Not a lot, but for the first time this year, I had a few tulips in my garden - you may remember the pics. Some Spring Greens, Queen of the night, and a mixture of yellows and reds. They were gorgeous, and lasted a long time, so I decided I would definately add to the collection, so tonight, I ordered a pack of 15 Apricot Beauty tulips. I also ordered a pack of 30 salome daffs, 50 mixed jonquils, 6 red monardas and 100 species crocus bulbs. To add to the expense my garden is costing me, we are going to have our monster weeping willow coppiced at the end of summer. For the first time in the 10 years we have lived in our house, our garden will not be a shady one. Once it has been done, we are going to keep it hard cut back annually as I miss growing flowers in the garden. My garden really is a spring garden as the shade is so dense in the summer, the flowering plants really don't put on as good a show as I would like. I am very excited! :-D :-D
That is going to be beautiful! And I am sure you are excited about adding summer flowers! I am excited just thinking about what you might choose!
What a difference your new bulbs will make EJ.I have very little shade and my plants hurt from it so I have them crambed in what little I have.ou will enjoy the summer flowers for sure.
That sounds like a dramatic move, EJ. I shall be wanting to see some fotos. Your orders sound good too. Your garden will be awash with colour in the spring. What a sight that will be! I hope that you have alot more blooms to look at next summer.
You're going to notice a great difference in your garden once the tree is coppiced. Just think of all the things you can grow when there's no shade to prevent them. :-D You've made a great start with those spring bulbs. Give me a shout if there's anything in particular you want for summer. I may have something in my garden that will save you money and I'd be more than willing to share with you.
Sounds like you're off to a very good start with all your new lovelies. Good luck with making the sun shine on your garden.
Can't wait to see this. I feel a little less guilty that others are threatened with the "poor house" in order to stock the garden. Someone else understands, sigh. I'm excited to see the results too and also, what does coppiced mean for us Yanks out here.
Gardengater, it means I will be having all of the branches removed from my willow tree, so completely taking away the crown, just leaving stumps at the top of the trunk - on no, I mean pollarded don't I?? eeek. Well, the idea is, you then get a flush of new growth, all small and fluffy, which if left alone will eventually grown huge, but we plan to keep cutting it back annually. I do mean pollarded and not coppiced....don't I ?????
The right word is pollarding EJ but I knew exactly what you meant. :-D Coppicing is the process of cutting trees down, allowing the stumps to regenerate for a number of years (usually 7 - 25), and then harvesting the resulting stems. Much the same as pollarding but just a bit more extreme. Hey I've just had a thought (unusual for me I know )you could 'harvest' your willow branches and make them into a living fence or they are great for making baskets too.
Ooo, good idea Eileen. I have always wanted to try and create something with willow, and as we are going to cut it every year, we will have a ready supply of whips.
