Office Garden Makeover

I got a bit bored with my office garden over winter, so I did some transplanting here, removing there, and now it is taking a slightly different path to the original intent of about 4 years ago, when we converted it from bare lawn (when we first bought the property). This year I decided Buxus hedging was the way to go, and have also planted these 4 big Buxus balls in the pebble courtyard. Still need to re-stain the timber edges, and add fresh pebbles, but all in all, I am very happy with the changes.

'During' - note the large flax in the blue bucket - I dug out 3 of these and took them home to my Dursley Wetland. Got about 30 plants out of each. Waste not want not!!

Fresh box hedge plants, and newly transplanted perennials. The Buxus were the only plants
I purchased - the rest just got moved around. 

View from the street, in September 2014.

Tulips adding the splash of red to the newly planted garden. 

September 2014 - no leaves on the trees. Scroll down to see this same angle today. 

Yes I was trying to replicate the ball theme.....

I am especially happy with the buxus balls in the courtyard. They really break up the expanse of pebbles, and add great shadows. This was originally going to be a sculpture showcase/gallery area, but well, other things came along and that never happened.The balls were growing in the middle of the gardens, so I simply moved them to another spot1

The next photos are from many of the same angles as above, and show the changes and growth that has occurred in the last 3 months. Note that I have still not re-stained the timber!

Three months worth of growth, plus leaves on trees, has bulked the garden up considerably. 

Lilies, Geum, Heuchera and daylilies are now the colourful fillers.

I adore my dark red lilies. 

More red lilies....

Alstromeria are a fabulous flowering plant. 

Little geums

The view from the street changes once the leaves come back on to the maples. 

Yes more lilies....

Daylily and Asiatic lilies in front of burgundy flax.

Acer Bloodgood is stunning with the sun behind it. 

Flowers of purple flax with Acer behind. 

And best of all - the Tui is in the flax flowers (beside the footpath) at least 10 times a day. I love watching passers by reaction to this sight!!

So there you have it. This garden changes a lot as the seasons change, but the structural planting remains the focus 12 months of the year. Gosh I think you might have heard me say that before??!!!

And just in case you are interested, here are a couple of 'BEFORE' photos of this same courtyard.

Before 'BEFORE'! Newly purchased August 2008.

October 2011. Biggest change in the last three years, is that the Camellia hedges now separate the front courtyards, creating separate 'rooms'. 

2011 again - here showing the perennials spilling over the timber edge. They have now all been moved back, and box hedging put in front, alongside the timber. And the buxus balls have been moved into the pebbles! It was all getting a bit too 'busy' for me, and I wanted to simplify it all. 

Last summer I let the Verbena bonariense take over the pebble courtyard. I will let that come back some time, just not this year. For now I am enjoying the tidiness of just Buxus. 

The walkway through the plants last summer. Now clean and classic with buxus balls only.