July 8, 2013

Gardeners Block

Posted by Barhi under Gardeners Diary | Tags: , , |
Leave a Comment 

Every year, for the weeks and months before the garden opening, I am focused on getting the garden ready to meet its public.  The opening is a wonderful opportunity to make sure that everything in the garden is looking as good as it possibly can be on that weekend.  The downside of this is that a lot of other things in life are put on hold.  So, when the opening is over, my thoughts tend to move on to other important things that have been neglected.  This means that the garden tends to get on with things on its own in June.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t avoid the garden.  I mow the grass, water plants and dead-head and prune where necessary, I just don’t have the garden at the fore front of my mind.  Now, that period is over for this year and I am back to thinking about the garden again.

NGS visitors 2013

NGS visitors 2013

Before I move on though, I thought you might like a quick update on the opening.  It was a lovely sunny weekend and we made over £200 for the NGS Charities.  I had been concerned that despite the dismal, cold weather we had this Spring, some visitors might have expected us to magically avoid all of it and have a garden with the plants that would normally be in flower in the first weekend of June.  Thankfully I was totally wrong.  People really appreciated the chance to see the Wisteria in all its glory :).

Certainly, over the years, I have come to learn that a different group of plants are in flower each time.  This highlights how it is impossible to plan one’s flowering for a particular time of year.  Yes, you can think that certain plants will be at their best, but you certainly can’t rely on that.  Particularly in a small garden, it is best to plan for a succession of flowering.In larger gardens, it may be practical to walk past areas not at their best, but in the size of garden that many of us have these days, every inch of space has to work hard!

We had a number of visitors making return visits, which was particularly gratifying.  This year, we had three canine visitors, but they were not necessarily as interested in the garden as their humans.  However, Anya was overjoyed to meet even more canine friends.

As soon as the opening was over, I did some major pruning in the hope that it wasn’t too late and that there would be some regrowth before next year.  We will just have to wait and see………………

 

November 19, 2010

A Different Perspective

Posted by Barhi under Gardeners Diary | Tags: , , , , , , |
[4] Comments 

In life, it is always interesting to get a different perspective on something.

Recently I was able to get a view of my garden from one of the readers of this blog when Bobbie and Ron Gratz, whose garden is featured in the Dogs and their Gardens section of the site, came to visit.

Some of Bobbie’s photos are quite similar to ones that I have taken, but it was really interesting to see what caught her eye as she wandered around on a November morning.

I love this picture of the trellis around the pond with the rose and clematis that adorn it starting to change colour.  The blue of the post works so well with the blue sky, but this is a picture I would never have thought to take.

I love these frogs playing leapfrog – although some visitors are not always sure what they are doing – it depends on the angle they are viewed from.  I bought them in US and have never seen anything similar in UK.   I love the moss growing between the slabs that form the seat around the edge of the raised pond that is now their home.  I usually get rid of the moss whenever I pressure wash, despite wondering on many occasions whether I should leave it.  Maybe next time I will see if I can get the slabs clean whilst preserving the moss.

When I looked at this photo, I was really flummoxed.  I couldn’t think of where it could be – I don’t have a wooden bench anywhere in the garden.  I looked at the picture again and again and then I noticed the trellis in the background.  There is only one place in the garden where I have that sort of trellis.  I suddenly realised where the photo was taken.  Turned through 90°, the picture is a sideways on view of one of my Trachelospermum growing to create a green window.

We had to have a photo with one of the dogs.  Here, Bobby has managed to get a feel of the garden from their perspective .  There is no doubt that this photo is taken outdoors and yet the garden is almost irrelevant to the story.  Far more important is the mission that Ruby is on – if only we could read her mind.

Thank you, Bobby, for introducing me to a new perspective on my garden.  Through your fresh eyes, I now have a whole new view of my outdoor space.

 

July 11, 2010

What does your garden look like?

Posted by Barhi under Other | Tags: , |
Leave a Comment 

Ok, so you have been seeing loads of pictures of my garden that I share with my dogs, now here is your chance to show off your garden.  

Whether it is a work in progress or something that is a little more mature, so long as you don’t have a seperate areas of the garden for you and your dog(s), send me the pictures and I’ll put a selection in a new gallery section on this site. 

I need at least three pictures and up to 500 words to describe your garden and dog(s).  Make sure that at least one of the pictures includes your dog(s).  Pictures should be  minimum 600 x 400 pixel resolution.

Just fill in the form below with some basiscs about your garden and then we will get the process going.

 

Next Page »