What a week! From balmy spring warmth to icy snow showers and freezing winds. There was a slight frost this morning. This was also the week the pergola was installed and the foxes had a fight in the rosemary bush, I think the rosemary came off worse. There were some brave tulips on show and the plum blossom appeared. Here’s six from the garden.
One
The first tulips to appear in this garden are ‘World Friendship’. They’ve last well over about three years but I think this is the year to top them up. They have a softer yellow colour, not too bright and I think they work well with the thalia.
Two
The plum blossom opened up at the beginning of the week, only to be thrashed about by a vicious north wind. Here’s hoping some of the blossom makes it through to fruit.
Three
The glorious sunshine of last weekend saw me tackle two gardening jobs on the same day! A good clear out of the potting shed followed by a clear out of this end of the thin border. Previously home to rampant blackberries, generously giving too much fruit to use, a first thinning out was achieved. I know I said I wouldn’t, but I do have a few white dahlias that used to live in pots. They have overwintered and I think for this year at least they will go in here along with some summer annuals while I mull over a permanent plan.
Four
I am a purist for the simple yellow primroses, but somehow I have inherited this dark red one. It has made a successful appeal to stay in the garden.
Five
The new green growth of the grass melica altissima ‘Alba’ caught my eye this week. Fresh and vibrant, it adds a good band of colour to the back of a north facing border. In the summer lovely dancing stems of white flowers sway in the breeze. I can’t wait.
Six
The pergola was installed amid howling winds and snow showers. The guys very cleverly built the new one whilst using the old one to support the vine. I kept the warming cups of coffee going and marvelled at the progress from inside in the warm.
It’s a beautiful blue sky morning here, cold but bright. Let’s hope we have done with the cruel weather, no more frosts please, it’s time to will those seeds into germination. The Propagator hosts this weekly gathering, stop by and see if you can catch him in the garden.
I thought I would get straight to the point. It has been misty, foggy, and damp week with cold winds. March is not inspiring me to get out into the garden. And when I do step outside I am greeted by more signs of frost damage. A scene to awful to share is the brown curled up mass that used be a well established clump of erigeron karvinskianus. The RHS give it H5 for hardiness. This means hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10). I can only hope that somewhere underneath the browness there are some fresh shoots emerging. This is the fifth winter in the new garden and this is the first time there has been so much damage from the cold weather. I am thinking it is a combination of the very cold weather followed by some early morning sun. Here’s what I am sharing this week.
One
Cold or not, there are jobs to done and last week I carried out a very modest land grab from the lawn. The motivation for this audacious activity was borne out of an idle moment. On looking out of the window I realised that the transition between flower garden and veg patch was not a pretty one. I decided on impulse that an arch was needed to break up the view. With more impulsivity I immediately ordered a rusted steel ornamental arch. Of course the arch needed a certain width of garden space and the border was not quite wide enough. Manic digging took place, pavers re-positioned and an empty trench needing top soil was the result. This tiny corner border now has a little more substance to it. At the end of last week I did get round to dividing the snowdrops and I have filled one corner of the trench with some of the divisions. My local nursery has just opened again so I am planning a daring and thrilling visit to purchase some top soil. I am also consulting my SOS wish list to see what plants I need.
Two
I also tackled another border this week, which is probably why I am so moany about cold weather! I decided that the very back of the garden is too shady to grow vegetables and so a shade-happy selection of plants was ordered. I am not very good at fitting in that all important evergreen structural layer but this time I have included some hart’s tongue ferns. These were planted out last autumn and with a H6 for hardiness they are unscathed. They have been joined this week by tiarella cordifolia, hosta undulata var. albomarginata aka Thomas Hogg and Aquilegia vulgaris ‘Alba’. When (if) they break through, I will also add in some thalictrum delavayi ‘Album’. I am currently also using this border to store a small hydrangea and a blackcurrant bush – as you do when you move something and don’t quite know what to do with it.
Three
The north border of the garden was planted up about a year ago with three sturdy specimens of pittosporum tobira ‘Nanum’. Hardiness rating H3, since you ask. This means ‘ -5 to 1 degrees centigrade, half-hardy – unheated glasshouse / mild winter’ in the UK. Which may explain why they look like this now. Oh well, perhaps they will respond to a good trim when the time comes.
Four
I hope I am not tempting fate, but the delphinium seedlings which overwintered in an unheated greenhouse have started to put out their new shoots. I sowed seeds saved from the purple ones in the garden. It’s a balance between turning a plant soft and losing it but I have decided they can stay inside for a little longer.
Five
Sorry, it’s another oh dear! Gardening can be very trying at times. Fifth winter here, as I might have mentioned, and in the first summer I planted four euphorbia characiassubsp. wulfenii to form the centre piece to the long border. One of them is doing stupendously – the background filler. Two of them are ticking over quite well and one just suffers – the foreground. So much suffering in fact, that I have had to replace it twice. Fortunately there is always a seedling to hand and so on we go. One day I will give up, my symmetry will be abandoned, and I will plant something that likes this particular spot. I just wish I knew what is so bad about this particular spot.
Six
While I am finding it all rather cold, the hydrangeas are pushing on and are begging to be cut back. Surely not you fools, there will be a frost and your fresh green buds will drop off. Please do not tempt me. I am going to ignore you for another week. There are dahlias to pot up first.
I had a little fun with word press this week – living dangerously again – and used a large drop cap! I do need to get out more. I am sure the Prop has been out and about as will have other SOSers. To take a peek at all the garden news on offer just stop by The Propagator’s site. All the links are there.
Pride of place this week has to go to the new shed. So let’s go straight to it.
One
The old one went a week or two ago, leaving a large open space for me to contemplate. I was wondering why I had ordered a same size replacement when surely I could manage with a smaller one, but too late, the shed was on its way. It is very new and shiny. How lovely it is not to have to lift the door up off the ground before trying to open it and how lovely not to have a soggy floor every time it rains.
Two
I have some new borders to plant up. This one is at the very back of the garden in the area used for produce. This is a very inhospitable plot for veggies, dry and shady and nothing has fared well here. Now the plan is try some plants. First in were three asplenium scolopendrium or hart’s tongue ferns. In the spring I will add thalictrum, hostas, tiarella and aquilegias. The logs in the corner come from a fig tree, read on for their sad story.
Three
Earlier in the year tragedy struck the smaller of the fig trees. I can’t believe it didn’t make a six at the time. Whilst trying to remove the alkanet from around the base of the tree I realised it was moving around quite a bit. Further examination revealed it to be rotting from soil level so it was quickly taken down, sawn into chunks and stored at the end of the garden. The space I was left with was planted up with annuals and an old dahlia that was lurking in a pot. The dahlia did well but it won’t be a permanent fixture. The first real frost arrived this week so I will lift the dahlia and then settle down to thinking up some plans for this border, a sunny spot thank goodness.
Four
More new plans to put in place for this patch of ground. I took out both white currant bushes and a good number of gooseberry bushes earlier in the year and sowed a green manure mix. That has now been dug in and mulched over. Now the ground is ready to receive a new redcurrant bush and a new white currant bush. All the bushes will now have more room to breathe and hopefully I will be able to net them more successfully against the birds.
Five
It is the that time of year again, when the cotoneaster horizontalis gets to be a star of the show. This was not one of my favourite inherited plants and I thought it would be on the list to dig up asap. But those red berries are very attractive at this time of the year and the blackbirds need something to nibble on. It stays.
Six
There’s a little spark of lime green in the border coming from the euphorbia oblongata. This will be its first winter out in the garden after having been grown from seed. It is described as fully hardy but short lived. I hope I get another season out of it.
There are a few jobs still to done, not least the last of the tulips to be seen to. The mojo just wasn’t there last week to get on and do that but the cold weather has arrived and they must be planted soon. Temperatures in the greenhouse went down to -0.9 degrees for one night this week, winter is coming.
Mr P continues to host this merry band of sixers for which many thanks are given. Stop by and take a look. Enjoy your winter gardening, here the wildlife is taking over. Parakeets and squirrels have come for the persimmons and the birds are regular visitors to the feeder. All very entertaining.
Colder weather and a cold for me. I thought I should get on and find my six before the energy levels dropped off so I braved the rain and snapped away. Now the sun has come out and everything looks different, But too late, here are my brown offerings.
One
Not all is brown. Here is sunrise over the garden earlier in the week. The neighbouring trees silhouetted against the pink sky gave a dramatic start to the day. There have been one or two more light frosts but so far it has been a mild start to the winter here.
Two
The temperatures have dropped though and the plants are changing their green colours for brown as the cold takes effect. I had plenty of this plant in the garden when we arrived three years ago and I have dug out several large clumps. Can any fern lovers identify it? Or is it bracken?
Three
Some of the anemone leaves have fully turned brown which contrast well with those that are still green. I’ve been working round the garden removing the brown geraniums and soggy delphiniums and it is a delight to see that weeds are doing so well at this time of the year. They just cannot be defeated!
Four
The north border that was planted this summer is still looking a little sparse. I’m hoping the melica grasses will bulk up next year and I have more astrantia seedlings to move in to the gaps. I have yet to order them but I plan to add in a vast quantity of snowdrops. I’m thinking a bulk buy of 300 might do it. That will be fun for February.
Five
The second wave of hellebores have opened up. Common or garden white ones. Sadly I lost three of these over the summer. One end of this border is much sunnier than the other and those at the sunny end suffered from my negligent watering regime. I am regretting that now.
Six
The choisya is having a go at its second flowering. It’s towards the western end of the north border so receives a little of the winter sunshine. Perhaps today’s sun will encourage a few more buds to open.
I’m hoping tomorrow will be a dry day. I am probably going to forgo the garden today for a day of sniffling and sneezing inside. But then that sunshine could be just the thing I need. More garden updates will be found at The Propagator’s site. More news from the Prop and from the garden family worldwide.
There is nothing like the first frost to wake up this semi hibernating gardener. It was a light one but it had me scurrying to get the last of the pellies into the greenhouse. Not that my unheated greenhouse offers much protection, the thermometer recorded 1.3 degrees. Winter approaches and six things in the garden becomes an interesting challenge. Here’s my motley collection for the week.
One
The last vestige of summer – the second flowering of the delphiniums. Hardly enough to make a show but such willingness to have a go must be admired.
Two
Likewise for astrantia major. This plant is happily self seeding in the garden. There may come a day when I regard it as a thug but for now I’m content to relocate the seedlings to other parts.
Three
The first of the hellebores has flowered. This is a very early variety known as ‘Happy Day’. I picked it up from a plant sale once upon a time and I’d like some more of them but I haven’t been able to locate them. I never seem to be around when they are setting seed – note to self: must try harder. It is time to have a look at the leaves of hellebores and remove last year’s foliage. More advice on this can be found in this RHS article .
Four
All those good gardeners who have winter structure in their gardens will be smiling smugly now as I try to find the last three. I don’t have much in the way of seasonal shrubs which I always mean to rectify but never quite get round to. My long border winter structure comes from four euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii. Every year they take it in turns to look unhappy. Believe it or not, this is one of the healthier ones. This year’s sad specimen is being closely watched but I now have two seedling understudies waiting in the wings.
Five
This is a part of the garden that’s waiting for some inspiration. It is a narrow border and this half of it has been home to wild blackberries and a thornless cultivar since before we arrived. This week’s job was to cut back last year’s fruiting canes and bring the whole thing under control again. The berries are welcome in the summer and no doubt some will be kept but each year I manage to get a little more this border turned over to flowers. Maybe next year I’ll push on to the end of the path.
Six
Last week I borrowed a weeping willow tree from my neighbour and this week I am borrowing a gorgeous rose. Who knows what it is, but it is leaning over into my garden and looks full of curiosity. This weekend I will be browsing rose catalogues from the comfort of an armchair in search for a new climber for this garden. The passion flower is going and a new rose is coming.
Tulips and roses are in my thoughts for November. The weather has been relatively gentle here so far. That cannot be said for other parts of the UK. I hope you are not suffering flooding or constant rain and that there is something still be found in your gardens. All will be revealed in Mr P’s roundup and no doubt there will be blue skies from the other side of the world.
There’s no denying it. The leaves are falling and every now and then a cold night sneaks in. It’s time to move to those autumn/winter jobs. I left two tomato plants standing after the big greenhouse clear out but even those must be dealt with now. The mower blades will be set to high as the mower is used to collect leaves and tulip bulbs will be planted. This weekend I will take the scented leaf pelagoniums into the greenhouse but I needed a some more compost for their over-wintering pots, Of course that was fatal:
One
A trip to the garden centre, even at this time of year, is a dangerous thing. Compost was purchased – peat free of course – but the route back to the exit went via the reduced bench and there were a few 3l pots of Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’. Well they might as well sit in my garden as stand in the garden centre, don’t you think? Especially at a bargain price of £4.50 a pot. They’ve gone into my new orange and magenta border. Dreams of next summer already!
Two
Speaking of borders here is the long border in its autumn clothing. It’s definitely winding down here. The asters at the far end keep going but the roses are putting out smaller and smaller flowers and the autumn crocuses were felled by the rain.
Three
The cuttings of salvia ‘Amistad’ were growing so strongly that I decided to pot them on. I used a very gritty mix to start them off and the root system had developed well. I’ve got six at the moment in the hope that I can get three through the winter.
Four
In the front garden the hydrangea that this year flowered blue has faded into the usual autumn colour. I enjoy its muted tones at this time of the year. I was not so fond of the blue, a result I think of the mulch it received last winter.
Five
Also looking autumnal in the front garden is my mystery plant. It does flower but I never seem to catch a photo of it. The single black berries are very attractive. I think it is some form of cotoneaster.
Six
The greenhouse clear out meant bringing in the romano peppers. A few had just about ripened and a week in the kitchen has moved them on a bit more. Time to eat them!
A cold night is forecast for Sunday and my evergreen agapanthus are already showing a few yellow leaves. The time for fleece has arrived. It’s also time to see who else is taking winter precautions. A trip to Mr P’s site is called for. Who’s still got colour and who is wrapping up for winter?
I was a little down on the garden a week or so ago. I’ve been planting up from scratch for about three years and the first plantings are filling out now. Some are doing well but I have to face up to reality. At this time of the year the main border is in the shade of a large fig tree. This seems to create the perfect environment for mildew. I’ve spent some time spreading things out a little more and I pulled up the sweet peas. The border is a bit patchy now but I feel happier. Now I have to plan for a few more late summer shade lovers.
One
The long border minus the sweet peas. It’s not too bad at the far end where the shade is less dense and there are a few sun spots but the top end under the fig needs a rethink. The day lillies have finished flowering. They can stay as they sneek into a little sun spot by mid afternoon and I have identified a branch of the fig tree that can go and the space will open up a little more. Every challenge presents a new project so I am in excited mood.
Two
Down at the far end of the long border behind the rudbeckia lurk a few dahlias. They are only just about to open. I hoped they would be able to make use of the sun spot that the rudbeckia enjoy but it’s just not quite enough. This year I will be lifting the dahlias and finding a sunnier spot for them.
Three
Further round the corner a small border that backs on to the veg plot is shady for the morning but catches the afternoon sun. It seems just enough for the echnicea ‘White Swan’ to get by. This is their second year in the garden and they have bulked up quite well.
Four
Moving further round, this year’s planting of salvia ‘Amistad’ catches the same afternoon sun and has been magnificent this year. Some of last year’s salvias did over winter, I dug them out of their original position and moved them to a nursery bed when I spotted the new shoots coming through. Those ones have only just really got going and are about half the height. Next to the salvias are three plants of Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Album’. Planted in 2017, they have just made it to a reasonable height this year but clearly they would benefit from less shade. They are just far enough into this border to see a little less of the afternoon sun. I am going to leave them where they are for one more year.
Five
Coming right round the garden, the north facing border begins to take on a western tilt and manages to catch some early morning sun and a good bit of late afternoon sun. The fence line casts shade at the back edge. I am optimistically growing r. Souvenir du Dr Jamain as a climber against the fence – slow going so far. In front, I cleared away the unhealthy choysia and threw in some annuals to cover the ground while I did some thinking. I had a trayful of nicotiana ‘Lime Green’ and n. alata ‘Grandiflora’ to use up so in they went. At the time I did not know that the white variety likes a little shade so I struck lucky with the result. What was a stop gap may now be part of the long term plan. Anemone ‘September Charm’ and a white hardy geranium are also in this mix.
Six
Lastly coming round to the truly sunny all day long border, which is quite small, I have the lovely rose ‘Natasha Richardson’ planted up this year with salvia microphylla var, microphylla – the blackcurrant sage. I have tried every week to post a picture of this salvia but the vibrant magenta just floods the image. I hope you can get a good sense of it against the rose. It’s a stunner.
It’s going to be a stunning long weekend here, probably too hot to garden so I shall be thinking. There will also be some SOS reading to be done. Plenty of ideas to be gathered at the links that Mr P hosts each week. Read them and if you are tempted join in!
It looks like last week’s prediction of beautiful weather after the summer solstice is coming good. Of course it will be extreme, that is only to be expected these days! Greenhouse windows wide open and pots regularly watered. Here’s hoping the garden stands up to the next onslaught. The pests are increasing their attacks – sawfly on the gooseberries, slightly less than last year, slugs and snails everywhere, box moth caterpillar munching the box and whitefly in the greenhouse. I am using encarsia wasps to combat them. But there is much to enjoy at this time of year.
One
This is a side view of the long border. It is now approaching its mad, chaotic crescendo. Geraniums, knautia, roses, penstemons, astrantia and salvias all pushing and shoving to make an appearance centre stage. I love this disorderly behaviour but every now and then creep in to put in a little essential staking.
Two
The sun was shining the wrong way when I took this photo but I hope you can get the sense of the lovely combination of salvia nemorosa and astrantia major. They are are dream together.
Three
This is penstemon ‘Firebird’. I like the penstemons for taking on the baton of flowering from the alliums.
Four
In the greenhouse the first tomatoes have appeared. But pride of place goes to the lettuce. Growing lettuce outside has always been hit and miss for me so this year I tried a few in the greenhouse. I now have an awful lot of lettuce to eat, I am hoping the hot temperatures are not going to ruin it.
Five
My salvia ‘Amistad’ did not survive the winter or so I thought. But just days after buying three new plants I spotted shoots on two of the old ones. I dug those up and moved them to a nursery bed where they are making slow but steady progress. I might have some flowers by August. In the meantime the new ones romped away and are looking dramatically sultry. As I planted the new ones I snapped a stem but encouraged by everyone’s advice that salvia ‘Amistad’ cuttings are easy peasy I planted it up. It took almost immediately so now I feel awash with these wonderful salvias.
Six
This fuschia is another small success. It came with the garden and I spent the first few years saving it from the clutches of bindweed and couch grass. Once freed I gave it a judicious prune and this year it is flowering well and in much better shape. Its a var. unk. to me but maybe someone can identify it. I love the strong colours.
If you’d like to see some more Six On Saturday posts from other sixers then go along to The Propagator’s blog. There is much that will inform and amuse!
It’s an emotional life being a gardener. This week I have experienced frustration with the slow growing dahlias, sadness for the agastache that didn’t come through the winter and anxiety over the lack of rain. Fortunately there have been plenty of joys too. Here’s six good things from the garden.
One
The monthly look at the border. From this angle the delphiniums are blocking the view of the roses that are just coming into flower. Everything is filling out very well and for the moment the water butts are providing enough water. As I enjoyed all the new growth I was struck by how I have, almost without exception, gone for height on this border. Not much gradation going on here, but I like it. The brown patch is still awaiting inspiration and so for the third year will be home to the annuals grown from seed. I’m thinking about trying libertia chilensis (grandiflora) here – more height.
Two
Now for the detail of the main border. This is allium ‘Mount Everest’ which in itself it lovely but there’s a little disappointment here as I planted 12 bulbs two years ago and topped them up with six more this year. Flowering result this year: four. They do grow tall but the flower heads are quite small. I suppose any larger and they would wobble on their long stems.
Three
Behind the delphiniums lurk rosa ‘Wisley’ and ‘Gertrude Jekyll’. This week ‘Wisley’ gets to be the star. The roses were planted three years ago and this year they are excelling themselves.
Four
Behind the ‘Wisley’ roses are a clump of ‘White City’ irises. Again they have been in the ground for three years, having come to me from a division of a friend’s clump.
Five
Climbing up the back fence, in shade in the morning but catching the sun by the afternoon is ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’. This was planted out last autumn and I am impressed by it’s the speedy progress and generous flowering. A winner.
Six
The not quite open irises featured last week have burst forth and are stunning. These also came from a friend’s garden and I have promised to pass them on again to two more friends.
So this week’s little homily is there’s good and bad in life and in the garden but keeping the good in focus is what’s important! I looked up the meaning of homily and I rather liked this definition: advice that is often not wanted.
It’s another long weekend in the UK and I shall be helping out at a local plant sale on the Sunday. Also on the to do list are planting out the overwintered pellies into the summer containers and prepping the veg beds for the beans, courgettes and cucumbers. I shall also be peering optimistically at the parsnip and carrots sowings, and undoubtedly doing some watering. Happy gardening to all. For the links to more SOS postings go to The Propagator’s blog and feast your eyes on what’s on offer.
This garden has a long history of growers. The very first owner here was a prize winner for a plate of three raspberries and the second owner was a committed fruit grower. When I came along the fruit growing had taken priority and the borders were being taken over by weeds and grass. There are still plenty of weeds and fruit bushes around but flowers are gradually being reinstated.
One
The monthly long border shot. This year I have gone for two smaller wigwams of sweet peas. I planted out the early sowings last weekend. On the left ‘April in Paris’, a white variety and on the right ‘Midnight Blues’. I now have a gap where the large wigwam went and although I have some annuals lined up to fill the space I feel the need for an evergreen shrub to give more form to this end of the border. The delphiniums are shooting away and with storm Hannah blowing through I need to get out there and do some tying in. In case you are wondering, the bamboo cane is there to remind me not to step on the emerging echinacea ‘White Swan’. Roses, geraniums and knautia are also making good progress, ready to take over from the tulips and euphorbia.
Two
The left hand end of the north border. This used to be home to a stand of blackcurrant bushes and in turning over the soil for the nth time I found a label: Ben Tirran. Four of those bushes went on to new homes so I will pass on the information. The others have been found temporary homes elsewhere here. So this end of north border was ready to plant up this year. First to go in were two hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris, climbing hydrangeas for the back fence. Last weekend I planted 23 geranium sanguineum ‘Alba’ and six anemone ‘Honorine Jobert. I have two more geraniums waiting to go in once the front row three of pittosporum tobira ‘Nanum’ arrive. I’ll fit the last two geraniums in around them. The black pots along the back row are representing 10 melica altissima ‘Alba’. These are proving elusive at the moment and I am hoping I don’t have to resort to a well known but more expensive on-line supplier. I am following a plan from Joe Swift – Five plants for a deep shade border – as published in Gardeners’ World August 2018. I also have some seedlings of astrantia major to fit in and finally I plan to add snowdrops for some early interest.
Three
At the other end of the north border the Choisyas are opening up. This can mean only one thing. The days are numbered for the ailing one. For the moment I’ll enjoy the scent and the green and white colours.
Four
Patiently waiting to fill the space soon to be vacated by poorly choisya is a skimmia ‘Kew Green’. Most descriptions use the very attractive phrase ‘no need to prune’. The scent is described as’ lilly of the valley’ and it does well in shade. Sounds perfect.
Five
I was lucky enough to inherit a greenhouse, old and needing some glazing repairs but it looked wonderful to me. I put in some automatic openers but the frame on one side sticks in one corner and I haven’t solved the problem. Last week the frame gave way at its weak point – the glass. I made a temporary repair with some left over plastic and clingfilm but storm Hannah has curled her lip! I am hoping the local company that helped out with the glazing last time will come to my aid again.
Six
The sowing of tomatoes for the greenhouse are coming along well. Time to move them on I think. That will encourage me to get that window repaired.
The weather has changed dramatically. Cold, wet and windy. I am grateful for the rain as already the water butts were getting low. Fingers crossed that the wind isn’t too damaging, there is so much blossom around now. I hope your garden stays safe and don’t forget to take a look at Mr P’s blog for more news from SOSs around the world.
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