SuburbanGaze

Having looked everywhere for some inspiration for climbers and finding limited results I have decided to just go for my own idea in the hope that it will pay off with an abundance of foliage and blossom.   We have a North to N-West facing fence that I would like nothing more than to cover in foliage and flora that will provide a long season of interest. I'm going it alone with two plants that I feel will compliment each other and eventually cover a couple of the fence panels over the next few years.   I have chosen a deciduous Clematis  (left) with deep purple stems, green/bronze leaves and have paired that with an evergreen climbing Hydrangea  (right).  My vision is that the white flowers of the Hydrangea Seemannii  and pink flowers of the Clematis montana Tetrarose will compliment each other as will the foliage.  The young leaves of the clematis are similar in shape to the hydrangea.   The Hydrangea should flower between June and September and the Clematis between May

We have been meaning to buy a Waterbutt for some time now to be kinder to the environment, simultaneously lowering our household water usage.  A growing number of home owners in the UK are on water meters that track usage and charge for the volume used instead of a flat-rate so water conservation is important to us. We have finally got round to doing that and I installing one today to a down-pipe attached to the back of the house.   At some point we are going to attach another one to the pent-roof of the Potting Shed but that involves constructing guttering too so is for another day. Rain-water is good for the garden because it tends to be soft and hasn't the chlorine, salts, pesticides and other chemicals added that makes tap-water safe to drink for us humans.  This means that the nutrients plants obtain from the soil are not constrained by chemicals added to the liquid.  It is also best for refilling ponds in hot weather when the levels drop as it is suggested that the c

It has been a colourful summer.  As we head towards autumn the leaves on the Willow begin to yellow and fall ready to be collected for next years leafmould.  In other parts of the garden the Cosmos and Dahlias continue to bloom extending the soft colour palette well into the last few months of the year.  Here are some reflections as the garden has evolved over the summer months.