Green fingered bug

Now we have our new fence up and sternly defending our borders against intruders (it doesn't seem to have done a very good job so far of keeping next door's cats or the blasted pigeons away though) it's made the garden look very bare. I hadn't quite realised exactly how much foliage, ivy, overhanging buddleia and general greenery was spilling over into our garden from next door, or quite how little we actually had in our own right hand border. But when the 6 foot fence went up a few weeks ago, it made it pretty obvious that re-stocking was in order, preferably with fast growing climbers.

Eventually we want to re-landscape a bit, put in a pond, get a replacement greenhouse, increase the size of the borders and get a raised bed or two for some veg. This, I think, is a job for winter when everything's died back and you can see what you're working with - but now, with the crocuses, daffodils, tulips, and bluebells either blooming or shooting up, is not the right time.

So last Sunday we went to the local garden centre and splurged. After all, as Ali said, if we've spent £hurgherhermmmmHOWMUCH?? on a new fence, we may as well invest in some decent plants to grow alongside it. This is what we got:

Clematis 'Niobe'
Pyracantha
Foxgloves
Lupins 'My Castle' and 'The Chatelaine'
Hebe 'Purple Shamrock'
Blackcurrant 'Ben Sarek' and 'Baldwin'
Redcurrant 'Red Lake'
Raspberry canes 'Autumn Bliss'

plus some stinky manure to spread around everywhere and nourish the new growth. This stuff is fab, actually not that stinky at all, and really really cheap, so I can see us getting some more bags as and when we need mulch. The single compost bin we have is good for making compost for planting and general nourishment but if you're digging it into a whole border it doesn't go far.

Of course having spent an enjoyable Sunday afternoon planting all this stuff out, it had to go and storm on Sunday night - but luckily the gods were on our side and nothing got uprooted, knocked over or even slightly battered. This weekend it has mostly been raining dismally, so I'm banking on a sunny Easter so I can get out there and get my hands dirty again next week.