Petal hunters
Hello chucks,
'Foxtrot' tulip is fast becoming my favourite tulip. Not only does this double flowered, peony type look beautiful, opening at white and green at first, then taking on increasingly pinky hues, but it is also scented! And that is quite unusual for a tulip. Here it is with some orange and yellow 'Quebec' tulips.
Mid-day sun tulips
Still a contender though are the parrot tulips, which are getting ready to pop - Amazing Parrot and Green Wave Parrot.
All of a sudden the red azalea has started to flower-
Little red riding hood stuffing her bag with petals
Red Azalea (variety unknown)
Red camellia, red cloak, red azalea.
More petal hunting -
The bottom of the garden 'wilderness to woodland glade' project continues -
Some found stones have been used to mark a new bed around the shrubby Weigela.
Here it is one week ago - pruned, freshly weeded and mulched with some forget-me-nots planted at its base.
This is how it looked today (below) -
A teepee has been made for the autumn sown sweet peas -
An alternate path has been made to the left of the the playhouse, so a proper 'turn' can be taken around the composting area.
The kids are adding their own little touches .
The weeds continue to be tamed by laying cardboard paths down, covered with chopped up leaves and grass... a much more lightweight version of wood chippings and very fun to make!
Above: Leaves being chopped up, combined with the second grass trim of the year.
The 'pit path' that was relaid a couple of weeks ago ( see post: Who fell into the pit?) has had some sedum, cornflowers and sea thrift planted into its crevices -
More sweet peas have been sown into the poshest of root trainers:
loo rolls in old ice cream tubs
(note paper funnel contraption to aid filling them with compost)
Onto the job that has caused my hand to cease up in a contracted claw - painting seven overlap fence panels. (I thought I had such a good Karate Kid painting technique going on too, but my spasms are telling me otherwise).
The colour is meant to be 'sage green', though it is looking quite blue at the moment.
It is about time some colour is injected into the bland picnic spot.
I will reveal the reet poncy 'before' and 'after' pictures in next week's post. 
Found, fallen nest with added petals
Hopefully my painters claw is nothing a special Friday night spritzer and episode of Gardeners World won't sort out. This bank holiday weekend we will be doing not one, not two, but three epic Easter Egg Hunts!!! That is officially a lot of chocolate!
What are you up to? I always love to hear.
Lulu xXx
My garden has been an increasing problem of being too shady and turning into a woodland garden (something I have railed against for a while) then last week a large offending tree was chopped down and taken away - oh be still my beating heart! I have light and air and space - I feel ready to try again!
ReplyDeleteHello Kate, what a relief that must be. The soil where our mutant line of conifers sat has only just started to recover, after heaps of seaweed, leave mold and manure. Conifers really do suck all the moisture up from the garden don't they! Enjoy your new space. Lulu xXx
Deletesorry about the claw/club hand situation - look forward to the reet poncy before and after pics. Your garden seems to go on for ever (not the post I mean the length of the garden!) I would love to find a fallen birds nest - I stole one once and felt so bad I returned it! probably all the birds were watching me. Little red riding hood knows how to to get into the spirit of things, our kids never would do all that stuff they thought it was stupid, 'just cut to the eggs no point in hiding them'
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely Easter and hpe the hand recovers.
Thank you Betty :) Sometimes my posts do go on forever too! I think the nest may be from this year judging from the fresh moss. I'm not sure where it fell from (?). Poor birds, they'll have to build one all over again. The hand is much better today. Just three more panels left to second coat. Little Red Riding Hood goes off into her own little magical world...and the bushes look a little sparser afterwards ;) Have a lovely rest of the bank holiday weekend. Lulu xXx
DeleteHi Lulu, There's so much colour in your garden! It's looking lovely - the sage green looks green to me if that helps. Also loving your innovative sowing techniques. I've heard chocolate and alcohol are the very best remedies for "Painter's Claw." Happy Easter! x Claire
ReplyDeleteThank you Claire, yes it does look green in that picture doesn't it?!? I think it just looks weirdly blue when it's against the yellow-green grass. I've just been over to your blog admiring your brightly coloured garden furniture. You're right, chocolate and alcohol are great remedies! Have a goodun' . Lulu xXx
Deletesuch a poetic post!!
ReplyDeleteeven red riding hood has an appeareance..... lovely. your garden is ca. 1 month ahead of mine - the forgetmenots & tulips will not bloom before end of april. my azalea looks more dead then alive at the moment - yours is spectacular - especially together with the camellia and "rotkäppchen" :-D
the wooden wall will look gorgeous in sage green - my best wishes for your poor hand!! <3
xxxxx
Thank you Beate, one finger typing = poetry :0 :) I was really worried that the azalea had completely died this winter. It lost all its leaves, as opposed to the usual "some of them", and looked very sad for itself indeed. Yet there it is again, springing back to life.
DeleteThe "Rotkäppchen" cloak I made from a fleece blanket. It was cheaper to buy a blanket than the actual fabric. The pointy hood was a happy accident. I never follow patterns, and just make it up on the spot. My bodged hood resulted in an extra panel (stiff cotton) having to be sewn into the hood...and voila...pixie hood. Lulu xXx
As usual an entertaining post. Love those tulips, we have never grown any in our garden over the years. As for fence painting that's something on our list - but when the sky is blue it's good to just enjoy the moment. Like the idea of your cardboard paths. All good wishes ~ Mike.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mike, very kind of you. Every year I try different tulips in the half-barrel, blue patio pots, and it always a spring highlight. The sky has been wonderfully blue this weekend and I hope you have been enjoying it. The jobs can always wait, the blue sky does not. Lulu xXx
DeleteAwww, look at Little Red Riding Hood!
ReplyDeleteThose tulips are wonderful. I wish mine would hurry up.
You're doing a cracking job with the bottom of the garden. We always call that sage green "posh person's paint" as it's the colour of choice when we drive through the gorgeous Cotswold villages. It looks amazing on your fence but ouch, that claw hand doesn't sound like much fun.
I hope the spritizer worked its magic! xxx
I think I need to weird up the fence a bit Vix, else next I'll be driving a land rover, shooting pheasant and dressing like a Tory! I always used to marvel at all the pleached trees in the Cotswolds. Thank you, a magic spritzer and good night's sleep sorted the claw out. Lulu xXx
DeleteThose tulips are fabulous Lulu I will have to get some for next year.
ReplyDeleteI was inspired to plant tulips last winter after seeing a beautiful front garden on Gardener's World last spring. The tulips are starting to come up here and I am thrilled.I just need more for next year.
I plat sweetpeas in loo rolls too. There is no shortage here we seem to go through a loo roll a day.
Take Care,
Jane X
I think I know the front garden you're talking about Jane - a young lad that was a florist and went crazy with tulips - he brought his nan's chucks over to sort the slugs and snails out (?). I don't think you can ever really have enough tulips. Loo roll is one of the banes of my existence - I live in a household of excessive scrunchers, eternally unable to realize when the roll is about to run out! Lulu xXx
DeleteI'm so glad you visited my blog as that gave me a path to yours and I am loving it. Your garden is looking quite charming, the tulips are beautiful and I love the charming touches your children are adding. Happy days, Sally xx
ReplyDeleteHello Sally, thank you for coming over to take a look and for your kind message. I'm popping over to yours as I've just seen a rather brilliant swimming hat in my reading feed.... Lulu xXx
DeleteI love having a tour around your garden! It is so beautiful. The tulips are gorgeous! I received some tulips in a bouquet for my birthday and they had their bulbs attached so I planted them straight out into the garden- I hope they grow again next year.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kezzie, I hope you brought a cuppa along ;) How unusual to have the bulbs still attached in the bouquet. It will be interesting to see how they fare next spring. I just love tulips, in or out of the ground. Lulu xXx
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