In 2019 I planted this cottage garden for guests to enjoy while sitting on the patio. I went a bit crazy for Lupins, Foxgloves and Delphiniums. I really love spears of bright colour.
It's been lovely to welcome back B&B guests over the last few weeks. The May bank holiday saw several families enjoying a getaway from the city, visiting the Country Fair at Burghley House and cycling around Rutland Water- full distance including the peninsular! Other guests just came to enjoy the peaceful surroundings and wildlife.
It was a rather long winter this year, Covid restrictions aside, with the warm weather only creeping in at the end of May, but summer is finally here and I no longer have an excuse not to make a start on the garden. The weeds were certainly not deterred by the cold weather and have been doing a mighty fine job of taking over. I've been very careful in my photo selection, so you can't see the full horror :)
As well as looking after weekend guests, I'm spending a lot of my Saturday and Sunday repairing broken borders and equipment, spraying the roses and hoeing the weeds on Mum's rose garden. I reinstated this rose garden a few years ago in memory of my darling Mum Pauline and I made sure to plant a few of her favourite David Austen roses.
The climbing rose 'New Dawn' and hybrid rose 'Abraham Darby' are doing really well after black spot and other viruses had taken their toll over several years. In addition to spraying the leaves with Roseclear, I also gave them a healthy dose of it at the roots as well as hard pruning and fertilising when appropriate. Hopefully in a week or so I will be able to share their progress and beautiful blooms.
The Lupins, which are so strong and gorgeous at the moment did suffer from a Lupin Aphid infestation at the beginning of May and I had to resort to chemical warfare. Unfortunately, no natural method such as ladybirds are voracious enough eaters to control grey aphids but the aphids love to suck the life out of the Lupins! The Lupins are now at full strength with the Foxgloves not far behind them.
Better get back to it, now where did I leave the hoe?