This winter in Our Garden@19 has been busy with ‘Estate Maintenance’. I previously posted about replacing the trellis and fence in the white and green garden, then as now my brother Derek has been my right hand man.
Replacing the entrance to the propagation area was the simplest of our recent efforts. We gave it an oriental look.
Continuing with the oriental theme, our neighbour’s fence at the back of the oriental garden started to fall over with the weight of the ivy and snow. I decided to cut back the ivy and erect a new fence on my side.
Then painted it black to tie in with the rest of this area.
A moon window was added to look into the room.
Next on the list was rebuilding the raised beds.
The old obelisks I built when we came here were dismantled and rebuilt, hopefully with more style, to a design by Geoff Hamilton.
Broad Bean Scarlet Flower and Sweet Peas started in pots now planted out.
These early spring bulbs and flowers have been cheering me up on sunny days. Please click on gallery pictures to enlarge.
Back to the oriental garden.
Black Bamboo 
In the rest of the garden…
Discovered in woods at Great Dixter. 
The pollinators have also been taking advantage of the sunshine.
What is springing you into action this spring?
brimfields.com 
Love the obelisks…I’ve bought the lumber to make some, but now think I need to go back for finials! Beautiful flowers. Thanks for sharing.
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So many flowers! Beautiful! I love the window. Amelia
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Thank you, Amelia. It has been on the drawing board for some time!
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Looking great, Brian. Hope you have a great growing season ahead.
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Thank you, Eliza.
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How nice that your star magnolia is still blooming. I just featured it in the gardening column, but it is probably finished blooming in most regions here. Ours still had a few buds on it when I saw it eight days ago, but it is later than those farther south.
Are broad beans the same as scarlet runner beans?
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No, it is not a climbing bean Tony. This link is to a seed company.
https://www.thompson-morgan.com/p/broad-bean-crimson-flowered/4772TM
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Oh, so it is exactly what you said it is, a broad bean with crimson flowers. It is something that I am not familiar with.
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Does this help Tony.
Vicia faba, also known in the culinary sense as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae.
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Well, that is obvious. I get it that it is a broad bean. The designation as ‘scarlet flower’ made me think that it is grown as much for the bloom as the beans, like scarlet runner bean sometimes is grown here. I have never grown scarlet runner bean, because I get the impression that it is grown mostly for quick foliage with a quite a few colorful flowers. I only recently learned that it makes good beans also, and am now considering growing it because it is perennial.
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Broad beans usually have white flowers, I grow this one just to look more attractive for when the garden is open. Runner beans are an annual climbing bean here because they are not hardy. We have one called Painted Lady with red and white flowers.
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Oh yes, I know ‘Painted Lady’! That one is pretty (and, I think, even prettier than the others). They can bloom pink or white too. Although white is my favorite color, I intend to grow the common scarlet blooming scarlet runner bean, just because that is what I think of as traditional. I do not expect to like it as much as the even more common pole beans that I typically grow, but I will not know until I try it.
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Estate management? Great description, Brian! Lovely to see what you have been up to and of course it is always satisfying to have been making improvements. Such a floriferous time of year, isn’t it? Hope you are both well
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Thank you Cathy we are both well and looking forward to a more ‘normal’ summer!
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Likewise – just had my first group visit booking today!
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It’s all looking great Brian and you made good use of the winter for the repairs and improvements. Your spring flowers are wonderful! Our spring is crawling into action rather than springing, but this week should be really warm so things could finally take off!
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I do like the idea of the moon window 9n the fence. Do the badgers cause any problems?
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Not so far Sue. I made some gates that I shut at night which keeps them to their path I also leave peanuts for them in the hope they don’t go searching for food anywhere else. They can do a lot of damage previously I have lost tulip bulbs and pears from the trained pear tree.
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Wow! I love the moon window. What a brilliant idea.
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Thank you, I was pleased with the finished look.
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