Weeding and pondering

The shade garden. Another tricky area. I seem to have experimented more on this part of the garden than anywhere else. (Well, the calabert garden has had its share of tinkering.)

I can see my knowledge of gardening and learning about the conditions of this particular farm in the plants I have put in here; and watched die. Or just muddled. I have glimpses of Gardens Illustrated magazine articles, inappropriate planting that is more suited to English climates.   And ever so slowly the learning curve is on the up.

Euphorbias. Accepting that I have reine claude suckers appearing everywhere, and working with them. I now cut them down to the size of the smaller shrubs and pretend they were meant to be here.

Grasses work well here; but they have taken about two years to take off. Now I don’t need to worry about watering in this dry as dust area under the huge chestnut tree.

I need to plant even more bulbs.   And try and get more of the fantastic euphorbia polychroma into the area.   Right now I think this lower section works as it’s just green and busy.

But closer to te top of the long thin bed (near the potting shed) I have endless troubles.

I know that if I don’t mulch heavily I will have a thicket of unwanted plants.   But so many poor things have died.   They thyme balls have not survived in this heavy shade. And the drought.   I do have some good geraniums in here (not planted by me, I can’t claim credit) which flower white with very small flowers in spring.   They have a good height and hide many sins.

But there are too many crammed in this end and need distributing.   I have marked up which ones need to move during winter.

So attempt number four or five of a mass planting took place after I weeded.   I don’t think it’s the final planting scheme I want, but it will do for now.

Artur supervised carefully. I have planted almost a dozen of the stachys seedlings which I grew in spring and have not known where to put. Out went cuttings from cistus shrubs, and three hostas.

I have been yearning for hostas for ages.   They actually cope better with drought than one would imagine.   But would they cope with dry shade?

I have planted them quite close to the path towards the potting shed so I can keep an eye on them.

I will be away from the garden for ten days or so, and that means things have to come out of the potting shed and get into the ground.

So I planted up santolinas galore in the calabert bed, and some of the lavenders which came good from cuttings in spring.   That’s always a thrill.   Brand new plants for free.

Well, it’s not really free. Time, compost, watering, cossetting.   You could buy a new plant for just a few euros, but it’s not as fun as trying it all yourself.

And I planted out the half dozen teasels that also came from my spring sown seeds.   They are in among the echinaceas in the terrace bank.

Along with some sedums that I worked well from cuttings.   I want to space out all the sedums in the terrace bank this autumn. But I have to wait for them to finish their fantastic flowering.

Wonderful pink colour.   Tomorrow I must raid this bed and take some for the flowers for market bunch.

But by the end of the day I was pleased to see that the shade garden was weeded and planted.   And the terrace bank looks less neglected.   It’s a bit bare and pathetic (hence no pictures) but at least I have pondered its problems and can try and find a way forward.