The Charming Nook

Today’s post is to show you all how The Wild Borders have been growing since the Mr and I carried out a big renovation project to the area, which I recently wrote about here: The Wild Borders: A walk amongst the roses.

An introduction to the area, where I showed you all how the area had changed since 2023, is available to read here: Introducing: The Wild Borders

This area is largely herbaceous and self-seeded planting, though I do intend long-term to introduce some more evergreen planting for year-round structure, but I want it to retain its ‘wild’ abundance and soft planting scheme. Much of the planting is also beneficial to the local wildlife, which I plan on keeping.

It has surprised me again for the second year to see how much the area bursts into life from Spring, practically from bare earth. You can see the difference in a matter of weeks from April to May this year:

Since late mid-April 2024, the sweet rocket has been blooming, growing more and more with each week that passed. I recall we had a small amount of sweet rocket (self-seeded) in the border last year, but most of the bed was taken up by red valerian.

I suspect properly tying in the roses and weeding the bed has created more space for the sweet rocket to get going this year. It is a biennial and I collected seeds from it last year, but I am wondering whether it will self-seed without my assistance – I think that will be something I will experiment with this year.

Now in May, we have red valerian (also self-seeded) growing sporadically throughout the border, mixed in with the sweet rocket. The border colour palette is a mixture of soft whites, pinks and blues/ purples, with the splash of yellow from one of the roses.

Last year I also noticed some aquilegia in the border, but I have added to it here and there through the border, with some plants I grew from seedlings since 2023:

May also seems to mark the start of the roses, with the first buds just starting to bloom this month. The yellow climbing rose starts off a brighter buttercup-yellow, and fades to a soft, pale yellow:

Earlier this year, I also planted the climbing rose that my best friend bought me for my birthday last year, on one of the rose archways. It is now just starting to bud again:

I’m really looking forward to seeing how this rose grows and training it in a pillar up and around the arch. Its flower shape is rather ruffled, similar to peony, so it should provide a good contrast to the other roses in the area.

The cerise climbing roses also are starting to flower:

The four standard roses I dotted throughout this border (pink and white) have also started to flower this month:

As I mentioned in previous posts about this border, I really wanted to be able to walk through this border so I could train – and enjoy – the climbing roses we have inherited.

The white rose is located to the far left of the border near to the seating area and is highly scented. I discovered from looking at it this month that it has a soft pink tinge to its outer petals and some interesting splashes of pink:

Throughout the border we also have self-seeded nigella, which has just started to bud; we should probably start to see the flowers towards the end of May into June, which I remember looking so pretty last year. Before it even flowers, I love the texture of its foliage:

I recall June 2023 really being the month where this border started to shine, so I am really looking forward to seeing how this border grows into June this year. Here is how it looked in June last year:

If you look at the photo, you can see the same planting I’ve mentioned throughout, but it’s perhaps a bit more tamed this year and with some subtle changes with the new standard roses and aquilegias.

If you would like to see a video walk through of The Wild Border from May 2024, you can watch the reel on my Facebook page – make sure you unmute the sound for full effect:

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/tsLWtyYysCk5dV5N

I will write another update as the planting develops! Happy gardening 🙂