The garden escaped the first storm but Boelo came with more force and two fence panels were lost. Fortunately there was no damage to trees and shrubs. After the storm came a mixture of sunny days and early morning fog. Everything that had been moved got a good watering in and I managed to plant out some of the crocus bulbs. Here’s six from the garden this week.
One
Starting off with today’s very blue sky and a climbing rose ‘James Galway’. I may have shared this recently but it looked so good against the sky, it deserved another outing.
Two
I’m taking a leaf out of Colour in Cornwall’s book and showing textures and patterns here. It’s the dew on the scented leaf pelargoniums that are still out in their containers.
Three
I have been meaning to share the annual persimmon photo for some time. They ripened a good month earlier this year and it has been the magpies that have stopped by to eat them rather than the paraquets.
Four
The erigeron karvinskianus which I tried to settle in to a border much prefers to self seed around the terrace and is thriving.
Five
A summer delphinium is having another go at flowering. Well done.
Six
And the lavender in pots is still putting out flowers.
There’s my six for this week. There will be plenty to see at Garden Ruminations where our host Jim share’s his fabulous garden and the links to other Six On Saturday posts. Everyone is welcome to join in, even at this time of the gardening year when things tend to go a little quiet. I’m hoping to finish of the bulb planting and of course the endless task of weeding my north facing border. Argh!
I know correlation is not causation but I did order some new garden chairs last week and I planted out the summer pots. The rain has fallen every day since. It was much needed and I am celebrating full water barrels again. I was even able to plant out a few annuals but then I lost my hand fork in the borders. I don’t think you can be a gardener without losing hand tools, or secateurs, or balls of twine every once in a while. I’ve retraced my steps many times but I’ve not found it yet. Here’s six from the garden this week.
One
Here’s one I took earlier. The rambling rose ‘Wedding Day’. It runs along the fence at the rear side of the garden and gives a glorious display of small yellowish flowers that fade to white. It’s a sight to behold.
Two
A few years back the slugs demolished my large established clumps of delphiniums. I hoped they would miraculously reappear but there’s no sign of them. I’ve started again from seed and here’s the first to flower. So far no slug damage but then this is the perfect weather for the little darlings.
Three
Onto the rainy photos, this one is geranium psilostemon. It is overly generous with its seedlings and I dig them out ruthlessly but still I have plenty. The deep magenta with the black centre is very striking.
Four
Here you can see them appearing amongst the phlomis. The phlomis was planted to give good ground cover. It does but psilostemon finds a way.
Five
I failed miserably to spread out the clematis stems this year but they find their own way to wriggle through the roses. Here’s clematis ‘Madame Julia Correvon’.
Six
I like these white nigellas. They are self-seeded from last years ‘Persian Jewels’ sowing. I don’t remember any white ones from last year. Interesting how the petals are different to the blue one.
The weather will prevent gardening today, I will just mourn the lost hand fork and hope that it will re-appear in the coming weeks. I think I will be spending a great deal of Sunday dead-heading roses which have all gone over in the last week. I hope you manage to have a happy gardening weekend. If you have time, do stop by Garden Ruminations where Jim hosts the Six On Saturday meme.
I was absent without leave last Saturday as I had twisted my ankle in the week and I was definitely not in a gardening frame of mind. The ankle is improving, there has been some rain and the days are not so hot so all in all things are looking better. Here’s six things from the garden I hobbled round today.
One
The tomatoes have been ripening at a steady pace. I have not watered them quite so much as in previous years and they seem not to have minded. Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned there.
Two
I remember writing a few weeks back that new flowers on the dwarf beans were few and far between. But look: second pickings did materialise and there are more to come.
Three
On the flower front, the roses also seem to have coped with less water. This one is the climber ‘James Galway’.
Four
I sowed seeds of delphiniums earlier in the year and have seven plants on the go, this one has even put up a flower spike.
Five
In the flower border a bought-in delphinium has also just come into flower. A good strong blue, can I remember the name – no.
Six
The annuals that I sowed for the old fig tree site have also coped with the dry conditions and this week’s rain has encouraged them even more.
The garden is littered with fallen apples. Most are infected with codling moth caterpillars. The wise trees seem to know which ones to shed first. I’ve a whole host of pruning and removal jobs to done which I have handed over to a tree surgeon. I shall sit back and enjoy the garden while fretting about the weeds. Situation normal perhaps! Here’s the link for Jim’s Garden Ruminations were the SOS merry band gather each week to share gardening news. Happy Gardening everyone.
I was sympathising with fellow SOSer Jude in Cornwall about disappearing plants. We mainly blame slugs and snails of course and definitely not our gardening skills. But gardening, in my case, is a bit hit and miss. I veer from having very sensible plans to organise heights, colours and textures, as I am encouraged to do by the gardening press, to responding haphazardly to the situation on the ground – or not responding! So things can go a little awry. Here’s six slightly wrong things.
One
This looks quite good. It is my one surviving delphinium and a peony. I didn’t plant the peony, it may be a remnant from the previous owners’ garden and it has only just flowered. Both are jammed right up against the rose bush behind which causes both plants to take desperate avoidance measures. In reality they are twisting and flopping and needed to be propped up with supports. But they survive.
Two
My collection of hostas. It’s clear what has gone wrong here. Despite layers of gravel and coffee grounds the slugs munch away. It’s interesting that the hosta ‘Francee’ behind which has thicker, darker leaves is fairing much better. I think the ‘Thomas Hogg’ in front are acting as sacrificial plants.
Three
This is an interesting one. Two things ‘going wrong’ here. First the classic example of digging out seedlings and wanting to keep them somewhere ‘just in case’. This is meant to be a symphony in white and green with some late purple. Instead ‘Johnson’s Blue’ and psilostemon steal the show. Behind is persicaria polymorpha, planted to hide the fence, which is doesn’t quite do and worse, it smells awful! But it is ideal for semi shade and is long flowering. Perhaps I will get used to the ‘perfume’.
Four
Phlomis russeliana, whorls of pale yellow flowers is what I was promised. I find these rather strident, especially as the aforementioned Jude did suggest, delicately, that I could have chosen the more subtle tuberosa pink version. Worse, when the rose arch collapsed I had to move ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ to a new location and the only possibility was the wall behind the phlomis. The dark red of ‘Tess’ and the yellow phlomis is far from ideal. There will have to be a rethink here.
Five
This is a case of re-appearing plants. It isn’t in flower yet, but this is a globe thistle, echinops ritro if I remember rightly, I planted them in my quest to find blue flowers that the slugs didn’t eat. Several years ago I dug them out because they were mildewy, covered in blackfly and, well, thistly. I still don’t want them but as you can see the slugs don’t eat them and they are determined.
Six
If I Ieft the garden to its own devices it would be a forest of verbena bonariensis. It’s hard to take a photo that really captures their character. I like them and this year they are incredibly tall. Not a problem really but this group are in front of a new hibiscus that is about half their size. A clear case of wrong heights and quite probably overcrowding. At least the hibiscus can be seen through the verbena. The path is becoming a little less visible though.
Gardens eh? We love them even though they challenge us every day. I’ll be out there again this weekend, weeding, feeding, watering and enjoying it all. I hope you will too. Jim, our host, almost certainly will. Do have a read and join in.
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.
One
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!
Two
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.
Three
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.
Four
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.
Five
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.
Six
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.
Plan as I might nature always has the final say. This week a fond farewell was said to two box shrubs as caterpillars triumphed. White foxgloves have turned out to be purple. Salvia mainacht did not survive the mild winter and slugs have reduced the number of delphiniums this year. The result is gaps in the border and new planting opportunities. There are careful choices to be made. But there are still six things to enjoy in the June borders.
One
I stay with delphiniums in spite of the risk of slug demolition. Their stately spires are a sight to behold. My most slug resistant clump is one that came from a division from the family garden – Dad’s delphiniums. These are a mix of those and some grown from seed.
Two
The white foxgloves may be almost absent this year but the seeds of the Apricot foxgloves sown last year have come through to flowering and what a soft gentle apricot they are. I hope they can resist becoming muddied by the abundant purple foxgloves.
Three
Wilful nature loves to grow geraniums here. Several varieties self-seed with great generosity. This one is g.psilostomen which has appeared under the roses. Nature often knows best.
Four
This beautiful pink geranium is easy to divide and so there are several corners were its veined flowers give soft edges to the borders. This is geranium sanguineum var. striatum
Five
Nature has also decreed that the lovely daylily ‘Good Shepherd’ is on its way out. Gall midge struck last year. This year it looked so much healthier with a good showing of buds but the midge was lurking and within days the buds shrivelled and turned black. Those that did open are a shadow of the former selves. The advice is to pick of all the infested buds which I fear will leave me with none. Something else will have to be found to fill the space.
Six
So far the penstemons continue to reward without problems. This is a division of ‘Garnet’ (I think, or could it be ‘Firebird’) that I planted in a sunny spot. It’s looking fabulous although I may be in danger of overdoing the hot pinks here.
Nature has been sending in the squirrels to attempt to deconstruct the bird feeder and then to eat the unripe figs. Parakeets descended to take up where the squirrels failed. Fledgling goldfinches and blue tits came to feed but magpies have cruelly been taking baby birds from nests and the fox has appeared several times as I deadhead the roses. It’s all getting a bit much. A garden that looks so peaceful and tranquil is just jumping with action! But I guess that is what is so wonderful. It all takes place on the doorstep and keeps us on our toes. The veg patch has begun to deliver: lettuce and cucumbers and the first of the potatoes will be dug any day now. A sunny weekend beckons so I will be out again sharing ‘my space’ with who ever else is around.
Mr P shares his garden and the links to other SOS posts so stop by and enjoy more stories from June gardens. Have a fun weekend.
It was five years ago give or take a week that I took possession of this garden. I inherited some wonderful soft fruits, apple, plum and fig trees, hydrangeas, sage and rosemary but the borders had been used for vegetable growing and the weeds were getting hold of everything. It’s time to look back and enjoy the new look. One thing remains the same – a large rhododendron that was probably here when the house was build about 110 years ago.
One
The rhodendron is probably a ponticum as suggested by Tony Tomeo and Jim of Garden Ruminations, both regular and longstanding SOSers. I have to give this a show, out of respect to its longevity. It was a good two weeks later in flowering this year, this was taken in the first week of June.
Two
The long border. This is the main border of the garden. It was a blank canvas to start with and I was able to grow some vegetables at the bottom end while I set to clearing the top end of weeds over the first summer. It was then planted up with euphorbia characias subsp wulfenii and bare root roses ‘Wisley’ and ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ that winter. Much has been added over the last four years and now it is a riot of cottage garden exuberance.
Three
The thin border, to the left of the second slide, only about half a metre wide but backed by an old wall. It had to be clothed in climbing roses, ‘Blush Noisette’ was the choice with other shrub roses, including ‘Scepter’d Isle’ added along its length. Yellow and white tulips and ‘Thalia’ daffodils hold court in spring, followed by alliums. Delphiniums, astrantias, alchemilla mollis and this year I’ve added lychnis coronaria to the summer display. The path was a cracked and unsafe layer of concrete and in summer 2017 it was overlaid with some grey riven sandstone slabs,. How lovely it felt to have solid ground underfoot.
Four
The hedge border – so called because a hedge of eleagnus, bay and viburnum that separate the garden from the soft fruits. The first job was to increase the width so that plants could be added in front of the hedge. A border of two halves. There are roses, of course, Darcy Bussell at one end and Jaqueline du Pre at the other. Filled out with thalictrum, perscaria and geraniums – ‘Kashmir White’ and the ever-forgiving ‘Wargrave Pink’. A new arch has been added at one end and the planting around the base is being reconfigured.
Five
One of the last corners to be developed was the north facing area. Originally home to a second swathe of blackcurrant bushes on the garden side of the hedge boundary, after a summer of glut I decided I could clear this and plant up another border. All the bushes went to a good home and I followed a scheme suggested by Joe Swift in a Gardeners’ World magazine. It was planted out in 2018 and is gradually bulking up. My absolute favourite are the grasses along the back – melica altisssima ‘Alba’. There is evergreen structure in the form of pittosporum ‘tobira’ nanum, late summer brings in the japanese anemone ‘Honorine Joubert’ and I’ve added in snowdrops and astrantia.
Six
The top corner of the raised side of the garden. A work in progress even today. I spent many a day digging out ground elder, taking away several ferns, probably dryopteris filix-mas – thanks again Jim – and relocating the hydrangea. A stand of beautiful magenta phlox were allowed to stay. Tulips Ronaldo, Spring Green and Negrita take centre stage in spring. Totally Tangerine, geranium psilostum and kniphofia take over in summer. I think there is room for a good salvia here, perhaps ‘Mainacht’.
More to do, more to plant but good celebrate progress so far. This weekend those roses need deadheading and the tomatoes need tying in. Happy Gardening to all, and especially to The Propagator who leads us all down the merry SOS path!
Definitely a week of two halves. Glorious sun, soaring temperatures followed by torrential rain and tumbling temperatures. The magic water was much needed though and I managed to give the apples trees a dressing of bonemeal which is now well watered in. The zinnias are all planted and the last of the tomatoes are out. My bête-noire, the fox, snapped a beautiful cucumber plant but luckily I had a spare. Here’s this week’s six, mostly taken when the sun was shining.
One
The garden was filled with the scent of roses on those sunny days. Here is Darcy Bussell. I usually have a row of salvia ‘Amistad’ running behind these which looks glorious late in the year. The salvias have not survived the winter so I set about a re-think. I was dissuaded from my first choice of verbascums after a conversation with The Quilting Gardener – who warned of mullein moth caterpillar attack and of course slugs. I’ve decided to leave the space free this year and give the roses room to roam.
Two
The euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii seed heads were popping on Monday so it was time to pull on the protective clothing and cut back the flowering stems. Here the sisyrinchium striatum works well against the background of the euphorbia. There’s a cheeky photo-bomb from geranium ‘Brookside’.
Three
The delphiniums are towering high this year, and only just about surviving the heavy rainfall. I collected seeds from these dark purple ones last year and now have new plants that will add more colour to the garden for next year.
Four
This tiny plant lives at the front of a banked up part of the garden so even though is small it is high enough to be enjoyed. It’s ‘Ballerina’, a dwarf geranium with beautiful veining.
Five
A combination of self-seeded knautia ‘Macedonica’ against a wall of climbing ‘Blush Noisette’ roses. A happy chance.
Six
Oh dear me. Not everything is glowing. The cutting patch which was topped up with home compost has just revealed what was in hiding: thousands of baby verbena bonariensis seedlings. I do not need more of these so they will be ruthlessly culled. I will use some more of the dahlias and asters grown from seed to fill the space.
Don’t forget to visit The Propagator’s site for all the SOS posts. More rain forecast here for the beginning of the week but then perhaps we will be into a settled patch again. I will just enjoy the thought that all that water must be good for the potatoes!
I have spent every spare moment this week moving the compost and finally on Friday the bins themselves were dismantled. The space is ready and waiting for the landscaper. It is a little muddy underfoot, hopefully a few dry days will sort that out. I have two builders bags of compost, some of this will go to earthing up the potatoes later in the season and some needs a little more time decomposing. Two toads were carefully relocated in the process. All in all it was a good job done and I am giving myself a pat on the back. Meanwhile the garden is moving on a pace. Here’s what I spotted this week.
One
I was admiring via twitter the clumps of leucojum on display at St Timothees Garden and wondering when mine would put on a show. On Friday I saw the first flower. Not quite a clump yet but pleasing all the same. A note has been made to order more bulbs.
Two
The primroses that have been in flower for some time but they have really filled out this week. They are possibly my favourite spring flower, such a gentle yellow and yet still able to take centre stage.
Three
The clematis armandii ‘Apple Blossom’ enjoyed the sun on Friday. It is full of bud now and the flowers are just opening. A few gardens down from me I can see my neighbour has something very similar and it is full flower. What a difference aspect makes.
Four
The border delphiniums are pushing on and of course the slugs are not far behind. This tasty shoot is so far untouched, Long may it last. I checked the roots of the delphiniums in the potting shed this week and they are coming along nicely but who was also snuggled up nicely in the pot? A tiny slug of course.
Five
Beautiful tulip buds. Such a welcome sight in the garden, good things are unfurling and soon the colour pops will be bursting out.
Six
Another welcome sight is this wonderful green growth in amongst the dead brown matter of the erigeron karvinskianus. There are just one or two new stems so far. I’ll keep a close eye on them and over the next week or so I will start cutting away the dead stuff. This and one or two other losses in this border will provide an opportunity for a re-think.
The epoxy resin for the pot repair has arrived and it looks like next week will be dry so I might get the chance to see if a miracle can be worked. If not, thanks to Paddy’s suggestion, I will be using the damaged pot as a feature somewhere else in the garden – which is rather a tempting idea. The Prop will be around as usual, hosting the meme and running, running running. Happy gardening to everyone.
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.
