The Arrival Court
The garden comes alive in May, and this month’s Superstar is the Arrival Court. Created just last year, in mid- to late summer we filled it with blue, purple and white perennials like calamint, catmint, salvia, russian sage, and verbena. In the autumn we planted the fabulous allium variety, Purple Sensation, added some holly bushes, and waited patiently for spring. I couldn’t be happier with the results so far.
The adjacent 4-quadrant Entry Garden is a year behind the Arrival Court, plant-wise, and currently one of the main beneficiaries of the seeds started in the greenhouse.
Chris is now working furiously to get everything from the greenhouse into the ground, so stay tuned for Entry Garden updates.
The Beech Walk and Croquet Lawn
We planted the European Beech hedge in late March, in the face of raised eyebrows from some who thought this crazy idea might not work. And to be fair, we weren’t 100% sure ourselves.
We were pleased when the plants didn’t keel over and die within a week of planting, and overjoyed at the first signs of spring foliage. Chris began taking a daily census, reporting on the latest count of plants sprouting new leaves. Six weeks later and we are feeling optimistic and excited about this new space.
The White Garden
Trust me: things are blooming in the White Garden, but largely out of sync with this garden journal. Last month, the daffodils and Viburnum mariesii had come and gone. Today the white Salvia is showing its first blooms, and buds on the Campanula and Philadelphus are nearly ready to flower. Thank goodness for the roses (David Austin's Windermere), which are delighting us with both color and fragrance.
The Kitchen Garden
Last year I sowed each crop all at once, which sometimes led to a glut. That’s a nice problem to have, but I thought succession planting might be a better way to manage our food supply. I planted two varieties of beets, each in two rows one week apart. Just over a month later the difference between each sowing is barely discernible above ground; we’ll see how this plays out over the next month. With carrots and peas the effects of succession planting are more apparent, and I expect we’ll have a nice staggered harvest for these. We are already benefiting from planting our lettuce this way. I sowed the first row too early (should have started on the heat mat), but subsequent sowings are moving along and this week we had our first salad. With any luck we’ll have a more or less continuous supply of lettuce for quite a while.
Blooper of the Month
Four gourd birdhouses, made from last year’s gourd crop, now hang on a wire support behind the tomato plants. But what does the silly wren do? She builds a nest in the old gnarly gourd stuck in the support. While she has occasionally paid visits to the more upmarket accommodation we’ve provided, she doesn’t stay long. Sigh.
Those alliums are show stoppers! Your Arrival Court is looking pretty darn good. I put some catmint in a difficult spot, and it has rewarded me by being a real stalwart for several years now. Hooray for the beech hedge coming through! Your white garden is looking lovely. I know you love your parsnips but I do like seeing your flowers. That David Austen rose!