A few days of bright sunshine this week inspired a thorough examination of my garden because once the growing season gets underway around April, everything becomes manic. In my head a list of jobs starts to accumulate, some of which I never get round to. My garden is over 10 years old, so when the sun was out I decided to tackle the projects that had been on the long finger.
One boundary had become very overgrown and was encroaching on valuable planting space as well as blocking out the light. In the autumn I had taken the decision to remove a large willow which had opened up a substantial area. Reluctantly, this week I also made the decision to remove two Sorbus aria trees which didn't have enough room to flourish. Sorbus are great trees for wildlife with lots of nectar producing flowers in summer and tonnes of berries for birds in winter.
A good replacement might be our native Euonymus which has such beautiful pink and orange fruit in winter, as well as great autumnal foliage. I've also being doing a reassessment of the 'ordinary' shrubs left behind by the original landscaper. I've cut back and removed a lot of forsythia and ribes, as well as a light- blocking thuja. However, there are some plants worth keeping such as the Griselinia littoralis, a New Zealand native which has fresh lime green leaves.
