Thursday 11 June 2009

As it was, As it is!





Add ImageThe pictures above are of my garden as it is now. This is a very shady corner and not a lot grows here. No sun ever penetrates into the corner at all. Anything that grows above fence level will get either a bit of morning sun or evening sun or both! I have finally managed to get a fern to grow under the honeysuckle which grows at the rate of knots. And London Pride doesn't seem to mind never seeing the sun! The Honeysuckle is covered in blossom at the moment and the sound of bumble bees working the flowers is very pleasant and soothing.

This picture below is of the corner immediately after the Hawthorne tree was removed in spring 2007. As you can see the honeysuckle is barely making a statement. The small Hawthorne which remains looks dead! But it made a rapid recovery once the larger tree had gone. Look at how open the garden looks compared to how it is today.


This bottom photo is of the dead or dying Hawthorne tree and that corner before it went. In some ways it made a feature in that corner but also a lot of the garden remained in the shade because of it. I don't like bare fences and we are surrounded by houses so the seclusion provided by shrubs and trees is valuable. You can see in the top photo how quickly the hazel has grown on the left hand side by the obelisk. Hawthorne berries are reputed to clean out the arteries and hawthorne tea is good.I am still able to pick some even though the tree leans over our neighbours garden. My herbal says 'Hawthorne helps restore high or low blood pressure to more normal levels, and improves problems brought on by ageing of the heart, arterial spasms and angina.' Treatment takes several weeks; it isn't a quick cure and the common usage is by an infusion of the flowers or fruits.

6 comments:

  1. Lovely post, I do enjoy reading about other people's gardens and watching how they mature and change over the years!

    I think I will have to get some of your Honeysuckle, as we have a very dark corner in the front garden where no sun ever touches (where our two semi's meet), plus Honeysuckle is just amazing - I already have one in a different area.

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  2. How serene the shady garden looks! Must be nice to have a picnic there or read a quiet book!

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  3. My Honeysuckle is waiting to flower. It hides the bare fence, and the bees love it.

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  4. Your garden today looks so established - I am amazed how quickly you have turned it round. It looks lovely

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  5. Liz this is a Dutch honeysuckle which is a relative of the wild native honeysuckle of these islands. This could be why it does so well!
    Gururaj if only I had the time to sit and read! Nice thought!
    Jo one of the nice things about honeysuckle apart from it's delicious scent is the hum of the bees!
    Top Veg thank you for your comment. A lot of hard work has gone on here and I'm glad it has been worth it!
    Val

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  6. It is fun to see before and after photos.

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