupins. Mum thinks it's a disgrace but she doesn't exactly help much with digging up buttercups. Or the chickens.
Also remember I am not allowed nikaus.
My other plan was to have maybe a parterre or a sundial and weather station garden or herb wheel where the temperature box, weather vane and rain gauge is but I keep having visions of a pond with stepping stones and bog plants. However I think mum might notice if I start digging out part of the lawn. She doesn't go to the plant barn to look at the plants she goes there to meet a friend for coffee and cake.
Continuing my education, I watched 200 years of English gardening history. I had inherited a garden from the 70s which is not really garden at all but the conifer and gravel nightmare. I remember the 'low maintenance' junipers all had to be ripped out as they grew to giant proportions and after that my brothers reverted to clipped box hedging style which is Kissinghurst's hallmark for themed garden rooms. However I'm not having all my beds of one colour although I've attempted that in Snowy's white and silver bed. The final episode of that series in which they created seven period gardens was the contemporary 2004 garden which was a big oval timber structure surrounded by trees, lights, decking, and slouchy garden furniture. Hmm maybe not. Maybe I will forget designer intentions and just have a rule that if it grows well, and looks good, it stays. Bonus if it's edible.
