Hi everyone,

I turned 51 last week. 51! It feels like yesterday I was 21, so I’m not sure how the last thirty years have happened so fast. What am I grateful for at 51? Lots of things. But keeping to the gardening theme….I’m very grateful I am physically able to tend to a garden the size of mine, lift rocks, mix cement, use a chainsaw and all the other random things I find myself doing while developing a large garden! I’m hoping that my garden acts as my gym membership for the next thirty years, keeping me fit, active and healthy into my old age.

It’s been a busy week in my garden, the roses are about to bloom, and I’ve been reflecting on some of the most difficult parts of gardening.

One of the biggest gardening challenges we all face

Seasonal colour.

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Flowers that bloom, fade, and then…ta-da!…something else bursts into life. In reality, though, it’s one of the hardest things for new gardeners to master. Most of us, at some point, have made the same classic rookie move. We’ve gone to the garden centre in early spring, fallen in love with everything in flower, and come home with a trolley load of instant happiness.

And then, about three weeks later, the whole lot finishes at once. Suddenly the garden’s gone from riotous colour to a sea of green leaves, and you’re standing there wondering where it all went wrong.

Achieving true seasonal colour takes a bit of planning, a touch of restraint, and maybe a notebook (or at least the back of an envelope). You need plants that politely take turns on stage, handing the baton from spring to summer to autumn so there’s never a dull moment.

And in my garden, the real MVPs of that colour relay are roses.

Photos: Hot Chocolate, Cappuccino, St Mary’s, Cappuccino (no, that photo isn’t filtered. I have no idea how the bloom looks so crisp. It’s just a good old iPhone photo).

I know roses can be a bit divisive. People either love them or mutter darkly about thorns, blackspot, and “never again.” I used to be firmly in the second camp. I adored their blooms but couldn’t be bothered with the blood, sweat and (occasionally literal) tears that came with them. I told myself life was too short for battling plants determined to inflict grievous bodily harm.

But after a few years of chasing that elusive year-round colour, I cracked. I planted a few roses. And that was that. I was hooked.

When you’ve got roses, you’ve got colour. Reliable, generous, marathon-runner kind of colour. While other plants flounce in and out like short-term houseguests, roses quietly stay on, making themselves useful and looking fabulous. Yes, some of the old-fashioned types bloom just once, but most modern ones, if you remember to deadhead them, keep going from spring right through to early winter.

And yes, winter pruning can be a bit of a bloodsport. There’s always that one sneaky thorn that finds your wrist no matter how careful you are. But it’s one day of battle in exchange for three full seasons of colour. I’ll take that deal any time.

Some of mine even throw out the odd bloom in midwinter. Tiny rosebuds wearing frosty crowns, looking like they’ve wandered out of a fairy tale are a sight to behold.

So, if you’ve been struggling to get that rolling wave of colour in your garden, give roses another chance.

Yes, they’re prickly. Yes, you’ll bleed a little. But you’ll also have months of glorious colour while everything else is between acts. Take my word for it….the bloodsport is worth it.

Photos: (left to right, top row then bottom row)…Hot Chocolate, Royal Amethyst, pink carpet rose, Hot Chocolate, Cappuccino, Crimson Bouquest, Julia’s Secret, Royal Amethyst.

What I’ve been up to this week

I had a week off last week, and by “off” I mean “flat-out in the garden, coming inside only when I can no longer feel my hands.” It’s been great.

I’ve made major progress on the new shrub borders. The main rock edging is finally done - though I’ve still got a few small rocks to stack into a second layer where the birds seem to think it’s hilarious to kick mulch onto the paths. But the end is officially in sight!

Most of the planting is done, with just some edge plants and a final round of mulching to go. The last big job is topping the paths with nice gravel, which is one of those deeply painful jobs to do, but makes everything look exponentially better. And once it’s done, it’ll all be finished. Then I just have to exert uncharacteristic patience and wait until everything grows.

Photos: Miss Pancho, Master Possum and Miss Pebbles all assisted with card boarding and mulching the new shrub bed. The cats were mightily unimpressed once the cardboard was fully covered. What is it about cats and cardboard??!!

Photos: I’m so sick of carrying and positioning rocks. I’m over smashing my fingers between rocks and having black fingernails for months on end! But I’m NEARLY there. Just a top layer of smaller rocks to prevent enthusiastic birds from flicking the mulch all over the paths. You can see in the top right of the third photo where Dottie Hensworthy has been escaping the coop and having a field day throwing mulch all over the path. I’ve scraped it back up again, and she’s due to have her wings clipped!

I also dusted off two garden art projects that have been languishing in the shed for an embarrassing length of time. One of them dates back to the COVID lockdown. (Good things take time here on the farm. Sometimes very good things take five years.)

On top of that, I planted summer Gladioli bulbs, got all the dahlias in, and generally spent a blissful week doing almost nothing that wasn’t garden-related. My kind of holiday.

Photos: Having been married to a chap for 23 years who is excellent at DIY, I’ve learned a thing or two. So, I concreted these posts in all on my own. Maybe don’t look TOO closely at the handy-work with power tools, but the end result was straight posts, anchored firmly in the ground, so who cares if it wasn’t pretty along the way 😄

🌿Garden tasks for this week

Northern hemisphere

Gather seed heads from favourite annuals or herbs for next year’s sowing; dry them and store carefully.
If you haven’t hit the big freeze yet, plant trees, shrubs or roses while the soil is still workable (roots can establish before deep freeze) rather than waiting for spring.
Deep-clean and sharpen garden tools, drain hoses and winter-ready your watering system & irrigation.
Leave select perennials standing (seed-heads, dried stems) rather than trimming everything. They offer winter interest and habitat for beneficial insects.
Wrap or protect young trees, shrubs or vulnerable plants from frost, wind-rock or winter bark damage.

Southern hemisphere

It’s heating up! We hit 30 degrees here this week. Make sure your beds get a deep watering once a week. Less frequent, deep watering is far better than regular shallow sprinkles.
Plant summer-loving crops (tomatoes, peppers, courgettes) and sow fast succession salad/greens to keep the harvest flowing.
Fertilise established shrubs, fruit bushes or trees as growth accelerates and apply mulch to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
Check and manage pest and disease pressure carefully. With warmer weather comes more activity. Inspect regularly.
Maintain containers/pots: as temperature and day-length change, watering needs shift. Refresh potting mix, inspect for root-bound plants, and consider moving some to semi-shade if heat increases.

Photo: My Lorapetalum wasn’t doing so well in this pot in the howling norwest winds, so I’ve moved it to a sheltered position in the new shrub borders and replaced it with this Berberis ‘Little Favourite’. Same colour scheme but hopefully more robust against the elements.

🔨What’s coming up next week

I’ll update you on the garden art installation progress. I can’t wait to show you the Dr Seussy themed thing that’s nearly ready. I’ve been landscaping the entrance to The Whitehouse, so I’ll have some updates on that, and I’m about to install a whole lot more wool mulch, so I’ll be talking about the benefits of wool as a sustainable, eco-friendly mulching and weed suppression option.

🌹What’s new in Behind the Garden Gate this week

🐓Nitty Gritty: Cluckingham Palace - the building of a palace fit for poultry royalty.
🍅 Garden to Table: Brilliant Basil: everything you ever needed to know about growing Basil, including a perfect pesto recipe.
📷Snapshot Shed: More photos designed to inspire.
😄You know those days when….a humorous little ditty on the sadistic things I do to my husband. Endearingly sadistic of course!
😩Friday fails: even good gardeners kill stuff. Find out about my latest failure.

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Photos: Bearded iris season is in full swing, the early peonies are coming to an end, but the late season peonies are just getting going. To achieve long-lasting seasonal colour, when you plan your planting, make sure you’re considering the flowering times of the plants you buy. Many plants have ‘early’, ‘mid’ and ‘late’ season varieties. Tulips, irises, peonies, lilies and many more have early, mid and late season versions. You can get a longer bloom time from your favourites if you buy several varieties that bloom right across the season.