Pruning and Planning

I have a boquet of daffodils in the house.  They are heavenly fragrant.  This bunch of daffodils grows in what has become my little rockery.  Now that they are finished blooming, I am going to dig them out and move them to the perennial bed next to the garage.  I hope I can get all of the bulbs out, intact and spread them around the garden.  They are so very fragrant.  They compete with the hyacinths for fragrance.  

I will need to move the other perennials at the back of this little rockery also.  Then I hope to get a few big rocks for the back.  This rockery is expanding into my vegetable garden.  Well, the veggie garden has not been that productive.  I have too many trees around the garden area.  The bay laurel and the yews border one side, an English Oak and lilac on another side, cedar hedging on the third, side and the little rockery on the fourth side.

The rhuhbarb and strawberries are thriving in this veggie patch.  In a strip along the side where the Oak is, there are Tall german irises, chives, and a wisteria in the corner.  Two years ago when the neighbors rebuilt their fence I had to trim back the wisteria as it seemed to be knocking over their fence.  I am now trying to train it to a single stem and a canopy of blooms.  It has sent out a runner that has gone up the cedars... way up the cedars.  The cedars now bloom!  Its a gorgeous plant.   I hope I can get the pruned part of it to bloom again in a nice round canopy at a convenient pruning height.   Along the same side as the cedars there are a few herb plants.  I am trying to prune the rosemary into a nice looking bush.  The same needs more attention, also.  The oregano is good.  The sorrel is tasty but not that attractive as a garden plant.

I pruned the yew trees next to the pond down to a manageable height.  Also took the bay laurel down as well.  These evergreens border the pond and little Japanese garden area, so I do not want them towering over the pond.   At the moment I have them cut down with a variable height top which allows for a more loose look rather than a precise square top and sides.  I think this style will suit my style of pond.  The pond is not square or precise in its measurements and the surrounding plantings are attempting to look more natural than closely pruned and cropped as in Japanese gardens we are shown in gardening books.  

I have pruned more branches off the plum tree that has its canopy over the pond and is currently gorgeous in its cover of white blossums.  This tree needs more cleaning up, yet, but its difficult for me to reah and will probably not get much more pruning.  It has always produced so much fruit.  We enjoy these yellow plums in sauce over ice cream or frozen yogurt.  It is especially good on pancakes.  

I cleaned up the rhodo that is next to the back steps and is at the entry way to the back garden.  It was covered in blooms last year at the beginning of June when we got back from our trip to Russia.  Across the stairs to the deck from this rhodo is a camillia presently in bloom.  The foliage that touch the cedar deck wood seems to have gone brown.  I pruned most of this off and the tree looks a bit better.  The blooms get brown from rain.  I wonder if there is some way I can stop the blooms from browning.  My camillia at the back of the house does this also.  Both of these trees are getting big.  I enjoy the show anyway.  The one at the back of the house lives in a 5 foot border.  I keep the lower branches pruned back off the neighbors sidewalk to head height.  The blooms fall and cover the sidewalk in pink.  I am not sure Mrs. P. appreciates the color though.  

I have 6 bags of compost to use in the borders and as grass top dressing.  I must get more sand. too, for top dressing.  I want to make the front grass strip into a meadow.  It now has crocuses, so the grass has to stay long while the crocuses ripen anyway.  I must keep the dandilions to a minimum.  I want little daisies, violets, and those tiny wild geraniums, if I can get them to grow.  Mrs. P. seems to have some in her lawn.

So many plans..  and lots to do.  My garden is not low maintenance, but I love every minute spend out there.