2000 Newsletter - Garden
The garden continues to be developed, though the plan to replace the grass with paved areas and larger beds has not yet come to fruition. This plan came about due to the extremely wet conditions that prevail in this locality, which are not compatible with having three dogs coming in and out of the house on a regular basis. The ground is currently so wet that we are seriously considering planting rice!
The wisteria on the back of the house is doing particularly well (it tried to invade Brian's upstairs office this year) and it seems likely that it will cover the whole of the back of the house by the end of next year. We had a beautiful display of blooms this year and I will shortly be doing the winter prune to ensure that the same thing happens again next year.
I finally decided that the plastic compost bin that I had really wasn't working and so bought a pair of beautiful wooden ones. It is amazing to see how much one can put into the bin. It really is an example of getting a quart - or maybe even a gallon - into a pint pot. The heat generated is quite impressive. I now look forward to being able to improve my clay soil with my own home made compost.
Recently I decided that I really had to do something to hide all my fence panels (and distract the eye from all the houses that overlook the garden) and so purchased enough plants to have a hornbeam hedge along the rear fence. However, the weather conditions have not been compatible with a major planting spree, so they are currently sitting in a very large pot waiting for the right time.
I would like to think that the main plan for next year would be to install a raised pond with a small fountain. Time will only tell if that comes to fruition by the end of 2001.