#grapes

Six On Saturday: Looking on the bright side

/ n20gardener / 8 Comments

Venturing out into the garden is a challenge these days. Sometimes difficult as the effect of the drought continue to take its toll and sometimes joyful as something fights back. We had a few minutes of drizzle, gone before it hit the ground. The temperatures have dropped at least and I did manage to spend some time in the garden cutting back the alchemilla mollis. A moment of joy because I found the long lost hand fork buried under their leaves. This completed the well known gardening rule – as soon as you buy the replacement the lost item will be found. Here’s six other things that I found in the garden this week.

One

I cut back geranium ‘Brookside’ about a month ago. It’s great for sprawling amongst the roses in June but quickly becomes an untidy bully by July. It gets cut to the ground and this year I didn’t expect anything more from it. But here it is putting out a few flowers again. No watering here at all.

Two

The aforementioned ‘Brookside’ sprawls through the rose ‘Gertrude Jekyll’. Here it is putting out a perfectly formed new rose bud. I couldn’t resist featuring Gertie again.

Three

This is another repeat I’m sure, but Pennisetum villosum looks just lovely with its sandy coloured frothy pannicles. No wonder it is also known as feathertop

Four

This is a variety unknown kniphofia. Again entirely neglected but putting out another flower spike.

Five

The grapes are ripening well this year. There are those higher up that are shrivelling but these on newer stems are doing well. So well that the magpies have discovered them and come for a bite to eat every now and then. The grapevine is grown to shade the pergola so I don’t take offense.

Six

At the beginning of the summer when I was full of optimism I took cuttings from the osteospermum. So easy to do and a number took. By the time they were ready to plant out it had become clear that this was going to be a dry summer so I decided to keep several things in pots near the house so that they could be watered easily. This sturdy specimen has decided to be brave and flower. Well done.

Don’t be fooled, most of the garden is looking awful. I’ll be out watering those that are suffering the most and hoping that rain comes along soon. I’m on the last of the tomatoes so that is one less part of the garden to water. Hydrangeas and hellebores are looking very sad. Let’s stop there, I could get downhearted again! Take a look at Jim’s garden and enjoy, the SOS crowd continue to post and find something to share. For that I give you all a loud cheer! Happy gardening.

Six On Saturday: Scorchio

/ n20gardener / 14 Comments

I’ve just returned from a week on the Suffolk coast. It was hot but nothing like the temperatures that the garden here had to endure. I moved almost everything out of the greenhouse before I left and put the trays of plants in a shady spot. I didn’t move my tomato plants in pots to shady areas – a mistake. They have really suffered even though there was a midweek downpour. Here’s six from the garden this week.

One

I took this photo last week just before leaving, knowing that the lilies would not be there on my return. So transient, their scent is wonderful on a June evening. I’m happy that I was able to enjoy them for a while.

Two

A week of hot temperatures and some rain has sent the garden into overdrive. The verbena bonariensis is soaring upwards. I remember smiling at a garden designer talking about how naturalistic planting was his aim. There’s no escaping naturalistic planting here as the self-seeders are the most successful things in the garden. The vbs just spread themselves around whereever they want.

Three

The day lilies opened in the week I was away. This, if I remember rightly, is ‘Golden Chimes’. They were one of the first plants to be added to the garden and I have been able to divide them over the years.

Four

I told myself that I did not need any new purchases this year. The garden was full. But then I looked from the kitchen window and discovered that I needed a white plant in the bottom right hand corner. It was dominated by geranium ‘Wargrave Pink’, another spreader that suits a naturalistic planting style. It was fate, of course, the garden centre had one penstemon ‘Apple Blossom’ left. I snapped it up, came home and dug up a clump of the ‘Wargrave Pink’ and in went the penstemon. It has survived its first week.

Five

More naturalistic planting. A collection of alchemilla mollis, g.psilostemon, and sisyrinchium. Uncontrollable!

Six

A week away and the grapevine doubled in size. There’s plenty of long stems that need cutting back to allow the grapes to have a chance of ripening. The first bunches are just appearing.

It’s too hot today for any gardening. Last night I tied in the tomatoes and cucumbers, it was exhausting. Maybe it’s time to find a shady corner and just sit back and enjoy everything. I hope you also get time to take it all in. Happy non-gardening to all. Jim is in full flow with his open garden days. Lucky us, we get to visit Garden Ruminations every week. This week my favourite is his stunning day lily. Stop by and enjoy.

Six On Saturday: Careless gardening 2.0

/ n20gardener / 18 Comments

Life has a habit of getting in the way of gardening sometimes and so it has been the case this year. The drought has made matter worse as more time is needed for watering duties. I thought I was on top of the apple trees, thinning them out and religiously picking up the brown rot apples. But it was not so. Here’s my six from the garden this week.

One

The apples are much smaller this year but the number is plentiful and even though I had been thinning them I was clearly being too kind. This bough broke and the quantity of apples was immense. On today’s tour of the garden another broken branch was spotted. I have to get tougher.

Two

I’m growing marmande tomatoes this year and they are just ripening. There is always one tomato that does this. Fasciation I think. Does anyone else find this?

Three

The miscanthus ‘Silberfeder’ gets a photo to itself this week. After three years it has formed a sizeable clump and is providing a good distraction from the fence behind.

Four

The grapes on the vine are actually ripening this year. There is some splitting but not as much as in previous years. They have had no additional watering. The vine is grown to shade a pergola so any edible fruits that we do get will be a bonus.

Five

The scented leaf pelargonium ‘Capitatum’ was left outside last winter as the greenhouse was being replaced. As you can see, it survived and is doing very well.

Six

These are the apples from the fallen bough. Quite a lot as you can see and plenty of very small ones that I should have picked off. Live and learn.

Garden Ruminations is the place to go for all the SOS links and for Jim’s wise words. After another week of hot temperatures here I am looking forward to next week which will at least be cooler even if, once again, no rain is forecast.

Six On Saturday: Cool, Cool Summer

/ n20gardener / 23 Comments

To paraphrase an old song, the weather in July has been cool. Even with some heavy rain recently the garden is on the dryish side but the water butts are full once again. I have managed to catch up on a few jobs: the feeding of the roses has begun and I have spent a great deal of time weeding out the oxalis that has colonised the old greenhouse patch. Sadly no tomatoes this year but the cucumbers are fruiting and I have planted out a late sowing of lettuces as I cleared the oxalis (and slugs). Here’s six from the garden this week.

One

The grapevine has had a belated trim back. There are some good sized grapes this year but I don’t hold out much hope for edible fruit. They usually split, rot or are eaten by birds and wasps. I inherited it and it’s real purpose is to shade the pergola and dining table which it does very well.

Two

This var. unk. hydrangea by the steps is also doing well this year. There’s not too much in the way of scorched flowers and there has been enough rain. It’s turning a soft shade of pink now.

Three

This is echinacea ‘White Swan’. “Oh no it isn’t” you will say. “Oh yes it is” I will say. We could both be right. I definitely sowed seeds of ‘White Swan’. This is definitely not white. I read that echinacea often reverts back to the purple form so I guess this is what has happened here. There should be another opening up soon, it will be interesting to see what appears.

Four

The deciduous agapanthus in the borders are in flower now. This one is ‘Midnight Blue’ a lovely dark form.

Five

About a month ago a large Box shrub was taken out, the struggle with the dreaded caterpillar was not worth continuing. I invested heavily in a mature hibiscus syriacus Red Heart and last week it was planted in the space. A sunny spot against the wall. I hope it gets its feet down quickly and goes from strength to strength. There are flower buds so I will revisit soon.

Six

This is an attempt to show the veronicastrum virginicum. I was given these down a chain of gardeners and I don’t know the variety but of late there have been a few SOS sightings of v. ‘Fascination’. I wonder if this could be the same? I’ve had them for a couple of years now and they are just beginning to fill their space and reach a good height.

I’m hoping to feed a few more roses begore the rain sets in. Then I might, dare I say it, look at the bulb catalogues! There’s a trip to Jim’s glorious garden to be made, (vine weevils not withstanding) where all the links to SOS posts will appear through the day. Enjoy your gardening weekend.

Six On Saturday: Harvesting fruit and flowers

/ n20gardener / 28 Comments

While it has not been a glorious year on my veg patch, we are enjoying some homegrown produce. Sadly the potatoes are all eaten and I need to consider growing more next year. The tomatoes in the greenhouse are ripening at a steady pace now, courgettes and cucumbers keep coming and the rather erratic strawberries seem to have finally found their fruiting time, clearly they are late risers. The figs are huge and too many for us to eat fresh, so I should be making jam, but I think the squirrels may get in first. I’ll gloss over the failures and enjoy the successes. This is the time of year for basil and tomato combinations: tarts, sauces and salads which are wonderful. But I should mention the excessive amount of whitefly in the greenhouse this year and give a nod to encarsia wasp cards as a bio control. I was late getting these going but they are in place and hopefully doing a grand job. Roses continue to do the heavy lifting for late summer here, ably supported by zinnias and a sprinkle of dahlias. Here’s my chosen six for this week.

One

Although I have sworn not to grow dahlias again, I confess that I am enjoying the cacti mix dahlias grown from seed for a cutting patch and so far, untouched by the slugs.

Two

I present this as a success but of course that’s only half the story, I should I say one twentieth of the story. Twenty tiny seeds of nicotiana ‘Whisper’ sown, three germinated and grown on, only one so far flowering in the garden. But it’s pretty!

Three

The autumn fruiting raspberries are just beginning to fruit. It doesn’t feel like as bountiful a crop as last year but they taste good.

Four

These are, I think, cox’s pippin apples. These don’t seem to have been affected by brown rot – long may that last. In a few weeks all the apples will be picked and taken off to be juiced. Last year’s juice ran out a little while ago and we are back buying supermarket juice which is so sweet in comparison.

Five

The scented leaf pellies were slow out of the blocks this year and this one ‘Pink Capitatum’ is only just putting on a good show. I grow them in pots, overwintered in the greenhouse. This year I took a few cuttings of this variety and they have really grown on well and are also in flower now. I use the pellies instead of buying in summer bedding for pots.

Six

My long struggle with the grapevine continues. I am always behind with the pruning and this year I discovered that I should be pruning back the long lengths from May onwards. I am usually thinking about doing this around July time, when they start to descend towards the ground. This year is the first year that some of the grapes look as though they might amount to something which given the amount of rain we have had this summer might suggest that I have underwatered in previous years. A crime I will readily confess to. The vine’s main duty is to provide some shade over the pergola so in truth I don’t worry about the grapes too much.

Forthcoming projects are bubbling away, some tweaking in the long border and the plan for the back border is coming together. There is always that moment when the grand scheme in the mind hits the reality of the limited space there actually is and everything gets scaled down. My plan is to buy the plants in the next couple of weeks so all will be revealed soon! More revelations will be found, as usual, on The Propagator’s site where he hosts the links to the SOS meme. I have plenty of reading to catch up with due to a spate of of dashing around with the family, which can’t be bad in the circumstances. For those in the UK, enjoy the long weekend!

Six On Saturday: Scorchio again

/ n20gardener / 14 Comments

Once again it’s very hot here with temperatures around 30 degrees plus.  The rain of last Sunday – really, the one day I have the family over and it rains – was welcome and filled two of the large water butts and one small one.  Total 868 litres plus some odds and ends from the greenhouse butts and I’m nearly through it already.  I am looking again at the garden to see what I can add in to extend the colour but planting will have to wait until September.  Here’s what’s happening at the moment.

One

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A melon update: My second year of growing melons and you would have thought it would be a bumper year.  There have been plenty of flowers but only one has come good as a melon.  Two or three other melons formed but then rotted off.  I’ve been hard at work cutting back the side shoots and stopping the main stem.  Now I have to decide when is the optimum time to pick this precious fruit.

Two

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The grapevine over the pergola regularly produces grapes but at this time of the year they split and never ripen.  The previous owner said it was a Black Hamburg, which, as many of you will know, is an indoor variety.  Today the wasps are having great fun and it makes sitting under the welcome shade a little nerve wracking.  I think in future I will cut off all the grapes and have beautiful shade and no wasps!

Three

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The Hollyhocks have been to be featured again. They just keep on growing.  There was a touch of rust on the lower leaves early on but the hot dry weather seems to have kept it at bay.  Reader, I measured this one. It is eleven foot six inches!  Does that sound like a challenge?  Bring on the hollyhocks.  This one is growing up into a dead fruit tree.  It never got to fruiting stage so I can’t identify it, other than to say that I suspect is was a stone fruit, maybe apricot, which succumbed to leaf curl and oozing this year.

Four

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Also doing rather well are the rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’.  I have my eye on these for dividing this year.  Spreading this wonderful colour around the garden will be a pleasure.

Five

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I was late sowing the cosmos this year but they have started to come into flower.  This one is Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Click Cranberries’.  I’ve planted them in a block but I think this one will look good dotted around the border next year.

Six

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Lastly a zinnnia.  This is taken as a close up because my planting scheme went awry.  I planned to mix the zinnias and some ammi visnaga together but the ammi germinated late and is only just looking good enough to plant out.  Without the ammi to add some froth the zinnias look like soldiers on parade.  Maybe it will look better in October.

From here it looks like crispy lawns and parched plants for a little longer.  See what else is going on at The Prop’s blog – there you can find links to all the other great SOSs.

Six On Saturday: Branching out

/ n20gardener / 22 Comments

I foresee blue sky photos for this week’s sixes.  And about time too!  Here are mine.

One

IMG_2252The trees in the garden are beginning to put on a show.  First up is the persimmon tree.  There was a bumper crop last year but I’m not a fan.  I inherited it with the garden and it does look fabulous in winter when the leaves have dropped and the orange fruits remain.

Two

IMG_2255I also inherited a number of apple trees and here is some delightful apple blossom from one of them.   Again, there was a bumper crop last year, we don’t store the apples and there are only so many we can eat so the majority of them are taken off for juicing.  We are still drinking the 2017 vintage.

Three

IMG_2258The leaves on the fig trees are just opening.  Not such a good year for figs for me last year and the squirrels always get the best of them.  I managed to bag a handful!

Four

 

IMG_2257And after my winter pruning efforts  it is always a great relief to see new leaves on the vine.  It does produce grapes but so far they have split before we get the chance to taste them.  The grape variety is Black Muscat, which I understand is also known as Black Hamburg.  Again, I was fortunate enough to inherit this well established vine which shades the pergola.

Five

IMG_E2256There is a great foaming wave of Choysia in one sunny corner of the garden.  It’s perfectly lined up with a view from the window.  Many thanks again to the previous owner.

Six

IMG_2250Finally, all my own work!  The white triumphator tulips are still hanging on and are a great companion to the irises that have just begun to flower.  There is also a glimpse of the almost open allium ‘purple sensation’ – something for next week!

Wishing you all a great gardening weekend – and the extra day in the UK.  More time to read all the sixes on show at The Propagator’s blog. Blue skies all the way.

Six on Saturday

/ n20gardener / 12 Comments

I’m beginning to feel some sympathy for the long lasting month of January.  Maligned in the old song ‘January, you’ve been hanging on me’ I’ve come round to thinking it does have much to offer.  My hands are cold as I’ve just come in from completing what is the first of my sixes.  Yes, I have been in the garden this week and here’s what I found.

One

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This morning’s main job was to prune the grapevine.  It produce grapes which inevitably split just as they seem to be ripening so I’ve come to accept that its main role is to shade the pergola.  This is my second year of pruning it (I’m in a new garden if you are new to this six) and I’m getting bolder.  This time I cut out a whole branch on the grounds that it was very clearly crossing.  Otherwise I restricted myself to cutting back to one or two buds, which were clearly  visible.  I think I did this job just in time.  The tree in the background is my neighbour’s enviable willow.

Two

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January is the month for pruning some types of fruit trees.  Earlier on I pruned the Persimmon tree and this week it was the turn of the apples and figs.  The smaller ones I did myself but I called in the professionals for the large fig and a large apple tree both of which had got to a height that had defeated me and my ladder. Which is not actually that great a height.  This photo is the apple tree after the prune.  It is much lighter, but I think the reshaping will take a year or two.

Three

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I recently spotted a bargain buy of 6 helleborus niger and they arrived mid week after a deluge of rain.  The lawn was sodden and the heavy clay soil of the borders was sticky and uninviting but in they went.  The seem to have settled very well. There’s also a bit of colour from some primroses.  I prefer the yellow common primrose but these are staying in for the moment.  Just behind you can see the first of the daffodils pushing through.

Four

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January is also the month when the first snowdrops appear.  Mine, planted in the green last year, are now getting into their stride, edging the line of small apple trees.

Five

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So despite the cold, windy and wet weather that we have had recently the garden is waking up.  Today I also spotted the first new shoots of the lovely magenta phlox that is dotted around the back border.  I can’t wait for these to be in flower again.  But first I’ll need to cut out last year’s dead stems.

Six

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Finally, a rosebud.  It may not make it into a fully formed flower if the rain and cold weather continue but it is another cheering sign that the seasons are changing.

Yes. It’s a thumbs up for the end of January at least.  For more news and views from the other sixer gardens stop  by The Propagator’s blog for links to the posts for this Saturday.