More makeovers

Before it was systematically ripped out by the furious lady Greenthumb, back in its day the lovely miss Ivy (Hedera helix) was loved in this garden for gracing the walls of an old house. No wonder, since it grows fast, puts up with any number of harsh conditions, quickly covers unsightly wire fences, adds warmth to blank walls and disguises architectural flaws, retaining its lush green colour all year round. Years later the garden was covered in thick ivy blankets, up to the point where miss Ivy had invaded every tree and had grown knee-deep on the ground in areas where virtually no other plants were alive. That's where my green thumb turned into a serial killer. After weeks and weeks of digging about, I rooted the enemy out, leaving only a few crippled troops which were to remain under close scrutiny of my pruning shears. Today they live in shady parts of the garden and make a lovely groundcover. Enough said.

Now to the sunnier part of the garden, which used to be neglected and overgrown with poison ivy, some invasive type of euonymus and other weeds , and even then had a special charm, but what do green thumbs do if not tame another block of garden.

BEFORE

AFTER




What to plant in the shady part of the garden?
I wondered what to do with the darkest part of my garden, under the dense foliage of an old magnolia tree. After strugling with grass, I decided to 'plant' a pond and surround it with sum bog plants, marginals and some lovely plants for shady area including Hostas, Calla lilies and Astilbe.

Pond No.1