Usually we have the front border sorted by December so that we can see the snowdrops under the red stemmed Cornus, unfortunately that wasn’t possible last year and we are only just doing it now. We didn’t manage to give the Pyracantha its usual trim the previous year as the undergardener was starting on his treatment for his prostate. To say that everything had got rather out of hand is an understatement, there was nothing else to do, but bite the bullet and get on with it!
The mess on the left is the pile of pyracantha clippings
My first job was to trim the box cubes that were looking decidedly tatty, they all look so much better after a trim.
The driveway slopes down to the entrance, but the tops of the box cubes are level with each other, for some reason they get smaller and smaller the nearer the house you get.
The one nearest the house is half the size of the ones near the entrance. Is it because it is in shade all day whereas the others get quite a lot of sunshine or is it the soil isn’t as good as further down?
Euonymous Emerald and Gold marks the corner of the border – what a mess it looks with montbretia growing through it! The pot contains tulip bulbs which only got planted in the new year when I was running out of time!
I hope you think this looks better, I certainly do!
This is as far as we have got for now, but I am happy with our progress so far. We still have to weed it all and remove some brambles that the birds have kindly sown for us!
As long as it doesn’t rain too much over the next couple of days, we will hopefully finish the work in this border and be able to see our snowdrops once more.
This is bizarre, Pauline, because for the first time in many months I have got a direct email alerting me to this post – very soon after subscribing the Golfer to them so he can forward them to me! Is there any logic in it?! 🙂 I won’t get complacent about it yet though… Well done on your tidying and trimming – it occurred to me that the difference in size of the box cubes might be beneficial for the perspective. Do they look a similar size when you view them from the house?!
How strange, I don’t understand that at all Cathy, but am delighted that it has happened, I will keep fingers crossed that it stays that way!
The box cubes all look level from the house, they started off as little cuttings that a friend gave me about 10 yrs ago, it has taken quite a time to fill out and become recognizable as cubes, they need to thicken up at the sides, but the tops are ok.
Will keep my fingers crossed that the rain holds off for work to continue Pauline. Once you’re on a roll it’s great if the weather gods oblige.
Thanks Anna, but I started weeding the border this morning and the soil was so wet, I gave up and removed all the dead stuff from another bed, which now looks a lot better. I will get round to weeding when the soil has dried up a bit, that might take some time!
It is so satisfying to be able to get outside and have a clean up. Although as you say weeding is impossible at the moment. I love your hellebores. My box balls in my winter garden have all succumbed to box blight, has it reached Devon?
I feel so much better Chloris, when I’ve given the garden a good tidy, but it is still so wet underfoot so I’m trying to stay on paths and gravel until everything dries up a bit.
So far I haven’t heard of box blight round here, but mine aren’t the same variety so I’m hoping my box balls will be safe and also my cubes now that they are now looking more like cubes instead of blobs!
Such satisfaction when a border needs a real work over as the results are so clear. What is the lovely white stemmed trees you have in this border? Each year I am pleased when my little box hedge survives it is not really quite hardy enough for our climate zone (Swedish zone 4 – probably equivalent to US zone 5).
I feel so much better having made a start Denise, but it really will have to dry out a lot more before I can continue with the weeding.
The trees with the white bark are all silver birches, the three with the whitest bark are Betula Jaquemontii, the one on its own is Betula papyrifera, the paper bark birch bought after a holiday in Canada when we were surrounded by them, and the three nearest the house are Betula ermanii.
I love both the birches you mention. B. Jaquemontii is maybe borderline here but if B. papyrifera is happy in Canada maybe it would be happy here!
We were up in the mountains Denise, quite a way north of Ottawa, where it gets plenty of snow in the winter so B. papyrifera would seem ideal for you. Actually B. jaquemontii comes from the Himalayas, so that one should be used to the cold and snow too!
Thank you Pauline, very helpful.
A pleasure Denise.
I thought I recognised Jacquemontii, Pauline, it does have the whitest of white bark, doesn’t it. Very impressed with your clearing, trimming and weeding! I keep looking at mine but never actually making the move to address the issues!
Yes Jaquemontii has such a wonderful bark, I have even been known to wash it down to make it even whiter! The weeding had to stop when so much soil was coming up with the weeds, and since then we have had a deluge, making it even longer until we dry out!
Boxwood is one of those things that does need a regular trim.
Yes Jason, it needs an annual trim, but that makes sure that it stays smart for the rest of the year. I’m not sure that I have done it at the right time of year, just hope we don’t get a frost soon that could turn the cut leaves brown!
I think spring cleanup is one of my favorite chores. To see everything ready to go and every last bit of the previous year’s mistakes cleaned up is always a reason to celebrate. Plus things always look so much happier when they have some space to air out and breathe again!
Hope things continue to dry out there. You’ve had more than your share lately.
Just clearing the dead stems from last year Frank, makes the garden look so much better, but weeding will have to wait until we dry out! More torrential rain yesterday and the forecast is for more today, maybe I ought to turn all the garden over to be a bog garden!
We are going garden visiting today to see snowdrops, so hope the rain isn’t as bad as yesterday.
Hi Pauline, the border looks much better! I love the marvelous colors of the foliage . I always feel so satisfied when I get through cleaning up and pruning a section of the garden, but sometimes I wish the results weren’t so temporary!
It’s sad to think that in a few weeks, we will have to coppice the red stemmed cornus Deb. They have been such a splash of colour all winter, I’ll be sorry to see them go, but know that it is for the best, as the new stems will then develop the best colour for next winter.
Looks great Pauline. Glad you could enjoy a bit of time cleaning up the garden. So rewarding to feel the progress…
Thanks Susie, it’s amazing what a bit of tidying achieves isn’t it! I’ve moved onto another border now as it’s still too wet to weed.
Just clipping the Box and Euonymous makes such a difference so even though you couldn’t get any weeding done the garden looks tidy. I was able to clear one of my borders but them decided to more on to pruning the wisteria which takes a while and needs doing on days that aren’t windy or too cold.
Yes, it does, doesn’t it Christina, it makes such a difference. The soil is still too wet to weed so I still have another couple of borders that I can tidy without going on the grass.
I can remember when we used to have a Wisteria, all the pruning involved, though it was well worth it in the end.
I’m sorry to have somehow missed this post last week, but good to catch up with it via your latest one on storm Imogen that arrived safely in my email. I love the front border with its well chosen structure of birches, cornus and box balls. What a treat to have such a sight greet you as you come and go. What do you do with your cornus prunings?
Thank you for your lovely comments Kate re. the front border. When I planted it I was hoping to have some winter interest as we are passing it each time we go in and out. The interest starts in Oct/Nov when the leaves of the cornus turn a beautiful burgundy, then when the leaves drop we see the red stems which then last till March when we coppice them to the ground. The birches form a nice contrast to all the red stems and now the box cubes are almost the shape and size that they should be, it all takes time, just as well gardeners are a patient lot!
In the past I haven’t done much with the cut stems, a few plant supports, but that is all, this year though, I feel I ought to make something sculptural!
Your first comment came through as well as your second one Kate, sorry you are having problems.
Hi Pauline – how satisfying to have achieved such a good tidy with all the rain and wind we have been having. I have been away and am itching to have a good clear-up but feel thwarted by the weather. Well done the result looks great.
It looks so much better Sue, without all the dead stems and winter rubbish, amazing what a good tidy up will do. We will have to dry out a lot before I can get the weeding done though!