Using the newly arrived topsoil, my daughter Tasha and I were finally able to fill in the beds surrounding the terrace. Several of the plants had been standing in pots since the autumn of last year and some had suffered as a result. My diaramas were dead: they were unable to survive the cold in plastic pots without surrounding earth to protect their roots; several of my small black bamboos also looked very bare and twiggy, having been quite neglected round the north side of the house. Most plants, however, had survived intact although they were getting increasingly root bound. I had also ordered over three hundred small plugs of various grasses from a wholesaler to colonise these areas: Pheasant grass (Anemanthele arundinacea), Stipa tunusiima; Slender Sedge (C. testacea) and the greeny-blue festuca grasses 'Blue Fox' and 'Elijah Blue' … my carex seedlings would also be planted here. Dwarf munstead lavender, bright green viridflora Santolina, Phlomis ‘fruticosa’, the evergreen Dianthus 'Siberian blue' and the prostrate Rosemany ‘Severn Seas’ to be planted on the curve at the end. Against the warmth of the wall, I have also planted the white Ceanothus ‘Millerton Point’ , the white Paeony, P.Lactiflora 'Duchesse de Nemours' and white Sneezewort, Achillea ptarmica ‘The Pearl’. I will see how the dog wood tolerates this hot spot … the white cistus will be fine I know, as will the white rose which was insitu when I arrived and clearly has the ability to hang on in harsh conditions.
Then using a wheelbarrow we began to cart the earth from the courtyard to the south-facing slope at the front of the barn and the terrace beds to the west. It was really hard work, sorting the stone, removing any remaining weeds and roots, and then shovelling it into the barrow; but after a couple of days we could see a lot of change. The warm, west side of the terrace was planted with the judus trees, two miniature acers, a twisted hazel with maroon leaves, a viburnum and a daphne. We decided to put pheasant grass in between these shrubs - mainly because the dramatic colouring of their leaves looked so good with rusty tones of the eucalyptus just beyond - and the dark leaved acers. Amongst this was planted hundreds of the allium spephocoleum, with maroon-black drumsticks, as punctuation marks along this border. The nepeta was re-allocated to the front of the herbaceous border, near the dark elder, to combine with roses and ladies mantle. Most of the lavender, mainly L. angustifolia 'Munstead' and many types of grasses were also planted into the front south facing sloping beds … but we cannot complete the planting until the steps to the pond have been completed.The judus trees are still flowering with lovely cerise, miniature pea-like flowers on the terrace, the Tibetan tree peonies look sumptuous as always despite being hacked down last autumn as they were taking over; and there are lots of different types of aqualegia that have sprung up everywhere. One end of the herbaceous border is already looking quite mature with the wild effects of foxgloves, honesty and pastel stock drifting through the other shrubs. The Stipa gigantica is looking stunning amidst other emerging lofty grasses and artemisia species. My verbena have also started to shoot, having clearly survived the winter, despite my fears. Nevertheless, I will mulch this whole bed next autumn as a protection.
My daughter has made a customised wash for the west wall of the farm-house. It is made from natural pigments, mainly yellow ochre, with the idea of matching the pinky-terracotta soil of the landscape as well as the many pots. We applied it to the plaster one sunny day transforming the look of the terrace instantly to a softly textured backdrop to the scrambling climbers. My grand idea of putting up customized trellising to cover this side of the house was a failure. The galvanized wood batons which were attached in a criss-cross design looked much too heavy as if they were imprisoning the house, and after due consideration they were removed again! Instead we set about putting up light hazel trellising, which of course would not be as long lasting as the galvanized wood, but infinitely more attractive. This terraced area of the garden lends itself to a more Mediterranean feel, with palms in pots, sweet peas, lilies and many varieties of tulips and other bulbs in containers. We have also picked up an old barbeque, hardly state-of-the-art, but in functioning condition, for enjoying the warm evenings here.
Indoors, the attached barn began to be transformed as the old toilet and hallway made way for an open plan lounge with an oak floor and double glass doors opening out onto the south-facing terrace.