Border Patrol – January 2020

As is often the case, I’m a bit late writing this post, but the photos were taken on the last day of January. Green is staging a fightback against the dominant brown of winter in my garden. This is mostly from leaves of bulbs of various kinds – crocus, daffodils, alliums, even tulips now. If not spring exactly, there are signs Winter might be on its way out.

Let’s do the tour.

Rear Garden

The Patio Border – Alliums are the main greenery visible in this border, although the daffs are beginning to assert themselves too. I have planted allium ‘summer drummer’ in a group surrounding the tall asters underneath the red pot there. They should get to a good 5 or 6 feet tall. I’m pleased about the stachys, which looked very poorly a month or two back. Turns out that is normal winter moulting. Clearing away the dead foliage left them looking pretty bare but they have soon put on new growth and are looking quite fresh now.

The Sunny Border – I’ve pruned and trained all the climbing roses, all look to be in fine fettle. I’ve also cut back all the clematis on this fence, they also look like they are raring to go. I still haven’t removed the struggling cotinus, but I shall. I’ve planted more of those allium ‘summer drummer’ in a group around the helenium. They look a lot like leeks, of which they are a kissing cousin. I have dozens more alliums to plant out, they are growing nicely in the greenhouse, won’t be long now. I have been looking with furrowed brow at the lawn on this bit of garden. I’ve nearly concluded that I don’t need it, which would expand significantly the planting space, effectively merging the Patio and Sunny borders in to one giant planting area. So tempting, the only limiting factor being time to sort it out, what with all the marathon training.

The Wisteria Border, incorporating the Eye of Sauron. On first inspection, the bulbs are doing the heavy lifting, but a closer look rewards. Many of the perennials are showing through the mulch, nosing upwards. I still don’t like the planting on the trellis side of the border, I need to zuzz it up a bit. I will have plenty of plants, plus of course the alliums to load in here.

The Lilac Border – Dullsville Arizona.

The Shady Border –

The Hibiscus Border – I wonder if I should plant a small tree in here. Hmmm. In the meantime the bulbs are coming through, including some of last year’s tulips. I wonder if they will flower.

The Front Garden. There aren’t enough bulbs in here. I demand more bulbs! I should also sort out the coping stones on the wall. I “repaired” it years ago but got the mortar mix wrong so very few have stayed put. On the plus side, the abelia which I moved from the back garden is looking much happier. The plant leaning out from the fence is (in theory) an abutilon ‘suntense’, supposedly a shrub that can be trained against a wall or fence. Looks like I need to replant it leaning the other way and give it some more encouragement, some more support perhaps.

That’s it for this month, I’ll be back in a few weeks with another Border Patrol.