Six on Saturday: Rethinking yet again

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Another year in this garden has been chalked up and another area of the garden has come under scrutiny. After some painful picking of the gooseberries a decision was reached. The netting and un-netting, the pruning, the gooseberry sawfly and the thorny harvesting which often results in more gooseberries than we need, has led to the decision to let the gooseberries go. That was decision one. Decision two was not to replace the greenhouse that was destroyed in a storm last winter. I was all set to invest in a shiny new one but my neighbour’s tree is still standing and the thought of a second storm hurling down branches on a new greenhouse was too painful to bear. I have one smaller greenhouse that serves well enough for seed growing and chilis. I am moving on and am now looking at re-organising the veg and fruit plot at the back of the garden. More to come, in the meantime here is six from the garden this week.

One

Last week I showed a echinacea ‘White Swan’ that had reverted to a purple form. Here is another patch of ‘White Swan’ also being invaded by a purple form. How interesting.

Two

This is my attempt to show the very delicate thalictrum delavayi which was grown from seed a few years ago. I have about three plants and they are just beginning to get to a good size in the garden. I hope you can spot it in amongst everything else.

Three

The apple crop is looking good this year. The June drop seems to have come in July, no doubt the blustery winds have helped with the thinning.

Four

The erigeron karvinskianus really suffered over the cold winter but it is tenacious here and those that held on have got going again and are reclaiming their territory.

Five

This photo of ‘James Galway’ climbing rose also sums up the weather this week. There’s not been much sunshine and the skies have been grey most of the week.

Six

I am so undecided about this one. It’s persicaria polymorpha. Billed as upright stems and suitable for semi-shade, I used it at the back of the garden in the hope of shielding the neighbour’s fence. It should reach two metres. This is the second year and it’s not made that height yet and so far it is being a little floppy. Less so this year though. I will give it another year, patience is not my strong point!

Over to Jim’s garden to see what he has on offer this weekend. Wishing you all a good gardening time whenever you can manage to get out there!

Six On Saturday: Cool, Cool Summer

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To paraphrase an old song, the weather in July has been cool. Even with some heavy rain recently the garden is on the dryish side but the water butts are full once again. I have managed to catch up on a few jobs: the feeding of the roses has begun and I have spent a great deal of time weeding out the oxalis that has colonised the old greenhouse patch. Sadly no tomatoes this year but the cucumbers are fruiting and I have planted out a late sowing of lettuces as I cleared the oxalis (and slugs). Here’s six from the garden this week.

One

The grapevine has had a belated trim back. There are some good sized grapes this year but I don’t hold out much hope for edible fruit. They usually split, rot or are eaten by birds and wasps. I inherited it and it’s real purpose is to shade the pergola and dining table which it does very well.

Two

This var. unk. hydrangea by the steps is also doing well this year. There’s not too much in the way of scorched flowers and there has been enough rain. It’s turning a soft shade of pink now.

Three

This is echinacea ‘White Swan’. “Oh no it isn’t” you will say. “Oh yes it is” I will say. We could both be right. I definitely sowed seeds of ‘White Swan’. This is definitely not white. I read that echinacea often reverts back to the purple form so I guess this is what has happened here. There should be another opening up soon, it will be interesting to see what appears.

Four

The deciduous agapanthus in the borders are in flower now. This one is ‘Midnight Blue’ a lovely dark form.

Five

About a month ago a large Box shrub was taken out, the struggle with the dreaded caterpillar was not worth continuing. I invested heavily in a mature hibiscus syriacus Red Heart and last week it was planted in the space. A sunny spot against the wall. I hope it gets its feet down quickly and goes from strength to strength. There are flower buds so I will revisit soon.

Six

This is an attempt to show the veronicastrum virginicum. I was given these down a chain of gardeners and I don’t know the variety but of late there have been a few SOS sightings of v. ‘Fascination’. I wonder if this could be the same? I’ve had them for a couple of years now and they are just beginning to fill their space and reach a good height.

I’m hoping to feed a few more roses begore the rain sets in. Then I might, dare I say it, look at the bulb catalogues! There’s a trip to Jim’s glorious garden to be made, (vine weevils not withstanding) where all the links to SOS posts will appear through the day. Enjoy your gardening weekend.

Six On Saturday: A wet and windy weekend

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Unusually for me I am writing this on a Friday. The forecast for Saturday is heavy rain and gusting winds. Today it is just rain all day. It has been a showery week and you would think the garden would be well lubricated by now. But the late planting out of dahlias in pots revealed dry soil just an inch down. Of course a wet top surface is perfect for the slugs and snails and sure enough by the next day the new shoots of the over wintered dahlia I spotted last week and one of the newly planted dahlias had been munched. Hopefully the potted dahlias are strong enough to push on. Here’s six from a gloomy garden.

One

This is ‘Etoile Violette’, a viticella clematis that has been flowering for weeks. It is putting the neighbouring trachelospermum jasminoides to shame. I though it would be a good combination if they entwined but so far the TJ is being a little weedy!

Two

This is an early arrival on the anemone front. But I seem to remember they came early last year too. This is ‘September Charm’, so well in advance of expectations. They have bulked up well this year after a worrying year when I thought they had a disease of some kind.

Three

I admired a white form of geranium phaeum being shared on twitter. I succumbed and bought some, really thinking it was too late in the season and I would have to wait for next year for flowers but rather generously they have put out one or two new blooms. It’s in the northish facing border but there is a moment of morning and afternoon sun. I hope it does well.

Four

I didn’t have my secateurs to hand when I took this photo so I share spent blooms and new blooms of the red rose ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’. It’s a climber and I was also lacking string to tie in a few wayward stems. Must be better prepared!

Five

Another inherited plant that gets by without too much attention. The magenta phlox was thinned out last year and divisions added around the garden. They have all done well. Easy peasy plant! In the background is the grass Miscanthus sinensis ‘Silberfeder’. Second year in the garden and beginning to clump up quite nicely. Also in the background, gooseberries which need picking!

Six

A survivor! This hebe – inherited and unknown – is on it’s second move in three years. I think this will be its forever home. It coped with the move and the cold winter. The bees appreciate it and I hope it will be happy here.

I’m not sure what I’ve been up to lately but I have neglected my SOS reading duties. I’ve also neglected to give the roses their mid season feed. Last weekend the blackcurrants were picked and some of those gooseberries. The summer raspberries really didn’t have enough watering to do well this year but with the current forecast I’m more hopeful for the autumn variety. Sometimes the garden is neglected a little but it pulls through. Jim, the SOS host, had an abundance of blackcurrants last weekend, stop by and see what’s happening at Garden Ruminations this week. There’s always a surprise.

Six On Saturday: Those flowers keep coming

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Spoilt for choice this week. Those second half of summer flowers are coming through and a handsome downpour of rain on Tuesday perked everything up. Here’s my six for this week.

One

This is a plant I never would have chosen to add to the garden. It graces the front garden under a bay window and its intense blue really is quite an eye catcher. I still can’t decide if I like it but it is an inheritance I won’t be rejecting. Lacecap hydrangea btw!

Two

This is a hydrangea I did choose for the garden. It is hydrangea macrophylla ‘Blushing Bride’. I’ve looked this one up and I find that it is that it is part of the Endless Summer range and can flower on old and new wood. Thereby giving flowers from June to October. Well I never!

Three

Hurrah. A Winter survivor. Some penstemons were lost but this is a very healthy looking specimen. If I remember rightly it is ‘Plum Jerkum’ but please correct me if I’m wrong.

Four

I think it is obligatory at this time of year to show a pollen soaked bee in a hollyhock flower. I am happy to oblige.

Five

Here’s my collection of allium sphaerocephalon. Unspellable, unpronounceable and previously a little underwhelming. This year, after about four years in the ground, they have bulked up and their stems can now happily support the flower head. I’ve looked these up as well and belatedly see that they could look good against a backdrop of ornamental grasses. Here they work with gaura and day lilies. Not too bad.

Six

Speaking of day lilies, here is my only other variety. ‘Golden Chimes’ is its name, it’s been in the garden a few years now and about every other year it is divided and spread around a little more.

I’ve had to make a few decisions this week. Gone for the aging choisya, gone for two skimmias and gone for a euphorbia mellifera that I thought would pull through. One border looks a little thin now! On the plus side I spotted new growth from some dahlia tubers left in the ground and a salvia microphylla, aka Blackcurrant sage, has also woken up. I’m looking forward to a few more showers today to keep the hydrangeas happy. I hope the gardening space provides happiness for you this weekend too. Jim, our host, has a fabulous selection to share. Stop by for a visit and drop in on the other SOS bloggers for more gardening delights.

Six On Saturday: July and jobs to be done

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July is here. It’s a busy time in the garden as the May and June flowers need tidying. The roses have had a good year and I need to catch up on the deadheading. There hasn’t been much rain and my watering has been on the light side. I am trying to train the garden to get by with less. This does mean smaller flowers but on the whole things are managing. It’s about time I dug up some potatoes to see how they have got on. I can already see that the onions are small but the basil and chilies are flourishing. Here’s six from this morning’s walk round.

One

I was late putting in my summer pots, being late is the story of this year. This week saw the first flower on some geraniums I bought as plug plants at the beginning of June. I hope I can overwinter these.

Two

I grow a few varieties of achillea and each year seem to lose them over winter. I thought it was the weather but this year I spotted the snails munching the new shoots. With some extra vigilance I think I have managed to keep two varieties this year. This one is ‘New Vintage White’. It’s a low grower, around 35cms. It is surrounded by self seeded verbena bonariensis, which has grown very tall. It’s a very odd combination which would work much better if they intermingled.

Three

The salvia ‘Nachtvlinder’ was the only salvia that overwintered. There was plenty of brown at the beginning of the year but it was cut back to promising shoots and it did pull through. This is the third attempt to get this in focus and I give up!

Four

I inherited a clematis when I moved here. It was on its last legs then but after freeing it from bindweed and giving it some attention it gained strength. This year it is not so lush. There are some beautiful flowers but it is in need of some watering and feeding. Adds to long list of jobs to do!

Five

The very tall verbena bonariensis deserves a photo. They self seed happily here but never quite where I would like them to be.

Six

The first of the day lilies has opened. I do enjoy them but these ones are so prone to hemerocallis gall midge that I sometimes wonder about digging them up. The affected buds need to be picked off. Adds to long list of jobs to do!

The weather is kinder to weekend gardeners this week. Cooler temperatures will see me out and about working through the borders. I hope you are able to enjoy your gardening spaces this weekend. We all need to switch off and immerse ourselves in the beauty of flowers every now and then! This week Jim, our host, is down on the allotment. Stop by and take a look.

Six On Saturday: June madness

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The garden has had a week of neglect. No watering from me and one downpour from the heavens. It is surviving. Many things are in overdrive, thriving in the heat and enjoying being left to their own devices. Here’s six for this week.

One

This just about sums it up. Lychnis coronaria with ‘Brookside’ geraniums and astrantia major. It is madness but I love it.

Two

The madness has its downsides. The path is impassable as geraniums psilostemon and ‘Brookside’ and the alchemilla mollis reach out to join together. The lawn mower shall not pass is the message.

Three

On the other side, in a shadier space, it is the froth of the grass melica altisssima ‘Alba’ combining with geranium sanguineum ‘Album’ that creates a haze of green and white.

Four

In a new planting the purple spires of salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ is beginning to work together with gaura lindheimeri. This is the first year in the garden for these two together. I have lost gaura overwinter before but I am hoping this sunnier spot will suit them better.

Five

I will definitely be coming back the agapanthus again. This the first flower on the evergreen agapanthus. They grow in pots and are wrapped in fleece over the winter. One pot was lost. One has just about pulled through and the other three are pushing up an encouraging number of flower spikes.

Six

The lavender is just on the verge of bursting forth. The bees will have something to move on to from the madness of the borders to this space on the patio. It’s all happening out there.

It is going to be a very hot weekend here. I will not be gardening in it! But I will enjoy the mid summer madness. I will not give a single thought to the fact that the days begin to get shorter now. Oh no, there is still so much to appreciate. I encourage you to take a look at more SOS gardens by visiting Jim’s place where all the links to other SOS blogs are posted each week. Of course you will also get to enjoy Jim’s wise words.

Six On Saturday: Billowing roses

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There’s plenty of dead heading to done as the roses have gone into overdrive this year. But seeing the left hand side of the garden frothing with roses is a wonderful sight. The garden is surviving on minimal water rations. One hour of rain on Monday but it didn’t completely fill the water butt so more is needed and indeed we might get some this weekend. Here’s six for this week.

One

The first of the roses is ‘Blush Noisette’ I planted two of them to cover a good stretch of the wall.

Two

In the middle of the two ‘Blush Noisette’ I planted ‘This Sceptre’d Isle’. I underplanted that with some alchemilla mollis. The geranium psilostemon had other ideas and self seeded itself here as well. I have to agree it works very well.

Three

At the far end of the garden the rambling rose ‘Wedding Day’ is having a fabulous season.

Four

On the opposite side of the garden I planted two climbing hydrangeas to cover the fence and this year they are getting close to achieving that aim and have had their best flowering year yet.

Five

In one of the sunnier borders the pale yellow of sisyrinchium works well with geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’

Six

In a shadier spot geranium ‘Kashmir White’ settles in with more alchemillia mollis.

That’s my stroll round the garden for today. There are plenty more gardens to stroll around at Jim’s place. I think in the UK and in Northern Europe we are all hoping for some rain this weekend. I hope we all receive enough to keep us going. Happy Gardening.

Six on Saturday: Whose garden is it?

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June is the month, that seven years ago, I took over this garden. The previous owner had loved his soft fruit and fruit trees but much of the rest of the garden had gone to weeds. That family was the second family to garden here. There is evidence in archived local newspapers that the first owner also loved his soft fruits and had won prizes for raspberries. There has been over 100 years of gardening here and I am gradually leaving my mark. I have come to appreciate that I share this garden with the past, with the numerous slugs and snails, with the foxes and cats and with the birds and insects. I share it with my neighbours too. Sometimes they have no choice as the clematis armandii knows no bounds. I also get to share theirs. Their roses peek over the fence. The hawthorn and ceanothus in Spring take my eye to their gardens and in June I enjoy a superb display of flowers from a neighbouring elder tree. Seven years of this garden has passed by so quickly and there is so much more to do. Here’s six for this week.

One

This is the creature that prompted this little outburst. A red admiral butterfly on a hosta. The hosta is in a pot at the end of garden. At this time of year it basks in the evening sun and this a favourite end of day spot for a visit. Clearly the butterfly also agrees but it is not so keen on sharing and each evening it dive bombs us in an effort to persuade us to leave this little corner. The butterfly always wins. This is the third year of this interesting behaviour.

Two

A combination of persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’ and alchemilla mollis. This has probably been in the garden for about five years. The persicaria has spread a little but not too aggressively.

Three

The suns rays shining through the lovely geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’. This is a garden share from an aunt and has been divided and lifted many times. It has been with me for, and it seems incredible to say this, about twenty years, joining us in each house move.

Four

The roses are exuberant at the moment. This is ‘Darcy Bussell’, great colour and scent.

Five

And this is ‘Jaqueline du ‘Pré’. Looking at its very best in this photo.

Six

Lastly, the very rampant geranium ‘Brookside’ with the rose ‘Gertrude Jekyll’. One of the previous residents of this house was a Gertrude so I hope this meets her approval.

The Six On Saturday meme is all about sharing gardens. Our host is Jim of Garden Ruminations and each week he shares the links to the posts of other SOS gardeners. All are welcome to stop by to have a look and to take part. It’s going to be very hot this weekend, I will briefly mention the lack of rain and the diminishing water storage. But let us enjoy what we can – it is Summer.

Six On Saturday: Out goes cold May

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Shakespeare was right about the rough winds shaking the darling buds! It was a week of cold winds and those tomato plants that were looking terrible last week, look even worse now. I’ve written them off. Fortunately June has arrived and the garden fills up a little more each day. I have one or two end of May flowers that deserve a turn in the limelight before we get to full blown June. Here’s this week’s six.

One

I have a handful of irises in the garden. Sibirica, Germanica and Bearded but I this iris foetidissima is one of my favourites. It has such beautiful markings and a subtle colour. They can so easily be overlooked as they settle themselves into shady corners beneath the shrubs. They are presents from the birds who perch above.

Two

There have been sunny days, even as the cold winds blew and the hardy geraniums have opened. This is an unknown variety that smuggled itself in with a bulk buy of white ones. Some relocation was required when it first flowered!

Three

This gentle pink one is the bloody cranesbill, geranium sanguineum var. striatum. A low growing variety that I sneak into edges and corners as often as I can.

Four

A last aquilegia, ‘Lemon Sorbet’. This was planted in shade and has self seeded itself out into a little more sunshine. The plants always know best.

Five

Thalictrum ‘Black Stocking’, grows happily in a part shade area of the garden. It’s been here for about three years now and has filled out nicely.

Six

Have I saved the best until last? I was so impressed with this astrantia yesterday. It’s ‘Claret’, a wonderful colour but sadly not a self seeder. My fave of the week, nevertheless!

Summer is here. The bees are buzzing through the buttercups on the lawn and there’s already a scarcity of rain. For more Six On Saturday posts from gardens around the world take a quick trip to Jim’s Cornish garden and enjoy the delights on offer there. I wish you well in your garden this weekend.

Six On Saturday: It’s all happening here

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Yes, the garden is hotting up. Some good things and some bad things. In the interests of full disclosure before we get to the good I will share the bad. The lily beetles are having fun amongst the martagon lilies. At least six of them. Regular inspections will be required. My last box shrub is wriggling with box moth caterpillars and I am going to call it day. I’ve had enough spraying. If it’s not meant to be I will move on. It’s a blob anyway and has a top spot against a sunny wall. Perhaps a hibiscus for a replacement. There’s more bad. Two skimmia have yellowing, progressing to dead leaves. Perhaps their location is just too dry for them. They can go too. The last of the bad news is the tomato plants look awful. There is no spacious greenhouse for them to move to this year and frankly I think it’s barely worth planting them outside at all. It could be a problem with over-watering and/or nutrient deficiency. I’ve given them a dilute dose of tomato feed and I will plant them out this weekend. I switched brands of peat free compost this year and I have not had much success. This one seems to dry out at the surface, shrink back from the sides but still manage to be wet at the bottom of the pots. It was not a combination I handled successfully. I’ll go back to the previous brand in future. That’s cleared the air. On with six good things.

One

I seem to be having a good year with allium ‘Mount Everest’. I would say that bulbs that I had given up on seem to have re-emerged and those that are in the shadier end of the garden are reaching heights that justify their name. I like them and so do the bees.

Two

The astrantias are also doing well. This started off as ‘Roma’ but I think a little hybridisation has occurred as this year’s colour doesn’t seem, to my memory, what is was last year. I don’t mind this at all.

Three

This is my garden favourite this week, so much so that I’m sharing two photos. The first is the view of the arch from the veg plot back into the garden. The rose is ‘Mad Alf’, Madame Alfred Carriere. Mad because the flowers are held on such long stems and she climbs vigorously. A winner.

Four

This is the view of the arch from the other side, where clematis montana Wilsonii is flowering in profusion. I think it is vanilla scented but it could be slightly chocolatey. Whatever, it is a dream to walk through and I find myself doing this several times a day. There is a bench nearby and it is such a pleasure to sit their of an evening and ‘feel’ the scent drift over. Top marks.

Five

Having spent much time, along with many others, moaning about the Winter and Spring weather, I am now wondering if, in fact, it has been just what the garden needed. So many plants seem to be doing really well this year. In truth I’m a little concerned that this geranium ‘Brookside’ will go on to swamp its neighbours. I’ll update you soon.

Six

Lastly the first ‘Wisley’ rose has opened up. The bush is full of buds and it will be a splendid sight when they all get going.

It’s a long weekend in the UK and the weather looks set fair. I will be sitting on that bench and enjoying the changing scenery. I hope you too will be able to find some moments to enjoy this weekend. Jim, our host, shares the SOS links and this week looks at Cacti. Stop by and enjoy. Happy gardening everyone.