I had a few days away this week in Sussex where the primroses and daffodils were plentiful. Also in flower were the magnolias and leucojums. But I was smitten by several displays of delightful low growing tulips and daffodils. I’m forsaking my garden this week to share these dainty delights instead.
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The first is the tulip ‘Hilde’, here in a mixed display.
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Next, in a pot of its own tulip turkistanica.
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Onto the narcissi. This one is ‘Snipe’, quite a familiar one, but not I think to be confused with ‘Jack Snipe’ which seems altogether different.
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This is one of the hoop narcissi, ‘White Petticoat’.
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Here’s a mixed display with ‘Toto’ at the front and the yellow on the left is narcissus cordubensis, not one I’m familiar with at all but it is truly delightful.
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Lastly, ‘April Tears’ which is the narcissus to the right of the pot in photo five.
I’ve made a shopping list and I will be planting out the purchases out in pots to be stylishly dotted around for next Spring’s display. I’m a itching with impatience!
I hope you’ve enjoyed the deviation from the rules. I’ll be back to my garden next week. In the meantime, visit the other SOS gardens via the links at Jim’s Garden Ruminations. Happy gardening.
I was unexpectedly absent from last week’s SOS gathering. The non-gardener became fixated on problem solving and it was a problem that needed to be solved. It was. The non-gardener has also been helping out at our daughter’s new garden. Which is much appreciated by everyone. In the meantime what has been happening in this garden? Here’s six from the garden this week.
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First the problem that had to be fixed. The new water butt had filled up very nicely but it was not willing to let go of its contents. A blockage in the tap was suggested with the helpful advice to stick a skewer up it and wiggle it around. Of course this was not the solution. The non-gardener decided that the butt had to be emptied. In the absence of a long enough extension lead to enable use of the pump a syphon was set up and the water drained off into watering cans and onwards to a water storage tank. As you can imagine this took some time and last week’s SOS faded out of sight. Once the butt was emptied it became clear that the hole for the exit point to the tap had not been drilled. We have now drilled it ourselves and there is an offer of some form of compensation coming from the supplier.
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Even though there has been a welcome increase in sunshine hours and warmth the garden hasn’t moved on much in two weeks. These ‘Tête-à-tête’ daffodils in the border have opened up though, and the slimy ones are out in force to feast on the flowers. Groundhog day, I think.
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The winter pots filled with violas have continued to be cheerful, this pot has done incredibly well.
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New growth is appearing and it is always lovely see the new leaves of aquilegia.
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I was also struck by the freshness of the leaves on hardy geraniums which are filling out nicely
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The primroses are having a great time self-seeding around the garden and I am very happy to see them here in a very shallow soil topped with gravel that runs along side a raised bed. I have sprinkled seeds of many an annual here but the primroses arrived under their own steam. The best way!
I am thinking that this weekly post may become a tale of two gardens. We have now made three visits to The New Garden. Brambles and ivy still abound, what a job that is. This week the non-gardener strimmed the lawn and I managed to plant some hardy geraniums in a small part of the border that had been reclaimed. One of the dead climbers has sprung into life but there isn’t a suitable place to plant it yet. The New Garden is in need of some proper garden clearance, watch this space and I will include a picture. In this garden I have been racing to complete the rose pruning and I have actually sown a few seeds. Coriander inside on a window sill which has germinated and in the new greenhouse, a small tray of half hardy annual phlox seeds that came free with a well known magazine!
I have some replies and some reading to catch up with and some weeding to do. The forecast is good and I will be grateful for my relatively sane and sensible life! Jim’s blog must be visited and good wishes are sent to all gardeners wherever they are.
There’s a certain energy beginning to build. Goldfinches have started to come to the bird feeder and this morning a Great Tit was singing it’s heart out in the nearby hornbeam tree. A little warmth towards the end of the week encouraged a few more spring flowers. It’s all very inspiring. Here’s six from the garden this week.
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I have a habit of buying a bag of bulbs from market stalls. The bulbs are always named varieties and I fully intend to remember which ones I have planted where. Last year I bought a bag of Jeanne d’Arc crocuses and planted them here. Perhaps I didn’t, perhaps I planted them somewhere else, perhaps they were not Jeanne d’Arc at all. But this is what has grown. Lovely but clearly not Jeanne d’Arc.
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I’m pretty sure these are Ruby Giant, a tommasinianus variety. Quite happy with these.
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I love these dark purple ones. I have no idea what they are!
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That little bit of extra warmth persuaded the ‘Tête-à-tête’ daffodils in pots to open. These are going to be dropped into the borders when I see where the gaps are.
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I love the white primroses that sometimes pop up in the garden. This delight has been battered by life but still looks lovely.
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Lastly an evergreen filler from the front garden. The silver edge to leaves looked particularly wonderful today. Its a brachyglottis, could it be Silver Wave?
I’ve had my first gardening visit to my daughter’s new garden. Priority number one was to start on the brambles that are invading it from a neighbouring garden. Of course, a thankless task. But a start had to be made. I discovered four pots of climbing plants that looked newly bought. I think the previous owner’s health took a turn for the worse and a new project couldn’t be completed. Sadly I think they are all dead. But maybe they are just dormant. I will update as the seasons progress. Jim as ever, hosts the SOS meme at Garden Ruminations and all the other SOSers gather there for a weekly catch-up. Stop by, join in, all welcome.
I’ve been reading some Thomas Hardy of late and I was very much in sympathy with his portrayal of nature always throwing something unexpected at us poor humans. His wilful nature was solely the weather, mine is the weather, although rain is not so unexpected these days, weeds and slugs. It’s a gardener’s lot I suppose and as such acceptance must be learnt. Here’s my six for this week.
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Now is the time for tête-à-tête daffodils, much loved here by me and the slugs. No sooner do they flower then out come the munchers. I am in despair!
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Crocuses – tommasinianus I think and possibly ‘Ruby Giant’. Did I make a note? Not that I can find and will they too be eaten, probably.
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The viburnum is flowering giving me some encouragement.
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A few weeks back I confessed that the bellis daisies bought as winter bedding had not been planted out. That job has been done now and bless them, the daisies have responded well to being released into a more generous growing space and have thrived after a few balmy days.
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Way back when we arrived at this house, coming up to eight years ago, I planted out symmetrically four euphorbia wulfenii. Each year one of them took a turn to die off. Only one of the original four survived but generously it seeds itself everywhere. I now have self seeded versions in six other corners of the garden. This one is doing superbly well in the path edge. What can I say?
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And sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself and nature’s designs on the garden. For a few weeks now I have been admiring, from the kitchen window, new growth in the pot of mint on the terrace. I’ve been out and about in the garden a few times lately but only today did I stop by the pot and look more closely. Yes, I have a flourishing crop of bittercress that is now flowering. I will have to be out there asap to rid myself of those beauties!
Nature is sending more rain this weekend but temperatures are rising and there have been some good gardening days so jobs must be done. I’m down to my last few grasses to cut back and ever the optimist I am dropping pot grown tête-à-têtes in to gaps in the borders. Raspberry canes have been cut back and blackcurrants pruned. My seed potatoes are not available until end of February but I do have sort out my seeds for the year. Jim, our host, shares his garden ruminations and hosts the links to other SOS posts. Enjoy the chat and the gardening!
That heading sounds a bit technical but rest assured I am not dipping into mechanics or perhaps I am. The mechanics of growing things. The first of March was eagerly greeted by me as Spring arriving, Winter restlessness and impatience was about to be set free. The weather had other ideas and what a week this one was here. Cold winds, overnight snow, sleety showers and down to minus in the greenhouse again. I chided myself for being so eager and resolved to take 21 March as the Spring starting point. This week new plants arrived for the garden so at least I have something to share. I walked the garden this morning and although there wasn’t much else to feature I could see that nature is really pushing on bringing out new buds on so many of the shrubs and more and more perennials are breaking through the winter mulch. That made me re-think and appreciate that dates are only a guideline and one should always be guided by what’s happening in the garden. Here’s my six for the week.
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The first of the new plants. Helleborus argutifolius, or the Corsican hellebore. I saw these last week in a courtyard garden combined with euphorbia. The hellebores were so striking with their serrated edge leaves and pale green flowers, they proved irresistible and I jumped in and ordered three. They are evergreen perennials and grow to a good size so I am hoping they will give some structure to a rather featureless part of the garden.
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Having taking the plunge to order plants, gulping a little at the expense, I forged on and ordered three phlomis russeliana . These have been on my wish list for ever. I love their winter look but have always been deterred by the pale yellow flowers in summer. What would I combine them with? I’ve decided that they can have a stretch of the thin border to themselves. The verbena bonariensis self seeds in this area and I think they will work well together.
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The tête-à-tête daffodils are a good indicator of how the garden works here. Over on the South facing border, against the wall, they have been open for a couple of weeks. On the opposite, in a slightly West facing border they seem to be on hold. Just waiting for a few more degrees of warmth to make its way to their space.
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The euphorbia wulfenii, the last of four that I planted in the garden about five years ago, is looking splendid. The garden was clear about not wanting to accommodate the other three. I lost and replanted them from self seedlings several times over the last three years. Each time they died off. Perhaps the sole survivor is in an area of better drainage. I am quietly trying again with a self-seeder that made itself at home further up the border. It’s sunnier at the end it has chosen and perhaps less susceptible to holding the winter rain.
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Chilli seeds have germinated. They broke through about a week ago. They are on a windowsill above a radiator and will stay there for some time to come. I’m not planning to sow anything more for a few weeks.
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Finally, here’s a question for you. The Non Gardener has been muttering that the terrace looks like an industrial wasteland. Moss and weeds are flourishing he says. Weeds, I say. No, that’s my self seeded Mexican daisy, with one or two weeds sneaking in. I am offering a half way house and suggesting that the daisy is banished from the central areas and restricted to the corners and edges. Moss, I say, gives a sense of age to what is some kind of concrete imitation of flagstones and it too should stay. Any thoughts?
The SOS gardeners congregate weekly at Jim’s place for chat. Don’t hesitate to join in, it’s a friendly bunch of folk ready to offer advice and share struggles. Happy gardening.
I am still putting my faith in the March surge but a few more things have been added to the ‘possibly dead’ list this week. Fortunately there are some signs of life so the balance is being just about being maintained. It’s been cold overnight with frosts forecast but not materialising. The end could be in sight. I’m upping my cutting back programme and can report that my conscience is a little clearer as the gooseberries have now been pruned. Here’s my six for this week.
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I have been inwardly wailing about the lack of crocuses, being somewhat of an impatient gardener. But this week they have put in an appearance. I’m pretty sure these are ‘Ruby Giant’. Of course my camera skills have given perfectly in focus leaves and rather soft focus flowers. Artistic I think!
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Oh, the poor pittosporum tobira ‘Nanum’ is looking very sad. Losing leaves and so far showing no signs of new life. It will be a blow if these go. There are three of them fronting the Japanese anemones (autumn flowering) astrantia (summer flowering) and the melica altissima ‘Alba’ (late Spring to Summer) which as you can see is in need of a tidy up. The pittosporum is a H3 group for hardiness. It’s definitely not enjoyed this winter.
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Combining new life with another possible loss. The first of the tête-à-tête daffodils have opened. Behind are the remains of salvia nachtvlinder, which may or not spring back to life later in the year. I won’t cut this back until I see signs of new growth. But it may be another loss.
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The reliable new shoots of phlox. Long lived and indestructible. Thank goodness for this one. The brown stems from last year can easily be snapped off. On my ‘to do’ list over the next few weeks.
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Some more new shoots to enjoy. These are delphiniums, grown from seed last year. I decided to keep them in pots over winter to grow them on into stronger plants before subjecting them to the challenge of hungry slugs in the border. Three are doing very well, the other two are a little behind. The charming bittercress weed is also putting on a good show.
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This luzula nivea is a new one for me. I planted out about six of them last year and they seem to have toughed out the winter conditions rather well. They are part of a new border at the back of the garden. Quite shady, quite dry. The luzulas seem to be quite happy.
I’ve been looking at my seed collection and wondering if I need to make new purchases. After having shunned cosmos for a year I think I will go back to them. My thin border is in a need of a rethink so this year I will probably fill it with annuals while I dither about what to do with it. I won’t be sowing anything just yet but it is definitely approaching itchy finger time! Enjoy your gardening this week. Those weeds need watching. Jim is hosting the SOS links as usual. Take a look at what’s going on.
Two things are are conspiring to challenge this week’s six post. The first is that last night I was at the weird spectacle that is Abba Voyage. My head is now full of Abba songs and they do write a good chorus at least. So in an effort to clear my mind let me just say this: Gardening is never easy we know, but we have to grow. Sowing peas, sowing cues, ah ha! There. I hope that’s done it. The other challenge is that it is only mid February and the garden here is not being very forthcoming. There were several frosts last week but also some really mild days. There has also been talk of another cold spell at the end of February or early March so I am trying to reign in the eagerness to get going. I’m on the edge and so is the garden. Here’s this week’s six and I promise no more Abba songs will sneak their way in.
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I made my first visit of the year to the garden centre to buy supplies. A large tub Fish, Bone and Blood, which is my go to general fertilizer, some Rose fertilizer, a packet of Parsnip seeds and then I gave in and bought three dahlia tubers. I planted ‘David Thomas’ in the garden last year. I am not a dahlia fan, but I do appreciate that they offer a rousing splash of colour, rather like Abba really, so I always give in and grow a few. I don’t lift dahlias overwinter but I fear that this winter may have done for those in garden so these are a security purchase.
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The tête-à-tête daffodils are not quite open yet, one or two are in bud and these later purchases planted in pots have a few more weeks to go. It has been a dry few weeks so these had a watering can full to help them along.
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I fear there are more gardening casualties. The fuchsia looks dead but may yet spring into life. The rock rose also looks pretty grim. I was happy to see signs of life at the base of the penstemons. But first prize goes to the osteospermum. Entirely unaffected by the winter onslaught.
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I have to revisit the snowdrops, it is a February requirement. So here’s a drift of them in the north facing edge of the garden.
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The anemone blanda are just braving it into flower, one more sign of the garden about to tip over the edge.
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Last year I took a deep breath and cut back one or two branches on an old rhododendron. It is a tough one so I’m not sure why I was so apprehensive, but I was. I’m very happy to see these new shoots. Some gradual reshaping will be done again this year after flowering.
I am still snipping away the climbing roses. The major cut back has been done but there are always one or two lengths that can be better tied in or some forward growth that needs to be taken back. The green manure has been dug in and I have sown some chilli seeds in pots on a sunny (?) window sill. Slowly, slowly moves are being made. A bit like me on the dance floor!
For more gardening news stop by Jim’s garden, beautiful camellias, snowdrops and some seed sowing too. Plus all the links to the other SOS blogs. Mamma Mia, here we go again! (Sorry).
The garden was relatively unscathed by the ferocious winds that blew through yesterday. But elsewhere, sadly, there was loss of life as well as trees down and damage to property. This morning’s patrol revealed a few twiggy branches scattered across the lawn and the loss of some ancient fleece wrapped around the agapanthus but otherwise there was an eerie calm. I count myself lucky. Here’s six from the garden that withstood the storm.
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The hellebores are in their stride so I start with three of the best. First ‘Pretty Ellen’ white. I think this is a mix of the single and the double version.
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Then the moodiness of ‘Pretty Ellen’ Red, the double version. It smoulders in a dark shady corner of the garden.
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Finally, Helleborus x hybridus. It’s a shame that hellebores don’t like being divided but this one does seem to be self seeding. There are one or two promising leaves emerging near the parent plant so I will lift a few to pot on and see if I can spread them that way.
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Suddenly the first Tête-à-tête daffodils have pushed through, there may be stormy weather now but spring is definitely on its way.
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Another spring front runner is the pulmonaria, happily hunkered down against the storm, it looked very comfortable in the shade of the rhododendron.
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I was just about able to reach up to take this photo of the first clematis armandii flower. The new growth that I felt sure would be blown off survived the onslaught of the winds but I know if I try to bend it down in the direction I want it grow there will be a sudden snap.
The Propagator suffered a lost fence panel and a felt roof torn off, and so has some non gardening jobs to do. I hope there’s not too much damage in other SOS gardens in the UK. It was a wild day. Wishing everyone well, and hoping that the weather settles down so that we can get out into our gardens safely.
There is always a job to done in the garden and I admire those who systematically list them and then work through the list. But I suspect many gardeners set out to do one thing and get waylaid into doing something else. Fortunately, sometimes it is possible to do the original task and the silence the siren call of the new job. Last week I set out to pot on the tomato seedlings, the sun was shining and it was impossible to avoid noticing the shabby state of the potting shed. The five minute job I set out to do became a mornings’ worth of sweeping, sorting, reorganising and throwing out the debris of last season. But it was one job done from my mental list and the seedlings were potted on.
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Here are those tomato seedlings which will eventually go into the greenhouse. I shall be sowing some extra seeds for a few outdoor tomatoes in the next week or so. This first set have moved on from the sunny windowsill above the radiator and are now colonising a sunny spot on a bedroom floor. I was a day behind in my plan to pot them on and I swear they grew at least an inch taller in that day.
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I’m a little shamefaced to show you this one. It is remarkably similar to a photo that graced this blog a year or so ago. The slabs were from removed from another spot in the garden and were stacked in front of the compost bins waiting to be used to even off the site. The end of the wait is in sight. I now have someone lined up to do the work. I have spent the odd moment here and there this week turning out the contents of the bins into builders’ bags so that I can move the bins and leave the builder with a cleanish site to work with. I have one more bin to empty. Two jobs for the price of one. Compost gets a turn and the site is cleared.
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It may have been cold and windy this week but when the sun did shine there was some warmth to it. The anemone blanda are just opening up here and are filling in the gaps among the primroses.
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The warmth seems to have finally encouraged last autumn’s planting of camassias to make a showing. These are camassia leichtlinii caerulea. I heave a great sigh of relief here. Autumn was so wet and when I planted them they were pretty much sitting in water. Winter continued to be wet and I thought they may well have rotted away. Some camassias like it damp and I am hoping I chose the right ones for this patch of the garden. The camassias elsewhere in the garden are already several inches taller.
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In the now pristine potting shed there remain two trays of foxgloves. I use the potting shed as a cold frame over winter, this year home to delphiniums, aquilegia and several trays of foxgloves. Two trays have gone out into the garden already and these apricot ones will go out next week if all goes to plan. The delphiniums are staying inside for a little longer but they have enjoyed a few hours outside on the warmer days.
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Last November I bought up half a dozen packs of tête-à-tête daffodils as an end of season bargain. I planted them all in pots so that I could move them out into those empty spaces that become all too apparent in Spring. They are just coming into bud now, well behind my older plantings of tête-à-têtes. I have put a couple out into the land grab border and I’m pleased to say they came out of the pots very well. At least half of the remaining pots are destined for the front garden. The rest will probably go into the western end of the north facing border but I have to keep their cheerful yellowness well away from the apricot foxgloves that are destined for the more eastern end. This will be my conundrum for next week’s gardening.
I suppose the upside of these strange times is that there is a little more flexibility in my week which does allow me to fit in a few gardening jobs. I am not sure that today’s sunshine and showers will fall at the right time but I am waiting with trowel and spade to hand! Happy gardening to you all, and to The Prop who manages to garden and run with great abundance. Take a good look at his website this week as it also holds the link for his fund raising for Macmillan, the cancer charity. As usual the links to other SOS posts will appear on his website.
I have a letter excusing my absence last week, it says I was on plant ordering duties. I am preparing for a new border and of course added in one or two plants for other areas in the garden that need an uplift. More to come on the new plants but this week is a contemplation of February. The garden was not a pretty sight. The weather was not good: one week of rain followed by a week of cold weather followed by a wet and windy week. These were not the conditions to lure one out into the garden. This week has been drier and warmer and when I did venture out there was plenty of damage to see. I think there will be losses and set backs but spring is on its way and that thought lifts the spirits.
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A much loved pot that has been with me for many years now has a crackled look. It is home to some fabulous lilies. I could break the pot up and replant the lilies but first I am going to see if I can repair the damage with some milliput terracotta repair putty. Ever the optimist I think!
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My first venture out the week after the cold weather was thwarted. I had planned to empty 2019’s leaf mould onto the raspberry beds but the contents of the bags were still frozen solid. I had to wait a few days but now the job is done and the soft fruit beds have also had a dusting of fish, bone and blood feed.
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Two years ago when pruning the rose ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’ I decided to plant some stems to see if they would take. Now why would I want more of this vigorous climber? Do I even have a suitable place for it? The cuttings were doing very well until the cold weather came, now the leaves have crisped up but the new shoots look good. If they survive a permanent place in the garden will be the reward.
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The tête-à-tête daffodils are popping up thick and fast now. Even those in the shady and colder borders are being forthcoming. I was ruthless last year and streamlined the daffodils to tête-à-tête, pheasant’s eye and thalia. I have not missed the larger daffodils.
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This beautiful group of crocus picks up the early morning sun in the front garden and were stunning on this particular morning. Note to self: must add more of these.
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Pulmonaria, from a clump shared by a friend, dug up and divided many times since. There is always a little piece that remains in the original planting sight which doggedly sets off to clump up again.
I’ve also sown some tomato seeds which are for the greenhouse. The chilli seeds were poor germinators, two out of twelve! Four more were sown and two have come good. If I can keep four going that will be plenty. The rocket seeds in greenhouse are struggling along and other greenhouse autumn sowings are waking up. All is moving in the right direction.
I’m sure The Prop will be moving in the right direction too, he will be running, sowing or hosting the SOS threads. Take a look and if you would like to join in then explore the participant’s guide. Happy gardening.
n20gardener 