Thursday, 16 July 2009

The Bigger Picture


As requested by Shirl, here are some images taken a little further away to give more of a feel for the garden in general.



I still have a long way to go, but as the years pass and I gain more experience things get that little bit easier. My main problem is having far too much time to stop and stare! Ha ha, I actually do more daydreaming than gardening!



So the garden is lagging behind a little bit due to my indecisiveness and procrastination putting off getting the plants put in the ground.



Some borders are far more successful than others, but as I get to grip with things and remove unwanted shrubs/plants then things should hopefully begin to flow more successfully. This year, as with last has pretty much been about getting things in the garden and little thought has been put into the actual design. Instead I have long-term plans that will hopefully begin to take shape over the coming years.







Learning to propagate is high on my agenda at the moment, but with so many plants and so many different techniques, right now it’s rather over-whelming and I am struggling. So currently I’m sticking to taking seeds or dividing plants – I have had a go at taking softwood cuttings of the Jasmine though… So we’ll have to wait and see how they cope over the winter!








And with the help of the very helpful and kind Cheryl , I hope to also have some ragged robin, red campion, echinops and fox and cubs to add to the collection next summer!

10 comments:

Val said...

Lovely pictures. I would say you are doing very well. I think gardens have that effect on one of producing a daydreaming daze! Its all that colour. Well that's my reason for procrastinating! :-) Val

Cheryl said...

Thank you Liz...you are most welcome....

It is looking lovely....very gentle soft colours.....my sort of garden..

Do remember a garden is never finished and part of the joy in making one is the learning process....

Have fun....and there is nothing wrong with daydreaming....welcome to my world.....

Shirley said...

Brilliant Liz! Thanks so much... I do love to see groups of plantings like this. You have a great selection of plants there... loved the cosmos. I also spotted your very nice birdbath too :-D

I love the airy feel of your garden. I'd like to suggest you don't go planting fully awake as you're making a great job of your garden in daydreaming mode ;-)

Ah... propagation... now that's one of my fav parts of gardening :-D

ShySongbird said...

It looks lovely Liz, I could do a lot of daydreaming there just as I do here :) I hope your Cone flowers are attracting lots of insects, I had some in a pot for a couple of years but lost them in the Winter, I must try again.

Joanne said...

The best advice re propagating is try and see some you win some you loose. The more you take the less dissapointment with the few that fail.

Liz said...

Val - hehehe, I tend to get really confused not knowing what to do so I just sit and enjoy myself instead! :D

I think I do it even more so because the past couple of summers have been so bad so I'm taking full advantage of the nice weather (well... we'll not mention the horrible weather today!)

Liz said...

Cheryl - I've only had a 'proper' garden for a year and I know I have learnt a lot already. As the garden grows, and as I grow I know I'll get there eventually...

Liz said...

Shirl - I have lots more photos that I'd forgotten I'd taken... So they will have to be posted along with other blog entries! :D

Are you experienced with propagating? My brain just starts to scream when I read all the various methods! ha

Liz said...

Jan - The coneflowers don't seem to attract as many insects as the other plants - unless you count molluscs as being attracted?? ha ha.

Mine are all in pots because they always get eaten by the snails/slugs and at least this way I can keep them away, but I think I will attempt to grow some next year...

Liz said...

Jo - Thanks for the advise, I've taken a few Jasmine cuttings and so far it looks like only two are still surviving... As long as one survives then I'll be happy, but as I have little confidence I don't expect them to survive :(