Since my previous visit to Martin and Judy’s June 8th 2024. there have definitely been several changes to how the garden looks and feels.

The Rowan tree, in the woodland behind the garden has developed glorious orange fruits, which instantly added a visually striking and vibrant addition to the gardens planting scheme. Which really makes me think that I should all be planting more ( appropriately sized ) trees and shrubs in all the gardens I care for.

Echinacea pallida and white Lychnis created and provided a really bold colour mix with the Rowan , and I fully intend to extend the use of these three colours over the coming seasons in this garden .

Rowan in the background . Allium summer drummer standing tall
Valarien and umbellfers in the foreground, Rowan in the background.
The pink achillea could well be Pretty Belinda , white daisies and seed heads of what were white alliums and white Lycnis are filling the borders. The garden is definitely in full summer mode.
Echinacea pallida , grown from seed last year and presently standing around 50 cm tall

I was taken by surprise and true delight , as the mighty Allium Summer drummer was flexing its sturdy stem in the breeze, they add a true sense of movement , as do ornamental grasses to a garden. They really are a very affordable bulb, costing less than a pound each . I just wish I had filled the garden with dozens more !

Echinacea pallida (from the image above ) was strong in stature and vitality. Interestingly, one thing I do know is that Echinacea requires space to grow well, as they really don’t appreciate competition from encroaching plants. On my previous visit, I had cleared space around the stems of the one in the image above , whereas in one of the other raised beds I hadn’t, which meant there was definitely greater competition for light and growing space from other perennials. Which ultimately meant the echinacea , was really quite lost, and definitely had few flower stems in comparison to the one on this image , which had five. Providing Echinacea with space is an essential gardening lesson to remember.

Another change , was how seedlings had grown so strongly in the pathways since my previous visit. I find myself regularly writing about how Canadian flea bane likes to self seed , and I now remove it at every opportunity. It really is quite a pernicious plant , which if left to its own devices ,would spread through the whole garden. This is definitely is not on my intended garden design plan.

A whole heap of seedlings removed from the paving , from narrow leaved plantain , fleabane and black medic
Canadian fleabane
Paving clearance complete.

The pool ( as ever ) required a further running repair . The new turf is doing very well in certain places, however around the edges where it sits on concrete it is a different story, altogether . On my next visit, I will take some compost and grass seed to sow onto the edges. I am aiming for third time lucky to resolve this problem .

Hopefully the following images of the garden , visually explains why Judy , Martin and I find great joy and happiness in its gradual transformation from an uninviting and bland turfed filled new build plot to a verdant and floriferous space. It truly is a very peaceful place just to be .

And finally , the below image is the start of the development of the front garden . These self sown Rowan seedlings will shortly be potted up , grown on and will become part of the design of the woodland front garden . The front garden will be taking design and shape from early autumn .

This garden, constantly provides so many new horticultural opportunities for myself , from learning about the life cycle of pernicious plants to how to improve growing conditions for all the plants and endless new garden design opportunities. It is a truly great garden to work in , and write about .

So why not join me in a months time , to see how the alliums will be faring, and in the meantime enjoy learning from your own garden.