Tulips finally out and looking good

Tulips at White Moss House, Grasmere

At last! These tulips were worth the wait.

More tulips, White Moss garden,. Grasmere

And this is one I planted yesterday- following Monty Don's instructions- grit and John Innes 2.

Planted sink, White Moss garden, Grasmere

It doesn't look great  yet- only day 1. At least nothing (snails, slugs, sheep, deer , mice) ate any of the plants on their first night.

The lavender has been chopped- bring in the alpines.

The garden area under our lounge bay window was a mess. We asked the decorator to paint the windows, but he decided that after over 150 years, the windows themselves needed replacing. That's now been done, but the lavenders have been trampled, and in any case they had got very leggy and woody. This border needed serious attention.

We chopped the lavenders right down, leaving a bare area right where guests come in- not a good first impression. Bring on the alpines! John Innes number 2, a bag of grit, a selection of plants and off we went.

White Moss House, Grasmere, Bay window, lavenders cut down, ready for alpines

You can just see a few stalks of lavender- otherwise it's bare. Not a good look.

Here are the alpines ready for planting.

I've got 1 aubrieta, 2 saxifraga, 1 scabiosa, 2 phlox,2 dianthus and 1 sedum . I usually give pinks ( dianthus) a miss, as they get eaten by mice, or something ( who knows which of my garden enemies gets them?) Watch this space to see how they grow on in the next few weeks.

If you would like alpines delivered to your door, you can buy them here from Amazon. I actually like to pick out the plants myself, but I find that transporting compost, and especially grit, which is very heavy, is something I can do without. You can buy compost and grit online- an easy option. Grit and compost are so heavy that you might like to order online here from Amazon.co.uk