Putting it all together.

Some of you may remember my posts about how much I wanted a patio that I could actually use, with pots of scented flowers and chairs to sit on. After the (horrible, dangerous) old patio was re laid last year we now have a really wonderful area that I use daily, to sit, to work outside on, to use as an outdoor workspace.

We made some new beds as well around it (as if there were not enough work to do here, but never mind!) I have been slowly designing the layout and then planting them up, mostly with plants grown from seed or from cuttings already in the garden. I am thrifty like that!

This is what the two new beds looked like at the end of May.

I have also slowly been adding to the pots of flowers and herbs which live on the patio. Again, grown from seed or cuttings.

And adding places to sit and tables and sun shades. The swing seat was bought last month in a sale from Homebase, at Compostgirls request.

 
The garden seat/arch which I got from Argos last year as part of a batch of useful items to review, is actually destined to go elsewhere in the garden - I wanted an arch at that end of the patio and wondered if the wooden bench/arch would do the job, but it is wrong there so will be moved. A simple metal arch with some scented climbers will go in its place tonight.

Still a work in progress ( and I still don't have my Olive trees!) but really, I am rather pleased :) At the moment the patio is a bit of a mess and covered with pots and plants waiting to go into their final place in various flower beds. I will post some pictures of what it looks like with the flower beds more fully grown and the new arch in place when I have cleared it up :)

The kale is now over but the roses bloom

The title sounds like it ought to be a proverb or a password or something! But it is actually just what was happening today.

Today was another fine day so I was very busy in the garden and polytunnel. I picked the last of the polytunnel Kale

I am now planting out various overwintering perennials into the garden - see these rose bushes on the front right?

While overwintering inside the polytunnel they had produced the most beautiful blooms all winter, I cut these and have had them inside the house since 20 th April - they are still wonderful.

The rose bushes have now been pruned and will stand on the patio when the weather warms up a little more.

I planted out some of the tree peonies I grew from seed, or from tubers moved when we were doing the patio, there are loads more plants waiting to go into this now cleared bed.

And I made a start on clearing out the dead stuff from the "Hampton Court" flower bed I made last summer

The garden looks particularly pretty at this time of year :)

I also thought I would share with you the breakfast routine here at Compost Mansions. We come downstairs and make breakfast and then the ravening hordes gather,

awaiting tit bits of marmite toast :)