#geraniums

Six On Saturday: Lagging behind

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I’m not sure what I have been doing of late but clearly it is not gardening! The borders have gone wild. Self-seeders abound and there is still much to be cut back. I am not alone. Off The Edge Gardening is having a similar experience which has prompted this week’s confessions. Tidying up after Summer has to be done but in the meantime here are six from the garden this week.

One

The pity bench at the local Supermarket called to me. The echinacea was substantially reduced in price and all it needed was dead heading. Home it came and here it is ready to flower again.

Two

The Japanese anemones are enjoying their time. This group of ‘Honorine Joubert’ are happy enough but I have two other plants that have been in the garden for many years now and they do not shine. This is the year to accept that they are in the wrong place and get them relocated somewhere else.

Three

If geranium ‘Ann Folkard’ flowered earlier in the year I did not notice it. Here it is now, gamely making the best of of dryish, shady location.

Four

This mallow is a pretty flower but I made the mistake of putting the seed heads on the compost. Now I have a sprinkling of it in all corners of the garden.

Five

An unknown fuchsia that looked a gonna after the winter. I cut it to the ground and it has regrown happily.

Six

Another compost bin self-seeder. Astrantia major. This one is in the raspberry patch. I’ll move it soon. I think I am also going to have move the raspberries when the new beds are laid out. The measurements do not quite allow them to stay in place while work carries on around them.

Our host Jim, invites you to share his garden and all the links to SOS posts from around the world. Somehow I will try to fit a few hours in the garden this weekend. I hope you can too. Enjoy.

Six On Saturday: A wet and windy weekend

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Unusually for me I am writing this on a Friday. The forecast for Saturday is heavy rain and gusting winds. Today it is just rain all day. It has been a showery week and you would think the garden would be well lubricated by now. But the late planting out of dahlias in pots revealed dry soil just an inch down. Of course a wet top surface is perfect for the slugs and snails and sure enough by the next day the new shoots of the over wintered dahlia I spotted last week and one of the newly planted dahlias had been munched. Hopefully the potted dahlias are strong enough to push on. Here’s six from a gloomy garden.

One

This is ‘Etoile Violette’, a viticella clematis that has been flowering for weeks. It is putting the neighbouring trachelospermum jasminoides to shame. I though it would be a good combination if they entwined but so far the TJ is being a little weedy!

Two

This is an early arrival on the anemone front. But I seem to remember they came early last year too. This is ‘September Charm’, so well in advance of expectations. They have bulked up well this year after a worrying year when I thought they had a disease of some kind.

Three

I admired a white form of geranium phaeum being shared on twitter. I succumbed and bought some, really thinking it was too late in the season and I would have to wait for next year for flowers but rather generously they have put out one or two new blooms. It’s in the northish facing border but there is a moment of morning and afternoon sun. I hope it does well.

Four

I didn’t have my secateurs to hand when I took this photo so I share spent blooms and new blooms of the red rose ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’. It’s a climber and I was also lacking string to tie in a few wayward stems. Must be better prepared!

Five

Another inherited plant that gets by without too much attention. The magenta phlox was thinned out last year and divisions added around the garden. They have all done well. Easy peasy plant! In the background is the grass Miscanthus sinensis ‘Silberfeder’. Second year in the garden and beginning to clump up quite nicely. Also in the background, gooseberries which need picking!

Six

A survivor! This hebe – inherited and unknown – is on it’s second move in three years. I think this will be its forever home. It coped with the move and the cold winter. The bees appreciate it and I hope it will be happy here.

I’m not sure what I’ve been up to lately but I have neglected my SOS reading duties. I’ve also neglected to give the roses their mid season feed. Last weekend the blackcurrants were picked and some of those gooseberries. The summer raspberries really didn’t have enough watering to do well this year but with the current forecast I’m more hopeful for the autumn variety. Sometimes the garden is neglected a little but it pulls through. Jim, the SOS host, had an abundance of blackcurrants last weekend, stop by and see what’s happening at Garden Ruminations this week. There’s always a surprise.

Six On Saturday: July and jobs to be done

/ n20gardener / 10 Comments

July is here. It’s a busy time in the garden as the May and June flowers need tidying. The roses have had a good year and I need to catch up on the deadheading. There hasn’t been much rain and my watering has been on the light side. I am trying to train the garden to get by with less. This does mean smaller flowers but on the whole things are managing. It’s about time I dug up some potatoes to see how they have got on. I can already see that the onions are small but the basil and chilies are flourishing. Here’s six from this morning’s walk round.

One

I was late putting in my summer pots, being late is the story of this year. This week saw the first flower on some geraniums I bought as plug plants at the beginning of June. I hope I can overwinter these.

Two

I grow a few varieties of achillea and each year seem to lose them over winter. I thought it was the weather but this year I spotted the snails munching the new shoots. With some extra vigilance I think I have managed to keep two varieties this year. This one is ‘New Vintage White’. It’s a low grower, around 35cms. It is surrounded by self seeded verbena bonariensis, which has grown very tall. It’s a very odd combination which would work much better if they intermingled.

Three

The salvia ‘Nachtvlinder’ was the only salvia that overwintered. There was plenty of brown at the beginning of the year but it was cut back to promising shoots and it did pull through. This is the third attempt to get this in focus and I give up!

Four

I inherited a clematis when I moved here. It was on its last legs then but after freeing it from bindweed and giving it some attention it gained strength. This year it is not so lush. There are some beautiful flowers but it is in need of some watering and feeding. Adds to long list of jobs to do!

Five

The very tall verbena bonariensis deserves a photo. They self seed happily here but never quite where I would like them to be.

Six

The first of the day lilies has opened. I do enjoy them but these ones are so prone to hemerocallis gall midge that I sometimes wonder about digging them up. The affected buds need to be picked off. Adds to long list of jobs to do!

The weather is kinder to weekend gardeners this week. Cooler temperatures will see me out and about working through the borders. I hope you are able to enjoy your gardening spaces this weekend. We all need to switch off and immerse ourselves in the beauty of flowers every now and then! This week Jim, our host, is down on the allotment. Stop by and take a look.

Six On Saturday: June madness

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The garden has had a week of neglect. No watering from me and one downpour from the heavens. It is surviving. Many things are in overdrive, thriving in the heat and enjoying being left to their own devices. Here’s six for this week.

One

This just about sums it up. Lychnis coronaria with ‘Brookside’ geraniums and astrantia major. It is madness but I love it.

Two

The madness has its downsides. The path is impassable as geraniums psilostemon and ‘Brookside’ and the alchemilla mollis reach out to join together. The lawn mower shall not pass is the message.

Three

On the other side, in a shadier space, it is the froth of the grass melica altisssima ‘Alba’ combining with geranium sanguineum ‘Album’ that creates a haze of green and white.

Four

In a new planting the purple spires of salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ is beginning to work together with gaura lindheimeri. This is the first year in the garden for these two together. I have lost gaura overwinter before but I am hoping this sunnier spot will suit them better.

Five

I will definitely be coming back the agapanthus again. This the first flower on the evergreen agapanthus. They grow in pots and are wrapped in fleece over the winter. One pot was lost. One has just about pulled through and the other three are pushing up an encouraging number of flower spikes.

Six

The lavender is just on the verge of bursting forth. The bees will have something to move on to from the madness of the borders to this space on the patio. It’s all happening out there.

It is going to be a very hot weekend here. I will not be gardening in it! But I will enjoy the mid summer madness. I will not give a single thought to the fact that the days begin to get shorter now. Oh no, there is still so much to appreciate. I encourage you to take a look at more SOS gardens by visiting Jim’s place where all the links to other SOS blogs are posted each week. Of course you will also get to enjoy Jim’s wise words.

Six On Saturday: Billowing roses

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There’s plenty of dead heading to done as the roses have gone into overdrive this year. But seeing the left hand side of the garden frothing with roses is a wonderful sight. The garden is surviving on minimal water rations. One hour of rain on Monday but it didn’t completely fill the water butt so more is needed and indeed we might get some this weekend. Here’s six for this week.

One

The first of the roses is ‘Blush Noisette’ I planted two of them to cover a good stretch of the wall.

Two

In the middle of the two ‘Blush Noisette’ I planted ‘This Sceptre’d Isle’. I underplanted that with some alchemilla mollis. The geranium psilostemon had other ideas and self seeded itself here as well. I have to agree it works very well.

Three

At the far end of the garden the rambling rose ‘Wedding Day’ is having a fabulous season.

Four

On the opposite side of the garden I planted two climbing hydrangeas to cover the fence and this year they are getting close to achieving that aim and have had their best flowering year yet.

Five

In one of the sunnier borders the pale yellow of sisyrinchium works well with geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’

Six

In a shadier spot geranium ‘Kashmir White’ settles in with more alchemillia mollis.

That’s my stroll round the garden for today. There are plenty more gardens to stroll around at Jim’s place. I think in the UK and in Northern Europe we are all hoping for some rain this weekend. I hope we all receive enough to keep us going. Happy Gardening.

Six on Saturday: Whose garden is it?

/ n20gardener / 19 Comments

June is the month, that seven years ago, I took over this garden. The previous owner had loved his soft fruit and fruit trees but much of the rest of the garden had gone to weeds. That family was the second family to garden here. There is evidence in archived local newspapers that the first owner also loved his soft fruits and had won prizes for raspberries. There has been over 100 years of gardening here and I am gradually leaving my mark. I have come to appreciate that I share this garden with the past, with the numerous slugs and snails, with the foxes and cats and with the birds and insects. I share it with my neighbours too. Sometimes they have no choice as the clematis armandii knows no bounds. I also get to share theirs. Their roses peek over the fence. The hawthorn and ceanothus in Spring take my eye to their gardens and in June I enjoy a superb display of flowers from a neighbouring elder tree. Seven years of this garden has passed by so quickly and there is so much more to do. Here’s six for this week.

One

This is the creature that prompted this little outburst. A red admiral butterfly on a hosta. The hosta is in a pot at the end of garden. At this time of year it basks in the evening sun and this a favourite end of day spot for a visit. Clearly the butterfly also agrees but it is not so keen on sharing and each evening it dive bombs us in an effort to persuade us to leave this little corner. The butterfly always wins. This is the third year of this interesting behaviour.

Two

A combination of persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’ and alchemilla mollis. This has probably been in the garden for about five years. The persicaria has spread a little but not too aggressively.

Three

The suns rays shining through the lovely geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’. This is a garden share from an aunt and has been divided and lifted many times. It has been with me for, and it seems incredible to say this, about twenty years, joining us in each house move.

Four

The roses are exuberant at the moment. This is ‘Darcy Bussell’, great colour and scent.

Five

And this is ‘Jaqueline du ‘Pré’. Looking at its very best in this photo.

Six

Lastly, the very rampant geranium ‘Brookside’ with the rose ‘Gertrude Jekyll’. One of the previous residents of this house was a Gertrude so I hope this meets her approval.

The Six On Saturday meme is all about sharing gardens. Our host is Jim of Garden Ruminations and each week he shares the links to the posts of other SOS gardeners. All are welcome to stop by to have a look and to take part. It’s going to be very hot this weekend, I will briefly mention the lack of rain and the diminishing water storage. But let us enjoy what we can – it is Summer.

Six On Saturday: It’s all happening here

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Yes, the garden is hotting up. Some good things and some bad things. In the interests of full disclosure before we get to the good I will share the bad. The lily beetles are having fun amongst the martagon lilies. At least six of them. Regular inspections will be required. My last box shrub is wriggling with box moth caterpillars and I am going to call it day. I’ve had enough spraying. If it’s not meant to be I will move on. It’s a blob anyway and has a top spot against a sunny wall. Perhaps a hibiscus for a replacement. There’s more bad. Two skimmia have yellowing, progressing to dead leaves. Perhaps their location is just too dry for them. They can go too. The last of the bad news is the tomato plants look awful. There is no spacious greenhouse for them to move to this year and frankly I think it’s barely worth planting them outside at all. It could be a problem with over-watering and/or nutrient deficiency. I’ve given them a dilute dose of tomato feed and I will plant them out this weekend. I switched brands of peat free compost this year and I have not had much success. This one seems to dry out at the surface, shrink back from the sides but still manage to be wet at the bottom of the pots. It was not a combination I handled successfully. I’ll go back to the previous brand in future. That’s cleared the air. On with six good things.

One

I seem to be having a good year with allium ‘Mount Everest’. I would say that bulbs that I had given up on seem to have re-emerged and those that are in the shadier end of the garden are reaching heights that justify their name. I like them and so do the bees.

Two

The astrantias are also doing well. This started off as ‘Roma’ but I think a little hybridisation has occurred as this year’s colour doesn’t seem, to my memory, what is was last year. I don’t mind this at all.

Three

This is my garden favourite this week, so much so that I’m sharing two photos. The first is the view of the arch from the veg plot back into the garden. The rose is ‘Mad Alf’, Madame Alfred Carriere. Mad because the flowers are held on such long stems and she climbs vigorously. A winner.

Four

This is the view of the arch from the other side, where clematis montana Wilsonii is flowering in profusion. I think it is vanilla scented but it could be slightly chocolatey. Whatever, it is a dream to walk through and I find myself doing this several times a day. There is a bench nearby and it is such a pleasure to sit their of an evening and ‘feel’ the scent drift over. Top marks.

Five

Having spent much time, along with many others, moaning about the Winter and Spring weather, I am now wondering if, in fact, it has been just what the garden needed. So many plants seem to be doing really well this year. In truth I’m a little concerned that this geranium ‘Brookside’ will go on to swamp its neighbours. I’ll update you soon.

Six

Lastly the first ‘Wisley’ rose has opened up. The bush is full of buds and it will be a splendid sight when they all get going.

It’s a long weekend in the UK and the weather looks set fair. I will be sitting on that bench and enjoying the changing scenery. I hope you too will be able to find some moments to enjoy this weekend. Jim, our host, shares the SOS links and this week looks at Cacti. Stop by and enjoy. Happy gardening everyone.

Six On Saturday: Tales of woe and warming times

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Oh yes the garden is warming up, which brings out the pests. The clematis cuttings in the greenhouse have been eaten. I thought I had de-slugged the greenhouse after giving it a good sweep out in preparation for the new growing season, but no. Of course they find a way to wreak havoc. Pests are munching through the borders too, a new campanula has been razed to the ground, snails are the culprits here I think. I need to be especially watchful of the three dahlias in the greenhouse which have just put up shoots. Every year I say I won’t grow food for slugs and snails but once again I’m a fool. End of tales of woe, time for six good things.

One

Thankfully the tulips are unscathed and there are new ones to enjoy this week. ‘Negrita’ has been joined by ‘Spring Green’ which is one of my favourites and seems to be pretty good at coming back.

Two

Not so good on the re-appearing front is ‘Cairo’. I added in about twenty last year to coincide with the camassias. This year only two have appeared but I like the colour and the shape so I may well restock and have another go at building up a display.

Three

The geranium phaeums have opened. This is a sign that the garden is beginning to fill up, no doubt providing lovely cover for slugs but I won’t go there again.

Four

The first of the Germanica irises have opened, these are another Spring favourite, fleeting but such a great colour.

Five

New in the border this year, these are polygonatum × hybridum, or Solomon’s Seal. I did quite a bit of research into varieties of polygonatum but when it came to making a purchase the most interesting were out of stock and so the ordinary ones came home with me. They are in a shady northish facing spot and I was persuaded by the suggestion that they were thuggish and would spread. I ignored the note that said may be attacked by slugs!

Six

Trumpet fanfare for the last of the six. It’s apple blossom time and never have I had so much blossom on this apple tree. It’s a Braeburn on dwarf stock if I remember rightly. I inherited it from the previous owner who loved growing his own fruit. I have much to thank him for.

This week saw the planting out of the onion sets that I had started in the greenhouse and also the Pink Fir Apple potatoes. I’m holding back on sowing parsnip and carrot seeds as my soil still feels cold to the touch. Maybe the long weekend and the hint of higher temperatures will push me over the edge. The dead plants have gone and I’m looking for some hardy evergreens to replace the three pittosporums. The other spaces will be filled with some spare perennials for the moment. I’m moving the windowsill tomatoes down to the greenhouse this weekend. We have a bank holiday in the UK and the weather looks good. So it is with great joy I wish everyone Happy Gardening! I hope the weather is good wherever you are. Garden Ruminations is the place to go for more of the SOS gardens.

Six On Saturday: Blue sky thinking

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There’s a chill in the air and it’s a bit blustery but the sky is a brilliant September blue. Uplifting, encouraging and inspiring. Somehow it is this time of year that seems to be the best time to think about plans for the garden. I’ve been tidying up this week: courgettes culled and tomatoes collected in for ripening – the missing door on the greenhouse has pushed me into action a little earlier than usual. There has been just about enough rain to soak down a few more centimetres and encourage more flowers but the garden is still on the dry side. Here’s six for this week.

One

Whilst dahlias are the order of the day for this time of year, here it is the roses that are putting on a show. This one is a climber, one of the David Austin English roses, James Galway.

Two

And nearby another David Austin rose, Natasha Richardson. In previous years these roses have pushed on well into November.

Three

Another stalwart of late summer is salvia ‘Amistad’. I hope you will accept this slightly abstract version of the flower, the best of several blustery shots. This has been in flower for some time but it seems at its best in the autumn months, again lasting through until the frosts.

Four

This fuchsia is another late summer bloomer. An unknown variety, this one overwinters well but of course has gall mite. I nip off the affected parts and it battles on.

Five

The anemones that suffered so much in the summer heat have proved resilient and ‘September Charm’ that was flowering at the end of July suddenly looks much happier in the cooler temperatures.

Six

This hardy geranium is enjoying a second flowering. Lovely crinkly papery pink flowers of the bloody cranesbill, geranium sanguineum var. striatum, such a severe name for so delicate a bloom.

I’m thinking about a new greenhouse, there is a new rose to order and I have a new shrub to plant out. I’m going to sow green manure seeds on the veg patch and I have a tray of echinacea ‘White Swan’ that have been grown from seed. They have grown on well over the summer and the root system looks strong enough to cope with planting out in the big wide garden. Much to be getting on with then. Please take a look at other SOS posts as tended by The Propagator. And of course, enjoy your gardening.

Six On Saturday: Heat!

/ n20gardener / 25 Comments

I can’t avoid stating the obvious: it’s been hot this week. I have resorted to hanging sheets in the greenhouse to try to provide some shade but there have still been some wilting tomato plants. The water butts are empty and I don’t see any rain in the forecast. Too hot to garden, too hot to write and so here is a quick six from the garden this week.

One

At least this part of the garden looks cool. Ferns and the ‘Kashmir White’ geranium make a great combination in a slightly shadier spot.

Two

My first foray into a dark leaf heuchera. This is ‘Grape Timeless’ which I always think should be ‘Grape Time’!

Three

The over-wintered salvia ‘Amistad’ has just begun to open out. A long laster, this should be in flower until autumn.

Four

Every year the astrantias burst forth and remind me of what an absolute dream they are. This one is ‘Roma’.

Five

Last winter I moved a climbing rose ‘Souvenir du Dr Jamain’. It was growing against a shady fence but not really enjoying it. It’s not in the best of health but amazingly it has produced a beautiful flower. I am nurturing it and hoping that this isn’t its last effort before a demise.

Six

And ending on an amusing note: This is the greenhouse. No matter how many times I check there is always a side shoot missed on the tomatoes. In addition to the sheets, I have been liberally throwing watering cans of water over the path to keep the humidity up and hopefully the red spider mite down. The marigolds are there to keep the white fly down and oxalis is there because I can never be rid of it!

For more hot gardens tune into The Propagator who hosts this meme. Stay cool, water wisely and as always, take time to enjoy the garden.