May | 2019 | Ursula's Cambridge Garden

There is never quite such an exciting moment in the garden as early May as the Spring begins to race on to summer, and the Fern crosiers arrive and all the bulbs begin powering up the borders.

It’s also a good moment to show the contrast with ‘before’ and ‘after’ with projects, so here are some examples from my clients’ gardens.

Garden #1 –

Before (Dec 2018 on arrival) – bindweed, overgrown chaos, slug-ridden and neglected…..

And now five month’s later with new plantings – the south-facing bed’s shrubs revived with new underplantings of catmint, salvias, aqueligia, alchemilla mollis and lavender, the left hand shade bed completely newly planted with shade loving ferns, pulmonaria, brunnera, Euphorbia robbiae. The circular tree bed seen on the left has been planted with hellebores and the right hand raised beds newly planted with herbs, agapanthus, cistus and salvias.

Garden #2 –

An old neglected sandpit, on arrival in 2017…

Now transformed into a raised herb bed you can sit next to – southfacing, filled with nice gritty compost as a new home for edibles flowers and leaves (Rosemary, Bay, Sage, Fennel, Strawberries, Lemon verbena, Nasturtium, Borage, Pot marigold, Mint, Lavender)

New hedge planted in November 2017 with bulbs about to be planted November 2018 –

And blooming –

Garden #3 –

Building works in 2014, and the very start of the garden….

And now with building works, garden, and planters complete…

Garden #4

Before in Autumn 2018, neglected garden but with a very good backbone of established shrubs and trees. Here cutting out the south-facing bed ready for planting with hot coloured sun-loving plants.