Before and After

You would expect before and after pictures to show the dire 'before' and the amazing 'after' transformations wouldn't you?
Well take a look at this

Before

After

Before

After

Not quite what you expected huh! There's about 8 years difference in those before and afters and it's progressively got worse over the years - hence why we are now in the middle of a complete renovation of the garden.

Mr TG has been digging out the new pond area today and though I've moaned at him ALOT lately about being lonely in the garden todays experience reminded me why I should stick to my areas and he should stick to his.
Mr TG has very different ideas to me and despite me talking him through every aspect of the pond plan before he started he has this tendency to try to manipulate things to how he thinks they should be and suddenly forgets the 20 minute conversation we had that detailed what I needed. Argh!
In the end I had to insist we do what I had planned and then I walked away, tomorrow he can go back to "his" garden.

For now here's more pictures of the mess I am attempting to tackle

Just look at that self seeded Columbine, it's absolutely everywhere and the majority of it is for the compost heap (without seed heads obviously). All that gravel is coming up and so is the polythene beneath it - we put it down believing it would suppress weeds. it doesn't! It's amazing what will grow in gravel.
The Butler sink used to look spectacular - honest! Now it's a mass of weeds and unruly Sempervivums.

Bad isn't it!
I haven't a clue what I was thinking when I built that maypole, I really don't. I rescued a Clematis this year that had been trying to climb up it but due to it being in shade it has never managed much more than a dozen leaves or so. That Cleamatis ('Warsaw Nike' or 'President', I'm not sure which) is now in a pot recovering and is looking good.
The transformation of these areas will be stunning......................hopefully!

Veggie season is finally here!

Veggies are finally growing on the plot, albeit in the polytunnel because the weather is still too unpredictable to put anything out.
The second sowing of Sweetcorn 'Incredible' (to replace the first sowing that all died) were well rooted in their root trainers and ready to go into their bottomless pots

Sweetcorn usually do very well growing this way in the polytunnel. The centre bed I grow them in is closest to the door so the breeze that comes through does a great job of pollinating them - plus I always give them a gentle shake at the correct time. We usually get 2 cobs per plant growing them this way and the difference from supermarket bought ones is unbelievable.

The Onions 'Stuttgart' are romping away too - this is the first time I've had even this amount of success growing Onions so needless to say I'm quite excited about this.

The Cauli's, Broccolli, Cabbage and Swede are all going through the hardening off stage so hopefully they'll be able to go out very soon - fingers crossed.
The Leeks won't be able to go out for a while and I can't sow the Parsnips yet because the ground is still too cold. I think I'll get some plastic tunnels erected this week to warm the soil up and then I should be able to sow the Parsnip sooner than if I don't use the tunnels.
The Climbing French Beans are really ready to get planted out but I just can't risk it yet, I just hope they don't suffer a check in growth or sulk because they're ready already.
The Courgettes are planted in the tunnel but the outdoor ones will have to wait a little longer and the Cucumbers will remain in their current pots until their roots a little stronger.
Veggie season is finally upon us!


I also got round to building the bird feeding station on the back garden. So far I've only seen Sparrows on it and although I built the feeder in a corner to prevent the Rooks wanting to eat all the food, as I type this I can see huge shadows flying around the feeder - I daren't go and look!

A while ago Mr TG came home with a surprise for me - we all love surprises right? I loved, loved loved this surprise.
2 of these

They are huuuuuge and I can't really decide what to grow in them because they're going to need something big or they'll just look silly.
I thought maybe a Gunnera in one of them as I have one in a pot that really needs to be re-potted this year and this container would certainly be adequate.
Maybe a Rhododendron for the second one? I have some that will grow to 3 metres or so and would provide an evergreen structure for the patio.

Garden bargains.

Don't you just love a garden bargain!
Mr TG and I took a trip up to a local DIY store today because there was 20% discount going on all the gardening stuff, top that with my daughters 20% staff discount and we stood a chance of picking up some bargains.
So what was in my garden bargain bag? Well firstly this Fatsia that was selling at £10 the other day (a price I refused to pay) and I figured the 40% discount would be something I would pay, so imagine my suprise when we found the same Fatsia's outside on the reduced isle already price slashed to £4.00. With the 40% discount I got this Fatsia for £2.40.

Next I have 3 Verbena Bonariensis - £1.75 each before discounts. I've never grown this plant before so it's going to be interesting to see how they cope with these conditions.

Next we got Asiatic Lily 'Vesuvius' in a pot, £3 before discount.

This Variegated Ivy is a bargain in more ways than just the discount on the £2 price tag - this one pot has at least 6 plants in it!

This final plant was Mr TG's choice and I have to say I'm more than a little shocked - it's very .....erm......fru fru!
Don't get me wrong there was a time when I would be drawn to the blowsy plants but even then this Ranunculus would not really be my cup of tea. Lord only knows where I'll be putting them! Still, I guess they were a bargain at £3 each before discounts.  I guess!

I honestly don't know what my hesitation with the Ranunculus is, I like the shape of the flowers (especially the Yellow one) but it may be the colours putting me off, they're very bright but bland if that makes sense?

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