GARDEN AND GARDENER HAVE A MAKEOVER

Whether it is poor choice of plants, lack of pruning or general decline, there comes a time when a gardener might have to admit the time has come for a big garden makeover. How can this be? The garden is a mere 12 years old. And yet I have been feeling this coming on for a few years now and have been getting a few digs from David. So this week I finally made the decision. It all has to go.

Out will come the not so dwarf Burford hollies, the Indian hawthorn that are about to flower ( I shall miss their pretty pink blooms) and the not so dwarf yaupon hollies, struggling to keep their shape beneath the holly. And so at the weekend I gave David permission to do the deed. It has taken him 3 afternoons of hard work to get everything out.

The first to go was these Indian Hawthorne. For some reason they have never done well on this side when compared with the ones on the other side.

The Viburnum, Spring bouquet has problems too. When we came home from our trip last summer we found serious decline on the south side. I think it will be impossible to prune out these dead areas and have the plant recover. All these years with never any pet or disease, always green and glossy leaves even during drought. Now this decline.

I have to admit I am going to miss the green look but I think it will be for the best in the long run.

This time I am going to try to keep the planting off the patio so we can enjoy the patio we worked so hard to create.

The plants I have chosen are;

Leatherleaf acacia, Acacia craspedocarpa. This Australian native which grows into a shrubby bush has grey green foliage and bears yellow flowers in the spring. It is supposed to be hardy into the teens.

Loropetalum chinense, 'Purple Pixie' which grows to no more than 2' in height but spreads to 4' It has intensely purple foliage and pink blooms.

Ilex vomitoria 'Gremicr' or 'Micron'  holly which grows to 30" and spreads to 36" This holly with its diminutive leaves grows slowly to its ultimate size and should never need pruning.

I have to admit I love seeing our patio again but things do look a little bare. The bonus is a simpler watering system with just a drip to each plant and less pruning. I may be tempted to allow the odd bluebonnet to brighten up the spring garden.

Now it is time for the gardener to have her makeover. On Wednesday I shall be going into hospital for a hip replacement. Battling a problem for a couple of years and thinking all along that it was simply muscular it came as a huge shock to find my hip was the problem with bone on bone and huge bone spurs. It's a terrible time to have surgery but I am hoping I will be back to the garden in no time.