When we moved here thirteen years ago, there was little or nothing in the garden except for an occasional plant stuck in the middle of lawn.
It made sense for the previous owners to have a garden like that (and many do round here). The house was a holiday home, sometimes not visited at all for many months on end. So gardening needed to be low maintenance - a quick whip round with the mower and not much else. And with mild wet winters and warm early springs followed by baking hard clay in hot dry summers weeding large flower borders can easily become a full-time job. Not what one wants to be doing on a fortnight's holiday - and many of the locals feel the same, preferring to put effort and energy into their spotless, weed-free potagers.
So there, in the middle of the lawn in front of the house, was this dry, sad twig, which tended to be mowed over by mistake more years than not. Further across was a muddled heap of honeysuckle. So the twig and the honeysuckle became the opposite ends of a new, oval flower bed.
The twig, safe from the mower and given a chance to thrive proved to be a tree peony. It's taken time, but this year there are nine flouncy pink flower heads, with promise of more for next year from fresh green shoots coming up from the base. Like the roses, peonies seem to like our heavy clay.
What a super reward for care and patience! I had them at our last house in France, just as you say, in a clay soil where they thrived...though to be fair they did not have the bad start of your poor twig!
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping eventually to emulate one of our neighbours - she has a huge bush of a peony - just beautiful!
DeleteGood looks from the peony and probably evenings of perfume from the honeysuckle. No doubt you have added more to the 'oval'. Please a photo together with the dogs sitting to attention for the camera. Here I am thinking of a camelia as there are plenty in other local gardens that are looking very smart at the moment. Lesley
ReplyDeleteOh, I like the sound of the camellia Lesley. We have some gorgeous ones in the gardens in town. I've one on the terrace in a big pot where it's sheltered, elsewhere in the garden where it's more exposed, you can bet we'll get a late frost! Dogs, behaving for camera? Mmm, maybe not!
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