One bucket at a time

Gravel. I had two cubic metres of the stuff delivered back in the autumn when the builders’ merchant was delivering supplies for the potting shed. And it has sat, nay languished, on a tarp at the top of the property for months.

But now that it is my major mulching product around these newly planted shrubs, the pile is gradually going down. One bucket at a time.

The calabert beds are done, and now it was time to get on with the linking areas. If you walk from the house you walk over the gravel courtyard, then through the long open barn called the calabert. This has a gravel bed base.  Keeps it tidy. Then you walk along a gravel path (you get the theme here) up past the two narrow beds and head towards the potting shed.  Terraces all the way. On one of these little terraces which is a pain to strim, I have planted five bupleurum fruticosum plants.

You can barely see them here in the swamp of gravel mulch.  But I have high hopes for them.  Drought tolerant and gorgeously textured, they even have a wacky green yellow umbelliferous flower as well.

I’m not sure they are planted deep enough – they are sitting on a rock platform with about eight inches of soil on top. Will it be enough? Another thing to keep an eye on. If I have time and am smart, I would scrape off this lovely just applied mulch, and then add more soil.  Next trip perhaps. I felt like I’m on a planting roll right now and don’t dare stop It was threatening rain all day, but didn’t deter me.

Into the gravel in the courtyard have planted ten goniolimon speciosums, two globularia alypums (both with potential for gorgeous pink / mauve flowers) and then decided I might as well put in the spare hellenium Moorheim Beauties, and two day lilies as well. There were a gift from Leslie and Teo – snapped up cheaply in Belgium.

It is going to be an odd sight having them out in the path on the walnut walk up from the courtyard, but what’s the point of straight long grassy paths? They are a pain to mow, and I’d much rather flowers. I will need to think about adding a lot of leaf mould to this area, but not now.