Vey busy at work and yet another week has gone by without any gardening. Its not all bad news as I have had some valuable time off to spend with the Children during half term. However, I felt that  I couldn’t live with the mess which was our long herbaceous bed and asked Adam and the team to set about weeding, removing the flopping brown and slimy growth from last year and pruning roses and alike. The results are fantastic but I couldn’t help feel down about missing out on what should my fun...as Adam always says its tough being the boss. Having read the last few blogs you may think me somewhat ungrateful for complaining about  having a busy business so please rest assured that I am delighted that we are successful, I just feel a little incomplete when I go without gardening. 

This week I will definitely find the time to at least start with our CourtYard and finish the much needed pruning.

This week I have done absolutely no gardening at all and feel terrible about it. There have been client meetings, administration tasks for the business and general sorting in both my personal and business life there leaving no time. As I gaze outside I can see my messy courtyard poised to be re-built and planted and walking through my garden briefly with my wife was despondent about the general mess of it all. 

As a reward for hours and hours of admin I have promised myself that I will start work on the Courtyard in March; it will be our place for eating, relaxing and will be planted with some herbs, vegetables, general cottage garden herbaceous planting with a backdrop of a brick wall with lime mortar,Topiary and Pleached trees.....now I have made this promise I must keep it otherwise I fear a bout of lethargy will set in!

Around my garden at the weekend I have been pruning various pleached trees which is a job I love. Not  only is this another sign of spring but the wood is resistant to my loppers and secateurs making the cuts clean and satisfying. 

I bought some of these trees a few years ago and wanting to make a statement and add interest in our garden set to work creating a framework of bamboo and wood. The first prune was the hardest not only in terms of the amount of the plant I removed, but also in the faith I had to have in what at the time seemed like weedy shoots, this however paid off and now these trees are starting to create the desired effect. However, I am not sure if I have enough and not only have a order some ready pleached Hornbeam but I am considering buy some Limes to pleach and create an avenue leading up to our kitchen garden.....its hard to stop fiddling but I must carry on until things are right!

Spring is slowly arriving and this is never more evident than in my and my clients gardens. Snowdrops and Hellebores are now in flower brighting up even the most dull day, and I can see the heads of Narcissus just poking out of the ground everywhere we visit. 

I find this time of year joyful and exiting the spring garden signifies that new life and warmer weather is on its way, and that finally this long, dark, wet and at times snowy Winter is coming to an end.