The best trowel in the world

Tuesday 20th
Weather: Blustery, cold and wet. Drifts and heavier fall of rain from time to time.

I cut back a patch of Anemone hupehensis var. japonica underneath a morello cherry tree in an area of the Barn Garden then planted 50 Narcissus 'Jack Snipe' in sporadic clumps and singles. As there are already layers of bulbs in this bed including galanthus, this pointy trowel featured with it's sharp edges is the best tool for the job as well as it being a good all rounder. With it I can gingerly probe the soil to test if there were any bulbs directly beneath it and more easily work around these with minimal casualties. They sell these in the Dixter nursery amongst other great tools.

Then I adjusted the section of the Long Border that me and Coroten had been working on last week. This included setting a Helenium 'Rivington Beauty' further back and replacing it with a couple more Hesperis matronalis. Then I took out a Miscanthus 'Cosmopolitan' from the back because it was getting lost. We always make sure we shake off the soil from the plant as much as possible to lose as less as possible from the beds, but with this grass it was an exception because they don't like being disturbed. Then I put it into a pot and stored it amongst others out of the way outside. Then I planted some Tulipa 'National Velvet' all around that area.