An amazing weather weekend this side of the pond - a perfect Sunday to celebrate Mother's Day.
Looking West 
Looking East
I also had them remove a Forsythia shrub that was taking up way too much real estate in the garden for so little return of either beauty or value. They also cut down a one sided stunted evergreen, which was occupying a lot of space & interfering with a peony bush.
We have made up a natural weed spray; 1 gallon of cleaning vinegar (I did not know there are different types/strengths of vinegar), 1 cup of Epsom salts & 1/2 cup Dawn dish liquid soap. Mix all together & spray on the offending plants. This is safe to use around animals & people.
My vision for this year is to not fill in spaces, but to live with some emptiness & see what fills in with existing plants. I would like to have more visual calm in my garden. I have lived with so many "gifts" from friends & family, that this year I de-cluttered my garden space with a rather firmer hand than in previous years; gone are those ornamental things like plaques "bloom where you are planted" or "gardeners know the best dirt", even the little fairy girls are gone. What is left is Meredith my angel that I made in ceramics class several years ago & my swinging monk, who makes me laugh every time I give him a push to swing.
Currently Watching: caught up on the very brief season 3 of Grace. We finished all 5 seasons of Blue Murder & we are just starting White Chapel.
Currently Reading: well nothing at the moment, as I need to get to the library to pick up my latest request; Smitten Kitchen Keepers.
Currently Healing: Mr Man's eye(s) continue to heal, slowly. At last week's follow up appointment, the tests show the bubbles in the right eye (most surgery) are diminishing & the inflammation is reduced. Yeah!
I hope everyone has the opportunity to get outside & enjoy Spring.
That’s an appealing border with all of those rocks. They look good uncrowned.
ReplyDeleteI really like my big rocks - they were once part of the farmer's field fence. Our area seems to grow rocks, boulders & stones as a crop. You cannot put a shovel into the ground without hitting a fair size rock. I have spent countless hours sifting through, only to have more push through every spring.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough full, lush flower beds look lovely, there is a lot to be said for seeing neat and tidy borders with earth between the plants! A good excuse for getting rid of plants which are past their best or just taking up too much space. I've never heard of goutweed, but it sounds like something you want to get rid of!
ReplyDeleteGoutweed is also known as Snow on the Mountain. It crowds out native plants & isn't a plant that provides food for the bees or butterflies. I will live with the starkness for now & wait for the plants to fill in - I'll be sure to show some later in the season photos. :0
DeleteThe garden looks amazing. I'd like to do all that, but I just don't think so. We have couch grass!
ReplyDeleteThe garden is looking a little stark at the moment IMO, but it is so early in the season, I need to be patient & allow the perennials to fill in as the season progresses. Couch grass is one I'm not familiar with, I'll have to look that one up.
DeleteI've never heard of goutweed, but I admire your persistence in getting rid of invasives. Shame about the forsythia. I wish I had room for some. It's such a bright spot in early spring here. I appreciate the need to calm a garden. It's so easy for those sweet touches to become clutter.
ReplyDeleteI have one more episode to go of Grace. These short seasons and long waits are frustrating lol I've never heard of Blue Murder. I'll check to see if I can get that. Thanks!
Blue Murder took us a few episodes to get into it. We are really liking White Chapel. Goutweed is also known as Snow on the Mountain or Bishop's Weed - it is described as the cockroach of the plant world. Very invasive! My Forsythia never did any blooming.
DeleteThe weeded and mulched area looks good, especially with those big rocks. A bit like a Zen garden, where the spaces between stuff is as much a part of the design as well as the plants and rocks. I watched a video about goutweed - it looks pretty even if it is an undesirable plant!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bless. I am trying to embrace the sense of openness both indoors & outdoors. The problem with goutweed is that it not a native plant & it crowds out & blocks sunlight to native plants that do support bees, butterflies & other insects.
DeleteWow they did an amazing job. It will be interesting to see what pops up and fills the spaces. Here's to a beautiful calm space for you to enjoy
ReplyDeleteThe company that did my work posts photos on a community FaceBook page & it seems that I'm not the only one this year reclaiming garden space, even the local bank hired the team to clear out 10 years of climbing ivy growth from the side of the building.
DeleteFor some reason this post has a greenish tinge to it ... I wonder why..! Nothing to do with envy at such a great achievement. Oh how wonderful to be able to stick a fork in the ground and not come up against some undesirable or its roots. I have once again been doing battle with ivy, brambles, couch grass to name but a few. It looks great and I am sure the bare spaces will fill up sooner than you think, be it with what you put in, or what mother nature chooses. I must say some of my self-setters have been most welcome this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lady Ella. The strip of back garden that had the make over is certainly a lot easier to tackle the goutweed that is peeking around the landscape fabric & mulch & coming up through the plants. Having gotten this done for me, freed up my time & body strength / energy to tackle the other areas of garden. I moved about 20 Cosmos self seeder seedings from the "wrong" spot to were I would enjoy them.
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