A later six than usual as I have just returned from a week in sunny Suffolk. And a trip to Suffolk always means a visit to Beth Chatto’s nursery in Essex. We use it as a stop for lunch and then walk round the plants on offer. The famous gravel garden is mostly on view before entrance to the main garden and this year I spotted the poppy ‘Cedric Morris’ sprinkled through the planting. Onto the six for the week which are the six plants I bought.
One
I went to buy polygonatums but as they are a spring highlight I went with a back-up in case they had all sold. Sold they were, so ferns were purchased instead. This is polystichum setiferum plumosodivislobum! Or more simply a soft shield fern. This was described as frilly and fluted, I couldn’t resist it.
Two
Fern number two is dryopteris sieboldii with its rather unusual fronds. The are quite crispy with a tendency to snap if crushed into the back of a car.
Three
These two ferns will start off in a planter and alongside them goes this epimedium versicolor sulphureum. My first ever epimedium, which is strange given that there are many shady corners here. I am looking forward next year to the promise of pale yellow flowers. I have one thalictrum delavayi unplanted from a few I grew from seed so that will be the final component. The container then will fill a shady corner at the back of the garden.
Four
This is a pelargonium that I have much admired over previous SOS posts and when I saw it on the benches it just had to go in the trolley. It’s ‘Lord Bute’, full of flowers when I bought it but now I have to wait for the next flush. I thank all those who ever posted about it. This will go in a long tom terracotta pot for the terrace.
Five
I couldn’t resist this pelargonium either. This is ‘Tip Top Duet’ and will also go in a long tom pot.
Six
Lastly, one for the garden. I have been looking for something to sit behind a group of persicaria bisorta ‘Superbum’ – the common pink one, I’m hoping this frilly white monarda will do the job nicely. It’s m.’Schneewittchen’, flowers to come soon. I’m slightly nervous of the description ‘less robust than other monardas’ but I’ll have a go anyway.
I’ve broken a promise I made a while back – no more plants in containers. It means more watering over the summer. Oh dear, how weak I am. I’m off to fill the watering cans one more time!
As always, many thanks to The Propagator who hosts the meme. Take a look over the weekend – he has been buying roses.
n20gardener 
You bought a lot of plants that I don’t have. This fern with the tortuous fronds ( dryopteris sieboldii ) is really very pretty.
I hope all your purchases will work out (do you plan to keep them potted or to plant them in the ground? ) and I can’t wait to see the monarda flowers
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Thanks Fred, I’ll keep them in the container for as long as possible but will move them on over time. I hope the monarda does flower – no sign so far!
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I’ll keep them in containers for as long as possible but I’m ready to move them on when needed. I hope the monarda flowers soon, no sign yet!
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I love the ferns! I keep sneaking ferns into the shady back of the yard. My little maidenhair fern still has but one frond, but seems healthy. Ostrich fern given to me by a person I used to ride the bus with has begun to spread. It can be a bit aggressive, but so pretty, I don’t care!
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This is my first real go with ferns so we shall see. They do fill up a shady corner nicely.
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Some of them will spread, my husband is worried about ferns popping up in the lawn – Ostrich fern will do that for sure. so he didn’t want me to put them where they would be most happy – they would definitely have colonized. My maidenhair is not looking so great – maybe overwatered? I will leave it and se what happens.
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The ferns are beautiful, I have a bit of a thing for ferns. I am a little concerned about them all going into a container with the epimedium though, I hope it is a big container! My epimediums have got very big! I have fallen out of love with pelargoniums, or them with me, I think my ‘Lord Bute’ is dead as are several others, despite taking cuttings. My problem is keeping them healthy over winter – whitefly attack them in the conservatory (which unfortunately is damp) and they never recover. 😢
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Interesting to here about the epimedium, it is already sprawling. I’ll start them in the container but I’m ready to move them on when needed. My pellies go in the gh for winter and largely forgotten so they do have a dry time of it. This year I thought one had been lost but a severe cut back provoked it into action one more time.
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I’ve just had an outdoor tap put in near the back door. Pot watering holds no fear for me this year. I love the sound of your shady pot, and in fact love all your selections from Beth Chatto (which I had never visited). Mondardas are robust plants, so hopefully the less robust version will still be fairly easy to keep happy.
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I try to use the water butt for as long as possible and lifting those cans up out of the butt is as good as any gym workout!
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Pelargoniums are cool! They are almost common on the coast because they perform so well where other plants dislike the constant wind. Some get quite big, without getting pruned back for winter.
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