I almost don't believe it myself but this is the last post from 2016 in the garden. I think I really struggled to get out in the garden this year, between living away from home and simply not having a much time to garden when I was. Despite the lack of time spent out in the garden I feel I made some important steps for what becomes the foundation for a busy 2017, the year I began writing this blog. (Isn't it nice how it all comes full circle).
So I have named this blog post 'Phoenix' because like the phoenix my garden has been reborn from the ashes of it's past life. Growth is visible in a physical and metaphorical sense all over the garden and I no longer have a garden to be ashamed of but a garden with tonnes of potential, waiting to be realised.
I added some pea shingle gravel to the ground at the back of the garden around the tree stump, just to make the area more pleasant to walk on and keep consistency with the right side. This immediately made the area look much neater and considered. I also still had a tree trunk I had to do something with, so almost as a decorative homage to it's old life I placed the fallen tree next to the stump. Apparently I was also growing potatoes at some point that I completely forgot about. I don't know when I did this but they were beginning to flower so no doubt I harvested them shortly after.
Just above you can see the rogue Foxglove growing that I mentioned in my 'Progress Report', I call it rogue because I literally did not plant it at all. I just saw a 'weed' that had interesting looking leaves and replanted it in the sun to see what it grows in to. Turns out that weed was a foxglove plant and they grow like the sun owes them money and they're ready to collect! In 3 months it grew 6 feet no word of a lie. Whatever bird, animal or insect that dropped that seed I thank you as it's a beautiful (free) flower. In the flowerbed you can see I bought a big green Cordyline and a couple red star plants. There's something about red stars that I love but I just can't explain it (Doesn't hurt that my favourite colour is red)
In November I moved the 3 new plants into the rockery area. I really wanted some plants to establish in the soil so I could begin designing the layout of the rockery as soon as Spring comes in 2017. It was also a test to see if anything will survive in this mountain of moulded topsoil. I knew that the soil should have good drainage with all the debris below the soil and that is exactly what you want for rockery plants. I know what you're thinking... 'What kind of rockery has no rocks'???. Soon come, don't worry. Rocks are another bloody expensive thing in the garden that you would otherwise assume should be affordable. If you know anything about me from this 'I am not a gardener' journey so far it's that I won't be spending crazy money any time soon, so stick around to find out how much this Flinstone's flower bed-rocks!!
