"Good plans make elusive dreams come true ..."

The sun came out this week so I grabbed the garden fork and dug up the path and part of the lawn.

I have made a real mess!

I used garden canes to decide where the new path should go then changed my mind.  I made a number of sketches and threw them away again.  I measured the ground; I stared at the ground; I wandered round the ground.  It grew dark and I hadn't got very far so I spent the evening looking through books and websites for inspiration.



Gresgarth Hall          Vegetable garden

 This is Gresgarth Hall, home to Arabella Lennox-Boyd, a renowned landscape designer.  She opens her garden to the public once a month (next open day is 24th March).  Is this what I want ,,, a path with plants?  Or do I want something like this?

From Fine Gardening Magazine

This is Contance Hansen's garden in Oregon as featured in 'Great Gardens'.  I have a mature Japanese Cherry Tree (Prunus yedoensis) near the back gate together with a white and a purple lilac (Syringa) and a Rowan tree (sorbus aucuparia) so the top cover is in place .... its everything else that's missing!!

Here's what it looked like last summer:

Strange how your ideas change.  I was happy with it last summer!  Now I see two very short paths and too much lawn.  Well, the grass has gone so whatever plan I eventually decide on,  it won't look like this next summer!


It has been raining quite heavily today but the garden was still alive with bird song.  No-one has moved into any of the bird boxes yet and the hedgehog house remained empty all winter (was it cold enough to make them hibernate this year?).  Early days yet though.

Friendly Robin

We have two pairs of Robins fighting over their territories: one set in the back hedge and the other in the front Holly Tree.  They really are 'neighbours-from-hell'!  We have this cute perception of them from Christmas cards but a male robin seeing another male robin in his teritory really does "see red"!



There will be blood!  A robins protecting their territory.

 They have been known to fight to the death!  The collective noun for three or more crows is 'A Murder of Crows' that title should go to Robins (I think it is 'A Worm of Robins' but someone might be having me on!).

A friend shared this .... caused quite a bit of confusion and lots of requests for an explanation!