« May 2002 | Main | August 2002 »
June 24, 2002
Bit of an exciting weekend
Had a bit of an exciting weekend. Went to our friends FB and Lou's for Lou's birthday party inthe barn. Most excellent party. I rescued some poor lass from the cluthces of the loo floor. Long story and she won't remember -unfortunatly for her I do. :)
Posted by Simon at 01:52 AM | Comments (0)
June 22, 2002
New Bamboo!
Mum and I (Paula) went to Coolings Garden Centre at Knockholt in Kent last Friday. They are truly worth a visit for the quality and diversity of the plants (and the scrummy cake in the tea shop!).
I was thrilled to find a small leaved bamboo with unusually coloured canes, changing from yellow to green to red as they age. It's perfect for the empty spot in the middle of the newly painted black fence and proves that sometimes it's worth hunting around and waiting for the right thing. Also found by Mum was some Japanese blood grass, 3 of which have been planted around the new bamboo, finally completing that spot in the garden which has been 'on hold' since last year.
The acidanthera bulbs planted in March and May are coming through now and we're hoping for a good show of fragrant flowers later this summer. The brodiaea bulbs planted in March are all up but no sign of flower spikes - hope I didn't plant them too deep.
The saxifrage has been worth every penny, still flowering from April!! The thyme has also started flowering this month, along with the spirea, vinca minor, ophiopogon nigrescens (black grass), and even the tiny corsican mint. The phygelius has been flowering since last month and looks very healthy - even the one we moved.
Despite all this flowering, I can already see that the raised bed at the back needs some flower action during April and May, so I'm already planning for next year. Simon has some new ideas for the design, but they're going to have to wait until later in the year.......it's all hush hush until then.
Who would've believed we'd become so hooked!!
Posted by Paula at 06:48 AM | Comments (0)
June 10, 2002
Simon Boden and Minako Homma's wedding
Our friends Simon and Minnie got married at Oaks Farm.
Simon was properly dressed in frock coat and cravat along with the ushers including me. Minnie, her bridesmaid and her mum wore the traditional Japanese kimono and obi.
It the first wedding I have been to where the Registrar was the first to cry! A fantastic day and we wish them every happiness for the future.
Oaks Farm is right in the middle of Croydon but is surrounded by golf courses and is in a valley. We couldn't believe how quiet and tranquil it was.
We have some pictures of the event in the gallery
Posted by Simon at 01:54 AM | Comments (0)
June 04, 2002
Clematis go in
I made a small trellis, from bamboo that I had pruned out of the garden last month, which I have dug in with the first clematis up against the fence. We wanted to paint the fence before we had any established plants in alongside it. I have put a large stone over its roots to keep them cool during summer as this will help the plant establish.
The one nearer the house, with the bamboo trellis is Royalty - rather appropriate that it is planted today of all days. Concord flew over us as I was planting it, on its way to do the royal fly past at Buckingham Palace.
The other clematis, Mrs Bateman, has gone in under the elder tree and we hope to train it along the fence from the top of the stream. I have my doubts that it will survive there as next to it is a creeper that we are training on the trellis part of the fence. We will see what happens.
Posted by Simon at 06:48 AM | Comments (0)
June 02, 2002
Black fence
We have painted the eastern boundary fence black. We tried to get some more of the black fence paint that we had already used but the local DTY Superstores no longer stock it - how annoying! We looked up the Cuprinol website and found that they still make it and it is also available in 5ltr cans which is great - we had 2.5 ltrs before. The website has a shopping cart so we though we would buy it over the net - pressed the 'buy' button on the 5ltr Black paint and went through to the shopping cart only to discover that you cannot buy it or any of thier products online, but they helpfully suggest that you print your order out and take it to the local DIY superstore. Idiots!
They did have a help line phone number which Paula rang and got the name of a local stockist - you can only get the black fence paint wholesale at trade shops now if you are looking.
Posted by Simon at 06:49 AM | Comments (0)