The soft scent of the roses greeted me as I walked down the path to collect this week’s photos. Yes, summer is arriving and it is time to enjoy what is on offer. I still have work to do and ridiculously, given the dry weather, I have new plants to find homes for. Here’s this week’s collection.
One
The climbing rose ‘Blush Noisette’ is covering the wall with small blooms and buds. This is a three year old plant and it is just about reaching its predicted spread of four feet. It is billed as having a a rich musky clove scent, which is not so apparent, but it does flower generously.
Two
Geranium psilostomen is just opening up, I bought this two years ago from the Finchley Horticultural Society (FHS) plant sale and the following year bought three more. They are fabulous for a statement geranium, tall and covered in masses of magenta flowers with black centres. They grow to 1.2m and are pretty much self supporting although I do stake one side of this to keep it up off the path.
Three
Antirrhinum majus ‘White Giant’ F1. I am so proud of these because I grew them from the tiniest of seeds last year. They flowered well last summer and have over wintered and flowered even more vigorously this year. They are annuals so I seem to have been very lucky to have them come through again. I don’t think they are self seeders. I have no idea how this has worked but I am thoroughly enjoying them.
Four
This week I made a start on one of the most terrifying jobs in the garden. Cutting back the flower stems of euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii. They are just beginning to produce seed and are dominating the border so it’s time to cut them down and give everything else some extra space. The foliage left after the flower shoots are gone continues provide some useful structure. The white sap drips everywhere and can cause skin irritation so I tackle this job very carefully. One down, three more to go.
Five
All is not as it should be in the north facing border. I am still trying to track down the melica plants – I think I may be on to something but I have to wait patiently for another week before I know for sure! In the meantime the 25 geranium sanguineum ‘Album’ are just beginning to flower and there are interlopers. At least one so far but judging by the leaf I think there may three more. I do like the new geranium but it cannot stay here in the clearly designated ‘white plants for deep shade’ space. Well, not for long.
Six
Last weekend I was helping out at the FHS plant sale. I came back with a good haul of plants, some small and delicate for the half-thought out alpine corner and some more statuesque. These two tall ones are veronica, pink and salvia microphylla var. microphylla or blackcurrant sage. I must have a corner for them somewhere.
My fellow sixers will be sharing their gardens and all the links are collected together on The Prop’s blog. Mr P does a sterling job of running the show for which we are all most appreciative. Look no further for inspiration and helpful advice. That’s enough sucking up, time to enjoy the garden.
n20gardener 
I love this climbing rose Blush Noisette. When I had to look for one to create a new border, it was too difficult to find here so I bought another one that should be blooming soon but with smaller white flowers.
Pretty geranium flowers and amazed by your antirrhinums already in bloom.
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Sometimes garden is a mystery to me. Things in bloom, things not in bloom, lost plants while others survive. But it all adds to fun.
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What a lovely garden. Your rose is just beautiful, I miss not having anywhere for a climbing rose. As I am a Veronica, I can’t not have at least a couple in the garden. Thank you for sharing your Six.
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My pleasure. I’m just starting out with a couple of veronicas. I hope they do well.
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We have a few of last year’s antirrhinums in flower. Though other than one growing in a crack between the drive and the house they don’t look anywhere near as good as yours (annoyingly those I gave to my mother-in-law last year are also looking the picture of health!) Love the various shades of pink. I have the same rogue geranium.
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Snapdragons are technically perennials. They are only annuals because we grow them that way. We tried them a few times here, but they succumb to rust. In some regions, they do well through summer and then get tired through winter. In other regions, they bloom slowly through winter, and then need to be cut back for summer. Ours have not seeded, but some kinds can.
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Thanks. I hope that means mine will keep coming back. I love them.
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They have potential to come back, but most of us just replace them. I cut mine back as they succumb to rust, but do not pull the out. Many do regenerate later, although not as uniformly as they were initially planted.
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That geranium must be making a claim for something…
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Have you deleted your site?
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No, still there. I’ve had issues with WordPress lately trying to access other blogs or replying to comments.
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That is my favourite geranium, love the habit, the leaf and the flower colour, can’t complain about that! Those snapdragons are beauties, so perfectly straight and the background sets them off perfectly. Be careful with that euphorbia!
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Wow, your snaps are lovely. Also, I’m a fan of those magenta geraniums. I added G. Anne Folkard this year, but no blooms yet. The dark eye is wonderful.
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I have made Anne Folkhard’s life a misery by moving her three times in four years. I’ve left her alone for the moment but I don’t think it’s a happy spot and I may have to move her again. I hope yours does well.
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The Rose is beautiful. Which way is it facing? I’m looking for something to put on a fence and that would be perfect.
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It’s south facing and I think it’s nicely compact. There are sprays and sprays of flowers. Very rewarding.
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Definitely a candidate.
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The climbing rose is looking fabulous. Mine are just starting to flower. Another week and I’ll hopefully have a good spread along the fence.
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It’s a great moment!
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The ‘Blush Noisette‘ is just stunning. I just don’t do well with climbing roses; they always end up covered in green fly as I garden organically. I do love it though and the smell of glorious!
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I shall immediate jinx it but so far no greenfly!
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I do appreciate a bit of sucking up. Excellent for the ego. I like your rose, and I am growing antirrhinum majus seed this year, hope they are still kicking around next year!
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On that Antirhinums is so pretty. How lucky are you for it to flower twice
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It’s been amazing. I’m hoping it will really establish itself and go on and on!!!!
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‘Blush Noisette’ is a beauty! Which way does she face? Your garden is looking so lovely. I have been cutting back plants that are dominating my beds, crazy isn’t it? We stuff them full of plants and then have to cut them back/down in a year or two! Will the Euphorbia grow again from being chopped down?
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The euphorbia has a cycle – each year the flower stems are cut back as the go to seed leaving a good number of stems that will flower next year. As they flower the next batch of stems grow through. It’s one of the easiest pruning regimes to remember and to do! BN faces south which I think leads to a little fading off the blooms. I think the scent is quite subtle and I have other roses nearby that really waft up their scent. Lovely.
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You’ve got another fan of that rose in me. Love the colour & wow, all those blooms! Does it have any scent at all, if not the musky clove? What a shame it doesn’t have that scent, as the description sounds fabulous. I yanked what I thought was the dead stalk of a snapdragon that’d self seeded in my fig tree pot. Out it came, roots & all w/tons of new growth. I think if they’re protected, they survive the winter, so perhaps yours will too. But seeds, seeds, seeds, of course. Lovely 6.
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Yes, I think you’re right about it surviving if protected and it is in a pretty good location. Of course I can’t remember what I did last year – cut it back or just reduce the flower stem! I’ll have to bury my nose in the rose and let you know.
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