The end of the beginning

I thought I should get the planting of my new drive bed done this morning as rain was forecast for 2pm or 3pm depending on which forecast you believed. I would have finished earlier if a friend hadn't stopped to chat for more than half an hour, but I've got the bulk of the shrubs in and given them a good soak. It did begin to rain at 2pm - we've had about 59 drops since then! This is only the shrubby background - I hope to fill the soil with various easy and ground-covering perennials in time.

It's rather fun to look around at the various shrubs and think - Mexico, Chile, Canary Is, Australia, New Zealand, China, Madeira, Yugoslavia, Albania, North Africa, South Africa, Nepal. The plant in the thumbnail is Petteria ramentacea, from Yugoslavia and N. Albania. Someone once complained that I was introducing foreign plants to my garden and I told him that almost all plants grown in gardens were foreign, even his. No, he said, there's nothing in my garden but good, honest Scottish gravel! Sounds like a fun place!

Quote of the Day:

Alfred Austin - “Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.”