I have spent today with the under gardener and good friends looking at other peoples gardens.  This both inspires me but also impresses on me just how much I have yet to learn.  I have got past the feeling that I should come back to the cottage and rip out everything and start again but it does make me restless to start making improvement not least in adding new plants.  I was asked on our NGS day about the amount of repeat planting that I do.  Well it is simply down to the fact that I have filled the garden with plants that I have found easy to propagate and now that the boarders are looking reasonable I shall start to remove many of the repeated plants and replace them with more unusual verities.  One of the things I enjoy about visiting gardens is the ability to buy plants that one has seen growing and that is exactly what has happened today.  With the sun due to shine tomorrow I shall be out that at the crack of sparrows to add my new plants to the garden.

There has been some discussion in the pages of the RHS magazine on washing, or not washing pots.  Now like some of the contributors I too have felt guilty on the odd occasion I have reached for a pot, noted that it was not clean but used it anyway.  I notice a trend now not to wash but I am old fashioned enough to like to use clean pots.  It gives me a warm glow when all the newly washed pots are stacked up ready for use.  Sad, I know.  I did notice in a recent Gardener’s World Carol Kline reached for an used an unwashed pot.  Something just grated within me, so I guess I shall just keep on washing.

I cannot believe that it is so long since I have been on this blog.  In my defence I have to tell you that the under gardener is a committed blogger, and frankly there are days when I think he should be committed!  Well it is time for News at Ten so I have just 30 minutes till he will be wanting the computer back so here goes.  I have spent the afternoon stripping the first of the beds out a little as things are getting a bit over grown and now is a good time to do some fine tuning whilst still having plenty to look at in the garden.  I have found a supplies of perennials just up the road and she is selling off her plants for just a pound each so I have been indulging, again.  I think I shall be back there next week. Well there is always room for a few new plants.  They are like handbags, a woman can never have too many.