The garden has been surging forward in this last week of sunshine. But hold on, there is cold weather to come. April can be a cruel month. Even so, gardeners are getting busy and anticipation is high. Here’s six from this week’s garden.
One
The thalia have arrived, my favourites. But no sooner do they open out then the slugs slither up the stems and nibble the flowers. Sad, but I have learnt to shrug my shoulders, sigh and move on.
Two
I am showing the muscari again! I had some left overs in pots, awaiting an opening in the garden. I have now put them into a shadier border and the colour looked so strong in the shadows. I’ll get away with it this year because they benefited from the warmth of a sunny corner before I planted them out. Next year I might find that this spot is just too shady for them.
Three
The perennials are really bulking up and the lovely leaves of thalictrum ‘Black Stockings’ look great. The dark stems are already quite striking. These are in a shady spot too and do very well.
Four
The seed potatoes are chitting away but back in February I planted up three or four in an old compost bag and left them in the greenhouse. The top shoots have just come through so another layer of compost will be added. I might have some early new potatoes in April.
Five
The tomato seeds sown in early March have been potted on. These are destined for the greenhouse. For the moment they are in the spare bedroom.
Six
The pergola project is moving forward with very little sucking in of breath! There is a possibility it will be done next week. In anticipation of a smart new pergola, a smart new garden table was purchased. The old pergola is doing a good impersonation of being a solid structure, but the truth is hidden. All four support legs are rotting away. Now I am anticipating the sunny months to come. In my dreams I also see a trachycapus fortunei swaying in the breeze. Does anyone have experience of growing those in pots?
I am, as always, delighted to compliment The Propagator on his dedication to SOS. All the links to this joyful meme will be found there. Wishing everyone a great gardening weekend.
n20gardener 
Hi, I was congratulating Jude on her yellow & blue mix , which are really the colours of spring: you too on #2.
Nice N. Thalia : I see that from one person to another, we don’t have quite the same colours. Mine are not perfectly white and have a slight cream colour. Maybe I’ll show them next week.
Potted Trachy :I kept it for years and it survived very well, although it didn’t grow much until I planted it in the ground. You can buy a nice and quite tall specimen already of a reasonable price, with good soil and regular fertilizer you can keep it for years.( But you can also plant it in a corner…)
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Thanks for the info on the potted trachy. It’s helpful, because I need it to grow a little bit above my neighbours’ fence! I’m having a look at some other palms but they need to be hardy.
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Trachycarpus fortunei is the best.
Trachycarpus Wagnerianus is also a good deal, smaller and beautiful too. Others must be wrapped in our areas.
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Lots of loveliness here! I seriously must get some Thalia for next year, although I will have to practice my shrugging.
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I have Thalia in both a container and in the ground and have never seen any evidence of nibbling. They are lovely. Pueblo is also very nice – starts off yellow then as it matures it becomes white.
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I was wondering if it was the pigeons taking a nibble?? I will keep watching.
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Yes, I think the shrugging works! I plan to order more thalia and up the shrugging!
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I can dream about your Pergola for you, I’m sure that it will be lovely.
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I have had good news – pergola man coming this week! Much excitement.
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Thalictrum is beautiful. Lovely new arbor and outdoor table – congratulations on near completion of your project!
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Thank you, our spring sunshine has disappeared for a bit but by the time it’s back I hope project will be complete.
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Great news re the pergola, I can imagine summer evenings at that table, lovely. I’ve got Thalia at the allotment, no slugs on it yet but they did nibble all the flowers of my Tete a tetes here. I will need to practise shrugging, like Off The Edge…Btw great planning ahead with the potatoes, I will have to try that next February, it will be lovely to enjoy homegrown new potatoes next month!
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Pergola is coming this week! Slugs also nibbling Tete a Tetes here. More shrugging required!
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I love the table! Really nice! And like the idea of a few early potatoes as you grow them – something for next year.
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Great table ( I have the same one!). Thalia not out here yet, but I think it’s my favourite too. Do your thalictrum suffer from a greyish powdery deposit particularly on the stems? Mine do and I’m not sure whether it is fungal or insects.
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That is a lovely table. I don’t think we have ever eaten outdoors though – too many midges! (That’s if it isn’t raining!)
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Shame about the midges – I do get the odd bite from them here but not too many. They are very annoying.
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Grape hyacinth are still rad. Those look more vigorous and bigger than my common sort. The white sort that I just got from Tangly Cottage continue to bloom without soil. They are wrapped in damp paper for now.
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They seem to by sturdy plants, hope yours are in a more comfortable spot now. White ones sound lovely.
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Oh, they are. I learned to like the common blue sorts because they have been with me since 1976. White is my favorite color though. I could not justify purchasing white grape hyacinth, but got these from Tangly Cottage Gardening, so they have history!
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Thalia is one of my favourite but they don’t return for me, sadly. The pergola project looks great. Let’s hope we get the weather this year 🤞
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Thalia return here but in diminishing numbers here. And it is so difficult to top them up without disturbing remaining bulbs. This year I had some in pots that I have dropped in where the gaps have appeared. I will probably do this again.
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