Spring is here, well now almost past, but when I took these photos, it was only just beginning! So, it means a new plan for the garden, taking out the plants that didn't survive the winter and having a new vision for the space. Also, as this is the second year after having ripped out the original owner's garden, we are also just finding our feet with gardening and what plants we want.

So, as you notice, the hedge is in dire need of a trim. I want it to grow a little higher, just a few centimetres, but at the moment it really looks like it needs a bit of a haircut....

The Newcomers

Wall Climber

Our original plan for this shed wall was a climbing rose. However, after some research, we discovered that some plants need more sun (who knew!). So, this area was a bit too shaded for a climbing rose. In the end we opted for a Clematis monata 'Rubens', which when grown will have lovely purple flowers. Also, we needed to make sure that the climbing plant wouldn't suck into the brick and mortar behind the trellis. The previous owner had a sucker plant, not only was it a pain to get rid of, but it damaged the brickwork.

The shade tree

Our little garden gets a lot of afternoon sun, which is great, but when you are sitting outside on the grass it can really get too much after a little bit. So, we were considering various options for some shade. In the end we settled on this Magnolia Stellata, which will be a maximum of around 2 metres when fully grown. Given the closeness of the wall and the shed, we didn't want a tree that would grow too big!

The replacement

Last year, we tried an experiment with an Australian plant in the centre of the garden bed. Unfortunately, it didn't survive the winter and so we were left with a space for a new plant. We (my wife...) decided upon this Prunus Triloba. Not a large plant, but one with nice flowers.

The Survivors

Not everything from the last year died. In fact, we were surprised that most of them were still alive given our inexperience with gardening!

This little Acer (Japanese tree) plant is still going strong. Again, our garden is small, so we didn't want to have large trees in the garden, so we opted for this red leaved Acer for some extra colour. It will be a maximum of around 2 meters, so it will not dominate the wall when it is fully grown.

This cherry tree is our little corner holder. It will be a while before it bears fruit I guess, and this year we are fighting off a bit of an aphid problem, but it is much bigger and stronger than when we first planted it. So we are counting on it being a permanent part of the garden!

These blackberry shrubs are against one of the walls, between the Acer and the cherry tree. They are pretty unruly, but have grown strongly, and we are hoping for some fruit this year.

Also, sprouting up fast is this black grape vine. We can see little bundles of grapes forming, so I hope they are going to bear sweet fruit in the summer and not sour duds!

And last but not least, is the kid's choice. A Hortensia, well, there are two, but the other in the shade is not going so well. We have one lavender one and the other is pink (of course...).

Further Plans

We've been pretty late with planting veggies and herbs this year. We killed a rosemary bush somehow over winter, and so that will need replacing, and we intentionally killed the chocolate mint plant (That thing is like a zombie horde.... unkillable!). We have plans to have a herb wall on one of the bare walls, but apart from that, we are starting to run out of space for new ideas! Let's see what will survive to this time next year!