2011 was an odd year weatherwise, drier than usual, warm in the spring and cool in the summer. It was very wet and windy on one of our Open Garden days but despite the at times indifferent weather we raised almost £2k shared between the National Garden Scheme and Hospice in the Weald. Thank you to all those who came and supported our charities.
A very wet and windy start to the year, although not too cold. We have a mature Oak tree on our boundary and another in the adjacent foot path which have lost a lot of twiggy growth in the high winds – more to clear up, following on from the enormous amount of acorns that we had to pick up in the late autumn... nearly ½ a wheelie bin full every week for 6 weeks, unfortunately we don’t know anyone with pigs!
Mike did manage to cut the grass on Christmas Eve, which picked up the last of the oak leaves, although I didn’t follow him round trimming the edges – too much to do in preparation for the festivities.
The garden is looking a bit sad and soggy at the moment, there is still some cutting back of late perennials to complete and the beds are not all mulched. The beds under the pergola have been emptied, widened and had the soil improved and are ready for replanting. Haven’t decided exactly how they will be replanted but will include several varieties of Heuchera’s in the scheme.
I am wondering how the plants are going to behave during the coming year. Last year with its strange weather pattern found some plants sulking and others becoming oddly unruly. My cardoon was trying to flower in December! Our large pink camellia in the lower garden has been in flower for a couple of weeks now, far earlier than normal; I fear it will be caught by a frost before too long. All around the garden bulbs are beginning to show their noses above the surface of the soil, I suspect they too will be checked if it turns colder.