Specialty Gardening: By special request (part 2), 1 by wallaby1

wallaby1 wrote:
The bed with the Acacia is one I can show, it has some evergreen shrubs but there is always a winter period of 2 to 3 months where there is dead stuff that gets cleaned up as I can do it in mild spells, as well as leaves, this winter has been good for that. The previous winter was very cold from mid October to mid April, but while you are stuck indoors it doesn't matter too much!

As I clean up over late winter to spring the new spring foliage starts to appear, it always looks so fresh and is nice to see after the mess, which doesn't bother me, gardens are natural and you have to take the good with the bad.

This I took yesterday of that bed, already with spring flowers, looking across to the other Dahlia bed where I have more crocus along the edge. It gives a pleasant view even if there is still some dead stems there. Later it will be full, the end closest is where the Aquilegia Double Petticoats grow, a Hydrangea in the corner, Dahlia Bishop's Children along the edge later. You can see the Centaurea montana growing in front of the Spirea which is bare now but growing. As the Crocus die back there is new foliage behind it.

I find lots of lady birds/bugs live in the old foliage, leaves and seed heads over winter, as well as some birds feed on some seeds, the leaves have worms under them so blackbirds are fed over winter too.