#brunnera

Six On Saturday: Delightful daffodils

/ n20gardener / 13 Comments

Confession: I had to get the winter hat out again. The winds have been cold but at least the weather has been a little drier. Here’s a quick look at the garden this week.

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The narcissi in pots have opened up in the last few weeks. Here’s ‘White Petticoat’, a hoop variety.

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This one is ‘Toto’ according to my order and the label.

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This one is ‘Snipe’. Spot the difference. I’m sure there must be some but it’s hard to tell them apart. Perhaps Toto has a narrower corona.

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The short lived euphorbia oblongata lives on for another year, possibly eight years now.

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I had to include these tulips in bud, showing to much promise of things to come.

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This last one is a bit of a cheat. Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’, a cheat because it’s in my garden at the moment but will be heading off to my daughter’s garden along with a few other things that tempted me when I went to buy my compost. It’s that time of year.

No gardening for me today but I hope to be out there tomorrow, cutting back the stems of perennials and pulling a few weeds no doubt. I’ve got the potatoes chitting and my over-wintered perennials seedlings from last year have really picked up in the last few weeks. There a good feeling developing. Thank goodness for that. Don’t forget to check up on Jim’s news and see the other SOS blogs. Happy gardening.

Six On Saturday: Enjoying November

/ n20gardener / 11 Comments

Another mild week passes by and the last few scented leaf pelagoniums have been cut back and despatched to the greenhouse for the winter. It looks like there may be some colder weather ahead and in anticipation I have made a start on lifting dahlias that are in pots. It’s not something I usually do but a revamp is taking place. Here’s six from the garden this week.

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Over the last year I have radically thinned out the gooseberries and blackcurrants. Last weekend I tackled the wild blackberries that loiter around the side of the shed. They’ve gone now, hopefully never to return but they can be very insistent. In celebration I bought a new blackcurrant bush. It’s a Ben Sarek. I’ve happily grown Ben Connann in the past and I inherited Ben Lomond which seem to be past their best. We’ll see if Sarek crops well next year. It had a dusting of bone meal and then a layer of leaf mould to get see on its way.

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The mild weather is persuading many of the summer flowers to keep on going, just a little at a time but enough to raise a happy smile. These are Knautia, Clematis, Coreopsis, Geranium, Nicotiana and Antirrhinum.

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The trees that surround this garden have been glowing in the sunshine. This time of year seems to me, to be the best time to appreciate their stately glory. I even enjoy collecting the leaves that fall.

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The hydrangeas are also looking particularly fine at the moment. The white flowers of summer have faded (and that doesn’t seem to be quite the right word) to a beautiful pink. Isn’t that a wonderful transformation?

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The snowberry is losing its leaves and revealing the underplanting of brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’. The silvered leaves are just perfect for the winter garden.

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There’s been a start made on tidying up for winter and the shed needed a sweep out. Venturing into the dark corners is not something I do willingly, but I did and found a colony of mushrooms. Clearly they are enjoying the damp dark conditions! I left them there.

I was derailed from my six last week but happily normal service has been resumed. Jobs for the weekend involve leaf collecting, tulip bulb planting and more cutting back of those herbaceous perennials that will soon go soggy over the winter. Any slugs lurking around better watch out. Thanks once again to the host of this meme – The Propagator. His blog shares all the links to other SOS posts, I have some catch up reading to do!

Six On Saturday: Never go to the garden centre on a sunny day and when there’s 10% off!

/ n20gardener / 18 Comments

I only went for compost, honest.  But that Daphne had been on the wish list for a while.

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IMG_2963Daphne Eternal Fragrance.  I had resisted buying this all year on the grounds that I wasn’t sure I had the right spot for it.  But there it was on the bench in front of me with a label that said suitable for containers. I’ll find a space for it soon.

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IMG_2956I have moved the scented leaf pelagoniums into the potting shed and taken a few cuttings for insurance.  That meant two summer containers were sitting empty.  There in front of me was a tray of winter pansies.

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IMG_2958Recently added to the wish list was Brunnera macrocephala ‘Jack Frost’.  Described as good for shade and for ground cover, I thought it would be ideal for under the snowberry tree.  These were lurking just around the corner from the pansies.  Speaking of lurkers – do the slugs like brunnera?

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IMG_2957I was almost at the exit point when I spotted the pots of Gaultheria Procumbens ‘Big Berry’.  I’ve had these in winter window boxes before with some ivy.  The red berries are usually plentiful.

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IMG_2964I had to walk back to the beaming cashier past the bulb section and remembered just in time that I needed to top up the alliums and fritillaries.

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IMG_2959 I count myself as quite restrained – I can’t give you a full six from the garden centre purchases!  My last for this week is something that is giving me cause for concern.  These Liriope muscari ‘big blue’ went into the garden in autumn 2016 and have not flowered once.  The RHS site promises  ‘small violet-purple flowers carried in dense, erect spikes to 30cm in height in autumn, followed by black berries.’  To quote our esteemed leader ‘Nothing, nada, zilch.’  Any suggestions?

For more pithy observations from the leader visit The Propagator.  You’ll find much to inform and amuse plus a list of links to SOSs from gardens around the world.  Happy gardening.