Garden Archives - A Simple Life of Luxury https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/tag/garden/ Tales from a down-shifted family - Making the most of modest means in West Wales Thu, 25 Jun 2026 09:11:10 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.1 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/cropped-favicon-160x160.jpg Garden Archives - A Simple Life of Luxury https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/tag/garden/ 32 32 2696646 Garden Colours https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/06/garden-colours-3/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/06/garden-colours-3/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2026 09:08:29 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=48730 The garden has suddenly sprung into colour.

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/06/garden-colours-3/feed/ 1 48730 The Pond Overfloweth https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/06/the-pond-overflowth/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/06/the-pond-overflowth/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:07:30 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=48642 It’s lovely having a small wildlife pond tucked away amongst the plants in the garden. It’s nothing grand, certainly not one of those landscaped affairs with waterfalls, lighting systems and ornamental fish, but it punches well above its weight when it comes to attracting wildlife. With nettles and weeds behind it, and plenty of slightly...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/06/the-pond-overflowth/feed/ 1 48642 A New Bonsai and a Weekend in the Garden https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/a-new-bonsai-and-a-weekend-in-the-garden/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/a-new-bonsai-and-a-weekend-in-the-garden/#respond Wed, 27 May 2026 13:22:00 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=48556 It was Bank Holiday weekend last wekeend, the weather was glorious, and so we did what many people probably did over the long weekend — headed to the local garden centre to buy some bedding plants for the patio pots. Of course, it’s never quite as simple as that. The local Greenacres Nursery here in...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2026/05/a-new-bonsai-and-a-weekend-in-the-garden/feed/ 0 48556 Mammotion Yuka Mini 500 – First Impressions https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/08/mammotion-yuka-mini-500-first-impressions/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/08/mammotion-yuka-mini-500-first-impressions/#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2025 09:23:24 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=46525 Having taken the plunge and upgraded our trusty, boundary-wire-guided Flymo robot mower to a GPS-guided Mammotion Yuka Mini 500, I thought I’d share some first impressions. Scepticism, Satellites, and Software To be honest, I was a little sceptical about GPS-guided mowers. I’ve used GPS in various ways for years, so I know both its strengths and...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/08/mammotion-yuka-mini-500-first-impressions/feed/ 2 46525 Good Morning Ynyslas https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/07/good-morning-ynyslas/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/07/good-morning-ynyslas/#comments Sat, 12 Jul 2025 05:35:46 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=46162 Summer is back and temperatures are soaring. Yesterday was lovely here at Ynyslas with a gorgeous quiet morning. I spent most of the day in the garden, doing a few chores, catching up with things, and generally tidying up. It’s become a lovely, peaceful place to sit these days. Not that I’m very good at just...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/07/good-morning-ynyslas/feed/ 1 46162 The Spring That Keeps on Giving https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/05/the-spring-that-keeps-on-giving/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/05/the-spring-that-keeps-on-giving/#comments Sun, 18 May 2025 12:53:03 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=45718 And so the amazing weather continues — sunshine, more sunshine, and then yet more sunshine. I heard on the news the other day that we’ve had more sunshine this spring than we had throughout the entire summer last year. That’s been reflected (well, absorbed actually) in our solar panel stats, too, with record-breaking months throughout...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/05/the-spring-that-keeps-on-giving/feed/ 2 45718 Our Juniper Finally Has a ‘Forever Home’ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/04/our-juniper-finally-has-a-forever-home/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/04/our-juniper-finally-has-a-forever-home/#respond Sat, 26 Apr 2025 08:00:29 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=45566 I’ve been growing this juniper for about 20 years. It started off as a tiny little plant with no real place to call home. Over the years, I moved it a couple of times to temporary spots—always with the intention of giving it a proper location, but somehow never quite getting around to it. Now...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/04/our-juniper-finally-has-a-forever-home/feed/ 0 45566 Boundary Wires, Bees, and BST https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/03/boundary-wires-bees-and-bst/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/03/boundary-wires-bees-and-bst/#comments Mon, 31 Mar 2025 17:29:00 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=45361 After a busy couple of weeks with a trip to Fuerteventura and then a week at a conference with work, the spring garden was looking a little overwhelming. Things—namely the goosegrass, dandelions, and stinging nettles—were getting out of hand, and I’d yet to get Hector, our robot lawnmower, up and running. Robot Mowers Harriet, the...

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2025/03/boundary-wires-bees-and-bst/feed/ 1 45361 Cheerful Garden https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2024/06/cheerful-garden/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2024/06/cheerful-garden/#respond Sat, 15 Jun 2024 11:07:03 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=42901 Just a few photos of some garden colour to cheer things up. Oh, and a silly cat!!

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]]> https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2024/06/cheerful-garden/feed/ 0 42901 Woodcock in the Garden https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2023/10/woodcock-in-the-garden/ https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2023/10/woodcock-in-the-garden/#comments Tue, 17 Oct 2023 10:14:50 +0000 https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=41123 Look who I found hiding in the undergrowth in the garden this morning. A Woodcock. I assume there’s something not quite right with him but he seemed fairly happy and scuttled off once I’d taken a photo. I’ll shall check on him again later of he’s still there.

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