An evening's work

Yesterday evening was so lovely, warm and light that my quick potter in the garden quickly turned into a full on tackle with an overgrown flower bed.  The bed in question sits under our window and is filled with japanese anemones.  Back in July, when we moved in, I had my first encounter with these plants, green luscious ground cover from which shot up elegant nodding stems topped with fat siver and brown buds.  They were so beautiful that it was a disappointment when they flowered, a girly pink with yellow centres that were too pretty pretty and twee for my tastes.  But I grew to love the way they filled the space under the window and, in a garden that had gone over by July, they kept going and going and had earned my respect.

All things pass and, by last week, the anemones had exhausted themselves, falling over into the path in one big knot of stems and spent heads, and I was desperate to tackle them.  Five minutes and a few snips later the bed was cleared down to single small clump with a smaller chain of baby plants and a broken solar powered light that had been completely engulfed by the foliage.  Before I knew it I was digging up the bed, putting the larger clump to one side, and tackling the huge dandelions lurking behind before digging in manure and replanting. 

The finished results are in the photo.  I was so pleased that I kept popping my head out of the door to take another look.  This garden is such a huge task to take on, starting and finishing one small bed in an evening was a real pleasure.