I cannot start with “in the beginning” because it is already seven years since we moved here, but it is a good time for beginning new projects as spring powers up new growth in the garden. The pace of change is rapid and noticeable daily - new shoots appear from the ground, shrubs begin to leaf and bulbs burst into flower. The unwanted visitors are also in action: the deer are stripping plants of bark and leaves. Weeds are responding to the warming soil and longer daylight hours: the daisies can stay in the lawn because they are beautiful and loved by bumblebees but dandelions spread into borders and the vegetable garden, so they must go. There are plenty of other things are in flower for insects to forage.

There is nearly an acre and a half here and very little is flat. When we moved here it was mostly lawn with a few mature trees including a magnificent blue atlas cedar ( Cedrus atlantica Glauca), a pair of venerable apple trees and a large weeping pear that had received a severe trimming to its fringe (Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’).

Tags: Original Garden, Before photo