Well I got what I wished for last week, some nice, gentle rain. It’s made a big difference in the garden, the weeds have shot up (well they would, wouldn’t they!) but more importantly, the soil is a lot more manageable, I can actually get my fork in fairly easily! I managed to do a fair bit in the garden over the weekend.

I’m still clearing the AA garden, at times it feels like one step forward and two steps back, as no sooner do I clear the perenial weeds as much as I can, the annuals move in!! At least they are a bit easier to sort out. There are times when I walk up the garden and I see the AA garden from a lower level, I wish I didn’t have to redesign it…

…then I get up close! There are four raised beds waiting to be cleared here…mmm I can’t see the paths either, and it’s only May!

With a closer look you can see all the perennial weeds here, bindweed (although not as bad as I anticipated) nettle, couch grass, mares-tail, thistle, bramble, dandelions… In two days I’ve filled my wheelie bin with weeds and their roots, I’m a dab hand at identifying weed roots now, I can spot mares-tail root a mile off!!

I’m trying to save what plants I can, particularly if I’m pretty sure I’ve got any weed root out. I’m taking the risk with this astrantia as I think the colour is just so beautiful and they are pretty expensive to buy here. I’m moving plants over to the cleared area so no doubt they will be moved again once I really sort the beds out.

The front garden is looking very colourful at the moment. I have a scottish rose which is very prickly and only has one flush of flowers but for those few weeks it is beautiful. It is covered in single creamy flowers at the moment.

The ceanothus in the front garden has come into flower, it is covered in little lilac flowers. The bees love it so the whole bush is humming at the moment. The same shrub at the side of the house doesn’t look anywhere near flowering, it’s amazing the difference aspect makes.

The front garden seems to have filled out suddenly, everything has come into leaf and I think a few things need a good prune, but for the time being I shall just enjoy it. Our bedroom is downstairs and this is the view from our window, I love looking out at the shrubs every morning. There’s a purple and a golden cotinus coggygria, an unpruned golden privet, which is surprisingly graceful, a variegated dogwood, woolly willows (salix lanata), a magnolia, berberis, laurel, roses…