simple spring flowers to help insects

The flush of snowdrop flowers (gallanthus nivalis) has finished in the Woodland Garden. But they have been succeeded by a wide range of exceptionally beautiful simple, insect friendly flowers.

native bullace (Prunus domestica subspecies insititia)

The bullace (a small wild plum) was here when we arrived. It is benefitting from the increased light now that some of the overcrowding from the sycamores and horse chestnuts has been reduced. The bullace has elegant white flowers and prominent yellow stamens.

cyclamen coum

native primrose (primula vulgaris)

Cyclamen seem to be springing up all over! They are distributed by ants and then form really large underground corms which store water and food -ideal for our dry sandy soil. The spring flowering coum are less vigorous than autumn flowering herderifolium. Each form has the tiny, characteristic cyclamen flowers and attractively marked waxy leaves.

My favourite flower is our wild primrose. Although there are many attractive cultivars, none has the star quality of the wild form. They create hummocks of lemon coloured flowers that stud the woodland floor. They can be propagated by seed - or by division in June. Each plant can yield five or more new little plants which will flower the following spring. It is my intention to see the whole of the woodland garden populated by these beauties before I'm done!

lungwort (pulmonaria 'Sissinghurst White')

Lungwort have spotty leaves and typically have pink and blue flowers in each cluster. We also have the gorgeous Sissinghurst White form. Its progeny revert to the original colour and so they must be propagated by division if more of the white form are wanted. As with all of the flowers, their form is very simple, making it easy for insects to enter and feed.

Early bumblebee (bombus pratorum) visits lungwort flower

Also flowering at the moment are our lamiums (flowering dead nettles) and hellebores. A few tiny Tete a tete daffodils have moved into the Woodland Garden as have a little group of crocus. There really is a developing banquet of insect food out there! And more to come!

And here's the vindication! We have the first Early Bumblebee queen (bombus pratorum) feasting in a lungwort flower. She is the reason we're going to all this trouble. As with almost all insects, bumblebee numbers have fallen over recent years. The reasons for this decline in bumblebees is not entirely clear but disease and changing land use are likely causes. They need a range of simple flowers to stock up with pollen and nectar to help them establish their nests and then a succession of flowers for as long a period as possible to see them through a successful breeding season and into hibernation (diapause).

woodland garden: encouraging saproxylic organisms

I told you we were getting closer to finishing our development work in the woodland garden. Well, the planting has happened. Or is happening - as you'd expect there's still lots to do.

.... before

Japanese acers and bamboos are in their new positions: they will give this area a distinctive feel as the growing season moves on. The acers should be sensational in fiery autumn leaf. Our commitment to wildlife is remembered as native birch, hollies and yews have been planted: these latter two are very much in the 'micro-plant' category as they've been collected as self-sown seedlings or grown as cuttings from local bushes. The holly 'hedge' I've planted consists of plants no taller than 2" and should make something around the same time I get my centenary birthday telegram.

'It's a hedge Jill, but not as we know it...'

The part of the Woodland Garden we've been planting leads through into (what will become) the green lane border of herbaceous perennials. Some pretty, tough perennials are called for to cope with shade and our sandy soil .... stachys byzantium; leucanthemum superbum (Shasta Dasies); Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Firetail’; anemone japonica 'September Charm' and veronica longifolia are planted in groups. Geraniums, as usual, play a part with phaeum variegatum, nodosum and cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’ in there. All of these have the kind of simple flowers that insects will love - especially as the afternoon sun brings warmth and light to this area. And an ornamental grass - deschampsia cespitosa is planted in a drift.

The soil has been dressed with our own compost and a thin mulch of chippings finishes the bed off.

and after ... just wait till it's in flower

Our use of logs makes this a really distinctive part of the wider Cordwood gardens. The Tree Council tell us that 80% of woodland wildlife depends directly or indirectly upon rotting wood: saproxylic organisms (those that depend upon decaying wood) are our main focus. We already have wood pigeons, stock doves, great spotted woodpeckers, wrens, robins, song thrushes, coal, great and blue tits busily feeding on the woodland invertebrates. Wood mice, hedgehogs and moles thrive on the opportunities they find in the Woodland Garden. As well as grey squirrels. Grrrr.

And these become food for our visiting sparrow hawks and kestrels. A pair of kestrels has been lurking suspiciously around our large open fronted nest boxes.

Distinctively Carlyle I guess - especially as during the latter part of my former career I was considered dead wood. 
Also distinctive is the compulsive labelling and listing of all the plants.

finishing the woodland garden is so close I can almost taste it ...

I don't have to excuse my failure to write anything since the middle of January. But find myself doing so anyway...

Let's put to one side the never-ending work on the drive...

We were asked to talk to Papplewick Garden Club about our home and gardens. Well, one thing leads to another. Reorganisation of photo library for one thing. Wrestling with the spiteful Apple 'Keynote' presentation tool. Was another. Making the old iPad work through the Bestwood WI digital projector as well.

Hours of my life sucked away.

But our talk was well received and that was reward enough. We've invited the club's members to join us for a summer evening tour of Cordwood.

So, now time to get back to the job in hand - developing our lovely Woodland Garden. And I'm so close to finishing the job I can almost taste it ..... decaying wood with a hint of fungus and an aftertaste of conifer chippings.

The first and second phases of the Woodland Garden saw us create log-edged wood chip paths. Native and ornamental hazel and elder were added to cornus, cotoneaster, ornamental holly, rhododendron and camellias as a shrub layer with a gorgeous dusting of snowdrops at this time of year.

So how to prevent the final half of the Woodland Garden from being a predictable 'more of the same'?

hazel and Japanese maple

We decided to create a large clearing that could act as a bonfire area and be a meeting place with seats.  So, bring on screens of sawn logs and beech hedging. And to change the planting 'feel' we've used the Japanese Maples that have been growing on patiently these past years and will be adding bamboos too.

Lots of logs, ground cover, mulch, climbers - we're talking a great woodland habitat for the song thrushes, wrens, robins, coal tits, chaffinches and stock doves that I keep disturbing!!

More work to do, oh yes. And now want to get it ready for the good people of Papplewick...

woodland garden 2014 - phase 2 finished

There's nothing more satisfying for the compulsive list maker than to cross something off.

entrance with beech hedge invisible!

make cup of tea
complete woodland garden - phase 2
put on chip pan

There. It's official. The journey that began during the Christmas holiday 2011is now half completed.

Log edged chipping paths have been laid. Structural plants (albeit baby ones!) are in and an under-storey of bulbs and perennials has been planted.

rhododendrons will screen us from views of sheds

Hollies and cotoneasters screen the boundary with Lamins Lane. There are ornamental elders and hazels, rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. Native hollies and elders are being encouraged. The entrances to the garden from the drive have beech hedge screens planted that will be topiarised eccentrically.

Different species and varieties of sweet violets, monkshood, epimediums, geraniums, tiarellas, ferns, bergenias and snowdrops amongst many others

shrubs have been planted to shield the drive border from the garden

are ready to start massing beneath the trees and shrubs. The intention here is to have simple flowers in flower for as long as possible. Ivy's and other climbers have been planted to scramble up trunks and through branches.

Bird and bat boxes are fixed to trees and stumps. And everywhere logs for wildlife - some stacked horizontally whilst others are set into the soil in groups reaching up like grasping hands.

All aimed at meeting the needs of wildlife and our desire for a beautiful garden.

Gardening on a budget means that 'instant gardens' are not for us. Many of our plants are small at this stage of the garden's development but we hope that they will thrive and fill out wonderfully in years to come. Our hope now is for a warm growing season but with abundant rain.

And no talk about the plans for next year.... Let's just enjoy the completion of phase 2 for the time being...

woodland garden 2014

Haydn

 

The Woodland Garden is a very flat, self-contained area to the south of our drive that consisted of overcrowded, sixty year-old, horse chestnut, sycamore and Scots pine.

Mike and (one-armed?) Rob a-rockin'

Since then we have felled trees, cleared never-ending brambles, nettles, wood avens and grass and created log edged paths and filled endless barrows with wood chippings for the paths.

Jake

We wanted to create a sense of enclosure and privacy in this discrete area and so have planted informal groups of shrubs around the edges of the garden. 

2014 saw the second phase of our work in this part of the garden with the creation of new paths, the planting of beech screens and of rhododendrons, ornamental elders and hazels. Under-planting has included such shade tolerant plants as bergenias, monkshood and dicentra.

I'll take some photos of the garden as it is now and hope to post these during the week. In the meantime, just a few photos of the garden in development and some of my able assistants who've given their time.

Appreciated.

Could this be perfect ...?

New hazel path

A friend puzzled me. She said 'Have a happy birthday tomorrow. Don't'. 'Don't'? I wondered. Not the most charitable birthday greeting I'd hoped to receive.
Then the second half of the message came through.... 'work too hard'. Don't work too hard.

And I guess, for lots of people that message could have been just right. It's your day. Relax if you can. Put your feet up.

But I've never been a feet up kinda guy: my idea of perfect is doing something purposeful.

We've been doing that for several days now. As a compulsive list maker, my lists runneth over at the moment:

Begin planting north facing earth mounds
Barrow chippings along new hazel path in Woodland Garden
Begin 'Lasagne gardening' to create Fragrant Garden
Edge, weed and mulch apple and pear corden beds
Begin weeding and rationalising Vegetable Garden beds
Wash and then barrow gravel around patio edging

All of this, and plenty of family and friends coming over.


And while we were working today, I saw 100 golden plovers wheeling and circling above the fields.

Could this be perfect?

work to be done ...

A friend said to me the other day 'I admire your work ethic'. It's like saying to a donkey on a treadmill 'I like your hat'.

The work has to be done, whether it's raining or not. And this is the time of year to be out in the garden preparing for the new season that awaits.

In the Woodland Garden we've had the horse chestnut taken down and I've used the logs for the edging of the new path. We have planted our ornamental elders and our first two hazels. The annual pruning in the orchard is almost complete. Thanks to Jan for her hard work. I think she will have needed a brisk rub down with straw when she got home.

At the entrance to the Cedar Walk I've removed lots of offending nettles, brambles and elder so that we have a continuous ground cover of ivy. Trev and Linda joined me for an hour here before the weather turned and I treated them to my cannelini bean and sage soup with home made bread. Bless you pals!!

Then onto the newly created little Pond Wood. Man work here moving logs. I'll feel the benefit. Then onto planting birch, hawthorn and holly transplanted from other parts of the site with Jill. Rowan, gelder rose and other natives to be added as more ground is cleared. We transplanted Nordman Firs into the pinewood and banking.

Over to the drive border to stamp on molehills and plant a couple of variegated pieris.

Then into our warm home and sodden coat and trousers into the plant room for drying.

Floors to mop before lunch.

And my hat-of-the-day was my winter Tilley. With two holes cut for my ears.

.

first signs of spring in the woodland garden..

The end of a damp and raw January. And one of the wettest on record.

But look, in sheltered spots and even up on our hill, nature is stirring.

Snowdrops (galanthus nivalis) are flowering and look great in groups under trees. Today's interesting fact is that it is 2 degrees Celsius warmer inside a snowdrop flower than in the surrounding air. Ideal for early flying spring insects.

We have a couple of groups of spring flowering cyclamen coum whose pretty little flowers are trembling in the cold wind. I mark where these plants hide in the soil by driving in stakes and attaching a wire label. Friend Jenny saw one of my labelled stakes and remarked that that plant didn't look very healthy. You're looking at a wooden stake. For heavens sake. I let it pass.

And blousy old Corsican hellebores (helleborus augutifolus) are in splendid green flower too.

helleborus augutifolus

This a big weekend in the woodland garden. Nate and Duncan are coming over on Saturday to take a horse chestnut down. Then we can extend the path up to the drive by the wizards tree ....... and get planting!

Mahonias and choisyas will be planted to continue to screen the garden from the drive and the newly-planted drive border. We'll add viburnum tinus and aucuba japonica (variegated laurel) as well.

The next stage of the woodland garden is to plant the cultivated elders that will form a group together. Then to begin planting the hazels that will create our 'platt' and give the next section its character.

The under-storey will be hostas, bergenias, tellimas, tiarellas, heucheras, gerenium paem and gerenium nodosum. Ooooh. Roll on Saturday!!

getting ready for floor screeding....

The icy winds that have dominated March, making it the coldest for over fifty years, continue.

once-beautiful helebores....

Last chance for us to get ready for floor screeding tomorrow. This is where the concrete layer that forms an even floor surface above polystyrene insulation and underfloor heating pipes is laid and trowelled smooth. I must say I'm more nervous about this than anything else we've done. I've only spoken to the floor screeder over the phone, he's never visited us and I am hoping that both he, his team and the tonnes of floor screed we've ordered all arrive. If all goes well they'll be finished by Wednesday pm and then we must wait until the floor is hard enough to walk on.

And as soon as it is, we have our airtightness test. Blimey, I thought OFSTED was bad!!!

But with work complete inside for a few days, it was chance for us to begin some monster catching up. First, another big slice of lasagne gardening with juicy horse manure in the meat layer this time : another 18m2 covered along the drive edge.

scorched rhubarb

Then tying our rush matting back to the fence. It's been battered by the cold easterlies and was flapping about like a flag of surrender and ready to give in.

Jill was then on a mission to tidy the mightily neglected polytunnel while I continued the 'weed the perennial trial beds' marathon.

And all the time the tundra winds blew. Here's some sorry helebores from the woodland garden who get the full force of the easterly winds, poor things. Even rhubarb has suffered.

Another cold week ahead....

snowdrops in the woodland garden

Our Woodland Garden is a little over a year old.

After the ground was cleared of brambles and nettles and the dead and diseased trees had been removed, we set out a log edged path and planted dogwood, holly, Christmas Box, firethorn and cotoneaster.

These young shrubs were underplanted with the snowdrops we had propagated by division from a clump found growing around a Beech tree at the end of the Cedar walk.

One year on, the snowdrops are paying us back with a beautiful display of nodding white flowers. We've continued our propagation-by-division strategy and have a bed of snowdrops ready for transerring into the woodland garden as soon as they have finished flowering.

I did try a second propagation strategy: that was 'scale division'.

bulbs propagated by scale division

I sliced snowdrop bulbs and allowed them to create their own tiny bulblets in a dark drawer. And it worked!! Today I planted fifteen small snowdrops around the base of our owl sculpture. I will water them with dilute leachate from our wormery in the hope that they bulk up this spring and then add to the drifts of pretty little flowers in 2014.

getting on top of verdant growth

 It's been a slog over the past few weeks, but now delighted with the progress we've been making.

Here's the Woodland Garden and really pleased that we've lost no plants at all since planting, mostly in the spring. Our dry site was always going to be a challenge for newly planted plants, but this wet summer has been a real boon. The rain encouraged lush weed growth especially because we'd enriched the soil with manure. But now that this verdant flush has been cleared, am hopeful we might be able to keep ahead. Bare soil is 'bad form' and we hope that the plants will 'bulk up' during the rest of the growing season to provide ground cover that inhibits weed growth.

Three more hollies (Ilex aquifolium Handsworth New Silver) have been planted along the Lamins Lane boundary  beneath our carved owl. For the first time we dug our own compost into the planting holes. We are trying to create an evergreen screen along this section of the Woodland Garden and have used a mix of holly, cotoneaster and pyrecantha: all good cover for birds as the plants mature and that also have useful flowers and berries.


And a big slice of the privet hedge cut with trimmings and other piles of rubbish cleared. The entrance to the site looks much tidier now, even though a privet hedge is an unlovely thing. The only thing less lovely than a privet hedge is an unkempt privet hedge. The drive will be prepared and compacted with wooden edging as part of this groundworks contract. There will eventually be a gravel surface.

Next week is an important week for the building of our Waxwings bungalow - the blockwork begins.. Photos to follow!!

Just need to turn attention to the Cedar Walk now to really feel we're getting back on top.

owl

There's a new resident at Cordwood... a carved wooden owl who now perches on top of a tall horse chestnut stump in our woodland garden and looks over the hedge at passers by.

Thanks to local chainsaw artist Mark Butler for this distinctive addition to the Cordwood fauna.

privet hedge - gone

To bring power, water and phone lines onto the site, a metre deep trench has been dug that followed the route of the privet hedge which separated the woodland garden and the orchard and vegetable garden.

Privet is an unlovely thing, so we were pleased to see it removed.

And while the privet was being ripped out, the big digger took a quick sidestep and tore out the two cherry stumps left in the vegetable garden that remained from our earlier ground clearance. These stumps concealed a Medusa's head of dense and thick roots that would have been impossible to remove without a machine. And removing these stumps and their roots will now make the creation of our vegetable garden raised beds much more 'do-able'.

But the empty space left by the removal of the privet hedge created a headache. Thankfully, Steve had got the digger driver (also Steve) to use his big bucket and scoop out clumps of birch in the area we hope to use as our flower meadow.

So, on Wednesday, 'the boys' planted nearly fifty seedling silver birches in an informal row. Thanks to Gary, Jim and dad we got the job done in record time.

In the years ahead we hope to move these birch trees to new homes at cordwood and replace them with shrubs and small trees that will form a permanent boundary between these key sections of the garden.



 

woodland garden - island bed planted

The best bit of gardening is planting ..... if you've been slaving for months to get to that point.

If you've followed this blog you'll know that this neglected end of the site had not had attention for around twenty years. Overgrown sycamores, diseased horse chestnuts; bramble & thistle; dessicated impoverished soil all needed our attention. We've mattocked and dug, manured and mulched to get to this point ........ and heaved heavy logs into position to create edges. But that is behind us now that we have almost completed this phase of the woodland garden.

 We've planted Yellow Dogwood (cornus sericea 'Flaviramea') and sweet scented Christmas Box (sarcacocca confusa) to continue the rhythm establshed in the first wave of planting. We've added Lilyturf (liriope muscari) for late summer flower and dryopteris erythrosora and Harts Tongue fern (asplenium scolopendrium)  as these ferns are likely to be happier in the dry shade we offer here.

We had lifted a lot Elephants Ears (bergenia cordifolia) from my aunts and planted them at our allotment. Today, they moved to their new home and embrace the trunk of the horse chestnut that is at the centre of the bed.

Oriental helebore (helleborus orientalis) has been planted in this bed, some distance from Christmas Rose (helleborus niger) in an attempt to prevent cross-fertilsation between these attractive family members!

Spectacular Winged Spindle (euonymus alatus) has been planted and we hope it will burn with red foliage in the autumn.

I'm pleased that we've remained true to our principles and made a place in both beds for our native elder (sambucus nigra).

Native primroses (primula vulgaris) have been dotted around the planted areas and around sixty clumps of snowdrops (galanthis nivalis) wait to be transferred into this end of the woodland garden when flowering is finished.

We've fixed bird boxes to complement our first bat box and were delighted when a pair of blue tits began exploring one of the nest boxes within hours of us tying it in its position. I need to look out for a broad, shallow container that can be a bird bath and source of drinking water for birds and insects.

There are still gaps, but now, it's time to let the plants grow and we can sit and watch their progress over the coming months.  Jill sees this bed as a 'stock plants bed' from which plants will be transferred to other parts of the woodland garden as they bulk up.

Inevitably, our minds will turn to 'Woodland Garden phase 2' which will begin in the autumn of 2012.
Here's a view down the woodland garden towards the west. The next phase will be the planting of 'The Nuttery' with plans for hazels and filberts, walnuts and almonds. This section of the woodland garden will be screened by a beech or hazel hedge so that one moves through different 'rooms' on a journey through the garden.

the woodland garden ....the end is in sight (well, nearly)

We are nearing the end of our 2012 work in the woodland garden. This will see almost a quarter of this part of the garden developed with the remaining three quarters to be developed over the coming years.

This week we have been creating an island bed that is next to the first bed we planted. It shares the same key characteristics - dry shade on an impoverished soil.


Light is now penetrating to the woodland floor due to tree clearance and branch removal. We have loosened compacted earth and created log paths thickly laid with wood chippings.  The area is an elipse and is about 10m X 10m. As we cleared and loosened the soil we discovered one worm! Hmmm. More organic matter needed!! A day loading and unloading my trailer lies ahead on journeys to and from neighbours' manure heaps.

The path is edged with logs that will rot and provide an environment for the saproxylic organisms we are keen to encourage. The wood chippings too will contribute to this as will the piles of sticks and logs we have left. It was a delight to watch a pair of robins and a wren exploring within them.

We are keen to encourage native flora and so have left elder (sambus nigra) whose flowers and berries are good for wildlife. Elders are used as food plants by the larvae of moths including Brown-tail, Buff Ermine, Dot Moth, Emperor Moth, Swallow-tailed Moth and The V-pug.
Because elders tolerate our difficult conditions, we may plant the decorative red berried elder  (Sambucus racemosa plumosa aurea) in this section of the garden. Its leaves are bronze when young turning a golden yellow. As its name suggests, it bears striking red berries. There is wealth of information about native elders at hedgrerowmobile.

During this beginning stage of our new garden, the emphasis will be upon establishing and then propagating plants from cuttings, seed and divisions. So this bed will be used to bring on plants that will make an appearance elsewhere as well!!

Continuing the theme from earlier planting we will plant sweetly scented Christmas Box (Sarcacocca confusa) and yellow-stemmed Dogwood (Cornus stoloniferia flaviramea).
With no budget for landscaping, we are pleased that Elephants Ears (Bergenia cordifolia) suit our soil and should thrive here. Thanks to my Aunty Margaret who wanted them clearing from her borders ... we now have many resting at our allotment waiting to join us.

To contrast with the big round leaves of the bergenias, iris foetidissima will be planted. The big round, leathery bergenia leaves will complement the slender, knives of the iris leaves. Brunnera macrophylla has lush, veined leaves and would add further foliage contrast.

A horse chestnut that dominates the border and needs to be cloaked - what better than a beautiful Schizophragma hydrangoides? Jill loves hyrdangea petiolaris and schizophragma is an exceptional relative. I took this photo of it at BlueBell Arboretum in Smisby.

Acanthus Mollis will also feature - we have admired their tall spikes of flowers on many garden visits.

We will also lift and divide one of the ferns we are bringing on at the allotment.

A busy and exciting few weeks ahead as our plans for this bed reach fruition. As you'd expect ... photos will follow!!

woodland garden in the rain

The newly planted boundary border of our woodland garden needed a good drink .. and the rain has come today in just the way that gardeners like; softly but at length.


 We've planted native primrose (primula vulgaris) and also added foxgloves (digitalis purpurea). This latter planting may have been a mistake. In the allotment, the varied shades of pink and white look sensational. I am afraid that the variety of colour will lose impact for us and realise now that we should have only used white. Perhaps next time.


We would have also planted lots of allotment nurtured transplants of Harts Tongue Fern (asplenium scolopendrium) but we expect operatives from Western Power to come and trim branches in the next couple of weeks so these will have to wait.

We have stacked lots of logs and sticks and used logs to mark boundary edges. Chipped privet has been stacked for a year before being used to cover paths. Encouraging saproxylic organisms (those that depend upon decaying wood) is a key part of our work on site and we hope that this volume of decaying wood will have an impact over the coming years..

Birdboxes will join our solitary bat box at the weekend. I hope to make lots of bat boxes in the coming months if I can find a source of salvaged untreated, rough-sawn timber.

Snowdrops (galanthus nivalis) are also being brought on at the allotment and they will be planted after flowers have finished.

Our attention will next fall to what we call the 100m2 border in the woodland garden.

woodland garden - first border planted!!!

At last.

A beautiful, crisp January morning and those members of the family available come together to dig holes, put in well-rotted manure, water, plant, backfill and firm and then top with chippings.

Then stand back and admire!!

Piles of logs and sticks have been left to encourage wildlife at ground level.

A lot of work will be needed over the growing season to nurture these plants in such a dry and overshadowed bed.

And the finishing touch was to tie a bat box to the large sycamore - a gift from my friend Jane. Here's hoping that the abundance of invertebrates generated by our log and stick piles will provide mighty feasts for resident bats!!

Woodland garden - manure gathered in!

This Saturday (weather permitting) will be an auspicious day .... we plant the first new plants in our woodland garden.

Trees have been pruned or removed.

Ground has been cleared of weeds, logs, sticks and piles of rubbish.

I've already listed the plants we've bought for the first section.

And we've done a planting scheme and roughed out the area for paths with logs.

And yesterday we brought in manure to use to enrich the soil when we dig our planting holes.


So, a family planting session is planned for Saturday. It is going to be brilliant!!! Or very wet!

Photo of middle of border in the twilight. With manure in piles. Ready.

woodland garden ... getting value for money!!

A blustery and rainy Tuesday, a dark January morning and what better way of lifting the spirits than by buying plants?
So, off to Glapwell, Mansfield to spend some of the plant fund we've built up from family and friends.

Now, I'm not a canny shopper and I have no understanding of the term 'Retail Therapy'. But the world of plant retailers is as difficult a shopping experience as any and the unwary gardener can spend much more than they need to if they are not alert.

A case in point is the large Brookfields Garden Centre on the edge of Nottingham. There, in a 'plant sale' they were discounting the price of pyrecantha (Firethorn) plants by 75%. Sounds good .. until you see that they were marked as having a pre-sale price of £20!! For a pyrecantha?! So, the price was a more reasonable £5.00.

Glapwell Nurseries is our favoured place for buying structural, non-specialist plants at more reasonable prices. Their Soleil d'Or pyrecantha's were £3.95.

In buying plants we place a lot of faith on the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Award of Garden Merit (AGM) classification and are always pleased to buy plants with these labels. So, although the plants at Glapwell were sometimes significantly less expensive than at other places, we can be assured that our plants will be what British gardeners call 'Good do-ers': they will grow well.

So, here's the 'booty' we came back with:

Chamaecyparis Lawsoniana Ellwoods Gold AGM

Chamaecyparis lawsomiama ‘Snow White’

Cornus alba (Dogwood) sibirica Westonbirt AGM x5

Cornus stoloniferia (Dogwood) Flaviramea AGM x 5

Cotoneaster frigidus Cornubia AGM x 3

Hydrangea quercifolia AGM

Ilex aquifolium (Holly) JC van Tol AGM x 3

Ilex aquifolium (Holly) ‘Silver Queen’ AGM x 3

Pyracantha (Firethorn) ‘Soleil d’Or x 3’

Pyracantha coccinea ‘Red Column’ x2

Sarcococca confusa (Christmas Box) AGM x 3

 Cost £120

So, a fully loaded car came back to Cordwood and I must now chafe until we can plant them in a couple of weeks. Hate this 'delayed gratification' thing!

woodland garden ... the beginning

 I love 'before and after' shots- especially when I've had to work hard to make a transformation.

That's what we have here.

This time last year this end of the garden was a mess. I posted on Saturday about the work done to transform the Lamins Lane hedge boundary. You can just see the old, wrecked hedge at the far end of this photo.
But the other side of the hedge was in a truly awful state, as you can see. The Horse Chestnut trees were badly affected by the disease called bleeding canker. Limbs had fallen off, the trees were overcrowded and little light could penetrate to reach the soil which was infested by weeds.

This area does present challenges. the remaining sycamores deny light when in leaf and also drop sticky fluid onto leaves of plants below, Whatever we plant here must be 'tough as old boots' to withstand the dry sandy conditions and the sycamores. It will need to be planted with tough evergreens that will also give privacy. There is a local population of tree sparrows (passer montanus) and house sparrows (passer domesticus) that love skulking in thorny thickets. We're planting berberis and pyrecantha to provide cover for them and to provide berries in the autumn and flowers in the spring. Cotoneaster are also in the plan for berries and flowers too.

The Scots Pines that border this area give us the chance to plant azaleas, camelias and rhododendrons that love acidic conditions.

Natives such as holly, yew and gelder rose will be used to give height variation in this first zone.

Our Christmas holiday job has been to clear the ground of nettles, brambles and wood avens. Overcrowded trees have been removed and tangled branches trimmed back.
Piles of logs left after early tree work have been moved and stacked and branches have been piled.


There was an ugly lump of several cubic metres of soil/branches/nettles/rubbish that we worked to eliminate yesterday.


And here we have the ground as we left it after a long session swinging mattocks and wheelbarrowing away piles of pernicious roots.


Manure and compost will be needed to give new plants a chance and that must be collected.


A path will be laid out marked by felled logs and the chipped privet we collected last year.

A planting scheme has been drawn up. 

Today we plan to go and buy plants.

And hope to have a planting session in a couple of weeks!!