Note, this post contains affiliate links, so any items purchased through it, will at no extra cost to you, earn me some commission to help pay to run my blog.  The links now include the UK and America.

In the summer my garden world looks amazing! well at least it did in 2017.  Many trips to the garden centre and many hours spent weeding.  I had a garden that I was very proud of.

Roll on 2018 and freezing cold weather. The motivation to weed and tend to my precious plants vanished.  Mowing the lawn had became an effort.  I was last in the garden centre months ago and that was for advice on my lemon trees.  So why the change? my pride and joy right now looks like this.

During the freezing cold weather I put bubble wrap on my pots to help prevent them from cracking.  I also put them on pot feet or bricks so that they were not sat on the damp ground. I then purchased Haxnicks Easy Fleece Jackets.  My Cordylines survived the cold covered with these, however with the temperature hitting -7 my lovely palm tree did die.

The really hot summer then did not help. To hot to go outside and roast in the sun. The garden world is no longer beautiful. The weeds have taken over. Also is it only me that can spend loads of money in the garden centre, tend to the plants and love them. Just for them a few months later to be dead? I am not an expert but these are my poor clematis.  I am hoping that come the summer they will actually be alright, despite looking dead now.

My garden washing up bowl pond looks quite effective though.  However the sticks have moved around and the pond plants are long dead from my 5 year old throwing them around the garden.   It once had large rocks in it that meant that small animals could climb out. At the moment it is a bit of a death trap.  I’m sure in the next few weeks it will be a block of ice.

I really hope that the weather this year is better then the last.  However, I am not sure if I will be making as many trips to the garden centre and spending as much money.

Here are my hydrangea’s that never really grew and the sad Jacobs ladder that I am sure is also dead.  I have currently got my palm tree and buddlia bush in my summer house. Both in pots and i’m sure neither will appreciate the freezing cold weather.

Here are my fern bushes, I am not sure where I will move these to next and I am hoping they will last a while longer in their pots.  There are four in total, thriving happily in the shade of the wall.

I tried to make my garden world beautiful but also somewhere where the kids can play.  They enjoy riding their bikes around in circles and playing football.  Balls are forever flying over the garden fence on all sides.

Sadly right now my garden looks neglected and sad. I would love to have it looking as good as it did in 2017 but there is a lot of work and weeding ahead of me.  Plus trips to the garden centre but, I need to be sensible this time as so many of my plants have died. Maybe amongst the weeds I will find some that are still alive.

So has anyone else had a bad gardening year? completely unmotivated and feeling sad about how bad it really does look? I am hoping that my green wheelie bin makes many more trips to the dustcart then it did last year.

The pretty colours that once was my garden world have become dull green and brown. 2018 for me, has been a very sad gardening year.

For more see, Another long wednesday/