WAB Members' Garden Photos

[agrumpycow]

After pottering about in the garden when I got home from work this afternoon the sun was throwing a lovely light on it so I took a photo from the upstairs window. I don't think I've put a photo of my whole garden here before so here it is BBC gardener's magazine wanted to come out last month and take photos for a feature they were running but, unfortunately, my hubby was having none of it, he likes his privacy he said



It's a smallish suburban garden (roughly 30ft square) and when we moved here we were lucky enough to inherit the old apple tree which not only provides a great place for all manner of garden birds but also produces fantastic cooking apples! The frame beside it wasn't intended to stay there but over the last few weeks has become popular with the fledgeling birds waiting to be fed so it's staying put for a while!
Under the lilac bush on the left is our very 'mini-meadow'. Basically we threw some mixed grass & wildflower seed and leave it to sort itself out
The pond we built in February is starting to blend in well and is very popular with the bird life.
Although technically next door the hedge on the right also is home to blackbird nests.
There are non-native shrubs around the garden but we let wildflowers that self-seed stay, such as herb-robert, poppies and creeping buttercups. Some of the grasses around the pond are also the result of bird seed rooting itself
I must admit I'm really happy with how it looks - no straight lines and even the grass is patchy (the result of having 2 dogs ). It's also south-west facing so it's lovely to sit out there on a summer evening under the apple tree, especially as between our house & nextdoor we have far reaching views over to the hills of Mapledurham above the Thames - the benefits of living on a hill!

[col188]

Here's my Garden, 'cos I'm in my senior years moved and downsized from a 1/3rd acre (it's overstuffed with plants).

It has a small recirculated water feature to the right foreground, off camera (which I may relocated and bury level with the soil). The Blackies, Sparrows and Finches use for bathing, has a large stone just below the surface for them to stand on. No frogs as yet, but a lot of Toads........ and Slugs and Snails

Had a hedgehog last year, which overwintered, in its nest behind some Ferns. Not seen it around this year though.

Plenty of Hovers Bees Butterflies and other insects.......so I don't have to go far for photo sessions.

Great place to have a beer, sit in the Sun, and watch the clouds roll by.

Col

[kiltoncomp]

after seeing kymbas work in progress, i thought i would post some pics of my efforts,
heres a couple showing the other bits of the garden first,1/ 2/

then onto the "builing site" area !
3/ 4/ 5/

this work is as a result of one of our birches (30ft +) coming down and damaging the stone waterfall,the side pond wall , the filter system and the heron netting, with the results of having to house some of the pond life in a fibreglass pond at the top of the garden(see pic 2/)while rebuilding parts of the stone walling and other work,
the paved area is going to lead to a new filter section, with easier access to it, and a new waterfall area,
the large clump of bamboo is being dug out and moved to another part of the garden ( as anyone who has moved an established bamboo before will know, a major job on its own) it took me half a day to cut out the two sections shown in pic 5/ using a spade, large axe, crowbar and brute strength and ive still got three quarters of it left to get out

it is taking much longer than expected to complete the work ( probably due to a 5 minute tea break with a quick visit to W.A.B turning into an hour

Brian.

[Susie]

A belated update of my garden and pond as at late last spring and early last summer.







It may only be small but by god does it pull in the wildlife!!! Can't wait for this spring as it will be even better

[Colin Pumfrett]

Here are some photos of my garden taken last summer, its an absolute joy to sit down at the rear of the garden to watch and photo the goings on in the insect world. The rear of the garden has been created especially to attract butterflies and other insects, there are 12 buddleia shrubs along with verbena, agastache, marjoram, lavendar, hyssop, sedum and salvia, last year i counted over 100 butterflies at once, the sky was full of them, my garden count so far is 24, along with 9 species of dragonfly/damselfly. This year i have cut down the conifers at the very rear of the garden, they were taking up too much space, and i have erected a fence and planted jasmine to climb and spread along it, and i have planted lots more of marjoram, french, golden, pot and wild. This year i am planting globe thistle, cornflower, knapweed and red clover, bring on the summer.

Colin.

[Susie]

I like the sound of your planting scheme It looks as if your garden is a decent size too. You can't beat sitting and watching the butterflies come to you!

[aeshna5]

Lovely garden Colin- wish mine was as large as yours! You're certainly getting a lot of good stuff in there.

[basquesteve]

My Garden in the middle of nowhere

[tameblackbirds]

Taken earlier in the year

[Dorts]

A few pics taken through the summer.

Trees and Shrubs.

Laburnum.

The river that runs through the garden.

Looking down the drive.
Dorts.