This is my Gardening Index

West Pennines Wanderer

The Blog and web site of
Mark Anthony Wild

All about the Manor Border

All about the Manor border!

Oh how we struggled to name this border. Essentially it could have been named the eastern border as it does face due east - I used to be able to see Great Hill from this border but then they put a housing estate in the way, no cause for complaint - I do live on that same estate! A shared property of this and the Northern border are their proximity to the pavement, which is evidenced when one digs down more than a handful of inches, concrete is soon encountered. In the summer of '23 I planted a common Rosmarinus Officianale - plain old Rosemary purely for its ability to deter local domestic pets from fowling my garden. The jury's out on whether this has been any good as a deterrant but I can definitely say that it's thriving, and I do like a healthy Rosemary plant, I've had one in a plastic tub in the back since our previous address in 2018.

The invasion of the 'Crocus' plants began in October of 2020 with the planting of a couple of 'Autumn' Crocuses - which of course aren't Crocuses at all and are in fact Colchycum. I believe my first was the Agrippina one but sadly my records are incomplete and this may well have been the Autumnale Alba variety, all Colchycums are stunning but in truth these are in the wrong location as the winds they suffer are nothing but devastating! Imagine waiting eleven-and-a-half months to bloom and then being oblitterated a few days in to your most colourful time? I need to relocate thses bulbs but first I must find a new place which receives adequate sunlight, this is not something which I have in abundance.

Another invasion was far less subtle, the Golden Cupressus Macrocarpa which began in 2021. The ugly Coyote bushes had to go - well I kept three isolated from one-another and in their place were planted these fragrant columns, I had no notion that after a couple of years their growth rate would accelerate to the point were in a year they were putting on a good 30 cm. To thin out the crowd was the only option and two of these were uprooted and given to neighbours in January 2024. In time the other two will probably also have to go unless I aquire artist-like pruning skills and learn to create cloud pruning like a pro, watch this space...

In time