Hooptedoodle #496 - Got to Get Ourselves back to the Garden

 It's a year since we planted our brave new shrubbery on the site of the legendary Roland's Hedge (which was wrecked in a storm so long ago that I now can't remember which one). The flowering shrubs have come on well, so now we have reached the time for Phase 2 of the Roland's Hedge Memorial Project - the planting of the perennials.

I've been looking forward to this, with just a faint buzz of apprehension. Planning has been thorough - Matty the Heroic Gardener put together a monster plan - words and pictures - of what we should get, and where it should go. All colour-coded and touched in with felt-tips - how big, what colours, when do the flowers appear - all of that. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Planning is all well and good, but actually doing it is still a little scary. Well, it's been done - the days are accomplished.

 

I brought in a couple of loads of hardy perennials - for a week I kept them safely out of the wind, and watered them devoutly every morning

 

Then, last Tuesday, the great planting went ahead. At present, you have to look for the new wee fellows in among the shrubs, but it should all be a riot of colour when it gets established

 

We are still on a gentle watering every morning

 

We are keeping the gates closed at the moment - we have a history of passing deer coming in for a munch...

 

 

This is a further sub-project - we had some helleborus in pots at the top of the steps, and they took a beating during the recent monsoons and gales, so they have been moved to the old herb-garden. The flowers should be white, but are currently brown - let's see how this goes. Our herb-growing days are in the past, so some nice, tight little alpines will go in the pockets. The patio paving needs to be re-pointed - I regret this may have to be a forthcoming project too

 

We have a pieris (mountain fire) which was planted last year - they have a reputation for being easily discouraged by the cold, but it has done well. An interesting plant - the new leaf growth is red, which fades to green, so you get a good idea of how things are going

And, in tribute to my borrowed title for this post, here's a version you may not have heard before - Symphonic Joni:

I confess that I am more than a little shaken to realise that this late retrospective album of Joni's work (arranged and conducted by Vince Mendoza) was almost a quarter of a century ago. Next time, I promise myself, I'm going to try to pay more attention.