Starting close to home

Where better to start my blog than in our own back yard at our flat in North London. It literally is a yard being entirely paved but we have created our own little haven there over the last two years. Gardening entirely using containers is a challenge and that's a whole other blog subject in itself! 

I just want to start with some uplifting pictures to show summer is on its way. In the last month our garden has burst into colour. I can pick out 3 plants which have really brought the garden to life so quickly in 2011 in combination with our various shrubs. (Credit to my husband Jon for all these photographs)

 

Daffodils. These are simply common daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus)and they work so well because they are tall with big trumpets, rather than small and fussy. Even just a few containers of these are striking in our small garden - they've created a own 'mini-drift' which sets off the various shrubs etc behind.


Beat the squirrels!! Last year almost all our bulbs - snowdrops, daffodils, crocus - were eaten by squirrels. As you can see, we have cured the problem, at least when it comes to daffodils. Our secret was covering the containers with netting (the sort used for protecting veg) after planting, securing it with tent pegs. The beauty of using containers is that you can tuck them out of the way when they don't look great then bring them out when the time is right - that's exactly what we've done with our daffodils.

Lamprocapnos spectabilis (formerly Dicentra spectabilis),
common name Bleeding Heart

'Bleeding Heart': This perennial is beautiful, and ours have grown from from nothing to this in just a few weeks. They love the semi-shade that we have in our garden at this time of year. You can just about see some of our large wooden planters in the background which are a lot easier to manage than scores of smaller containers - though we still  have quite a few!


Lamprocapnos spectabilis 'alba'




This is a beautiful pure white cultivar of Bleeding Heart. When they have finished flowering, the foliage will gradually die down during mid-late summer.









Euphorbia: I'm coming to the conclusion that there is a Euphorbia for every occasion and they are rapidly becoming one of my favourite plants. As part of the course we are creating planting plans for all sorts of soil conditions and styles of garden, and I've managed to find a Euphorbia to fit almost every single one to provide evergreen structure. This one is Euphorbia 'Helena' and is in flower at the moment looking very lovely indeed.

 

Euphorbia 'Helena' with the golden leaves of Spirea japonica 'Goldflame' behind