New Flower Bed for 2022 season

 

3.3.22

Last year I grew my sweet peas against the garage wall and one of the fences.  Although lovely there, the support was just hard to manage.  I used bamboo poles and jute string.  It lasted most of the season, but fell apart in the late summer wind storms.

When we (Jed) built the path, we thought about putting a wooden arch or 2 or 3 along it to lift the rather flat garden, but at £100+ each, and not being that sure of the plan, we abandoned it for a couple of years.

This year for my birthday we bought 4 metal arches from www.manomano.com after seeing them in Dean and Borja's Rose garden in their @mytinyestate.  they were very easy to put together, but ideally need 2 people to place.  

I cut the grass as short as I could, then measured out an 80cm deep bed, 40 cm each side of the arch, and used gravel boards hammered into the grass to create a frame.  Then came a layer of thick cardboard from packing boxes which were watered until soggy. then a good thick layer of compost on the top.  It was deep enough to plant the sweet pea plants I have been growing since the end of September.  They have been out out on the patio for over a month so hopefully will be OK.  I sowed some more in January just in case which are looking very healthy already.

I have a mixture of seed.  The ones closest to the house are spring sunshine, then further down Leominster Boy, both from @zoewoodwardgardening formerly @swancottageflowers.  Her seeds and corms have been really good.  Her seed sales are very popular, and I keep missing out on her "Swan cottage mix" of Sweet Peas.  Further down the arch are gifted seed, and seed from @thefloralproject.  Hopefuly we will have flowers for the village open gardens at the end of June.

All pictures were taken very late in the afternoon, I could barely see, so I am amazed at how bright they are without editing.