End of April: Some Warmth at Last!

April has been a mixed and breezy month, with April showers and sunny periods, and although it has been pleasant in the sun we have not really felt much warmth from it, with temperatures rarely rising above the mid teens (centigrade). Today has seen a change, however, with a mild night and blue skies from daybreak onwards, and our weather monitor recording temperatures over 19°C – but we still have the breeze! We are forecast more days like this, and I feel confident of beginning to plant up the cutting beds.

Let’s now have a look at the garden as it is, starting with the view from the back of the house (above), which thankfully no longer includes excess building material. To the right of this is the streamside grass (in need of cutting, but this will have to wait until the narcissi foliage has begun to die down) and shrub border, seen from both directions.

Moving on, we reach the woodland and walk through to the far end and take in the view from the bothy, with the main borders and striking Magnolia ‘Susan’ in the foreground:

From the back of the shed we see the main borders from a different angle before walking through the woodland edge border and then looking back from the far end:

 

mmmThe grass border and two bold borders are filling up, but there are still gaps to fill:

Through the gate to the cutting beds and the working greenhouse, with outdoor sweet peas settling in nicely at the base of their wigwam supports at the back of the newest cutting bed:

There are four separate sections to the blue & white border, and it is impossible to include them in just one photograph – perhaps I should use a stepladder next time! Beyond them, we walk through the rose garden, under the clematis colonnade and between the main borders:

Heading back towards the house, we pass the obelisk border and look towards the gable end with the wisteria and its so-far unnibbled buds, which are now several inches long, before peeking in the now much-emptied Coop and checking out the Coop Corner beyond, where Clematis armandii ‘Snowdrift’ is seeking world domination and has been severely reprimanded since the photos were taken.

 

mmmAs promised, I have made a video recording today, which should make up for the low resolution of the photographs – and give a better idea of the abundant growth throughout the garden. I haven’t added any music this time, so you should be able to take in the birdsong and rustling of leaves instead (as well as my footfall!). If you look under The Garden tab above, you will find a map of the garden along with the usual route of the video and the position the photos are taken from.