My last post was 6 months ago. It's been a very strange year and, now in September, it doesn't seem to be getting any less strange as time goes on. After the initial shock of lockdown had warn off, life went on in a very new way - working from home and communicating by Zoom and Teams, only going out for exercise and essentials. Thank goodness for modern technology.

For the first few weeks of lockdown the weather was glorious and the garden in all its spring glory kept me going (when I wasn't working!). It has gone from strength to strength all year and is only just beginning to fade however this blog isn't about the garden - I may follow up with another one later.

I said modern technology was a blessing (mostly) and it was a chance encounter on facebook that lead me to try something new. I'm a member of several facebook groups about the Lake District and on one of these I spotted some lovely paintings of Wasdale Head - I can't resist pictures of Wasdale so I started chatting with the artist, a lovely lady called Emma Hunt who lives in West Cumbria and uses art as pain therapy. The paintings were done in pastel and we got talking about my Grandparents having been artists and how I wished I could draw. She persuaded me to join one of her online art classes using my Grandpa's pastels which had been unused since he died in 1976. It must have been meant to be because when I went in the loft looking for them, they were right in front of me!! Below is my first attempt from following one of Emma's lessons. Good enough for a first attempt to encourage me to continue.

I followed some of Emma's workshop videos of Wasdale Head and Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall then decided to branch out on my own. The silhouette of the man with his dogs on the beach is David Moseley and his dogs Alice and Jeffrey. It was harder than it looked but I was pleased with the end result. The Lone Walker at sunset is another of David's photos. Two attempts at this one as the first one was too dark - something learned, the image on the computer screen was darker than the original. Finally another workshop piece - practice for Birker Moor at a later date.

My son and daughter-in-law live in the US and were feeling very isolated from family and friends in the UK as they had never envisaged a time they couldn't jump on a plane and come home for a visit so I decided to try and do something special for them. When I visited them last year Alexander and I did a road trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains. One of the photos I took caught my imagination and brought back some memories of a lovely trip so I decided to try to recreate it for them.

At this time, I was still using my Grandpa's pastels plus some new student grade pastels which actually turned out to be not as good, however A+C were so pleased with the picture Alexander treated me to some artist grade pastels for my birthday (early!). Before they arrived, I persevered with my existing pastels. The results are lacking in the vibrant colours of the better quality pastels however, as drawing has always been something I have been afraid of, to actually  create a recognisable image was quite an achievement.

End of chapter 1 - to be continued ....

It has been a long time since my last post. Almost 4 months in fact and what a lot has happened since then, most of it unthinkable. Next week I should have been heading for the US to visit to my son, instead of which we are in global lock-down against the dreaded Corona virus. Here we are 2 weeks in and I've done almost everything in the garden I can except defeating the Evil Weevil.

Vine weevil is the bane of Heuchera growers, they love them. I had a few last year but was able to defeat them with nematodes, a natural predator which you water in and it destroys the weevil larvae. Unfortunately although the winter has been too warm (and wet) to kill the weevils, it still isn't warm enough for nematodes to work. My heuchera collection has been devastated but I am fighting back however I am running out of hospital space. The number of plants now runs to over 200!

What is the problem? Vine weevils themselves don't do much harm - chew a few leaves but that's all except for laying eggs of course!. It's the larvae that are the problem. They eat the roots of the plants leaving a drooping top behind. If a plant looks suspiciously droopy, give it a gentle tug. If it comes away easily look for the white larvae in the soil. If you catch it in time there maybe some roots left. Sometimes the first thing you know is that a gust of wind has blown the plant out its pot.

The larvae are white, about 1/2cm long and are often curled in a C-shape as can be seen in the image above. They eat the fine roots - which is when the plant starts to droop - then burrow into the thick chunky roots from which they have to be winkled out leaving a hole. Squashing them is a bit like squeezing a spot (sorry!), revolting but very satisfying!

So your heuchera has been attacked by Vine Weevil, what can you do? The best solution is douse them in Nematodes which you can buy from various places online but they will only work when the soil is above a certain temperature. There is a Bug Killer aimed at weevils (Bug Clear Ultra Vine Weevil) but I haven't tried it and you can't use it on edible plants (weevils like strawberries too apparently). The third option is to carefully remove the plant from its pot (not a problem if there are no roots left). Take care not to scatter larvae around and destroy any you can find. Carefully wash the soil and larvae off the plant, winkling out any that had burrowed in - you can tell if there is a dusty patch on the root which has passed through the larva. I sometimes cut a chunk off the root to check inside, it doesn't seem to harm the plant. Throw away the infested soil - in your waste bin not compost or green waste bin - and check around carefully to make sure you haven't missed any of the little so-and-so's. I use a mixture of potting compost and grit and it can be hard to tell whether you are trying squash grit or weevil larvae! Wash and disinfect the pot.

Once what is left of the roots are clean and bug free, you can split and replant them in fresh soil. Heucheras are tough and will often regrow from almost nothing.

These are the plantlets I got from this particular specimen. Two had a chunk of root left but the remainder are little more than leaves and the crown. Be careful not to bury the crown or it will rot. As these have so little root I will keep them in  the greenhouse. I date them and should be able to tell in 3-4 weeks if they have survived. Below are some successes. The top two are recent but have strong sprouts coming, the bottom two were repotted in November last year and are growing strongly. As you can see, you can end up with a lot of plants!

Good luck in the fight against the evil weevil.

Instead of my usual Christmas letter, I have decided to do a blog post this year, more pictures, less paper, so here goes:

It's been a busy year one way and another. After Christmas spent with Caitlin and Dave mostly doing lots of horsey stuff, I spent New Year at Derwentwater Hostel in Borrowdale in the Lakes. I managed to get the year off to a good start by walking round Derwentwater, in the company of my friend Ellen, and bagging my first (and I think only) Wainwright of the year.

I haven't done as much walking as usual this year as I've been having problems with my knee and hip. Apparently it's arthritis. Medication is helping and I've been told to keep walking to strengthen the muscles. The best walks of the  spring were around Grasmere taking in a slightly icy Loughrigg Fell and the limestone pavements of Farleton Fell.

Sadly I lost both cats this year. The young cat, Mischief, who was Midge's replacement crossed the road at the wrong time and Mollie, my elderly cat who had been on thyroid medicine for a couple of years, seemed to really miss her and went down hill until it was obvious the time had come to say goodbye. They were both such different characters and are much missed.

A few weeks later, I set off for the States to visit Alex and Cat in Raleigh, North Carolina. By American standards, Raleigh is a small city. Alex works for RedHat who have an office downtown. He works from home most of the time only going into the office when necessary. It's very nice working environment with a decent restaurant, break out areas and a gym for staff not to mention the views over the city. We explored around the downtown area of Raleigh, which has a couple of nice museums and the usual quotas of eateries, and also visited neighbouring Durham which has a refurbished factory area - founded on the tobacco industry - where Alex beat Catherine and I at a giant game of outdoor chess! Sport is big in America. At the time I was there, it was ice hockey season so a trip to watch the Caroline Hurricanes was a must. Very exciting and, as with all American Sport, surrounded by razzmatazz which adds to the fun. The Canes had a good run this year I believe.

The weather was lovely, just the right temperature and the bugs hadn't yet come out. The blossom trees were in full bloom everywhere, I particularly liked the purple ones. It was really very pleasant. I wouldn't get on well in the summer though when it is hot and humid and you can keep the hurricanes though Raleigh is far enough inland to escape the worst most of the time.

Alex was able to take some time off work and we took two very memorable trips. Raleigh is in the rural centre of North Carolina. 300 ish miles one way you have the mountains which border South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia and, in the other direction, the sea with the Outer Banks being a major holiday destination as well as the first place to be evacuated when a hurricane threatens - having seen them, I can understand why! SO many great memories from both trips even though it was so early in the season and a lot of the State Parks in the Mountains were still closed.

Our main target was the Blue Ridge Parkway taking in the Great Smokey Mountains via a road called the Tail of the Dragon on the way! The T of the D is where Bikers and people with performance cars go to play. I was a bit nervous about it but actually it was OK (yes Alexander, I did say that). Other highlights of that day included Alex talking his way out of a speeding fine, the Goats on the Roof (really!) and a visit to the Forest Hydrology Research Station at Coweeta (closed as it was a Sunday).

The BRP is pretty amazing. It runs the length of the mountains (469 miles) across North Carolina up into Virginia. The highest point on the parkway (near Mount Pisgah in North Carolina) is 6,053 feet (1,845 m) above sea level and most of the section we travelled is over 3000ft! The views along the way are very samey but very different at the same time. Mountains as far as the eye could see in the southern section but a bit more rural as we headed north. It was early in the year so we encountered snow in the Great Smokies and Ice cascades along the road side in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We didn't have time to do the full length but managed to visit Mount Michell (6,684 ft), the highest mountain east of the Rockies ( it's hardly a climb as you can drive up most of it), walk a (very) small section of the Appalachian Trail and stayed overnight in Asheville and further north in a beautiful log cabin. So much to see it's hard to pack it all into a few words (and pictures).

At this point we headed back to Raleigh to collect Catherine and Archie before heading for the coast. We stayed at Kill Devil Hills which is very close to the Wright Brother's First Flight Memorial at Kitty Hawk. Hard to believe the first powered flight only happened in 1903, covered 120 feet and lasted 12 seconds! The Outer Banks are only just above sea level and all the houses are built on stilts to protect them against storm surges. The beaches are amazing and as it was so early in the season, Archie was able to really enjoy them, running for miles along the sand! We headed along the island chain as far as Cape Hatteras. The Outer Banks are known for their lighthouses which all have unique patterns to make them recognisable from the sea. We had intended to get the ferry back to the mainland from Cape Hatteras but it being early in the season we missed the last one. This turned out to be a good thing as we headed for the beach instead and watched Brown Pelicans diving and dolphins playing in the waves. A great end to a memorable trip.

Going home would have been very flat if it hadn't been for two exciting events. Firstly, two new cats joined the household. Misty is black and white and Magic is black. They are brother and sister and are RSPCA rescues. Even after 8 months they are still quite nervous of loud noises, sudden movements and strangers.

The second event was the arrival of Dobby my tiny camper van. I'd been thinking about getting one for a while as I'm finding camping more difficult due to my knee and hip problem. We've had quite a lot of adventures this year and hope to have more next year. We've spent several weekends in the Lakes (of course) but we've also been to the Peak District for our annual visit taking in Chatsworth Flower show, Tatton Park Flower show and a weekend in Dumfries and Galloway visiting the Botanical gardens and the Mull of Galloway with its rip tides as well as exploring the locations from the Lord Peter Whimsey book 'Five Red Herrings'. Its a lovely area and very quiet.

The garden has featured large this year. It's only small but I grow lots of plants in pots. I'm getting short on space so am now working out ways to go upwards. My challenge was to build a pond. I didn't really know what I was doing so I'm going to have rebuild it next year and the big plan is to add a water feature and maybe some fish. Both cats have managed to fall in - not completely but enough to get very soggy!

Here in the North West, we didn't have the glorious summer enjoyed by the rest of the country however Easter was lovely and Caitlin, Dave and I managed a warm and sunny campfire on the shore of Wastwater as well as a voyage on the Ullswater Steamer. I spent a couple of hot sunny weekends with them in the South doing horsey things including a sponsored ride around Windsor Park and a beach-ride at Littlehampton (Caitlin not me). I also managed to make the most of the few sunny days we had to get some walks in including doing the walk across Morecambe Bay twice, both times in good conditions. The first time early in the season was the first walk guided by the new Queens Guide to the sands - a historic event - although the retiring guide, Cedric Robinson, was on hand to keep an eye on proceedings!

Well I did say its been a busy year but I didn't realise how busy. I've enjoyed writing this, its brought memories I'd forgotten. It's time to start planning for next year - more adventures with Dobby, another trip to the US and who knows what else. Happy New Year.

Several of the Lake District fells have some sort of war memorial and services are held on Remembrance Sunday. I've been to the one on Castle Crag in Borrowdale on 2 or 3 occasions in the past and as the weather forecast was promising I decided to have a night in Dobby before the season really closes in. I booked on a site I've been meaning to visit for a while - Castlerigg Farm - which is high above Keswick within walking distance of Castlerigg Stone Circle. Sadly rain set in late on Saturday afternoon so I didn't get a chance to walk to the Stone Circle. The site has one of the best toilet blocks I've come across with underfloor heating which was great for warming up slightly damp clothes in the morning. Not many places open at this time of year so there were a fair number of people there - mostly campers or motorhomes but a few hardy souls in tents too.

Dark comes too early at this time of year so I battened down the hatches and watched several episodes of Pointless and Eggheads on Iplayer. The rain cleared and the temperature dropped so I had a chance to try out my little plug-in heater which I'm pleased to say worked well. The morning dawned bright and clear and opening the doors at first light to the view over Skiddaw and Blencathra was amazing - I look forward to going back there in the summer.

My target for the day was Castle Crag so I filled up with porridge, packed up and headed for Rosthwaite. The light was gorgeous with the morning sunshine really bringing out the autumn colours.

I joined the trail of people heading up Castle Crag - I'm sure its steeper than last time! I got to the top with time to spare and joined the 100 or so people waiting for the short service and 2 minutes silence. Its a nice little service but I've always felt it would be amazing to hear the Last Post played up here. It would really ring out over the surrounding fells and valley. Perhaps one year someone will play.

After the service, I dropped down to the Allerdale Ramble and followed it down the valley to Grange where I had lunch in the little cafe before heading back along the river back to Rosthwaite.

The light was amazing but by the time I'd go back to the car it was starting to cloud over however it was time to head for home. The days are far too short at this time of year.

It may be a dreary, dark wet day; the clocks may go back tonight meaning winter really is approaching fast but the dogwoods, heucheras and cotinus are looking glorious in their autumn colours. The heucheras are loving the cooler weather and the darker days are brining out their amazing autumn foliage.

The dogwoods, I planted about 3 years ago before I decided to take the hawthorn hedge out. They were mostly garden centre rejects and have really come into their own this year. I've taken lots of cuttings which seem to root very easily. Last years are now growing nicely and I have another batch ready to plant out in the spring. Sadly the virginia creeper at the front only kept its leaves for a few days.

The heucheras are really showing off their colours and seem to glow on a grey day. Some of them change colour completely whilst with others the colours just seem to intensify.

Of course, autumn brings other challenges such as the first frost. The frost brought out some wonderful patterns on the leaves of the more exposed Heucheras.

Time to get the pelargoniums and begonias under cover and hope that all the fuschias are hardy!

After a bad start to a very nice day which had to be wasted taking the car in to get new brakes fitted, I headed for a late lunch in one of my favourite garden centres which has an excellent tea-room with a wonderful array of cakes on offer! Oh yes and they also have a nursery sale area where they sell their home grown plants. Last time a I went they had a large range of heucheras on sale - at half price - so I wasn't expecting much today however I found 6 new ones - still half price so I came home well loaded. It would really have been rude not to!

Dark Magic - this is a beauty. Larger than average leaves in a solid dark green through brown.

This hybrid Coral Bells selection is a terrific choice for adding a touch of colour towards the front of a border. The leaves are heavily ruffled in a deep purple-bronze with a slight silver sheen. Sprays of cream flowers appear in early to mid summer. Fairly sun tolerant, but protect from hot afternoon sun in warm summer regions. Remove any winter-burned leaves in the spring, otherwise no pruning is required.
 Full Sun or Partial Shade or Full Shade
 Flowers White Early -  Mid Summer
 Height 20-40 cm
 Spread 30-45 cm
 

Eye Spy - this is a Heucheralla, a cross between heuchera and tiarella. There are many different varieties with variations on the light green leaves with red veins.

Heucherella are traditionally grown for their foliage; 'Eye Spy' bucks that trend by also having spectacular flowering performance - I look forward to seeing this next year. In the garden, bubblegum pink flowers appear in spring and bloom for many weeks. In spring, large, dissected leaves emerge amber yellow with deep rose centers that vein up toward the edges of the leaves. As temperatures increase, the leaves mellow to bright chartreuse green with a silver overlay, forming a low mound of foliage that is evergreen in most climates. Perfect for brightening up the shade garden!

Height: 8.0-10.0 Inches Spread: 16.0-20.0 Inches

Flower Color: Pink shades Foliage Color: Yellow shades Multicolored

Sunlight: Part Shade, Full Shade Bee Friendly

Northern Exposure Black, Northern Exposure Red, Northen Exposure Amber

A range of three colours from Terra Nova nurseries in the US originally bred in Canada. Large leaves and lovely colour range. There are also Purple,Lime and Sienna in the series. I really like the range of leaf colours on the same plant. According to the breeding information, the flowers are quite spectacular too.

This series is extremely hardy, rust-resistant, mounding plants with richly colored, rounded leaves under lovely inflorescences.In the early 1980s, Collicutt and Marshall had a breeding program  in Manitoba, Canada. These breeders saw the potential of a little-known Canadian heuchera, Heuchera richardsonii, a native to the Canadian plains which tolerated temperatures down to 40° F. While the Canadian breeders were able to improve the flowers on an otherwise drab plant, they did not have access to the diverse genetics of Terra Nova who were able to preserve the rounded leaves while introducing new leaf colors, showier flowers and shorter inflorescences. The collection features an exceptional range of rich-colored foliage with attractive, short flower stalks and great hardiness and an innate rust resistance — no rust has been found on this crop in five years of growing them in the Pacific Northwest, an environment where rust abounds. Rust freedom is great news in a cool damp climate like NW England!

Lemon Love - very different from the Northern Exposure Series - with smaller ruffled leaves, a nice splash of colour on a dull autumn day contrasting with the darker varieties.

This new yellow Heuchera shows its best color in part or filtered shade, where almost no leaf burning, a problem that plagues other varieties has been observed. Slightly ruffled, chartreuse leaves are produced on an especially vigorous habit, thanks to its Heuchera villosa heritage. The color will be more lime green in deeper shade. Over time, 'Lemon Love' will gradually spread to about 3 feet wide if given the space. Cream flowers with hints of blush in the calyxes are produced above the foliage in early summer. A great color for brightening up your shade!

This plant is a Heuchera villosa hybrid. The villosa species is a large, late blooming type that exhibits an increased tolerance of high heat and humidity over other species. Most produce cream flowers in midsummer, though they are grown more for their fantastic foliage. H. villosa is native to the southeastern United States.

These few heucheras are just a small sample of the amazing range of leaf sizes shapes and colours that are available. From reading some of the background information available, I'm getting quite interesting in the origins of the various species and how they have been developed.

Saturday 28th September was the annual Show in Eskdale. It's a typical Lakeland show with produce, baking, crafts, trade stands, terrier racing, hound trailing, Cumberland Wrestling, Morris Men, a Brass band and sheep, lots of sheep. Sheep are the main feature - the local Herdwick sheep.

The weather forecast wasn't brilliant and I packed Dobby in the rain however as I drove west it started to clear and although everywhere was very wet, it had stopped raining and the evening at Fisherground was nice enough for a campfire.

It hammered down during the night but the morning dawned clear and promised a good day. The show field was surprisingly dry underfoot.

Met a lovely lady called Jane spending her first weekend in her new camper van. We kept each other company at the show. The Herdwick Sheep are the main event and the showing goes on most of the day. I know nothing about sheep but it's fun watching the characters of both sheep and handlers. The decorated walking sticks (shepherds crooks) are always interesting to see. They are beautifully carved and polished. The produce tent was full of good things but I was interested to see the 'industrial produce' and the 'longest nettle' accompanied by the 'biggest dock leaf' on the ground outside the tent!  Perhaps some ideas here for the next Galgate Show!

There were plenty of stalls selling good things to eat including wraps filled with Herdy meat  - which always seems a bit mean when there are so many sheep around. I had a chat about the use of drones with a chap from Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team then watched the Morris Men who had come all the way from the Cotswolds to take part. Took me back to the days when I was a member of a ladies morris team. Meanwhile the Band played on (Slaidburn for one) and then it was time for the Hound Trails. As far as I know this is sport unique to Lakeland. The dogs race over the fells following a scent trail and are called to the finish by their handlers who tempt them with their favourite titbits. Competition is fierce and the finishes exciting though there does always seems to be one straggler who has gone round in their own time. I just realised I didn't take any pictures of the hounds except the one in the truck below.

The weather held for the show and well into the evening however Sunday was a different story. I packed up in the rain then headed off towards Keswick via Whinlatter. There was water everywhere and the streams and waterfalls in spate were pretty spectacular. My plan was to meet up with the 2nd year Environmental Science Field trip to the area around Carrock Fell Mine. The road up the valley was playing at rivers and the rivers and streams were a horrible brown colour. After an hour or so the rain eased and the group was able to have lunch in the comparative dry before taking a tour of the field site.

As I left to follow the group back the the field centre, I happened to glance at the campervan that had parked behind me and noticed a lovely tortoise-shell cat sitting in the windscreen. It didn't seem very happy to see me!  They were still there next day (it was much happier sitting in the sunshine!) and I learnt that it liked travelling and, when it was quiet, it went for walks on a lead. Don't think mine would approve of such a thing!

The weather wasn't bad on Tuesday and despite a little over-night rain the rivers and streams had dropped enough for some work to be done at least in Grains Gill and Brandy Gill.

The students were learning methods of streamflow gauging - in this case dilution gauging using a pink dye (which needs permission from the EA to use). They also used direct volumetric methods using buckets and a large bivvy bag! Usually we do streamflow gauging in the Caldew however it was still very high and attempts to carry out this work were very quickly aborted when Ethan was in well over his knees within a couple of feet of the edge!

Sadly I had to head home after this. I had a nice drive down Ullswater then over Kirkstone Pass at which point the weather started to change and by the time I got home it was raining again. Another good but wet weekend in Dobby - I really must look at tailgate awnings for next year.

As is obvious front previous posts, the front garden wasn't very interesting. Its most exciting feature was the stream running across the front in a 6ft culvert so my driveway is a bridge (more on the stream later!). When she first saw it, my daughter described it as 'the house with the moat'.

The borders under the front windows were full of spikey shrubs which quickly got out of control so I decided the best policy was to clear them completely and start again. The climbing hydranga had already gone and been replaced with a Wisteria. It is growing well - to the extent I can't remove its pot - but after 5 years has yet to flower. I only found out last year that you are supposed to cut them back twice a year so I'm adopting that approach this year and keeping my fingers crossed. On the other side of the door, I've planted a virginia creeper which of course heads for the skies every year, turns a beautiful red in the autumn then is severely discouraged (cut back) only to repeat the next year.

I extended the beds over the front paths by edging with sleepers and raising the levels of soil though it is still quite shallow right at the front and almost completely replanted. I say almost because although I dug out 2 bucket loads of crocosmia corms, there's no stopping it! The final effect looked quite neat if I say so myself! Sadly its now gone wild again and is due for serious attention over this winter and next spring.

The lawn area backs onto the stream and the path down to the foot-bridge. Again it was largely uninteresting and pretty much out of control. To add to the fun(!) we had bad flooding in the winter of 2017 (more later) which got into the front garden.

Again it was a matter of clearing everything - starting with a large, boring green bush requiring several tip runs! It did get pink flowers on it which were quite pretty but they were overshadowed by its greeness! Once cleared, the beds were lined on both sides (as a flood deterent) with sleepers and replanted. There's a section near the drive which still needs attention but I need more sleepers before I can complete that. Again the replanted borders look quite smart with bamboo replacing the green bush. The bamboo is growing very well. Not sure yet whether it might prove to be a mistake. This year it was full of foxgloves and looked amazing.

More developments due over the winter. I park my little camper, Dobby, on the lawn so the grass is pretty much dead. I am seriously considering digging it up and gravelling it and just adding pots. I will still have the beds of course. The shrubs at the far end have now been cut down and await more sleepers before I can finish that bit off. I did have a idea for building gabions (wire cages full of rocks) to go along the stream side as they would make a nice wall and act as a flood barrier. I'm still thinking on that one.

When I moved in 8 years ago, the garden was pretty boring - a muddy lawn and a tangled hawthorn hedge at the back and a lot of prickly and green shrubs at the front. The best features were the half of the hedge that is beech and the pyracanthas with their glorious red berries at the front. By the front door was a climbing hydranga which had obviously been there many years. It took some beating but eventually it succumbed! Sadly I don't have many before pictures. The snowdrops are still some of the first flowers of the year.

Behind the house at the back were open fields. Sadly within 6 months, the owner put planning permission in to build houses. We tried to buy a strip of land but weren't successful however at least the planners insisted a buffer zone be left.

The buffer zone is supposed to be landscaped and finally this spring (almost 2 years on) they planted trees and bushes and a wildflower strip behind us. Sadly they didn't do it properly and the weeds have been bigger than the trees. My neighbours have been clearing the bit behind their house - which I didn't realise until I had my hedge and holly tree trimmed last week - so I set out to do something about the bit behind mine. Having taken the hawthorn hedge out, I can see it all!  Half cleared by hand and some trees and shrubs discovered. The remained is full of docks, thistles and nettles which I wasn't going to tackle without armour plating and a strimmer.

If only we'd been able to buy the land, the soil is lovely and it would have made an amazing vegetable garden.

More on the changes I've made to follow ....

When I moved in in early 2012, the garden was very small (it still is!) consisting of a small lawn which was a pain to cut due to its slope and having walls all around it and two big hedges. The front garden seemed to consist mostly of prickly shrubs which very soon got out of hand. I was working on my PhD and going walking most weekends so the garden wasn't top priority. This gradually changed and I decided that the lawn had to go - it was primarily a mud patch in the winter. I'd had a shed base put in at one corner but the shed has never actually materialised. I got a load of sleepers from the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway - 15 inch gauge ones which I can just about lift and started my garden renovations.

The first target was to get rid of the lawn and gravel the area and add a couple of borders.

Eventually the lawn was cleared and the gravel spread. There were now borders at the edge but these needed work and so I started growing tubs and a few pots. By late 2016, the basic layout was complete just in time for my 60th birthday tea!

Earlier in the summer, Eskdale held an Open Garden event which included a plant stall. At this event, I bought my first heuchera - I had no idea what it was but I liked the bronze foliage - and a Continus (smoke tree) also with bronze foliage. It wasn't until the following year I discovered that there was more than one sort of Heuchera and that Continus was also known as a smoke tree. That was where it started!

Well that was the start. Since then I've made many changes and learnt a lot. I've also collected over 100 heucheras - but more on them to follow.

Heucheras are usually grown for their foliage however they have lovely delicate flowers which have an attraction all their own. Flower colours range from red through delicate pink to cream and white and although most are small, there is quite a variation. There are a few variations shown in the gallery below.

They make good cut flowers and may be used in bridal bouquets but unfortunately don't last long. However once dry, they keep their shape and are still quite attractive. This is the vase I entered for the cut flower class at our local village show - it didn't stand a chance against all the much showier entries such as dahlias and gladioli but I was pleased with it.

I also entered a heuchera in the flowering plant class - and I won! Its called Glitter and 5 weeks later is still flowering.

The one below is called Silver Gumdrop. It wasn't flowering in time for the show. Its flowers are very similar to Glitter but a slightly paler shade of red. The silver leaves show the flowers off to perfection.

If you keep dead heading, heucheras will continue to flower for weeks on end complimenting their colourful foliage with sprays of delicate flowers and of course the bees love them. An unexpected bonus!