new garden - deciding how to start!

the next batch...

The island bed from patio.... (Gladioli already flowering!)


...and from the other side, so you can see the sunflower!


Looking up the garden from the Gloster 69 Apple tree.


The angle bed, that once was a jungle of scrub birch and brambles.


I think it is safe to say that the herb bed, or eye bed, is now "established"!


At the top of the garden, the veg bed is busy producing beans, peas and courgettes. Do you see those two pink blobs?


The full bounty of 4 years waiting for the rosa rugosa to flower. I have given them a number of last chances - starting to run out of patience.


Pleased with the veg bed - small but productive. In the background is the raspberry/strawberry bed. It will be moved further down the slope this Autumn, to give me a second veg bed.

 

And the last few


The new hydrangeas are settling into their new home (just to the left of the pair of rosa rugusa flowers.)


The top bed is starting to grow a little, but still the wild blue flowers in the grass steal the thunder.


The manic geranium bed - hope to be develop this next year!


The herb bed from further up the garden, with the angle bed in the background.


So much garden, yet I still end up growing stuff in pots!
The trough is already groaning with tumbling toms, and the windowsill is lined with chillies, basil, and Thai basil

 

The garden's looking great Sian! All your hard work is paying off and it's good to see how it's maturing.

 

Wow!
Looking back at this thread, it is amazing to see how things have come on.
Some have thrived, some have died, but it definitely has the stamp of "my" garden now!

I hope you don't mind, but I'll post some more photos of the garden - as much as an aide memoir for me, as anything else...

From near the bottom of the garden, looking up to the patio. You can see a line of up-turned turf, at the right-hand edge of the flatfish grass area. This is where I plan to extend the flowerbed across, to remove a v dangerous section for mowing.


The steepest part of the garden, which can't be mown safely. I've got a couple of budhlea at the top of the bank, one with cowslips at its base. The apple nearest me is Schone de Boskoop (sometimes called Belle de Boskoop), an eater/cooker. Behind and to the right is a fairly upright Laxtons Superb, which just came into flower yesterday.


A close up of the flowerbed "opposite" the flat area of grass and the patio. The acer is happy, as are the Winchester cathedral roses, and a new rhododendron has just flowered in situ for the first year!


The woodstore and fruit tree area Gloster 69 apple hiding a mini pear behind it, a rhubarb plant lurking in the shadow. Just to the right of the washing pole is a Braeburn - seems to be getting enough shelter from the woodstore windbreak. Around the Braeburn, and behind the bushy redcurrant are blueberry plants. To the right of the red currant is Lord Lambourne, also in flower, then a v wonky late flowering apple, and the dead cherry tree holding the bird feeders, and with a thornless blackberry making a maiden climb of the trunk this year. The little shrubs in front of the "feeder" tree are blackcurrants. I


Looking up the garden, the Lord makes another appearance, the black currants, and you can just about make out a Hereford Russet (more by the mulch at its base! Then our flowering "August apple". Between the August apple and chairs are 4 plum trees - one which is just rootstock, an Alsemberg, an Opal and a Conducta, all just finishing flowering.


The island bed pushing new growth through the hedge-trimming mulch. The sticky shrub is an hibiscus, v late to come into leaf, even compared to other hibiscus in the area, and a young medlar tree, with a line to hold it against the prevailing wind. Daffs, tulips and emerging day lilies make up the strappy leaf collection.


The angle bed - I'd forgotten the thorny mess it was when we first moved in! With an unknown plum/cherry (deffo not the sour cherry the label said!) now in full leaf. It's early spring flowers are a delight! To the right of the conifer, in the foreground is the herb bed.


A closeup of the herb bed. Rosemary, tulips and wallflowers are in flower, whilst the Kilmarnock willow is now in leaf. Chives are up and already being harvested, as are the tarragon!

 

The pink, or geranium bed. Now with two dogwoods adding height, and an acer soon to be incorporated. Underplanting of bulbs (daffs, tulips, crocus, snowdrops and those little blue star-like ones?) a Rosemary, lavenders, a couple of young tree peonies, a hardy fuschia and of course geraniums!

A closeup of the new acer. It survived a first winter, with -10c and biting winds coming straight down the drive! The geranium bed is slowly being extended up the garden, to take out the difficult slope for mowing, and to beckon people down towards the house.... the acer will be incorporated by the summer, but I didn't have time or strength to complete the latest extension last autumn.

Just to be different, we have a two tone flowering cherry. Clearly is supposed to be a white cherry, but it was a very high graft, and the pink rootstock also wants a say!
Edit: just had another look this morning, when searching for pots underneath the shed... the pink flowers are double, whereas the white ones are single, so I guess the rootstock is the white flowers....



The top bed, looking a little sparse at the moment. Sweet cherry tree in the lawn, with a gooseberry bush to its right. A damson tree at the end of its flowering in the flowerbed, to the right of he bird feeder. I plan to put the pond in the grass to the left of the lawn cherry.

A closeup of the area where the pond will go - you can see I won't be loosing much growing potential!

 

You have a beautiful garden, love the cherry blossoms, and have to say the two tone effect is very pretty!

 

What a lovely garden Sian, the size and the shape and the changes of level make it so inviting and flexible!

The planting breaks the open space up just right, adding interest but not blocking the feel of openness. I think that sometimes the trend to have "rooms" hidden from direct view can sacrifice the feel of open space which can be counterproductive if the house and the area are not too spacious.

I don't usually say this but I hope you are old and have grandkids to do rolypoly on the slope and squat in the shed whilst you old ones sip your afternoon tea (gin? beer?) in the sophisticated patio

Lovely garden Sian! I guess that now that the basic structure is settling in you'll get a bug and start to plan for a huge pond or an orchard or...

 

No children, unfortunately, but our nieces loved running free in it last summer...

 

Your garden has come on a real treat Sian. I can remember how daunted you were at the start of it's development. With hard work and the battle with sand along the way you can be proud of what you've achieved.

 

Thank you, @Sheal!
It seems to have really matured this past year. The new fruit trees have settled in, and the extended flower beds are helping. Bulbs that have been planted are finally filling out, an sending up multiple flowers. Getting the hedges cut, and their height brought down to 2.20m means that I no longer see weeks'-worth of work every time I look out of the window. Even the wood anenomes seem happy! The top bed still looks barren, but I hope the pond will help there.
I'm getting quite excited about this year's September photos, where we will really see the progress!

 

Will we see those photo's too......please!

 

What an amazing transformation . Well done, you should be very proud of what you've achieved. I look forward to the next instalment with your pond - including pics, of course.

 

A month earlier than normal, but here's my annual update of the garden. I thought I'd better take the photos now, before too many of the plants die in the drought!

First, the patio area, and slope down to the compost bays.
The Deutzia is looking a little upright after its first major post-flower prun, and the larger of the two buddleia is coming to the end of its first flowering.
The apple tree in the foreground is coping, but the Laxton in the background is struggling.

The woodstore, with the new wisteria meeting each other. The fruit trees are, from left to right: schone de boskoop, Comice pear, gloster 69, Braeburn, conference, a bushy redcurrant, with an unknown late apple behind.

In the foreground is the island bed, with the hibiscus finally in leaf and flower, the meddlar with fruit, and the chokeberry tree taking on a nice shape at last.
In the background, by the chairs, is the dead cherry/washing-line holder/bird feeder stand. The blackberry is doing well in its first year. But the Hereford russet has died - seemed to be a problem at the grafting point ☹️

To the right of the chokeberry in the foreground, are the plum trees. They are staying alive, but struggling to hold onto any fruit in the drought. (Cone is to mark a wasp nest in the grass)

The angle bed. All the lovely underplanting has died back, hopefully will come back again next year...

The herb bed - I think I've managed to save the main thyme, although I have lost some of the fancier ones. One is burnt off by the drought, the other was frozen by the sheet-ice in the winter. The tarragon seems happy!!

Looking up to the top corner, and the three raised veg beds. Deep well-rotted horse muck holds moisture, even now! You can also see the chairs by the pond, to the right... (and a hot dog!)

 

Here are the second set of photos...


looking across the top of the garden, from the drive. You can see the top veg bed, which is empty at the moment, waiting for the soil to be removed and replaced with horse muck and compost. The pond makes a second appearance.

The top corner, with its two new plum trees catching the morning sun. The laurel hedge behind was cut by the neighbours' gardener just yesterday, so is looking very tidy. Looking back at the photos, its good to see that the laurel next to their garage looks tidy again.

The garden shed photo! It was a shock to see how small the flowerbed was when we first moved in. The acer is just about incorporated now, but the bed will continue to be extended up towards the gate, as the slope is very difficult to mow...

Apologies for the Sun-flare, but the side of the house, with its new gravel path, and the white climbing rose nearly up as far as the light fitting - over 2 metres tall. It has flowered well this year, and I hope it will soon make it as far as the trellis.

Looking across at the house, from near the island bed. This patch of grass,normally stays green even if the rest dies, but not this year.

 

A few extra shots....

First, we have finally got some decent cover on the trellis work on the house.
Summer Jasmine in the first pot, although still shy to flower, it's covering well.
To the left of the doorway, a late spring clematis and a Passion flower up on the trellis work.
To the right, a honeysuckle- normally covered in flower, but concentrating on staying alive this year.
The new soak-away gravel area is looking good, and I think makes much more visual "sense" than before.

The three "raised" veg beds. The soil in the two productive beds has sunk right down, and will need to be topped up again in the autumn. Too hot to empty the top one!

Did I mention we have a pond?!!

Looking down the garden, the dead grass shows the "hip" of a rise in the middle of the garden more strongly than normal.

The island bed from the "other" side.

Finally, the extended patio bed. I think this has reached its finished size now. Maybe....!