Cornwall

Just back from a fantastic week in Cornwall. The weather was pretty good, sunny half the time, and only one wet day - and even then only for an hour or two. So I can't complain. And the rental property was probably the best we've had. We stayed at Gorran Haven, not far from Mevagissey. Many narrow lanes have to be negotiated before emerging at this beautiful stretch of coast, but it's worth it. The property had amazing views, which I've photographed through the sun lounge windows:

During the week we visited around twenty gardens! And much as I love Camellias, I do not feel the need to see any for quite some time! However, my plan is to feature each garden over the coming weeks, so please return every couple of days to share my snaps of Cornwall's finest. This year I didn't visit the Eden Project as I've been many times before. Instead, I tried to seek out some of the lesser known gardens that I've never visited before. I found some real gems, and can't wait to share them here. Tune in tomorrow for the first garden.

Guest Garden

My mum has been busy in her garden just a few miles away from me. She has much more interesting displays than me during winter and spring, when my garden hibernates. In her blue and yellow border, daffodils predominate:

Here you can see the summer house which my dad built to my mum's design. What a clever pair they are!
In the front garden there's plenty happening too.

Thanks mum for allowing me to share your spring garden. You will have to drag youself away from it for a week, because tomorrow we are all heading for Cornwall! Next week I'll begin my series of posts on Gardens of Cornwall.

A bunch of Grape Hyacinths

Not everyone's favourite plant, this invasive little devil is popping up everywhere in my garden at the moment. I often pull them out by the handful where they are not wanted, but at the moment I'm quite grateful for a few splashes of colour. They look quite good in front of one of my monster Euphorbias!

Early tulips are starting to flower, and I notice that slugs and snails have already started to dine on their foliage. I must start to watch the hostas, which will be emerging soon.

I'm also pleased to see plenty of Aconitum reappearing, They self-seed freely around the garden, and the deep blue flowers last for months.

Last week I was fortunate to visit the Olympic Site in London, which I know has nothing to do with gardening. But between all the building work I came across this very unusual structure which was being used as a plant stand. I fell in love with it and snapped it, in case one day I decided to try and recreate it. Rather Dali-esque I thought. You may not share my enthusiasm for it!

Only two weeks until my trip to Cornwall. Really looking forward to it, and watch this space for a comprehensive tour of the gardens of this beautiful garden!

First Day of Gardening!

I've come out of hibernation at last, and spent the day gardening in beautiful sunshine. I haven't even really looked at the garden until today, I find it quite daunting when there's so much to do. The borders are still too wet to trample over, but I was able to tackle a few pruning jobs. A couple of over-sized buddleias met the enthusiasm of my new electric saw:

Now you see it...

Now you don't!

 Having left seedheads on my perennials over the winter, today was their annual haircut:

Sedums are cut back to the new growth

These Kniphofia are looking rather bedraggled

Here I have pulled out some of the dead growth and trimmed the leaves.
They should look good in a couple of
months, and believe it or not they flower their socks off.

This Pampas always looks a mess after winter.

That's a bit better....
I am pleased to see new growth on my Cephalaria:

Stipa tenuissima have made it through winter unscathed:

Hopefully next weekend will be fine too, so I can carry on with all the jobs
that need doing. Hope you've had fun in your garden this weekend too!

Statuesque Rosemoor

My recent visit to Rosemoor in Devon was made all the more enjoyable by the excellent sculpture trail, running until 26th February. I'm not a sculpture lover but some of the pieces were stunning. There were over 100 exhibits by 20 artists. This is the third trail held at Rosemoor, and the next one opens on November 24th 2012.

Rosemoor in February

I've just returned from a lovely weekend in Devon, and I made sure I found time to visit Rosemoor, one of the four RHS gardens. Known for its winter garden, I was not disappointed. I've actually visited in February before, but this visit was enhanced by a fantastic sculpture trail, which I'll feature in my next post.

This 65 acre garden was first opened to the public in 1967, when it was just 8 acres. It was given to the RHS in 1988, together with additional land. Although not as large as Wisley in Surrey, Rosemoor has its own special atmosphere, flowing beautifully from one area to the next.

There's plenty of winter strucure

Everything is so pristine at Rosemoor

Hellebores and snowdrops are looking good:

This little robin was taking in the views:

I'm Still Here...

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. There are many reasons why I've been a bit remiss. One is that I haven't been gardening - too busy, too cold! Another is that I haven't been garden visiting, for the same reasons! The good news though is that from September I will be semi-retired, of sorts! At the grand old age of 40 I am cutting my teaching down from five days to two. The idea actually is for me to spend more time composing music, my number one passion slightly ahead of gardening. But it also means I'll be able to spend more time in the garden, and I just can't wait. I'll also be able to spend more time reading other blogs, which I just don't get time to do at the moment. And this is all thanks to my wonderful partner, Huw, who is happy to keep bringing in the dough while I pursue my dreams. What a lucky boy I am!