April 2000

These are April Photographs

These are April Notes

Funny month April, we expect so much with the promise of  better weather, but as usual that was not to be, with a cold poor start and some frost damage to tender young shoots. I shouldn't really be surprised, it happens nearly every year, but I live in hope of seeing my white montana clematis once more perfuming the garden with it's wonderful rich scent. In the five years since I planted it, only once did the flower buds survive and open. The pink montanas are no problem, never affected by the late cold snap, but then they don't have the scent I enjoy so much.  I was going to show a picture of the poor wisened buds, but thought the clematis macropetala to the right was a bit better start to the month. Boy do I feel better for having had a moan about the weather. 

The photograph above shows the upper rear garden looking a little more cheerful than the January shot on my main page, sorry about the size/download time, but any smaller and you would see nothing. I am standing in the kitchen doorway to take the photograph and you can see to the left the macropetala with buds just about to open. Lower right is my helleborus orientalis, the one that gets it's leaves kicked, but still flowers well each year. The ground cover below and around it and extending well into the bed to the left is vinca minor, one of my favourite ground cover plants. It is evergreen, easily controlled and studded in spring and on and off through the year with small blue flowers as in the photograph further down this page. You can see how much I enjoy cutting the grass by the size of the lawn, plus less grass equals more flowering plants. 

When I started this garden I was a real plantaholic, just had to have that one, can't live without this one. If you love plants you know the feeling, go to the garden centre to get plant "A", can't find plant"A", but "B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J and K" somehow got into the trolley. Well my severe slug problem sorted me out with only "D" surviving, sometimes not even that. Now you are probably thinking what a shame, but I learnt a valuable lesson. All those different plants were now being replaced by a few types that were slug proof, and suddenly the garden seemed more mature and restful, with larger sweeps of the same type of plant occuring at various places  starting to pull the whole thing together. I still crave a lot of what I now know I can't grow, and wish from time to time for a little more variety, but I do think the overall scheme of things is better.

While still on the photograph above, I wonder if anyone has noticed  the bird bath in the lawn? The one with the grapevine cast onto the pedestal, again see lower picture for more detail. The reason I bring this up is because after purchasing it, struggling to get it in the car (boy is it heavy), getting it home, taking it out of the car (it seems even heavier), dragging it around to the back garden, (hernia starting to form), placing it, leveling it and filling it. All just before my wife Christine gets home, whereupon I say to her "have a look in the back garden, see what I've bought". She looked carefully all around for about five minutes, before giving in and asking "what is it and where is it?". Makes it all worthwhile...... She was amazed when I pointed it out to her, a bit like I had just pulled a rabbit out of a hat.

Just below the statue (even heavier than the bird bath, but more fun to carry) is the newt pond, with little bridge over to upper pond completed late last year. The statue is called shy maiden, but as you can see she's not that shy.  Being finished in white her reflection on the water in the pond is wonderful on a clear bright day.

Vinca minor

Above you can see part of the bed where some of my celandines give their spring show, the trunk to the right with the claw marks in it (all our trees have claw marks in the trunk) belongs to my eating apple, this is the one where the mistletoe clings. The variegated leaves to the left of the picture belong to a weigelia and the deep red shoots in the centre to paeonia lactiflora. The paeony was moved two years ago, but seems to be settling down now. I did make sure the root ball stayed intact during the move, and it was out of the ground for only a very short time.  

The larger leaves belong to a rhododendron, we are fortunate in having a fairly neutral to acid soil. I originally planted it near a dogwood shrub which quickly smothered it, yes even rhododendrons will only stand so much shade. When I rescued it there were only three small leaves remaining, but in two years it has made a good recovery and has a couple of flower buds for me as a thank you. Just goes to show you should never give up on a plant until all signs of life have gone. 

There is a fern just below the rhododendron leaves, but it's name escapes me (so many names so little brain), it forms new little plants along the fronds, some of which I shall be detaching and potting up later. I like ferns, slugs don't like ferns...heaven.

These are April Photographs

These are April Notes