Temporary bed

It looks like I've been filling gaps here and there with fresh woodchips but there's actually something else happening under this thin layer of bark.

Last autumn, I got 6 white lavender plug plants, which I tried to plant at the back of the plot, but they were dug up by animals on a daily basis. 

To try and salvage the young plants, I moved them to this small bed and put up hazel sticks - which I've found efficient for muntjac defence. The plants seem to have weathered the winter ok (including the frosts), and I thought they'd enjoy a thin mulch before they start putting on new growth. 

I'll need this bed in late spring but they're fine here until then. It'll be exciting to see green growth when temperatures warm up.