The Great Lawn

The Handyman made a general comment on this blog the other day when he said that it was tricky sometimes to understand where in the garden I might be in any particular post; he also commented on the lack of attention the top lawn receives on the blog.

I'm planning on addressing his first comment by creating a walk through the garden in a post to come...currently a work in progress. To remedy his second point, I dedicate this post to the Great Lawn.

You should understand that this area is primarily the domain of the Handyman, he created the shape and the levels and selected, sowed and tends the grass.  He also, at least once a year, enlarges the circles in which the shrubs and trees which edge the lawn sit.

The work began in 2008, with all the ground works; setting the levels, flattening the top, and all the preparation for sowing the grass seed.

Not the Somme, but the start of the Great Lawn

Hmm, interesting (yet effective) riddling of the ground

Over the past 5 years the Handyman has nurtured the grass, cutting it at least once a week through the growing season, accompanied by some colourful language as the lawn mower (not a ride on version) misbehaves.  We have planted a number of trees and shrubs which are now becoming established and the transformation is incredible every time we remind ourselves of where we started.

inherited and re-sited Christmas trees

sambucus nigra - glorious in flower

So now as you enter the main drive at Holly Grove, through Stars Gate, the Great Lawn is on your left, all along the edge there are shrubs and trees to shelter and provide a screen for the garden from the drive.

One half of the Great Lawn

All of the Great Lawn

It has been interesting for me to focus on a view of the garden that I rarely consider and reminded me of all the work that has gone into Holly Grove over the past 8 years - helpful to reflect on what has been achieved so far rather than on what is yet to be done - thank you Handyman for the prompt!

Good Companions!

Some planned, some good fortune, some a total surprise...not much more to say!

hosta Satisfaction with self seeded sedum

spirea with inherited climbing rose

hosta with geranium Blushing Turtle

heuchera Palace Purple with geranium Elke

hosta aureomarginata with self seeded valerian officinalis

sambucus nigra with rosa Erfurt

hardy geranium with valerian officinalis - both self seeders

rosa Blush Noisette with clematis The President

geranium sanguineum striatum with golden marjoram

Through the Kitchen Window

Over recent times the views of the garden I've seen most often have been the walk to and from the car and from the kitchen window.  

On route to the car I don't really appreciate the whole view but rather find myself looking down at the detail of work that needs to be done or particular plants in bloom.  I've noticed that my posts mostly reflect these detailed views of individual plants and borders, seldom views across parts of the garden.  However, standing by the kitchen sink, I find I'm forced to see the bigger picture.

the bigger picture

The kitchen is at the back of the house and has a view of the Goat House (the cream coloured building), the Washhouse and original Privy buildings with the amazing roofs constructed by the Handyman.  From a planting perspective, the pot garden extends all along the back wall of the house facing east (and around the north side too since last year) and glimpses can be seen in the forefront of the view.  To the left of the window is one of the woodland borders and steps up to the main lawn.

hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane' in the pot garden

Then there is the back lawn and shrubs; in flower at this time of the year I can see our inherited rhododendron and climbing rose and the spirea and the single spire of a lupin (more to follow hopefully).

shrubs and lupin

 As you can imagine, the view of the plants changes with the seasons, and the impact on the buildings of the different colours and seasonal light is notable.  It's a view I never tire of, which is just as well as I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and at the sink!

Passing Time

So three years without a post on this, my garden blog.  Does that mean that I haven't been gardening for all that time?  Not so, however I can admit that my interest and time in the garden has been diminished by life events.

The Handyman has done a sterling job over this period to keep the garden in good shape; hedges, grass, shrubs and border management, but this garden is challenging enough for two, so I think I was missed.

April flowers

The time has come to refocus on some of things that make me content; our garden is a major player in that respect.  My reintroduction to the garden began in April with some tentative steps; mostly spending time looking and photographing to understand where I should begin. 

Taking time to stop and really look at the garden has proven to be physically and emotionally refreshing - a real respite!  It's also made me keenly aware of how hard the Handyman has been working, mostly alone, to keep this garden in some kind of shape.

dwarf rhododendron
Dora Amateis

Very slowly through April I began to work in the garden; a bit of detail weeding, tying in the climbing roses on their various posts and trellises, clearing out last year's remnants from the greenhouse...and generally enjoying the April sunshine and fresh air.

cherry blossom

exochorda x macrantha
The Bride

Then I started painting, not the paint on canvas sort, but rather of the garden furniture variety - I think I wanted a fresh start in more ways than one.

rocker

perch a while

I've used some time to review this blog and previous posts served as reminders of all the joy (and exercise) that Holly Grove garden has given over the years.  Now in our eighth year here it's time to get re-acquainted, both with the joy of gardening and the reflective nature of adding a post to the blog.

Pretty as a Picture 13/09

weigela florida variegata

Lace Caps

The woodland borders settle to shades of green at this time of the year following  colourful spring and early summer plantings.  Flower-wise the key is subtlety; spikes of white and pale lavender hosta flowers and the creamy lace caps of the hydrangea arborescence 'Annabelle'.

Planted three years ago as a very small specimen this hydrangea has survived two very tough winters with temperatures down as low as -18C and this year it is providing a glorious display.  The colour is a soft cream which appears greenish as the border becomes shaded in the afternoon.

In my experience this type of hydrangea is very easy to care for; the plant can be cut hard back in the winter or early spring before any new growth emerges.  The blooms appear on the current year's growth and this plant has spread year on year.  I have it planted at the edge of the woodland border where it gets the morning sun but is in dappled shade for the remainder of the day and this seems to suit it perfectly.

I'm tempted to try and propogate from this plant; the common methods used are by layering or soft wood cuttings.  It would be lovely to have a few more of these elegant shrubs in the shadier parts of the garden.