This week was a game of two halves. A cold beginning and now a heatwave. I hope this will persuade a few more tomatoes to ripen. The courgettes keep springing surprises on me in the form of marrows and the french beans carry on being well behaved. The flower garden has seen a few rearrangements with more to come. The first of the six for this week is a welcome discovery.
One
A tiny spire of lirirope muscari ‘Big Blue’. Not quite living up to it’s name yet. It has been three years in development. Billed as a perennial forming dense clumps it has just managed a clump of 10cms. I think I have shocked it into doing something as a few weeks back I threw out two other sister plants on the grounds that they had done nothing at all. Somehow I overlooked this one or perhaps it looked the stronger. I’ll be watching it closely now.
Two
Also gaining a stay of execution is this unknown red rose. It was here in the garden when we arrived and I have planted around it but always thinking that one day it would be moved or given up. Every year it persuades me that it deserves to stay and it has twisted me round its little finger again.
Three
These were in the garden last weekend and have definitely gone now. But they will be making a comeback as apple juice. The apple trees all had a professional prune this year and look better for it. The apples on the oldest tree were smaller but seemed to be just as plentiful. I have 51 bottles of juice to collect.
Four
The passion flower (passiflora caerulea) has an incredible structure, fascinating to look at but it’s becoming too rampant. I plan to completely remove it from the arch it grows over and see if it can be dug out completely. I keep finding seedlings of it around the garden so I think I may be on the losing side.
Five
This blue scabious seems to have only just got into it’s stride, it was moved to a new location at the end of last summer so perhaps it took a while to really settle down. Great things are expected next year though.
Six
Time for an experiment. I have sown some green manure seeds for the first time. The onions came out and the seeds went in. I have to remember to dig the growth over in 40 – 90 days. I hope it does what it says on the packet.
That’s my six for the week. To see more go to The Prop’s site. His six and many more will be revealed.