I wish I had taken a before photo of this area because last year it was rather sparse of plants and rife with drying weeds.
When I started working in the lower garden around the cottage, I used to glance up at this part of the garden, near the old coach-house, and wish I could do some weeding. What with planting, building rock walls, and making pleasant garden paths lower down, I couldn't find the time.
In about January last year, I moved an old plough from near the central Mulberry tree, and that enabled me to rip up some of the weeds and re-site a few inappropriate plants of the wrong colour, which my eyes said was yellow and orange. Ahem. That's me - not official. We call this the Red Garden, but we have a bit of blue and white here as well.
We volunteers stick to an agreed garden plan and in a few areas we don't use water. This is one. Working towards various parts of the plan, the gardener put blue plumbago cuttings along the fence. I found time to water those until they 'took.' Then, some time in autumn last year, the volunteers from the other parts of the garden came over to give me a hand, and they struck more red geraniums for the borders. This seemed to consolidate the area.
So, although this is an after photo, it's a summer after photo, that is, the plants are not blooming red as they do in spring. In this garden, we hope to show home gardeners which plants might grow in unfavourable soil or without much water. The Red Garden has turned out to be a prime example.
I now have time to maintain this section and I've planted more blue Hebe and another bush (that has a white flower whose name I never remember) on the side nearest the coach-house, which we call the back. They should give more design balance when they grow, but at the moment their lives are in danger. Either the sun will win, or I will.
Next year, I'll take a spring photo to show how the garden earned its name. It's spectacular when it blooms.
When I started working in the lower garden around the cottage, I used to glance up at this part of the garden, near the old coach-house, and wish I could do some weeding. What with planting, building rock walls, and making pleasant garden paths lower down, I couldn't find the time.
In about January last year, I moved an old plough from near the central Mulberry tree, and that enabled me to rip up some of the weeds and re-site a few inappropriate plants of the wrong colour, which my eyes said was yellow and orange. Ahem. That's me - not official. We call this the Red Garden, but we have a bit of blue and white here as well.
We volunteers stick to an agreed garden plan and in a few areas we don't use water. This is one. Working towards various parts of the plan, the gardener put blue plumbago cuttings along the fence. I found time to water those until they 'took.' Then, some time in autumn last year, the volunteers from the other parts of the garden came over to give me a hand, and they struck more red geraniums for the borders. This seemed to consolidate the area.
So, although this is an after photo, it's a summer after photo, that is, the plants are not blooming red as they do in spring. In this garden, we hope to show home gardeners which plants might grow in unfavourable soil or without much water. The Red Garden has turned out to be a prime example.
I now have time to maintain this section and I've planted more blue Hebe and another bush (that has a white flower whose name I never remember) on the side nearest the coach-house, which we call the back. They should give more design balance when they grow, but at the moment their lives are in danger. Either the sun will win, or I will.
Next year, I'll take a spring photo to show how the garden earned its name. It's spectacular when it blooms.
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