Trish & Rog's garden in Yorkshire

[trishs]

Here is a plan of our plot of land.

As you can see we have a very long garden which runs up onto a hillside which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The 'garden' is kind of in four parts;  there is the normal small space at the front and two small patio areas close by the house and a fairly large area beyond (very recent picture)



which then leads through a gate into the second area which includes a fruit and veg plot as well as flower borders and trees.





The third part is wilder in nature and runs from a small summerhouse, a wildlife pond and partway up the hill to the gate to the SSSI.  two more recent pics)





The SSSI can't really be classed as garden as we only manage it rather than design or plant it, but it does involve a considerable amount of work.

 We bought this house nearly thirty years ago (moving within the same village) because of the land/garden.  We have spent most of our money on plants rather than 'garden design', just following the natural shapes and circumstances of the land, which has changed actually quite considerably over the years (I'm sure the garden used to be 'flatter', but it is an old mining village so that probably explains it, plus water flow has changed, partially due to some idiot who ploughed up an adjacent field uneccessarily and mucked up the existing drainage.

There was nothing much of note in the garden, (apart from two mature pear trees, one of which fell down a few years ago),
when we bought the house so everything is what we have planted, apart from a few other native boundary trees.  I just happen to have a pic handy of the tree before it fell down, we have used most of the fallen tree as a 'feature' since as you will notice in subsequent pics.

[NightHawk]

You have a lovely setting there Trish.

The photos with the snow make it look like a real winter wonderland scene.

You're also very fortunate to have part of your land as SSSI, which will never be built on.  Still a lot of work as you have said, but challenging and rewarding at the same time 

[Eric Hardy]

Welcome to the forum Trish. What an interesting plot you have, and great photos of it in the snow. I can quite imagine that it is a lot of work. I was born and bred in the north of England. A bit further north than you, in Barnard Castle in Teesdale. I left when I married Anthea, a southerner, in 1951 but I kept returning regularly until my mother died in 1995. When I was young my father had a very large garden on a slope which involved much work and ingenuity. In his retirement they moved to a house with a small south facing garden surrounded with stone walls which seemed to defy the severe climate. Good luck with your gardening.

Eric H ( the H is to differentiate me from the other Eric (Palustris)

[trishs]

Thanks for the welcome and introduction Eric.  I used those few pics to introduce our garden because they are (mostly) so very recent, and the weeds don't show when the snow covers everything   

[trishs]

I just came across this pic of the same part of the garden as one of the snow pictures, taken last June.  I'm very proud of these trees;  I've know them since they were babies   The conifer between the Prunus serrula and the Picea breweriana was a small, very sickly, reduced price, lost label plant rescued from Blooms many years ago.  I'd really like to know what it is.  I have other photos which might help an expert identify it.

[trishs]

Grandson learning how to start peas and broad beans in pots a month or two ago.  The plants have just started flowering, in their garden and ours.

[Eric Hardy]

Lovely shot, Trish, start them young , I say . I was given my own little plot over 80 years ago! 

Eric

[NightHawk]

It's good to see youngsters learning the art of gardening there Trish.

Good luck with that 

[trishs]

William has a burning desire to water everything and Jessica has an unnatural interest in spiders   I guess things will change over time though!

[ideasguy]

Hi Trish
Lovely to see the children getting involved in gardening
I can see nicely prepared beds in the background ready for the planting out stage.
Do you always start your broad beans off in pots? I'm sure it gives them a good head start. Spring over here was worse than winter this year and I did start some peas and beans off in the greenhouse for the first time ever. Planted out and doing well!

[trishs]

I can see nicely prepared beds in the background ready for the planting out stage.
Do you always start your broad beans off in pots? I'm sure it gives them a good head start. Spring over here was worse than winter this year and I did start some peas and beans off in the greenhouse for the first time ever. Planted out and doing well!

Yes, George, the veg garden is mostly planted up now.  Rog put the baby runner beans out the other day.  I start them off in root trainers as they either get eaten by something or rot otherwise.  Never started broad beans in peat pots before but four packs of pea and bean seed were included in a pack with about 100 peat pots and reduced to a bargain price from one of the seed companies earlier in the year and it was an offer too good to refuse.  Still got loads of pots left for next year

[Eric Hardy]

Rog put the baby runner beans out the other day.  I start them off in root trainers as they either get eaten by something or rot otherwise.

Anthea propagates our runner beans and sweet peas in the cardboard tubes from toilet roles. All I have to do, when they are ready for planting out, is to dig an appropriately  sized hole with a trowel pop the tube in and consolidate some earth round them. The roots aren't disturbed and they grow through the wet cardboard in no time.

Apropos the runner beans demolished by muntjac deer this year we replanted with new plants and put soft fruit netting round the patch supported on bamboos (which we cut from our enormous bamboo plants). There is no way the netting would keep the deer out, but it is practically invisible and it looks as though they get deterred when they feel the net but can't see it. Anyhow, it seems to be working and the beans are already climbing the bean poles. 

Eric H

[trishs]

I have started legumes in toilet roll tubes in the past;  I suppose I ought to consider a return to the old ways

Sounds like a useful ruse to confuse the deer.  I think it's either pigeons or pheasants which mostly eat our unprotected veg, that's if the slugs and snails have let enough grow for them lol.

[trishs]

As I mentioned on Eric and Anthea's garden post, the bees are loving our Rosa Geranium just now.  I should have also taken a picture of the whole bush but here's a flower with a bee in it.  It was rolling around in the flower having a lovely time  

[trishs]

Here's a picture of the whole thing

[trishs]

I mentioned earlier in this thread about one of our old pear trees falling down a few years ago.  We've tried to make it into an interesting feature and planted around it, roses and various other perennials and bulbs.  Here's what part of it looks like at the moment.   I'm delighted that the white sweet rocket I grew from seed last year has settled in so well, and smells gorgeous.



The border in front of our privet hedge at the front is much neglected yet still looks pretty much of the time.  It's mainly poppies and borage just now.


And here's another recently planted (and weeded!) patch where the geums I mentioned elsewhere are planted, although they don't really show from this distance. 

[trishs]

Here's a better picture of my geum (before the weeding!)

[trishs]

I began this thread with a plan of our plot of land.  I thought it would be interesting to add this aerial picture taken two or three years ago to give some idea of the amount of trees we have to 'manage'. 



Here is view from our kitchen window.  The two new blue flowered plants I just bought are clearly visible.



and looking back at the kitchen window


and standing outside the back door and looking to the right, down the garden,


much further down the garden, near the bottom of the hill

[ideasguy]

Peace and tranquility! Very good indeed Trish! I LOVE your Roses

You have a lot of garden to manage there. In the aerial view, we can see that there is quite a lot of open and sunny areas of your garden, so you have many options for planting both sun lovers, shade lovers and woodlanders!
In fact, one area looks quite Mediterranean!
Do you and Rog ever get time to sit in those seats?

[Eric Hardy]

Another very nice set of photos, Trish. We are really getting a very good idea of your garden and just a hint of the amount of work involved 

Eric

[trishs]

No, George, we rarely sit outside.  We spend so much time outside doing things in the garden that it's usually a relief to come in and get out of the weather, whatever it is!  Hot summer evenings are the exception but we don't seem to have had many of those in recent years.

The roses are doing well so far this year.  I took this closer view to record the difference between the two on the trellis by the patio.  The one on the right is Zephirine Drouhin and the one on the left  is Mdme Isaac Pereire.



Much further down the garden is what we call the Bonfire Bed (we used to have bonfires there long ago before all the surrounding plants grew too much and were in danger of getting scorched) which is planted with three different astrantias alternating with three different spring flowering sweet peas, a couple of winterberries and another semi tender flowering shrub whose name escapes me atm.  Here are a couple of pictures from different angles and a few close-ups of the astrantias.

[trishs]

Meanwhile, back on the hillside, I can now see via this photo which Rog took, evidence of the existence of Hay Rattle.  This is excellent news and bodes well for the ongoing gradual return of the site to how it was until a few years ago when our grazing problems began and everything began to get out of hand.



This picture was taken last autumn when Rog and our friend (who helps Rog with 'big' tiring jobs such as tree pruning etc) had finished strimming and clearing the meadow/hillside.  The Hay Rattle he has found so far is apparantly growing about halfway down on the right of where the 'path' is/needs to be.  I'm hoping there's more of it but until better paths are strimmed out it's impossible for me to explore properly without risking life and limb!



and looking back up the hill

[Eric Hardy]

How about a goat or two, Trish? 

Eric H

[ideasguy]

Or a herd of cows
What do you do with all the grass Trish?

I'm repeating myself (I know!) - I love your Roses!! I have two varieties of Astrantias. When well grown they are fine plants - yours look real good!

[trishs]

Re a comment I posted elsewhere about foxglove variations here are a couple of pictures of some beauties that popped up around our pear tree area last summer.  Sadly nothing similar so far this year.