Grey - Blue - Grey.

Quite a lot of grey today but in between the first picture taken early in the morning and the next two taken late in the afternoon as the wet weather set in we actually had some sun and both the sky and the sea were much blue-er.

As I sat out contemplating the garden this morning I began to think about why I enjoy designing gardens so much. To start with there's the whole complexity of the task. In comparison an architect makes two dimensional drawings which then have to be turned into three dimensional structures. An engineer than had to make his three dimensional structure into something that moves and has the parts interacting with each other. But for a gardener things are so much more complex. First there's the actual layout of the garden, the hard landscaping and groundworks. And then there are the plants. With a world of choice the first considerations are usually the colour scheme (or not) and the shape, height and growth habit of the plant. But the gardener also needs to factor in the fourth dimension - time. What will the plants be like at different times of the year and how will they look in years to come? Not forgetting considering the type of soil, light and local weather. And of course there is the cost to bear in mind. Few can simply buy every plant they think of. For most of us it's a matter of what do I have growing already? or what plants are in our friends' gardens? and after that we visit garden centres or plant swaps or grow from seed. So many things to think about makes for the most stimulating puzzle and hopefully results in a garden fit for our individual needs. 

My actual work day has been spent out in the garden getting on with all the usual gardening jobs that had been put to one side while I worked on the lawn/not lawn. Most of the climbers in the back garden needed tying in to the trellis before they attached themselves to nearby plants or got broken by the next lot of windy weather. Everything seems to have got through the winter and there are lots of buds to be seen on the clematis. Any honeysuckle above the trellis has been cut back and the whole of the back garden had a thorough weeding. Out in the front garden I cleaned and put away the two empty dumpy bags, did some general tidying and weeded the steps. That was mostly mind-your-own-business which although it softens up the outline of the concrete steps, collects water and can make the steps slippery.

And finally some more photos from Sunday's walk.