Month: November 2021

Six On Saturday: Still flowering

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The cold weather has arrived, the first storm has blown through and the first frost lightly touched the garden. Now I feel the push to finish the tulip bulb planting. ‘Cairo’ are in with the inevitable disturbance of the neighbouring camassias. I have about 40 ‘Purissima’ to plant amongst the white hellebores. That’s the top priority for this weekend. In the meantime here are six things that caught my eye today.

One

A few weeks back a variegated hebe was moved from an overcrowded spot in the front garden to the space behind the lawn roller. It’s leggy from past efforts to reach out for some light but it has immediately responded to it’s new location by putting out a flower. It’s always exciting to liberate overcrowded shrubs and give them a new chance to thrive.

Two

I have a small patch of tiarellas lining a path on the way to the compost heap and they are impressively flowering on. They work hard to keep the weeds in this area at bay and cope well with the shade.

Three

Speaking of compost. The compost bins have been turned. One emptied out onto the veg patch, just waiting to be spread around. I’d like to think of this as black gold but it will be rife with seeds. I am sure to have a good crop of verbena bonariensis seedlings if nothing else. The first bin has been turned out into the middle bin and can sedately rot down over the coming year. The first bin, briefly empty, has now begun to fill again and so the cycle continues.

Four

I nearly missed the first hellebore flower of the year. This is always the earliest and starts of thoughts of the spring to come.

Five

The orange berries of Iris foetidissima give a welcome splash of colour underneath the rhododendron. It’s a scrubby space and these fill it well. I was surprised to see that the RHS has awarded it an Award of Garden Merit. But why should I be surprised? It grows in inhospitable places, the flowers, while not showy are quite pleasing, the berries are bright and cheerful and it really is low maintenance.

Six

I inherited a large choisya which gets larger every year. It gives me valuable evergreen structure during the winter months and fragrant white flowers in Spring. And now in Winter. I have had a second flowering in other years but this one is quite impressive and long lasting.

Temperatures will remain low over the weekend so planting the bulbs will be a cold business. I have a little more mulching to be done and the rose pruning to start. But there is a sense that the garden is being put to bed for the winter despite those flowering anomalies! The Propagator leads us on through winter, a challenge here but those in the southern hemisphere fill the Six On Saturday blog space with sunshine.

Six On Saturday: Enjoying November

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Another mild week passes by and the last few scented leaf pelagoniums have been cut back and despatched to the greenhouse for the winter. It looks like there may be some colder weather ahead and in anticipation I have made a start on lifting dahlias that are in pots. It’s not something I usually do but a revamp is taking place. Here’s six from the garden this week.

One

Over the last year I have radically thinned out the gooseberries and blackcurrants. Last weekend I tackled the wild blackberries that loiter around the side of the shed. They’ve gone now, hopefully never to return but they can be very insistent. In celebration I bought a new blackcurrant bush. It’s a Ben Sarek. I’ve happily grown Ben Connann in the past and I inherited Ben Lomond which seem to be past their best. We’ll see if Sarek crops well next year. It had a dusting of bone meal and then a layer of leaf mould to get see on its way.

Two

The mild weather is persuading many of the summer flowers to keep on going, just a little at a time but enough to raise a happy smile. These are Knautia, Clematis, Coreopsis, Geranium, Nicotiana and Antirrhinum.

Three

The trees that surround this garden have been glowing in the sunshine. This time of year seems to me, to be the best time to appreciate their stately glory. I even enjoy collecting the leaves that fall.

Four

The hydrangeas are also looking particularly fine at the moment. The white flowers of summer have faded (and that doesn’t seem to be quite the right word) to a beautiful pink. Isn’t that a wonderful transformation?

Five

The snowberry is losing its leaves and revealing the underplanting of brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’. The silvered leaves are just perfect for the winter garden.

Six

There’s been a start made on tidying up for winter and the shed needed a sweep out. Venturing into the dark corners is not something I do willingly, but I did and found a colony of mushrooms. Clearly they are enjoying the damp dark conditions! I left them there.

I was derailed from my six last week but happily normal service has been resumed. Jobs for the weekend involve leaf collecting, tulip bulb planting and more cutting back of those herbaceous perennials that will soon go soggy over the winter. Any slugs lurking around better watch out. Thanks once again to the host of this meme – The Propagator. His blog shares all the links to other SOS posts, I have some catch up reading to do!

Six on Saturday: A winter garden

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This is another one of those ‘Not my garden posts’. Sorry to disappoint, the above photo is definitely not my garden. This week we were in Cambridge for a few days and spent a cold but sunny hour or two at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden. It was a diversion on the way back to the station and I offer apologies to anyone out there who was disturbed by the trundling of our suitcase, a noise not compatible with the peaceful surroundings. Before departure the home garden was wrapped up for the cold spell, agapanthus under fleece for the winter and as there wasn’t time to transport the lemon tree to the greenhouse that too had a temporary double layer of fleece. This weekend I hope to get the lemon tree inside and it will be re-fleeced for extra protection when the cold weather settles in. Here’s four from the Winter Garden, Cambridge with its focus on ‘coloured stems, bark and foliage texture with winter flowers and fragrance until mid spring’. This garden begs to visited again in February when the snowdrops and winter aconites appear. The last two are from the Fountain planting.

One

The Mahonia, Oregon Grape ‘Winter Sun’ in the background draws the visitor down the path. The boundary hedges have been used to frame the colours and to trap the winter scents in the garden. The birch tree behind the bench is betula ermanii ‘Grayswood Hill’.

Two

The colour of the red holly berries and the variegated leaf exploded in the sunshine, botanical details: ilex aquifolium, ‘Argentea Marginata’. Or Silver Margined Holly, in translation. My only holly is the result of a donation form the birds and doesn’t look half as exuberant as this, but then it’s a freebie so I won’t complain.

Three

Scent was much in evidence from this Viburnum farreri, its leaves just turning a coppery red giving a double winter whammy. That’s not a very botanical description, but you get the picture.

Four

It wouldn’t be a winter garden without that trusted favourite, cornus. This one is Cornus alba ‘Siberica’, which seems to be regarded as too vigorous for most gardens, but there are many others to choose from. The bergenia provides a good foil at the base.

Five

Coming out of the Winter Garden now, I couldn’t resist including the planting around the fountains. Here the seed heads of Phlomis russeliana, Turkish Sage, provide strong winter interest. I’d love to take this idea for the garden here, but I don’t think I have the right conditions. But it is something I am contemplating.

Six

The phlomis around the fountain is mixed with a planting of Stipa gigantea, which glowed in the sunshine. There is no doubting why it is called ‘Golden Oats’.

There was much to take in at the Botanic Garden and the website is very helpful, providing planting lists and good descriptions of the garden highlights. It’s well worth a visit, either in person or virtually. Back in my garden I will be continuing to mulch and may even make a start on tulip bulb planting. The compost heap needs a turn and one bin is ready to spread on the veg plot. The dahlias, zinnias, cosmos and roses continue to defy the season and as the temperatures seem to be picking up again for next week I will leave them as they are for a little while longer. The Propagator hosts the SOS meme and all are welcome to take part or simply to read and enjoy.