Fence decision

OK, the fence has to be removed anyway so will try living with it open before any replacement.

The Gardener needs help...and this arrived yesterday in the form of D. and G., professional gardeners. They dug over the bed that was used for potatoes this year, removing the creeping buttercup as they went. Now it looks like this...

Now the perennials that were grown this year can be lined out, as they can't be planted in the bed next to the fence yet. In the past perennials left in small pots over the winter have sometimes rotted off, so the hope is that they will be better drained and safer in the ground.

There's a neglected Viburnum opulus just through the orchard gate. It became covered in an overgrowth of brambles, and each year is attacked by viburnum beetle Pyrrhalta viburni. This reduces the leaves to something resembling lace curtains. Most of the bramble has been removed now.

The next step is to cut the whole thing down and hope it grows back in the spring, stronger for not having to compete with the bramble. Hopefully that will get rid of most of the beetle pupae as well.

Job done!

The Gardener has worked on removing all the vegetation from the offending piece of fence, and it's now free and ready for removal.

That fern hasn't seen the light of day for a long time.

Now a decision has to be made. Remove and replace the fence, or leave it open? The orchard is on the other side.

If the fence is not replaced, the gate will be lost, and the enclosed nature of the orchard as well. Not sure yet.

Two steps back, one step forward...

Too wet for planting over the last couple of days, so the plan has changed. The perennials grown on from seed or tiny plugs will do better in the soil than in pots, so they will be lined out in the vegetable garden. However...
...the nice clear ground left when the potatoes were lifted has now gone all weedy, with a dense growth of Creeping Buttercup Ranunculus repens at one side. So that needs to be cleared first.
And - the fence at the back of the border being planted is falling down. That needs replacing before any more work is done on the border.

The grass has been cut, which gets rid of the fallen leaves nicely. And several bucket-loads of perennial weeds with roots on, plus lots of bramble clippings, have been consigned to the garden waste bin. Only a couple of loads were fit for the compost bin.

Considering these to replace the open-fronted bins in the veg garden, which don't really work.

See here.

In the beginning

Once upon a time there was a garden that was doing its own thing. The Gardener had been too busy with many Very Important Things, and like an unruly teenager, the garden was running wild. There were nettles and brambles all over the place, parts that couldn't be entered without a machete, and not much in the way of flowers, fruit or vegetables.
Then the Gardener decided that actually, the garden was important too, and made a start on restoring some of its former glory.

The plan

Start on the area surrounding the house.

Photos from winter 2010. Since then, the pond has been filled in and everything has grown a lot.

Some of the weeds have been removed and perennials put in the old pond area. This needs to be completed before winter 2013 sets in.

Here's a view from summer 2004. Looks much better!

If it stops raining tomorrow, the rest of the plants can go in, and perhaps a bit more of the weeds and ivy can be pulled out.