What has been going on in the garden over the past few weeks? you ask. Well, you probably don’t but I will tell you anyway. The most noticeable difference is that we’ve cleared the bed down one side of the garden. This isn’t quite the undertaking you might think as my garden is tiny and much wider than it is deep. The whole of this side was occupied by a very dead bush. It did have the advantages of being a home for birds and the support for some pretty honeysuckle-like climber but it really did have to go. We unearthed a ridiculously leggy hydrangea that had been struggling to reach the light. The bonus is that the soil is good, or it is now we have removed a ton of dead bush roots. What remains is a camellia, that was severely pruned to make room for the shed, a random hollyhock, which seems to be in a very odd place as that bed gets virtually no sun. Mind you, said hollyhock is only about nine inches high and has no flowers. We’ve left the remnants of the honeysuckle-like thing and another climber that may revive and so far planted a Michaelmas Daisy and some white daisies that were donated following their role as a wedding decoration in a local church. The fence behind the bed has been painted to match the one on the other side.

The new water butt is on hold as I may be going to do something with the tarmac in that bit of the garden and don’t want to move a full water butt. The pond now holds water but I haven’t had the chance to acquire any plants for it yet so the water is pretty murky. Despite this, there is evidence of insect life. The vegetable harvest has been unspectacular, although it is always fun to grow them. The pea harvest was minimal, the strawberries even more so, with most of the strawberries being smaller than the peas. The bean succumbed to black fly but I still have garlic and potatoes to harvest. There is a solitary apple on the newly planted apple tree and excitingly, some mini olives on the olive tree. No one actually likes olives but that isn’t the point.

We bumped up the electricity and water bills by power washing the patio. It does look good but there is little grout (if grout is the right term) between the slabs, so plenty of weed growing opportunity. I don’t want to fill the gaps as they prevent the garden turning into a swimming pool when we get heavy rain.

I have been a bit ruthless and taken out the cape fuchsia, which was spreading all over the place. I have shoved some in a pot but that’s its lot. Some of the garden is looking a little tatty as things start to die back, I am leaving some things to go to seed deliberately. I am a bit worried by the white lilac, which looks less than healthy. I have also realised that I have put some things in in the wrong places. I have a massive rudbeckia growing in the planter, which I might attempt to move when it has finished flowering.

I have finally hung the pretty solar lights that were a Christmas present. Now all I have to do is stay up late enough to admire the effect. Mind you, with the nights drawing in (sorry to point that out) it will soon cease to be a problem. Convolvulus wars continue. How can something grow so fast? Hopefully off to buy plants for the newly cleared bed this week. I must practice practicing restraint – hmmm.