150L of farmyard manure in ...

... 150L of solid clay out and eventually I had some soil that I could plant the sweet peas in. The canes came from our overgrown bamboo patch - how self-sufficient is that? I'll post another picture of this when it is a riot of colour (hopefully!).

Preparing the table decorations

I've heard of gardening on heavy clay, but this is ridiculous! I was digging over a new bit of ground to make a sweet pea bed and every spadeful brought up clods like this. The idea is to grow sweet peas for the tables, but we could make pots to put the sweet peas in as well! Or maybe that's not quite the look the bride has in mind.

Sprucing up the boxes

If it takes one woman two hours to tidy the box border of the parterre bed, how long does it take her husband to recover after he observes that the box hedge needs a bit of tidying?

No parking on 27-3-12

That's what it said in yellow writing on the road outside our house from the crack of dawn this morning. That's what the inconsiderate drivers who park there to avoid the car parking charges at the station ignored, making it impossible for the army of re-surfacing men to get started. Those drivers are now trying to find their towed away cars. Sorry if I sound a tad unsympathetic, but over the last year they have made it far more difficult than it should have been to get materials for the garden delivered. (And that's my excuse for including it in here!)

Welcome BST!

What a glorious weekend to see in British Summer Time! Spent a lot of it clearing, digging, weeding and enjoying the plants that are just starting to show their faces. The bank is covered in wonderful primroses like these.

Anyone know what the plant above the clump of primroses is?

One ton of Bury Hill Black

One ton of Bury Hill Black topsoil was safely manoeuvred over the hedge to top up the front flower bed. It's great soil, made from silt from an old fishing lake near Dorking combined with sand and compost. This is the Bury Hill Story. Amazing the work that goes into making soil!

The freeze continues

Not much more snow, but it's been freezing for over a week now. We are forecast to be one of the coldest places in the country at lunchtime today, -3°C in the middle of the day! Brrrrrh.

The lavender, which I never got round to trimming, looks good against the sparkling snow though.

First (and last?) snow of the winter

After a freezing cold week, around 3 inches of snow fell last night. Not enough for serious sledging, but enough to make everything look pretty. Not sure the poor camelia enjoyed it though!

Oh! Look! Look!

The snowdrops I planted are coming up! How exciting!

Thought I'd better take a picture as soon as I spotted them - according to the weather forecast they will be buried under snow soon.

Good as new!

Put up a new arch today and managed to tie on some of the existing foliage. Now just need to find time to tidy up the beds and rake up the leaves!

The arch inspired the lovely Save the Date cards that have just gone out - so I'm glad it was possible to replace it.

Too early

The mild Winter has encouraged this camelia to bloom too soon. I hope this week's frosts don't give it too much of a shock.

But it is lovely to see something so beautiful amidst the soggy leaves and dead flower heads. Maybe Spring is just around the corner.

Fallen Arch

Oops! Yesterday's storms brought down the passionflower arch. The arches with less dense foliage survived, but the amount of growth on the front arch was just too much for the 70mph winds that hit Surrey on Tuesday morning and most of the joints are bent beyond repair.

Now we need to decide whether to buy a replacment arch to match the other three, even though, to be honest, they are too flimsy for the job, or to go for something more substantial that will look different. Decisions, decisions.

Tulips from Amsterdam ...

(... well Utrecht actually, but never let the truth get in the way of a good title).

What a great present from my brother-in-law, who is working in the Netherlands at the moment and transported all his Christmas presents over here in a rucksack on his bike!

Planted 50 of said tulips in the front bed today. Here's hoping they stay safe from squirrels and deer!

Happy New Year!

New Year Resolution #2 is to start writing this blog again.

(Everyone who knows me will know what New Year Resolution #1 is!)

Spot the difference!

Before!

Remember the old shed and the scruffy parking area in front of it? Now there's a new path, a new gate and a new lawn.


After!

Aaaarrgggghhhh!!!!

It got in through the rhododendrons at the back - impossible to put a deer fence there.

Where can I buy a shotgun!

Oh dear - someone didn't read the dress code!

"Blue and white flowers only please."

Don't you just hate it when that happens.

The only thing to do is stand tall, hold your head high and smile. Sunflowers are good at that!

Passion flowers make it the top!

Only seven weeks ago we planted these two passion flowers - one on each side of an arch. They have now met in the middle and entwined tendrils! How romantic.

Fibonacci Rules!

The first of the passion flowers is out! Often quoted as an example of Fibonacci numbers in nature it has:

3 inner dark brown stigmas
5 greenish stamens
2 sets of 5 pale green petals
and (allegedly) 55 purple and white filaments- but I haven't counted those

Borrowed a passing usher ...

... to test drive the parterre. Doesn't he look smart!