TRANSPLANTING AND PRUNING AS SPRING ARRIVES

A short while ago we had two days of sunshine which heralded spring, then on Easter Monday, 2nd April, we had another good dose of snow here on the Pennines of West Yorkshire.  Thankfully though, it was quickly washed away by a few days of rainy spells.  I don't know where I am with regard to gardening jobs to do.  It's all very well gardening programmes and books telling us that certain months are the times to do various jobs in the garden, but the weather is mercurial nowadays, especially here in the north of England where the weather does not always reflect that of the weather in the south.  I swear these programmes and books are just talking to gardeners in the south.  Sometimes acting too soon can be disastrous for a plant.  So, I go with my head and my heart and just (metaphorically) grope my way along in the dark.  Some days ago, during the days of sunshine mentioned above, I transplanted the lovely Philadelphus Snowbelle.  I wanted it closer to the garden room where I can appreciate the fragrance more.  I also pruned the climbing roses, New Dawn and Wild Eve, and the buddleias.  Today I pruned hard the several penstemons that I have and was glad of it too...



Hebe 'Purple Pixie' (syn. Hebe Mohawk)

Frankly, they had made my border look rather stupid, stuck up in the air with their remaining lush green foliage on long stems while all the rest of the border looked relatively bare. 

I was tempted the transplant the delightful Hebe 'Purple Pixie' (syn. Hebe Mohawk), a dwarf shrub, but my gut feeling is to leave it alone.  It got a bit crowded out by the penstemons last year but my decision is that if anything should need moving, it has to be the penstemons.  Behind the hebe, closer to the fence, I have a syringa, (lilac) shrub and the dwarf hebe hides the lower bare growth of the taller shrub quite nicely.

I was also tempted to lightly prune the hebe into a better shape but I see that there are very many young flowers forming on the tips of the stems and I am not prepared to sacrifice any; this hebe is a pollinator magnet and the more flowers the better for these invaluable insects.  Sadly, or not so sadly as I didn't care for it anyway, a small and young white hebe 'Celina' suffered terribly with the harsh subzero temperatures we have had and all its leaves have turned dark brown.  So, out it came.  I have no room in my small garden for sick plants, particularly those which I have never cherished. 

There are a zillion jobs need doing but I don't mind admitting that advancing years are making garden chores harder to deal.  I'm no winter gardener (hell no), and so spring and autumn can be very busy times for me.   It's wise to do what I can, little by little, and not go bonkers with the spade and the mowing and everything at once despite temptation.  I need to transplant, into bigger pots or the garden borders, two beautiful ferns I have in pots which they have outgrown: Athyrium felix-femina Frizelliae (aka Tatting Fern) and the Victoria Lady Fern (Athyrium filix femina Victoriae).   I'm glad they have outgrown them because for a while, when I first bought those two lovely ferns, I wasn't sure they would survive.  I am also really pleased to say that all my other ferns are doing well.  I love ferns.  I thought Athyrium niponicum (Japanese Painted Fern), 'Red Beauty' had died in its pot but it's there, alive and well and forming tight fronds ready to unfurl once the warmer weather arrives.

Athyrium niponicum (Japanese Painted Fern), 'Red Beauty'



Right, now this post is finished.  Sunshine and the garden room calls, as well as Alfie, the resident Ragdoll Cat, who keeps bringing me his toy to throw for him.  He thinks he's a dog, a retriever!  He needs attention and attention he shall have.