Our garden au naturel

There is a lot happening in the garden at the moment despite more wind and lower temperatures. Over the years I have become more interested in natural arrangements of plants, much to Jan's chagrin as she hankers after the organised gardening of my father-in-law who laid out his beds and borders with military precision. He would not have got this little fellow seeding itself in the front lawn, along with many of its pals.










And he would most certainly have had less moss and weeds than my bit of turf.



And yet, among the weeds are jewels and snowdrops, aconites, crocus, even Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin' should one look carefully.










There is also something no blog can convey other than by assurance: scent, glorious streaming fragrance from our Daphne bholua 'Jacqueline Postill', a plant that is synonymous with this season and one I could not do without. It is the first thing visitors remark on as they approach our house. It is sensational, permeating the whole garden with what I can only describe as a hyacinth-like heaven.


8 comments:

  1. Your natural planting style looks perfect to me. I am placed under similar constraints. Not a single daisy is permitted to flower in the lawn. And I've long given up having perennials drape over the lawn to soften the edge. They get mowed into a straight line!

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    1. My answer is that I do the garden work and usually it wins the day. I do mow the lawn eventually when the goodness has gone back to the bulbs. I never use weedkiller these days - indeed I have an unopened sack of "weed and feed" in the shed. And the straight lines of the lawn edge get spoiled by plants leaning over, as is natural.

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  2. Love all your little bulbs, they look just perfect to me!Our "Lawn" is really just a green area, it is full of lots of other plants apart from grass.

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    1. There are so many bulbs from which to choose, Pauline. From January to April bulbs do come into their own. And thanks for the comment.

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  3. I love your photographic vignettes, Ian! And the way the flowers combine themselves is so cheering. I've been tremendously indebted to garden bloggers for reassuring me about the more natural 'look', as I certainly grew up with much different concepts!

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  4. I believe gardens reflect their age, Amy. Ours is a less formal age. Goodness, the BBC and New York Times are barred from press conferences! Whatever next.

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  5. Who could wish for military precision instead of that meadow studded with vibrant flowers.

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    1. My father-in-law! He introduced me to gardening and I hope he respected different styles.

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And remembering .....

Galanthus 'Mighty Atom'