It's time to weed!

I've finally started what I put off for the whole of last year - weeding!
Last year I convinced myself that it would do me good to walk away from any gardening for a year because the tediousness of it was starting to make me not enjoy being out there anymore. A few years ago this would have been unheard of, I had less garden to tend and it was so easy to keep it looking immaculate but then over the years I've added another garden, a veg area and a polytunnel area and trying to maintain it all myself was just taking its toll. After spending another year just trying to keep on top of it while also mowing acres, looking after animals, keeping a house and accounting, I decided I was either going to a) completely gravel/pave/deck everywhere and just have pots b) dismantle the poytunnel and veg area and just let the weeds take over or c) simply take a break from it all and just see what happens.
I chose C - thankfully.

The weeds are awful - to be expected, but awful. I get alot of couch grass with runners that run like tentacles everywhere and the dreaded creeping buttercup. I don't mind any weed except creeping ruddy buttercup.

When I first looked at this trowel in hand I almost walked away.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Only now can I see that I can actually cram alot of new plants out here, which is a good thing really as I have approximately 400 in my polytunnel that are now getting quite depserate for a life outside their pot.

This though made me smile with happiness when I saw it. I have a Cordyline growing that is self seeded and has done so well until a couple of winters ago when a wishing well fell on it and snapped it right at the base. I managed to stand it upright and bashed a scaffold pole into the ground to tie it to. Then I mulched it with thick straw round the base and covered the straw with slate to keep it in place. The Cordyline appears to have survived which is amazing but now it has babies - twins no less. I thought the green leaves were from a flag iris that runs rampant in this bed but nope - they're definitely coming from the Cordyline stem.

I've been keeping an eager eye out for signs of my Peonies survivng the winter in the ground and sure enough 'Sarah Bernhadt' appears to be waking up.

I'm not sure what's going on with this pot grown Camellia in the polytunnel though. It has flowered a couple of times but nothing last year and nothing this year. It's in ericaceous compost that is topped up each year and I keep the watering right but it just doesn't seem to be thriving.

It's always nice to get a surprise in the post isn't it!
Well look what came for me yesterday

OK It shouldn't really have come as a surprise but I ordered these bulbs months ago knowing (at the time) that the dispatch date wouldn't be until March but as time has gone by I completely forgot about them, until yesterday......surprise!
The best bit about these bulbs is that they were FREE via a 'Gardeners world' magazine offer (I often go for those offers as they're good value and quality plants), I just had to pay £5.60 for p&p.
So what are the bulbs..................................



Paeonia 'Karl Rosenfield'

http://www.vivaipriola.it/paeonia-lactiflora-karl-rosenfield.html

Paeonia 'Shirley Temple'

http://www.nemesia.co.uk/paeonia-shirley-temple-127-p.asp

Paeonia 'Sarah Bernhardt'

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paeonia_lactiflora_%27Sarah_Bernhardt.jpg

Gorgeous huh!
I already have a Sarah bernhardt that grows in a pot and flowered for the first time last year - absolutely beautiful.
I've never dared to plant it outside though in case the winter kills it off as they like to be planted fairly shallow (I'm not one for sticking to winter protection methods) so I'm thinking if I plant these into large enough pots I could then sink the pot into the soil and lift them out for winter.
Paeonia hate to be disturbed and can take a few years to settle and flower so lifting the corms every year is just going to really pee it off.
I'm not the most patient of gardeners though and I dislike anything that doesn't produce worthy flowers in the first year so this is going to be quite testing for me - as are the Hollyhocks I recently sowed as I get no flowers until next year!