Big move.

At the back of the garden next to the steps to my greenhouse, is our Acer, it has been here since 2017, in wooden bottomless planter hubby made, sat on paving stones, I have had it over 12 years, I always keep a collection of pots here to soften this area. The Acer is now getting too wide, I brush past the leaves on the steps, I have already trimmed some off. 

This was the view from the decking, the fruit pots sat nicely here, along with our Olive tree, looking down to our magnolia tree and along the fence. Hubby suggested we should move the Acer, rather than give it away and get a smaller one, this is the only spot where we could plant it and give it space, and it could look beautiful here. 

I promise you hubby did not pick out all the slate by himself, we both worked over 2 days to remove as much as we could, there is a cheaper stone below, which I raked to the edges of this area and reused under the slate, after we planted the Acer. Hubby was not sure about the colour I chose for the fence, but he does trust me, the 3 panels near the house are old and looked scruffy, but the paint made them look much better. Every panel had 2 coats, making them all look the same, we would have liked to replace the 3 panels closer to the house, but our neighbour won't let us. 

 The plan was to swap the garden on Friday, but it was lovely outside on Thursday, so we started and got everything done, the Acer moved easier than we expected, not too many roots had gone into the ground, and the wooden planter fell apart easy. I dug the hole, again I expected the ground to be compact, but I managed it, the Acer fitted into the space, its far enough away from the fence and seating area. I do like our Olive in the corner of our decking, it will be protected there in the winter months. All I need now is to keep an eye on the Acer and ensure it thrives after the move and in its new spot. 

The fruit pots look good down by the steps at the back of the garden, they fit into this space and give colour against the brick wall. This area is sunny until mid afternoon, so the fruit should do well here. My blackberry grows above, I do have an extra pot, I was given a pink gooseberry plant, hubby does love them, Will have to see how I get on with it. It will also make harvesting much easier, hubby will put a batten on on the wall so I can hang a net to keep the birds away from the ripening fruits. 

We popped to B&Q for another tub of paint, we did not use much, but it's handy to have spare, I found another Acer, the green is different from the others in my medley pot, just £4 and a lovely size. That's 5 Acers we have, but only the one above is tree size, I do love them, but I will refrain from getting any more. 

We were both exhausted but happy with the changes, I love the view from the house the red leaves from the acer stand out from the grey fence, and the green from the fruit tubs looks good against the bricks. It's not a perfect time of year to move the  Acer, but because it was growing in a container the roots were not disturbed to much, I just need to watch to see it settles in its new spot, our soil is clay not ideal, but locally there are loads of Acers growing, so I have everything crossed it will thrive.

My greenhouse is still full of flower plants ready for the garden, I bring them out each day and back in at night, but the weather is just not warm enough yet, my cucumber and tomato plants have been put into their big containers and are growing fast.

Friday afternoon friends came over for coffee in the garden, it was lovely to sit in the sunshine and chat together, the garden looks so nice again, hopefully we can spend loads of time outside again this summer.