Focal points

Now that the weather has warmed up, the flower garden is filling up fast. Plants that self seeded last autumn are expanding and putting out blooms. It's all starting to look rather full and luscious, a sea of purple catmint, silver lambs' ears and feathery gilia and linaria.

In the few gaps, I've added focal points. One is this log planter with chives and a little pot of rhodohypoxis which will shortly emerge.

I've also started more earthworks. I decided to curve the edge of the lawn, to echo the curve of the paths in the potager. First the layer of turf has to come up, then I'll remove the sleeper edging and dig over the ground. There's more digging still to do - I have to curve it out around the apple tree and back.

These two pencil conifers will mark the walkway through the garden, one on each side. One has been planted but as you can see, one is still in its pot until I finish the earthworks. The bit I've been digging is just out of shot to the left. The apple tree is Baujade, and I'm hoping it will spread to provide a bit of shade. I'd like to put a bench under it, maybe set back a little into the garden that will soon be there. I'm also considering an arch between the two conifers, maybe with a climbing rose. But that's in the future.

In the meantime, I put the conifer into a terracotta pot and popped it into the border. It looks great - a bit of height is just what this area needed. In fact I really like this tree there, and only the fact that I need a pair of trees to flank the walkway will make me remove it. But what to replace it with? Maybe a red Japanese maple? Or another almond tree? An obelisk for twining clematis?

As much as I love the look of a neat and tidy perennial border, I don't think I'll ever be able to get rid of annuals. As long as they continue to self seed they will be welcome in my garden.

Anyway, I've got my work cut out over the next few months. It's lucky this is my idea of a weekend well spent!