Garden: clearing part 1

We have a front and back garden, for this year I'm going to concentrate on the front garden as it's got less to do to it and is easier done. Firstly it need some severe pruning to get things under control, and we're taking a few of the trees down to let more light in.
In all that lovely weather we had I went out with loppers and started taking things down/out in one corner, there were a couple of shrubs in one corner growing through an orange blossom tree, and strangling it, not to mention cutting out the light to the garden.

Before:

(see? There's a tree and 2 shrubs there!)

After:

Excuse the big pile of crap on the ground, that be the shrubs! Why is it when you garden the amount of rubbish looks 4 times bigger than it did as a plant?! I know it doesnt look much different, but I'm rubbish at taking photos.

As always happens when I start something like thise, the same evening I got out all my gardening books and started planning. Lists have been written, and a VERY rudimentary plan made. We have a pond in the middle of the garden which cant really move so I'm working around that mainly, and the idea of trying to get plants into the garden that really wont work up here in the wet. Oh well, a girl can dream...of plants...

It's only a small area of the garden done but it feels really good to have done something positive, at the moment on the house it's pretty much all up to James, as it's plumbing and heating before anything else, so I'm feeling a bit useless.

Growth: wisteria

One of the first times I managed to get out into the garden properly after we moved wasn't until about February (what?! It's cold and wet up here!). My parents came across to help for the day, with a large amount of pruning and thinning. To the left of the porch in that photo was a large pile of grasses, which we cleared out, and there were 6ft conifers somehow still growing in chimney pots either side of the porch which we took out completely.

 There is a wisteria which had been left to climb the front of the house, but had gone a bit mad and was going through the guttering! We decided that the best way to tackle it was to cut it right back to about 4 foot, and pray.

(you can just see the stump here, that standing twig to the left of the porch)

It eventually started to shoot, just as we were starting to think the worst, and once it had a leaf it was away. Dad came and put wires in for us, they have to be a certain distance apart to allow the flower heads room to hang, apparently.

We put the next two wires up at the weekend, as it was starting to grip onto telephone cables, and here it is now:

(most photos taken on my phone, excuse the quality!)

a room with a view.

 

The garden is really coming into bloom now, so I thought I'd share one of my favourite views from the house with you. The ancient apple tree, shading debris from the shed saga (more on that to come, oh the joys), the chestnut we hung my wedding dress from to photograph it, and a lovely lilac. There's several of those around the garden, which I love. The lovely sunshine is making it harder to see here, but if I waited I'd never get round to posting. I'm too impatient.

Just a little sneak peek of whats to come once I finish the last of my wedding posts.