Photo © T W Photos 2016
Our garden is exploding with colour - my impatience with our bulbs is finally being rewarded. After a lovely show of daffodils and narcissus, we now have some stunning tulips (fewer than I planted, but I think I’ll let the squirrel off this time). The blue dwarf hyacinths have provided a striking display this year, along with the bluebells. The primroses, which added vivid colour to the earlier months are fading, but their leaves still add an exotic air to the borders and the rockery, which is a bonus. The blossom on our pear and cherry trees was fleeting but beautiful, transforming our small garden at the canopy level.I must say it’s also very good to see the leaves coming back to our trees now. It’s a joy to see the tiny bright green leaves appearing on the enormous fig tree at the bottom of the garden. These will eventually darken and expand, giving us back the privacy we lost over winter. While we have a wonderfully secluded garden in summer the fact that all the trees are deciduous means we are overlooked in winter by the house that backs onto us. This seems to be an HMO with several students, who spend a lot of time working by their windows – or hanging out of the windows with friends.
To address the challenge of privacy, I’ve been looking for some fast growing evergreen climbers for the back fence. I have been obsessively trawling through Alan Titchmarsh's excellent book on climbers and wall shrubs among other sources. It’s surprising how many climbers are not evergreen (and sometimes they don’t tell you, or write something frustrating like ‘semi-evergreen’ … what’s that?). It’s also interesting how you can sometimes find an evergreen variety (e.g. of honeysuckle) where other varieties drop their leaves – but you often have to read the blurb very carefully. I decided on two types of evergreen clematis that flower at different times and a bee-friendly ivy, which together will provide cover and interest for us and the local wildlife. I couldn’t find what I wanted at Homebase (surprisingly good a lot of the time) or local garden centres, so I have ordered some plants from RHS online. My first experience of ordering plants online, so I’m a little nervous …
On one side of the garden we have lost the beautiful jasmine because our neighbours are having an extension built and it was on their side. So I now have to think of a suitable climber to replace it. Perhaps something not so rampant as the jasmine, as the new length of the fence will be shorter. I was thinking about an evergreen honeysuckle – another bee-friendly plant. Further along the fence, I’d also like to try a Pyracantha Saphyr Orange. It looks like a good all rounder with lots of interest for our birds, too.
We will also have to replant the climbing rose that we had to dig out while the extension is being completed next door. The poor thing is covered with greenfly at the moment, so I've been looking online for bee-friendly bug spray or tips. There is a lot of advice online, from washing with soapy water, to shaking flour over the leaves, to encouraging ladybirds or even ordering some ladybird larvae online! It's apparently also a good idea to plant things like chives, garlic, petunias or mint alongside roses as aphids don't like these plants. Probably a good idea to keep the mint in a pot nearby as it can run riot if left unattended.
Our house is a typical Victorian L shape. At the side of the house (the bit our neighbours are extending on their side), there is a secluded, shady area where only pots will go (along with a small table and chair for reading). With the new extension this will now be a brick wall rather than a fence. It’s difficult to find climbers that are going to be happy in pots (though some jasmines are: our neighbours told us the old vastly sprawling jasmine was just growing out of a tiny pot). Anyway, I will start with my dear camellia - if it ever gets to flower again. Perhaps being closer to the house it will attract less interest from the squirrels.
