Repotting some topiary & other garden tasks ....

Even though the official Astronomical Spring Day is just another day on the calendar, it seems to have brought a spurt of energy & the promise of brighter & longer days ....

Last weekend I had my Godsons & their parents to stay while they had work done on their home.

The lads painted some Easter stained glass for their windows I had bought them while sampling the Easter eggs in the bowls on the sideboard.

Teddy joined my rabbit cushions on the chair ...

We lit the candles & had a relaxed supper

They gifted me a beautiful white camellia which I have wanted for a long time.

A magnolia I had ordered online arrived too so it was time to do some potting this weekend. I needed the 2 narrow pots that the topiary had outgrown to put the new plants in, while transferring the topiary to larger, patio pots that match the others. It sounds simple ...

However, box topiary have heavy root systems so I needed the garden trucks to move the pots about then some muscle to get the plants out of their pots. Their roots clung on desperately & I had to resort to a narrow spade to cut through the comprehensive root ball to get them out, a little at a time, wriggling them free like a tooth ...

 This is what the root ball of one pot looked like once I had got the topiary out.

The 2 topiary pots on the right are the newly moved plants. They are the last topiary plants that Olive, my late mother in law, had planted on for me from cuttings she took from her many box plants. All our topiary plants were from cuttings in Olive's garden & the oldest topiary is some 17 years old. They are very slow growing & very heavy plants but I love their elegant shape & I love using hand trimmers to keep them in shape as it is a very therapeutic exercise ...

They have now joined the other older topiary on the patio - all matching pots, all waiting to be trimmed but not yet as we might still get a late frost that would blacken their cut leaves.

I know - the chimnea needs another coat of paint - it has to be black heat resistant paint but it needs a hot day to do it so that is a job for another day!

The two emptied pots are the right size for the new acid loving plants. I have wanted a camellia for ages but find it is always much nicer to be gifted one & my friend is a great listener so knew that I would love one ....

The magnolia was a bare rooted one which needed to go in as soon as possible. It will be a fabulous one once established.

This is how it should look in time - Magnolia Red Lucky 

I hope Spring has found you with renewed energy too & that you are looking forward to Easter. Thank you for stopping by & for taking the time to read & comment. 

Dee ~♥~