I was in Dorset for the best part of this week where the locals are quite hardy, shorts and flip flops were popular whilst I was wearing a hat and scarf. The sun did shine but the wind was cold there and so too on the return home. I felt a pang of sorrow for the plants that are emerging only to be blown about by icy blasts. Here’s my chilly six.
One
The camassias moved on to more flower just before I left and I shared this view on Twitter(X) and shamelessly share again. I had planted ‘Cairo’ tulips in amongst them but they have all failed to reappear this year. I was thinking of going again with a pinker tulip but then was tempted by the new season’s ‘Totally Tangerine’ geums that are appearing in the garden centres. Reliable and slug resistant, I may well stay with this choice and add a few more.
Two
Elsewhere other tulips are more reliable. This one is ‘Barcelona’. It has been in the garden for several years now, dwindling slowly but each survivor has such a beautiful shape. I may replant these.
Three
New to the garden this year is tulip ‘Maureen’. It is part of the gooseberry patch revamp. I have never grown such tall tulips, they are 83cms. The Peter Nyssen website gives a height of 60cms. They seem to be standing up well to the wind and I love the creamy yellow that opens into a white. Very elegant. This is classified as an heirloom tulip from the 1950s. It’s a winner this year. I think the old gooseberry patch must be in good shape soil wise.
Four
I have just a few wood anemones and every year say to myself I must add more. Of course they are a slug’s delight. But they have battled on.
Five
The weather may be cold but the garden is moving on at pace. The melica altisssima ‘Alba’ is glowing green in a dark north facing corner. It seeds prolifically and in it’s third or maybe fourth year I have the job of thinning out the unwanted seedlings. I’ll add that the endless task of pulling up sycamore seedlings then!
Six
Two years ago I dug out this end of the border to rid myself of bluebells. Churlish of me, and foolish. I wasn’t going to succeed there was I? This is the corner with the ailing daphne, so it is likely I will be digging through the border again soon. For the moment the bluebells stay and at least the bees enjoy them. Perhaps I can find a scheme that incorporates their early colour. The slugs have fun here too.
I have that ‘rabbit in the headlights’ feeling that comes with this time of year. The rain is encouraging most things to grow at double the pace. Weeds are romping away and the rose bushes look as though they have never been pruned. I am contemplating one last round of flower seed sowing and weeding will be a priority this weekend. Thank you for all the lovely suggestions of shrubs to grow. The scented ones are very appealing. For more SOS conversations please stop by our host Jim’s garden. Happy gardening to you all.
n20gardener 
Lovely Tulips. Good to hear that Geum are resistant to S & Ss.
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I go back and forth between choosing only slug resistant plants or having another go.
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Dorset must be a nice place to visit : I’ve wanted to go there for a long time. The climate must be close to our Brittany or even the Atlantic coast. The camassias are so pretty at this tile of year as said on Twitter and the same goes for the hyacinths.
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I hadn’t thought of Dorset in that way. Portsmouth in Hampshire was our departure point for a few trips to Normandy in days gone by. So it makes sense that Dorset is more Brittany. I must look at the map!
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Love the Tulips.
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Thank you. Maureen is wonderful. Hope she comes back next year.
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I am especially fond of butter yellow tulips – Maureen is lovely! I also like the pop of color with the camassia and geum. Not much color yet in my garden, except the tulips by the back door and muscari that is fading fast. Daffodils done, sigh.
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It all moves on doesn’t it. Muscari over here too. Tulips just beginning to go over. But roses to come!
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Hmm, my two flattened camassias need to up their game – yours look wonderful.
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They’ve been in for maybe four years and I think they may be multiplying. This is the best year. Or maybe it’s the rain that they like.
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I love the colour of ‘Maureen’, very calm and serene. I’m not sure that at that height she’d still be standing here after this weeks windy days. I used to grow the ‘Purpurea’ Melica but couldn’t cope with the seedlings.
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Yes I’m going to have my work cut out with the melica. Maureen has proved sturdy! But will she reappear?
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Wonderful choice of photos. Camassias and bluebells have beautiful shades of blue. Tulip color is also beautiful.
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Many thanks. It’s a relief to see things in flower even with the cold wind we are having here.
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‘Maureen’ looks more yellowish than white, as it is commonly shown in catalogues. That is useful information. I still have not grown tulips here, and if I ever do, they will not likely go into the White Garden anyway.
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I’m going to grow some white camassias next year 100s of them! There. That’s a promise.
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Oh, well then, that sort of justifies the demise of the tulips; but is white that important? (I know it is in my garden, but that is not typical.)
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I like white in those dark spaces and always enjoy white and green combos.
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Oh yes, that is how I sometimes justify white (my favorite color) within the shady redwood forests.
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But wait, in your climate, can you just relocate the tulips?
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For first year I will leave tulips in and do both!! Tulips are not reliable returners so I will see how it goes.
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Oh, I get that also. That is why I have not grown them yet. They bloom well only once.
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