A little garden assessment

On this last day of March, I thought a wee photographic assessment of how things are currently looking might come in useful, perhaps to refer back to later in the season when I'm thinking about what might need moving or where to plant one of my precious treasures transferred from the old house.

Sweet primroses seem to like this narrow gravel patch which runs the length of the garage wall.  I seem to recall that later on it is usually awash with welsh poppies (unless grandma succeeded in digging them all out, but I doubt it, thankfully).  In order not to weed out such desirables,  I must be careful to precision weed a la Hil.

Tete a tete daffodils all finished now in the troughs either side of the front door, just a few muscari seem to have escaped my attempts to rehome them last summer (they are the ones happily flowering away in the attractive black plastic pots by the back door at the moment).  But my pretty pastel blue and cream pansies from the 'dress the front garden ready for sale' campaign have revived in the warmer weather and are looking spiffing.  It makes me a bit sad though when I drive past the old house and see these lovely blue pansies in the porch and gateway planters that we left behind.  I planted the Yokohama yellow tulips in those too, as they did so well last year.  I hope she appreciates them and  doesn't dig them out...

Here's the first sighting of the bluebells that essentially infest this garden - fine in the right place (eg the shady woodland border) but in need of serious removal pretty much everywhere else, they are so rampant and self seed madly, basically suffocating all nearby plants and taking up all the room!  I was waiting for them to flower so I can identify whether they are english (good) or spanish (boo hiss v bad) bluebells.... watch this space for the decision...

This is the 'semi-woodland' semi circular border which runs along the back west-facing wall of the garage.  (I must get A to teach me how to do the whizzy stitch-photos-together-to-make-a-panorama thingy).  Big twiggy shrubs are lilacs, I think - I am keen to observe this border as it forms the main view from the windows of the bathroom and the lounge, so I'd like it to be a pleasing one.  Not too bad at the moment, and not overly infested with bluebells fortunately.

Interspersed with different background shrubs, this is essentially what the whole length of the woodland border looks like.  Lots of lovely daffs, occasional hellebores etc, and of course the ubiquitous bluebells...

Looking west along the woodland border towards the pile of felled horse chestnut at the end.  No idea why this sun loving euphorbia was ever put here, and how on earth it is surviving under what soon will become the heavy shade of the beech and walnut trees...however, survive it does - perhaps it's the dryness it likes?  Either way, it's a bit out of place but it will hopefully give me lots of cuttings or divisions to rehome to the sunnier areas of the garden.

Pretty daffodil close-up.  Just because.

Larch?  At the far end before the hedge this graceful tree has grown leaning and struggling under the massive horse chestnut.  Now that is gone, perhaps it will recover and fill out on the other side too.

This brunnera is currently spreading rather healthily around in areas of the circular island bed.  Grandma regretted introducing it.  I consider it simply to be a good plant in the wrong place.  The sunny island bed doesn't really need a tough as old boots ground cover like this, known to be a good candidate for dry shade. However, I do have lots of dry shade in the woodland border that might benefit from a tough ground cover plant like this - a spate of rehoming is required here.

Here's the conference Pear tree, suddenly covered in little leaf buds and blossom about to erupt forth!

Blossom on the greengage tree - hurray!

And nearby, like an island in the sea of bluebell foliage which is doing its best to swamp the rosey border which separates the orchard from the 'football pitch' lawn, a lone snake's head fritillary.  Must enquire with grandma whether this is self-sown or if there might be more hiding around here....

Identified site for the creation of A's new wood seasoning store, an urgently needed new dry home for the pile of felled horse chestnut so it can dry out and be ready to use next winter.  Naturally his eyes light up at the prospect of yet another opportunity to over-engineer a garden structure... but I must reign him in.  The rabbit fencing round the veggie patch is even more urgent!!!

And to finish, a glimpse at the first harvest of purple sprouting broccoli from the one surviving plant - enjoyed with minted lamb steaks from Pyne's and roast potatoes for tea.  On a Monday too...x