This has been a very exciting week for our front garden as we have had an awkward shaped bed which was filled with overgrown shrubs transformed into four raised beds – our very own front garden allotment!
Today was my son’s first day back at nursery after the Christmas break, so I finally got the chance to replant the Gertrude Jekyll rose which was one of the few plants I wanted to save from this bed, along with a Tess of the d’Urbevilles rose, some dill, a hibiscus and a myrtle.
While I was out there, I had a look around to see what I could find in the front garden to join in with the In A Vase on Monday meme, hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, after a couple of weeks off.
I came up with some orange rose hips, bay leaves, some more heads from our Jerusalem Sage, a small branch of a self-seeded conifer and a silvery sprig of lavender. They are in the blue hydrangea vase as I am still dreaming of summer, underneath a not-very-seasonal embroidered picture of our bonfire night when I was a child, beautifully stitched many years ago by my schoolfriend’s mother. The rose hips pick out the orange of the pumpkins and flames.
I am hoping to spend much more time out front over the coming months, planting a mixture of flowers and vegetables in our new raised beds. Spring and Summer should provide a very different ‘front garden bunch’.
Carrots and Calendula 
I wil try and find time to have a look back at your 2017 reviews, Ciar, to get more of an idea about your garden. Your vase today has brought disparate elements together to make a well balanced and seasonal vase, and also reminds me I bought a large potted bay tree which I could pinch leaves from for a vase as well as for cooking! Thanks for prompting me 🙂 Your raised beds should prove to be a good asset to the garden
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Thank you Cathy. This bay is by our front steps, growing in the ground and I often pick its leaves for cooking!
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Mine is fairly new and I tend to forget I have it!
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Love the raised beds….fabulous redo. And a wonderful foraged vase.
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Thanks Donna – it’s thin pickings in January!
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Thank you Donna. Cathy’s meme is such a good excuse to go out and look in the garden even when it’s cold and grey.
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The vase is a lovely collection of colour and texture – a good reminder of what can be found out there even in winter. The new beds look like a great idea. Have fun planning how to fill them!
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Very pretty combination of foliage, your rose hips remind me of Dracaena fruit in my garden. New boxes look promising for summer.
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Thank you. I have just looked Dracaena up – can you grow it outside where you are?
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Yes, I have Dracaena marginata and D. reflexa in the garden. I am near the coast a bit above West Palm Beach on the east coast of Florida. It is still like gardening with houseplants to me.
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Your new raised planters look great. I’m sure you’re anxious to get them planted – spring will be here before you know it. I never think of cutting rose hips but your post is a good reminder that they can be used to add zing to a vase.
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Thank you Kris. I will be pruning the roses soon, so thought I might as well put the hips to good use.
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Your new borders are great and will look incredible when full. Gertrude J is a favourite Rose of mine and I would have saved it too
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Thank you – Gertrude J smells just lovely doesn’t it? I am planning to grow sweet peas alongside it under the sitting room window.
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That will be a heady mix for sure!
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What a lovely vase–like those rose hips too. The new planting areas will be fun–always nice to have a fresh spot to plan.
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