Garden update - is it dead or alive?

Last year we completely transformed our garden, and for the first time I actually did some proper gardening. Over the summer we came back from the garden centre almost every weekend, gradually filling the empty beds and making some long term gardening plans. 

As winter approached I started to get nervous, desperately hoping that all the time and money we had invested wouldn't go to waste when the frosts kicked in. I didn't dare to venture outside for most of the winter, feeling sorry for all my plants suffering out there in the cold.

Now that the garden has finally dried out a bit and the temperature is slowly increasing I've been stepping outside to check on things, peering closely at developing shoots and anxiously trying to work out what is starting to revive and what is definitely dead. Fortunately, some of the plants that I had lost hope for have turned out to be just resting, and things are starting to come back to life.

I was very relieved to remove the fleece from my canna lilies and discover new shoots. I loved them last summer, and they produced beautiful flowers for months. Fingers crossed they will give me another lovely display. I'll cut back the dead stalks when it is a little warmer, I'm just giving them a bit of extra protection from the cold for now.

We bought this photinia (Carre Rouge) to go along our back fence, where the view is dominated by other houses and their sheds. I'm hoping it will grow out to screen the area, and I love these gorgeous red leaves.

I'm also pleased to see that my Acer is sending out new shoots for the spring. It is in an exposed bed which isn' t the best position for it, so it looked a little scraggly after we planted it. Hopefully as it matures, and as the vegetation grows up around it, it will begin to look a bit happier.

I was positive that my new fuschia was dead, but then I had a good look and saw new growth at the bottom! Likewise there are a few other small shrubs that didn't look well at all a few weeks ago but are starting to show signs of life.

I also thought that my clematis was a goner, but it is coming back beautifully! I'm really hoping that it will get going this year, as it stayed rather spindly last year. Behind it you can see a honeysuckle which my mum gave me and has really grown well over the winter. I want to cover this trellis and our pergola with greenery, and I'm so impatient for everything to grow up.

Unfortunately it looks as though my dahlias were not strong enough to survive the winter, I've not given up hope quite yet. but they aren't showing any signs of life. I've also lost two of my three delphiniums, and I'm not hopeful for my salvias.

At least this year I've got more of an idea about what I'm doing, and it's a case of building on what we have rather than starting from scratch. I've already got flower seedlings growing, and I'll be planting more over the next few weeks. I'm hoping for a second year with a garden filled with flowers!

The canna lilies last summer