#ferns

Six On Saturday: Reasons to be cheerful

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We have blue skies here. A beautiful sight. This means low temperatures tonight, minus two is forecast, but I’m going to enjoy the sunshine. January is coming to an end and the garden is beginning to take shape again. Here’s six things I found this week.

One

The hellebores are popping up, these are unknowns that self seed very happily and I let them do their thing freely.

Two

This is hellebore ‘Pretty Ellen Red’ that was in bud a few weeks back.

Three

I planted euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaiety’ around the hellebores but hardly ever share a photo of it. It does a good enough job of covering the ground so I shouldn’t be so mean.

Four

Speaking of ground cover, I also planted some pachysandra terminalis. Various people frowned and looked concerned, but I did it. It can spread to 1.5 metres but so far it’s been a little slow to get going. It has lovely glossy leaves and looks very fresh at the moment

Five

These are absolutely tiny but they are the first snowdrops in flower. Already nibbled of course.

Six

The asplenium scolopendrium, or hart’s tongue fern has also done well over this winter. These splashes of green keep the spirits going.

There are plenty of bulbs nosing through now. I’ve spotted the first shoots of tulips and muscari and the ipheion uniflorum has put up grassy leaves. All very encouraging. I’ve also spotted green shoots among some of the grasses which means I must get out there and cut the old stems down. Thanks to Jim, our host and his garden can be admired at Garden Ruminations where you can find the links to other SOS posts. Happy gardening.

Six On Saturday: These ever shorter days

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I’m feeling the gloom of a dull December. The garden is so wet that nothing can be done. Mild weather continues but with it comes the rain and so the lawn is still squelchy and the borders cannot be cleared of weeds. Finding six things is always interesting at this time of year but there were some pleasant surprises.

One

There was a brief respite from the rain and the ivy to decorate the house was quickly collected and brought inside. It’s used to hang elegantly around pictures and to wrap around the stairs. There’s plenty to choose from!

Two

The ferns are dying back, at this stage they provide a rusty brown contrast to the remaining greens in the garden. I inherited these but I think they are dryopteris filix mas.

Three

This is possibly my new favourite rose, so I share it with you again. It still looks spindly and I am hoping that this summer will see it really settle in. In the meantime it does put out the most beautifully coloured flowers. ‘Lady of Shallot’.

Four

I lost a euphorbia mellifera over the last winter but miraculously another one self seeded. It’s looking so full of optimism at the moment. Harsh weather may change that.

Five

There is another new flower bud on the climbing rose that I moved this year. This is ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’.

Six

Appropriately for this time of year the helleborus argutifolius is opening up its flower buds. Also known as the holly leaved hellebore it makes a good companion to the ivy.

I’m still confessing to not having planted tulip bulbs. Perhaps next week. I’ll be here for a last SOS before Christmas. Until then, join us over at Jim’s place for the weekly get together and have a good time enjoying some green spaces in this dull December. Better still, take a look at the SOSs from the Southern Hemisphere!

Six On Saturday: Storm preparations

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It’s been a busy week here with the shed base frame work being completed on Monday. It was too cold to lay a concrete base for the greenhouse so the project continues into next week. We had snow that didn’t linger on Tuesday. On Wednesday the new shed arrived and the move back in began. But many things were too wet and that continues to be the case. Today Storm Bert arrives and I was out making safe the greenhouse contents and moving the pots in sheltered positions. Here’s a sad looking six from the garden this week.

One

Let’s start with the new shed with four windows which do give a little more light. The skip came in very handy and plenty of stuff was got rid off. I held on to most of my collection of bricks and old roof tiles, pleading that they always came in handy.

Two

And today they were put to good use, weighing down the builder’s bags that hold the collection of plastic pots, netting and seed trays that came out of the greenhouse.

Three

The water butts have all been emptied of their contents now and are huddled together in a corner. I’d hate to see these rolling across the garden.

Four

I still haven’t had time to take the scented leaf pelargoniums inside so they have been huddled together against the winds. Next week is mild so they will good for another week outside.

Five

The pellies are still pushing out the odd flower here and there.

Six

And still looking quite green, these ferns are in the shelter of the larger rhododendron. Dryopteris filix-mas possibly. I inherited them so I’m really not sure.

I have abject apologies to send to our lovely group of SOS bloggers I have not been able to do much reading over the last two weeks. I’m hoping life settles down a little and I will be able to get up to speed again. Jim hosts the SOS group so drop in and have a good ready anytime. In the meantime I wish you all a safe weekend from any storm and happy gardening if you can get out there!

Six On Saturday: Scrappy

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I’m being a harsh judge this week. I don’t have dahlias, the slugs ate the cosmos and the zinnias and so the late summer garden is looking, well, scrappy. The hedge needs a cut and once that is done things will sharpen up a little. I fully intended to take my six photos yesterday when the sun shining, but as the sun was shining, other gardening jobs were done. Let’s cut to chase, here’s my six for this week.

One

Friday was sunny but also very blustery thanks to us being on the edge of Storm Lillian. The apples were dropping off one of the trees and investigation into the other apple trees showed that the pips were still white. A dilemma. We usually manage to pick all our apples at the same time and take them off for juicing. The apples from the duo tree needed to be picked or they would all end up as windfalls. I set to work. The apples are ‘Golden Delicious’ and I think ‘Elstar’. These have been stored and will be checked over regularly. There are still more to be picked but the main harvest may be two weeks away.

Two

I was also picking tomatoes. The first of the year, it seems so late to me but at least they have begun to turn and maybe next week’s sunshine will encourage a few more.

Three

The elderberries on my neighbour’s tree overhang our garden and the dark berries are gleaming, so very tempting for the pigeons!

Four

I think this is a first appearance: potentilla ‘Abbotswood’. I planted it in the front garden about five or six years ago and it has quietly got on doing its thing. It’s in a dry, part shade corner and really hasn’t complained. I can imagine in a more favourable spot it would have romped away but it’s filling up the corner quite nicely now.

Five

A little while back, I planted up a container with a mixture of ferns and an epimedium. This year they were turned out as they had become overcrowded. I moved them to the front garden and they seem to have settled in. This is polystichum setiferum plumosodivislobum. I made a note of that one.

Six

And this is epimedium x versicolor Sulphurerum, as the name suggests the flowers are yellow. I managed to divide the epimedium into two large clumps and I look forward to them stretching out, if they are happy in their new home.

Rain for today, which is most welcome, will prevent gardening but will no doubt encourage growing. I should really take a leaf out of Jim’s gardening book, he has so much going on his garden right now. Very admirable! I should also be thinking about bulb orders. Even when it rains there is so much to do. Take a look here if you’d like to join the SOS gardeners, it’s a great explanation of how the whole thing works. Wishing you all a great gardening week.

Six On Saturday: Eyes peeled

/ n20gardener / 22 Comments

Unfortunately I had my eyes tight shut during last night’s solar storm over the UK. Pictures from neighbours suggest it was quite impressive. Elsewhere I have had them peeled as more and more of the late Spring garden is emerging. Here’s six from the garden this week.

One

This is one of my favourite corners of the garden. It’s planted with thalictrum ‘Black Stocking’, three of them, with the rose Jaqueline du Pré and geranium ‘Wargrave Pink’. I had to cut back two branches of the dying viburnum that sits behind to the right. This has turned out to be a good thing as the view has opened up. There is still one branch of the viburnum standing and this one is full of new shoots. We shall see how it fares.

Two

The first wave of camassias are over, the second wave has just arrived. These light blue ones have the long name of camassias Leichtlinii subsp suksdorfii Caerulea group. I had a plan to plant a white form of camassias in another part of the garden but today’s Dig Delve newsletter from Dan Pearson has persuaded me otherwise. He says they self-seed mercilessly. I will have to have another think.

Three

Just along from the thalictrum is a clump of persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’. It has a reputation for spreading but so far has been reasonably well behaved.

Four

The aquilegias have got into their stride now we have had some sunshine. These are all self-seeders.

Five

Speaking of sunshine, put your sunglasses on for this one. The new leaves of the Hart’s tongue fern, or asplenium scolopendrium. I’ve finished cutting back the old fronds from three of them that seem happy in a dryish shady corner.

Six

In another dark corner, north facing, these melica altissima ‘Alba’ grasses are thriving and give a light softness to this border.

Elsewhere in the garden, I have offered up my dwarf French beans to the slugs – with coffee grounds and beer traps as protection. I don’t really have enough coffee grounds but I’ll be adding to the defences on a weekly basis. The tomato plants are getting stronger and I have sown courgette seeds. I don’t have too many flower seedlings as a couple of half trays look non-germinating but that means less toing and froing in and out of the greenhouse to harden things off. I hope things are going well with your garden, there’s more to be discovered on Jim’s page. Happy gardening.

Six On Saturday: Autumn has arrived

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I was away in Suffolk last week, worrying about the mid-week winds and the pots on the terrace but all was well. I had managed to stake some Japanese anemones that were flopping before I left and they too largely remained upright. I returned to a very autumnal garden. Courgettes and cucumbers are ready to be consigned to the compost heap and there is some change of season tidying to be done. It’s a bit of a struggle to find six delights this week but here is what is happening.

One

There was plenty of rain for the garden while I was away and these alchemilla mollis thrived. They are being saved for a friend who says they do not grow for her, while here they self seed everywhere.

Two

The persimmon fruits have been falling off the tree for several weeks but finally the ‘drop’ seems to have finished and those that are left will be ripening over the coming months.

Three

I am not a very ruthless gardener but I’m going to call time on this cherry tree. It’s not very old but it has the lurgy and in three years the birds have always feasted on the fruits before we get even close. Decision made. It’s going.

Four

There are new flowers on the daphne ‘Eternal Fragance’. It’s not a ‘stop you in your tracks’ shrub but it fills a corner and is very low maintenance.

Five

The Hart’s tongue ferns looking very shabby after winter but they have pulled through and are establishing themselves in a shady corner.

Six

My mystery plant. It grows in the wall, is never looked after and this is the first time in seven years I have noticed it in flower. Answers on a postcard please!

There’s a good week of weather ahead, if only I had the time to spend in the garden. It’s all a bit crazy at the moment. I hope you find time to enjoy your gardens. Jim, our host, still manages to find colour but also concedes the arrival of autumn.

Six On Saturday: Mid January, I’m looking for the positives

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It can be so difficult at this time of year to keep the positives in focus. Wild, wet and windy weather can be dramatic but the leaden skies feel heavy and not conducive to spending time in garden. This was another week when the roses did not get pruned and the raspberry canes suffered the same fate. There was a cheering moment when I spotted two female black caps on the bird feeder, their soft hues seem just right for the winter colour palette. But otherwise I was not optimistic about finding much in the garden to celebrate. I sighed and went out to see what I could offer up.

One

Starting small, and not very successfully captured, my first delight was spotting new growth on the hydrangeas. Look closely, in amongst the brown there are some small fuzzy dots of green. Every little helps.

Two

Moving on. Little splashes of white on the iberis sempervirens. Another little nudge in the right direction

Three

Showing promise of things to come. The one year in the garden, cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ with its startling red stems looks good now, but in a few years it should be offering up a much sturdier hit of mid Winter colour.

Four

Heading round to one of the darkest, most inhospitable corners of the garden, this is the home of helleborus foetidus, the stinking hellebore. Also one year in the garden, it is offering up a good number of flower buds for future enjoyment.

Five

Heading to the very back of the garden where I about two years ago I planted asplenium scolopendrium, the hart’s tongue fern. It’s looking rather gorgeous in the rain. This is definitely a shady spot, but I wouldn’t really say it’s a damp spot but the fern has settled in well.

Six

Lastly, even though I struggle to maintain a quartet of euphorbia wulfenii in the main border, I do find that seedlings spring up with regular frequency. This one is from a transplanted seedling and those lovely lime green bracts are forming up well. When these open I will know that the Spring garden is under way.

I hope you can find some positive moments in your open spaces. Some SOSers will be sowing chilli seeds, others celebrating camellias. You can find out more by visiting Jim’s garden. He’ll have all the links to the SOS weekly blog posts, so take a stroll over there and see what’s occurring.

Six On Saturday: Hope springs again

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Dare I say it? It is the last weekend of August. September is in sight and a sense of the seasons changing is in the air. This weekend is set aside for apple picking and it seems that the plums are also ready to pick. There was a good long downpour last Thursday and all the water butts are full again. Here’s six from this week’s garden.

One

I’d left my ‘Jazzy’ new potatoes in the ground, digging them up as and when needed. After the heavy rain of Thursday morning I thought I’d better dig them all up for fear of leaving in them the soggy ground. A few forks in revealed that the surface was nicely damp but down below things were still pretty dry. I did dig them all up, collected a few windfalls and picked the outside San Maranzo tomatoes. These are so much smaller than those in the greenhouse, but appreciated nonetheless. The potato haul was 8kgs, which I am more than happy with.

Two

It’s a good crop of plums this year. Variety unknown. As is common, they are suspect to plum moth so the early ripening fruits often have those darling maggots. This means that each plum is cut in half and checked over before use or more usually before freezing. That’s another job for the weekend.

Three

One way or another I always seem to end up with a packet of sunflower seeds and for no reason at all I usually sow a handful. This year’s plants have grown to heady heights, loving the heat and somehow drawing on a secret supply of water. They are going to seed now and have been tracked down by the local parakeets who are managing to balance on the flower heads and are feeding excitedly on the seeds.

Four

I’m slightly more proud of sowing the seed of thalictrum delavyi. From my less than perfect notes it looks like the seed was sown in 2020. Two years on then and they look firmly established. It’s quite difficult to capture their delicate flowers with the trusty phone camera but this isn’t too bad.

Five

Dahlias. Not a fan, but somehow I always have a few in the garden. This one was grown from seed last year and the tuber left in the ground over winter. I prefer the simpler variety. It has perked up considerably after rainfall.

Six

This hart’s tongue fern was also a sad sight before the rain came. Now plumped up again and flourishing. The garden’s resilience is encouraging.

There’s more gardening celebrations to be found on The Propagator’s site. Yes, crispiness abounds but it’s always possible to find something to enjoy. Lift your spirits with a visit to the other SOS garden posts. Happy gardening.

Six On Saturday: New purchases

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A later six than usual as I have just returned from a week in sunny Suffolk. And a trip to Suffolk always means a visit to Beth Chatto’s nursery in Essex. We use it as a stop for lunch and then walk round the plants on offer. The famous gravel garden is mostly on view before entrance to the main garden and this year I spotted the poppy ‘Cedric Morris’ sprinkled through the planting. Onto the six for the week which are the six plants I bought.

One

I went to buy polygonatums but as they are a spring highlight I went with a back-up in case they had all sold. Sold they were, so ferns were purchased instead. This is polystichum setiferum plumosodivislobum! Or more simply a soft shield fern. This was described as frilly and fluted, I couldn’t resist it.

Two

Fern number two is dryopteris sieboldii with its rather unusual fronds. The are quite crispy with a tendency to snap if crushed into the back of a car.

Three

These two ferns will start off in a planter and alongside them goes this epimedium versicolor sulphureum. My first ever epimedium, which is strange given that there are many shady corners here. I am looking forward next year to the promise of pale yellow flowers. I have one thalictrum delavayi unplanted from a few I grew from seed so that will be the final component. The container then will fill a shady corner at the back of the garden.

Four

This is a pelargonium that I have much admired over previous SOS posts and when I saw it on the benches it just had to go in the trolley. It’s ‘Lord Bute’, full of flowers when I bought it but now I have to wait for the next flush. I thank all those who ever posted about it. This will go in a long tom terracotta pot for the terrace.

Five

I couldn’t resist this pelargonium either. This is ‘Tip Top Duet’ and will also go in a long tom pot.

Six

Lastly, one for the garden. I have been looking for something to sit behind a group of persicaria bisorta ‘Superbum’ – the common pink one, I’m hoping this frilly white monarda will do the job nicely. It’s m.’Schneewittchen’, flowers to come soon. I’m slightly nervous of the description ‘less robust than other monardas’ but I’ll have a go anyway.

I’ve broken a promise I made a while back – no more plants in containers. It means more watering over the summer. Oh dear, how weak I am. I’m off to fill the watering cans one more time!

As always, many thanks to The Propagator who hosts the meme. Take a look over the weekend – he has been buying roses.

Six On Saturday: Frosty but the garden pushes on

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The majority of mornings have been frosty and the days that followed were cold. Last week was not a week that led to gardening of any sort other than the wishful thinking sort. Wishful thinking can lead to trouble: new schemes imagined, grand plans take root and the siren voices of online shopping call. I resisted immediate action. Let’s just wait another month. Although it feels like a quiet time it is the lull before the storm. There is clear evidence of growth and the last of the cutting back will have to be completed throughout February. Here’s six for this week.

One

My skimmia ‘Kew Green’ is looking less than healthy and I think I know why. It is planted towards the edge of a walled border and I think some of the walling extends inwards into the border. I think the roots on the front side of the skimmia have reached the buried bricks and don’t have enough soil to grow out into. I am going to move it towards the back of the border and see if that solves the problem.

Two

Unfortunately the empty egg box makes another appearance. Due to problems with suppliers – and I think we know what that means by now – my order for ‘Anya’, my second choice seed potato cannot be fulfilled. I have now chosen ‘Jazzy’. It’s twice the price so it had better be twice as good.

Three

The greenhouse is home to the overwintering pelargoniums and the lemon tree. This week the lowest temperature was -2.1 degrees centigrade and I didn’t even think to fleece the pellies. The lemon tree has a double wrap of 17gsm fleece. A cursory glance indicates that lemons and pellies survived.

Four

Asplenium scolopendrium, or Hart’s tongue fern. I’ve added three of these to the inhospitable back border. They’ve been in place for about a year and seem to coping well. The very back corner of the border is given over to a small log pile. It’s in the rain shadow of a fence and I don’t think much will grow there, except perhaps euphorbia robbiae which is incredibly tolerant, and of course invasive. The mulch is Strulch.

Five

Hellebores and snowdrops continue to entertain. Pretty Ellen Red, the double version, has opened up.

Six

And the 300 or so snowdrops planted throughout the north facing border two years ago, which didn’t do too well the first year, are looking a little more promising this year.

As always, thanks to the Propagator for keeping this show on the road and enjoy your gardening week