The winds of change
It’s funny how some disasters offer opportunities. We were sad when strong winds blew down our rose pergola, leaving our garden feeling very open. However, the roses were top heavy and some of the posts had started to rot, so it gave us a chance to rejuvenate the roses and design and construct a much better feature. We cut the roses back, leaving just a few strong stems and dismantled the pergola. It was originally constructed out of hazel poles cut from the hedge so, with hindsight, it was probably doomed to failure. We’ve now rebuilt it using treated wood and we’ll make sure the roses are tied in and properly pruned. A couple of rhubarb crowns have been transplanted into the vegetable area within the orchard so all our food crops are now together. Carrots have certainly been our most successful crop, and have been keeping us supplied for nearly six months. We’ve just harvested the last of them. Around the garden mahonia, Lonicera fragrantissima and Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’ are providing welcome colour and scent, attracting honey bees and the occasional bumble bee on mild days. Prunus subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ is just coming into bloom and I’m thrilled to find Iris unguicularis already flowering. Seed heads in the back garden are attracting goldfinches and bullfinches, so I’ll leave them standing a little longer before finishing my tidy up.
Tales from a Country Garden 