It seems an age ago that I was crated up for hours on end in an airplane winging my way back to the southern hemisphere. Â As I crossed the globe I made plans for the garden. Â As always my parents garden provides plenty of inspiration. Â There is always so much colour and although this invariably means more maintenance I can’t help but feel it’s time to take the plunge this year and start filling in the gaps between our shrubs with a colorful splash.
At the weekend we took a trip to the local garden centre to make a start but instead left with a barrow load of edible plants and not one flower. Â I’m easily distracted. Â I’ve not given up on furnishing the garden with a new look but the retail prices for perennials were painful, especially in the volumes we need to fill our massive beds. Â I’ve found a couple of on-line nurseries instead so will pull a planting list together and get them mail order instead.
We’ve got the landscapers here doing heavy duty drain laying. Â Once again a ravine was opening up at the side of the drive as the rainwater found it’s natural course down the slopes. Having invested in drainage infrastructure on the other side of the drive I know the difference it makes. Â Since the landscapers are on site they are going to be digging some new beds for me so we can overhaul some of the sloped areas around the house which are very difficult to maintain with mowing or strumming. Â This does of course mean more planting beds to maintain but with heavy mulching and a spot of weeding it will be much more manageable than lugging the lawnmower up and down a 45 degree bank.
I’m excited about the possibilities for planting the new beds out with lots of colour to cheer me up as I make the regular trek past them to the washing line and chicken house. Â For the moment though I’ll just enjoy the photographs I took of the flowers in my parents garden which is an altogether much less taxing affair!
