I was belatedly staking plants last weekend in anticipation of Storm Hannah. The tulips in the long border are sprawling around now but otherwise no damage to report. Weeding continues, the greenhouse tomatoes were moved into greenhouse and a second attempt at a patch repair of the broken glass will have to do for a week or two. The dwarf french beans have germinated, the second batch of rocket was planted out and this weekend the courgette seeds will be sown. Here’s what is out and about in the flower borders this week.
One
A last shout for the tulips. Contrary though they are I do love them. This is a second outing for ‘Spring Green’ and ‘China Town’. Last year this planting was infiltrated by a rogue orange tulip and a ‘Queen of Night’. I think some cross pollination must have occurred as ‘China Town’ has an orange tinge this year, instead of the pink tone of last year. Fortunately the orange tone works well with the terracotta pot. I’m happy. This planting should also contain the lovely pink double ‘Angelique’ but she failed to turn up. I was beginning to think ‘tulips, pah!’ but then I read this week’s Dig Delve, Dan Pearson’s blog, and I was smitten again.
Two
This is an early morning photo of the North facing border, the sun will come around to this corner again in the afternoon. I’ve lost the plot on the tulip varieties – I offer you ‘Flaming Spring Green’ – with no evidence of the flame, ‘Ronaldo’ – or not and ‘Jan Reus’. The recently planted armeria maritima is fittinng in well with erigeron karvinskianus, and the osteospermum has just opened up alongside the bluebells.
Three
Restocking the garden continues. The latest purchase was tiarella ‘Emerald Ellie’ which is lining the shady path to the compost heap. This sounds a bit below the dignity of Ellie, but I think she will do well there.
Four
Another of the missing plants for the deep shade section of the north border arrived. Three pots of pittosporum tobira ‘Nanum’ will give some evergreen structure. All that remains to be found is the melica which I hope will appear in nurseries later in the season. This part of the border gets early morning sun but then is shaded for the rest of the day.
Five
The sunny border is beginning to offer up the allium ‘Purple Sensation’ which takes over from the tulips.
Six
The first flowers of geranium sanguineum var. striatum are opening up. I keep moving this plant around but I’m hoping it is in now in its forever home.
It’s another bank holiday in the UK, this time cold and windy but I’ll find some time to garden, I hope you do too. Check in with The Propagator to see what else is going on in the varied collection of SOS gardens.
I’ve planted the same group of plants either side of a small path.. The Agastache ‘Alabaster’ were in the garden already and they have now been joined by Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’, Gaura lindheimeri ‘Whirling Butterflies’ and Pennisetum villosum. Fingers crossed for next summer.
On the diagonal opposite to this area is what was fondly known as ground elder corner. After three summers of digging it out I think I have the upper hand and so I am beginning to put in some permanent plants. First to go in is Trachelospermum jasminoides, a firm six on saturday favourite. I’m hoping it will very quickly cover the great expanse of unattractive brown fence.
Also adding some late colour are these Lillies. Yet more naming debates: are they now Schizostylis, or Hesperantha? I know which one I prefer. These came from the old garden and are bulking up nicely.
And since repetition is allowed and because the late colour is so fabulous, I give you again the Salvia ‘Amistad’ and the Rose, Darcy Bussell. The Salvias mooched along all summer but they have really established themselves in the last month. Darcy Bussell just keeps on putting out new buds.
This week I dug up the last of my sarpo mira potatoes. This is the total haul from two plants. Barely enough to mash and I was certainly crushed.
The tale of woe continued. Into the greenhouse I went to pick some tomatoes. I noticed that the romano peppers needed tying in again. But as I brought the stems together to tie them in they snapped. But these things happen, don’t they? This photo was taken after a good many of the peppers had been used for the evening meal.
This bright cheerful zinnia, grown from a tiny seed, continues to shine.
The astrantia major are flowering again.
Autumn is coming and softer colours take their place in the garden. I call these ice plants but I’m going to venture to suggest the Latin name of Hylotelephium spectabile. Yes or No?
So I add to my crimes, ignorance. I had no idea the bulbs would flower this year. What a blissful ignorance it was. Without it I would not have been half so thrilled and excited as I was when I saw this flower and I didn’t step on it!
Pride before the fall and fall the persimmons did. Two branches came down, both heavily laden with fruit. They broke from the inside so nature has done a good job of opening up the tree.
No sooner had the delphiniums put up their second flush of flower stems than the storm arrived. Of course I hadn’t got round to tying in the tops but the ties at the bottom seem to have helped steady the stems enough to keep them safe.
The stately cosmos that was just opening out its flowers was not so lucky. I had tried to push a cane into the ground but there was no give at all. The plant snapped off at the bottom. All was not lost as I cut back the side stems and brought them inside to fill a vase.
The fruits of the passion flower are ripening and providing a focal point over the top of an arch. These is the more common Passiflora caerulea and although the fruits are edible when very ripe I prefer to leave them be.
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Indeed the doorbell rang a moment ago and although it was not the aforementioned plants I was excited to receive the first of the bulb orders. Excited on two counts: Yes! I had my six for the week (it was touch and go) and I could cross Colchicum speciosum Album off of the wish list. I hope they are going to like the space I have ready for them. Fingers crossed that it is sunny enough.
Cutting back plants after flowering really can work. The alchemilla mollis which were sheared to the ground have come through again and at this time of year they look beautiful with their dressing of early morning dew.
This is Geranium ‘Brookside’. It roamed through the garden in early summer, knowing no boundaries and so cutting it back when it finished flowering caused me no stress. The plant needed to be tidied up. This week I noticed it was flowering again.
Also starting up again are the seedlings of Nigella, love in a mist. I have a carpet of them which I should probably be thinning out and sharing around the garden. But I might just leave them all here to keep the weeds down and see how they come through next year.
In the greenhouse I have managed to keep a tray of foxgloves and echinacea pallida seedlings alive and it looks like some potting on needs to be done. Temperatures are on the up next week so they I hope they will put on some good growth once moved into a pot.
Encouraged by the good example of others I decided to try some winter vegetables. I rescued a tray of rainbow chard and perpetual spinach from certain death and planted them out a few weeks ago. The pesky slugs made straight for them but they have pulled through and growth looks good.
Last November I planted out bare root roses in a new border and Darcy Bussell is still flowering. I am impatiently waiting for the roses to become fully established but even in the first year the flowers have been rewarding.
n20gardener 