My garden history!

[redsquirrel]

looking good as always mate,im trying to tidy mine up a bit,this year im getting shot of the damaged plants,cant be dealing with waiting years for palms to recover.seriously thinking about binning the big wheeleri too,fed up of getting torn to shreds walking past it.going to stick with yuccas i think,and the pinus,they always look so cool

[Trudytropics]

Good luck Springy loads to do, but what a joy in this weather, you'll have that knocked into shape in no time and it will be looking even better than last year. Show us some more pictures when its ready for judging

[Springy]

Thanks!

Last year the judging for the competition was quite late in the season because they were running behind schedule so things had filled out really well. If they do it on time this year and with the hose pipe ban, things could be a lot different.
I'm happy that I managed to get my brugmansias through the winter without loosing too much height on them and some are budding up with flowers already. They hadn't flowered at all when the judging took place last year. Even the variegated one made it through. I have got a couple of Ensete to plant out too, one of them given was given to me by Andy Martin. (Thanks Andy!)

[shanks]

looks great, good luck with the competition

[cordyman]

looking like some good preparation, bet its massive job satisfaction ticking each job off the list

[GoggleboxUK]

Bit late here but congrats on the Trophy Springy

Your garden is coming along at at breakneck speed, you must be part cyborg! Brilliant work, keep it up and keep those pics coming.

[Yorkshire Kris]

Good luck this year with the competition.

[Springy]

I was hoping to post some nearly finished (for the moment) photos of the garden tonight. I have been planning, planting and tidying today and I have still only planted half of all that I have overwintered and also grown from seed this year! I normally plan my planting scheme as I am watering with the hose and just take my time. Due to our hosepipe ban here I just don't get the same opportunity to do this so this year I'm doing it very much off the hoof!
Everything I plant gets a dose of blood, fish and bone, farmyard manure and for permanent planting, a measure or two of rootgrow. Then a good watering. This all takes time but it's worth doing as I believe it really makes a difference.
I have spent at least 12 hours in the garden over the last couple of days so hopefully things will turn out ok in the end and all the work will be worth it!
When I went to the trophy night this year and I was talking to the mayor's wife about my garden she was saying how some entrants to the competition just pop to B&Q etc a month or so before judging to buy their plants!
I explained about how I grow my own plants from seed every spring and also about all the winter wrapping etc that I have to do and that gardening is a 365 days a year hobby for me, not just a couple of months!

I'll post some more pics when I've planted everything to give a comparison for later in the year.


I'd still do it with or without the competition but the extra pressure it causes will hopefully be worth it!

[Springy]

Well the garden competition has now been cancelled due to lack of entrants so at least I don't need to worry about that now.
Things don't seem to be growing so well this year and I'm still waiting for some plants to catch up with everything else eg. the ricins! Hopefully this spell of warm weather that has been forcast recently will give all the slow plants a boost!

I have been given a load of tanalised wood from a builder friend of mine and decided to put it to use as a deck area. It will hopefully become a much needed shady area eventually. I just need to get it planted up now so a few trips to Nigel might be in order!! I have constructed it in the area that used to be where I grew vegetables. I used to give away more that I ate myself and so the draw of using it for more "exotic" planting became too much and it had to go!
The deck is only 8ft in diameter so its not massive but it is big enough for me to chill in the shade there whilst my partner worships the sun.

[Springy]

And an update on the plants that looked a bit rough after the winter. All of them have come through ok. The Brahea edulis that looked dead has been potted and has just started a new flush of leaves. The cordyline and Pheonix made it through with a few damaged leaves but the centres are growing nicely!
The cycad has been potted and is pushing out a new set of leaves (I cut off the damaged ones today to tidy it up) and the brugmansia is in flower.

[GoggleboxUK]

Nice! I like the wooden seating area Springy, all you need is a chair with 360 degree rotation and you've got a superb viewing platform for your garden.

[Springy]

Well, its time to post an update of the garden. We had a family BBQ on Sunday and the garden was looking at its best so far this year. I'm still a little disappointed in how its turned out at this stage but my heart wasn't really into it this year. I know the growing season isn't over yet so there still may be a little more progress. When you consider that some of my dahlias are taller than my ricins, you know things aren't at their best!

[Springy]

A couple more for the moment!

[GoggleboxUK]

Looking fantastic!

The warm, wet summer has cerainly worked wonders on your garden Springy, it's looking very lush and naturally jungly

[tropicalwon]

Hi Springy,

Super garden

The new deck area looks great and blends well with the curves of the borders.
The pond itself sits right in!
Love the view from roof

Great stuff ...Hard work pays in the end

Gray