The raised beds and surroundings
This week has mostly been about weeds. At last the ground is dry enough to get onto, so I can tidy areas that really needed attention months ago. But, in between, some construction work has happened. I am desperate to get it completed but with so much else to do, it is slow and steady. Also, construction has to be paced, not just for my physical comfort but to allow each lot of concrete to set. I long for the day when the concrete mixer can be mothballed or sold – but for now it has been worth every cent.
But the raised beds in the seaside garden, though they still have not been topped with gravel, are looking colourful, thanks largely to tulips.
I can hardly believe that we struggled with the chamaerops in a pot and the removal van from England but I am so glad we did. It is very settled in its new home and just one big plant makes all the difference. It offers some wind protection to Coronilla valentina subsp glauca ‘Citrina’, which has been flowering all winter and I have risked a grevillea ‘Canberra Gem’ to the left, which is thinking about blooming.
Unfortunately the rest of the area is still waiting for gravel so looks a bit of a mess.
But it is slowly taking shape. Tulipa saxatilis tests my tolerance of pink and yellow to the limit and I confess it pushes too far. I think it looks awful but when my eyesight gets even worse I will be glad to see it.
To the left (and south) is the big pond and there are five panels of trellis going in to provide a visual break between the two. These will provide a place for a sheltered bench and will be placed rather like the wings of a stage to offer a backdrop from the other end of the pond. At present they are supported while the concrete hardens. There is a lot of measuring and levelling since the ground slopes which makes every decision slow to make. Nothing looks worse than formality that is ‘just out of balance’. I cut ‘windows’ in these panels to add interest. Lots more to do.
The Biking Gardener 
The raised beds are looking splendid; great quality timber which should last for years. Re the tulip – it has spread wildly here and makes a big impact for a few weeks. We grew Coronilla valentina subsp glauca ‘Citrina’ for years in a rather unusual oval-shaped brandy barrel outside our back door.
I am hoping the tulip does well and will view it from afar! The coronilla is a great plant and perfect for a container beside a door so It can be appreciated. Enjoy the dry weather- though we cold do with some rain really! If this weather was happening in January this would be a beast from the east – very cold easterly!
It’s good drying weather – I got the grass cut and some painting done outside.
Yes it is good mowing weather – just as well because it is growing fast!
Ah, Chamaerops humilis! Because the petioles are so unpleasantly thorny, it is not my favorite of small palms. However, because it is so resilient to frost, it really should be more popular than it is in some climates, such as those of the Oregon and Washington. Trachycarpus fortunei is already popular there, and is getting to be common now.
Yes it is very spiny!
That is how I got mine, as well as my pygmy date palm. Those who planted them dislike their spines.
I like the windows in the panels.
Blue Rock Horses Frederick County, Virginia bluerockhorses.com
thank you!