This years spring weather has been rather nice in Edinburgh and everything’s coming out a little ahead instead of five weeks behind like last year. With coursework piling up I’ve been finding it hard to keep on top of anything that isn’t really essential but I was determined to get my garden started and, since we get an Easter break, I’ve actually had a chance to.
The image at the top of the page is the ‘twig’ of a plant I was wondering about in the last post. Of all of the random shrubs for it to be, Forsythia is one I don’t mind too much. It doesn’t seem to be doing spectacularly well where it is, however, so I may have to move it from where it is or give it some decent formative pruning. Luckily, it’s still young enough that either shouldn’t be a huge problem.
Since my last post I have decided to be brave and cut down my elder tree (Sambucus nigra). I was going to wait until it had flowered, but then I’d have had to wait another year to cut it back and it was more than a little nuisance where it is – over a pathway, close to the front of the building and growing into the hedge. One other reason I wasn’t too sad to see it go was that there’s new growth coming from the base. At some point I believe it was probably being kept as a shrub as it has quite a massive stool from which I can hope I’ll get a more shrubby-growing Sambucus.
Into the raised beds have gone: lettuce, spinach, and pak choi (under the fleece) and sweetpeas (under the ungainly green structure).
I’m going to add more beds to the garden but I need to figure out the logistics as there is (I found out, whilst installing the raised beds) that there is a pipe running about a half-spades depth diagonally across the garden – hence the oddly shaped raised bed at the end. I want most of my garden to be growing space, but I’m not sure of the logistics of getting it all done over the holidays!
Further to that, I really want to get my pond in the ground somewhere. Due to the early spring, the little Aponogeton is already flowering – it didn’t do so until July last year! It’s a great little plant, has been very reliable for me even in Scotland and doesn’t take over my tiny pond. Unlike the blanketweed…
The lawn is a little mossy and weedy, something I hope to fix once I’ve decided how little of the grass is going to be allowed to remain! However, some weeds I could definitely put up with:
