#hemerocallis

Six On Saturday: July and jobs to be done

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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: Bananas!

/ n20gardener / 18 Comments

Or Bananarama to be precise. Cruel Summer to be even more exact. Perhaps I should be growing ensete. Too late now. The weather is going to be very cruel next week and we must all take care. I hope I don’t lose any plants and that the veg plot can subsist on the meagre amount of water I can give it. Here are six things from the flower garden this week.

One

The hydrangea in the front garden is a mass of blue, pink and purple flowers. It spends most of the day in the shade and I tend to take it for granted. Perhaps some water and a feed would give it a lift!

Two

The evergreen agapanthus that are wrapped up over winter should be at home in this heat but as they are in pots they do need regular watering. They are already on the turn. Every four years or so I take a saw to them and divide them up. This year a couple of the pots are only managing one flower stem so they will be divided next spring.

Three

The phlox are vibrant at the moment but I fear they will be drooping by next week.

Four

This is clematis viticella ‘Etoile Violette’. A favourite of mine and I do look after it with regular feeds of seaweed extract. It does get some shade throughout the day so I’m hoping it will not suffer.

Five

The day lilies are also basking in the sun. These ones, ‘Golden Chimes’, don’t have gall midge….so far!

Six

My recent purchase of ‘Lord Bute’ is back in flower again. Absolutely wonderful.

I hear Mr P is hanging up his running shoes for this weekend but is heading off to a festival. Even so he will be hosting the Six on Saturday meme as usual. Much respect! Don’t forget to stop by.

Six on Saturday: The year is moving on

/ n20gardener / 10 Comments

The apples are filling out and the hollyhocks are going to seed. There is definitely a feel of autumn in the air. I lifted the last of the potatoes this week and finally accepted that the onions are not going to get any bigger. They are pretty small in spite of the rain that we have had. But then it doesn’t feel like there has been enough sunshine. I am just keeping up with eating the courgettes but the cucumbers are out running me. The first pickings of the outside tomatoes have come through this week just as I bought some seed for next year. I also bought green manure seed which has been sown in the bare ground left by the potatoes. And so it all begins again. Meanwhile there are a few more months of flowers to enjoy. Here’s this week’s six.

One

It has been day lily time for a few weeks and every week I aimed to show my favourite white one ‘Gentle Shepherd’ but the rain turned each transient flower to a soggy mess. These ones, ‘Golden Chimes ‘ seem more resilient and do manage to put on a show despite their more shady location.

Two

I don’t usually see a second flowering from the weigela but this year’s weather seems to have suited it and I’m not going to object.

Three

This is very much a tale of two pots. Last year’s bulbs of gladiolus murielae were left in their pots and overwintered in the greenhouse. Wow, I thought, what a lovely show I will get from all these green leaves and what a shame that the other pot hasn’t done so well. But the reverse is true, not one flower stem is hidden amongst those leaves while the other pot has at least managed to flower.

Four

Something started for next year’s flowering. These are eurybia divaricata, or wood aster, sown from seed supplied by The Propagator himself. I have planted about half a dozen out in the garden already and I am planning to donate these to a local Horticultural Society Plant Sale. Always a satisfying part of gardening when you can pass on the good turn. Thanks Prop.

Five

The roses work so hard in this garden and although some have really suffered from black spot this year, ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ is holding strong.

Six

I am also enjoying the second, very generous, flush of ‘Blush Noisette’ growing along the wall. The gloomier days mean that the pink tinge stays a little longer. In bright sunshine they fade all too quickly to white. Every cloud has a silver lining!

My gardening jobs for this weekend will be to cut down the hollyhocks before they self seed too vigorously. And I’m planning out a new planting area for the very back border. It’s a difficult spot I think. Not enough sun to support my dream of an asparagus bed but, tantalising, it does seem to get a good amount of late afternoon sun. I want to grow tall grasses to hide the end of garden fence and so, throwing caution to the wind, that is what I am going to do. More to come on this one. More from other SOS gardens can be found at The Propagator’s site. Enjoy.

Six On Saturday: Gardening noises

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It started with the sound of rustling of seed packets. A little bit of taking stock, did I remember to order everything, can I sow this year-old seed again? Now the chilli seeds have been sown along with an early batch of rocket. If felt good to be rummaging around in the compost again. I’ve also stretched the hamstrings with a little light gardening. These bones are getting going. Here’s six from the garden.

One

I should have spruced these up before presenting them here. They are the last of the parsnips. In truth they are also the first of the parsnips. It was another year of sporadic germination of seed. I think I sowed three times and this was all that came good. They have since been washed, finely sliced and turned into curried parsnip soup. Delicious. Parsnip seeds will be sown again this year, ever the optimist.

Two

I have decided to significantly streamline the potato growing this year and I have chosen one variety. Yes, just the one – Belle de Fontenay. It was the most successful and tasty of those I grew last year so all my eggs are going into one basket, so to speak. Chitting has begun.

Three

This brachyglottis is featured because I love the silver line that edges the leaves. It is showing up really well at the moment.

Four

A little bit of cheat here, this is last week’s downward facing hellebores taken from underneath. Yes, that involved a little bit of stretching too. And impossible to focus!

Five

My mass planting of snowdrops in the north border is still being recalcitrant. I have high hopes for a February bonanza. But this little clump that hides under a hedge is doing rather well.

Six

Some things in the garden are just zinging along. These are the new shoots of the day lily ‘Gentle Shepherd’. The excitement is just too much for me!

The other interesting noises heard this week were the squelch, squelch of the lawn and the beautiful bird song. My predication for rain not snow last week was completely wrong. Several inches of snow fell and stayed until Wednesday when it was washed away by several nights of rain. I had to choose my gardening jobs carefully but it was lovely to be outside. This week’s bird spot was the aptly named blackcap, a warbler apparently. Perhaps it was responsible for the tuneful notes bouncing round the trees. Here’s a link to an RSPB recording of a blackcap singing. Hoping you find much to enjoy in the coming week.

Mr P as always hosts this meme, join in at anytime.

Six On Saturday: A happy garden

/ n20gardener / 16 Comments

Contrary to the forlorn look of the garden this morning I am sure it is much happier. Some plants are weighed down by the rain that finally arrived. Verbena, cosmos and guara drop their heads but deep down their roots are sucking up some much needed moisture. Yes the rain came. Overnight thunderstorms on Thursday and then on and off showers since. My six for the week were snapped before the rain.

One

My favourite combination in the garden at the moment.  Echinacea ‘White Swan’ and pennisetum villosum.  The beautiful fluffy heads of the pennisetum are one of today’s droopers but I’m sure they’ll pick up.

Two

Day lilies.  These are in half sun, half shade so I may get another week of display from them.  They are ‘Golden Chimes’.  Planted in 2017 and I divided them last year, spreading their cheerfulness around the garden.

Three

I have a running-riot clump of Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ in the garden which was also divided last year.  I planted a few small pieces in some semi-shade hoping the growth would be slower.  They have taken to the new spot with as much enthusiasm as the original planting.  I can see I will have to be ruthless.

Four

One of my inherited plants is a group of white phlox.  I’d left my well established clumps behind when we moved house so I was very happy to see these come through in the first summer here.  These are in the shade of an apple tree and are one of the plants that I have faithfully watered, at the first sign of wilting, in the dry spell.

Five

These are my everyday agapanthus.  For unknown reasons this clump has flowered very well this year while about 4 feet away there languishes a clump of agapanthus foliage with not a sniff of a flower.  That clump will be dug up and divided, fed and given one more chance.

Six

There is one thing in the garden that does seem to have enjoyed the high temperatures.  The figs have ripened and the first to be picked were greedily eaten.  I just stopped  myself in time and took a photo of this one.  The best are high in the tree and as usual the birds get to those first.

The cooler temperatures will persuade me out into the garden again.  Even the early morning deadheading proved too onerous in the heat.  Now rain battered rose petals decorate the garden so there is extra snipping to be done.  Enjoy your gardening time  and for a break, stop by at The Prop’s place to see what goes on in the SOS world.

Six On Saturday: Flowers – new and old

/ n20gardener / 14 Comments

Well what a week that was. The two day heat wave has passed and rain has arrived. As I write this post I realise that after three years restocking the garden it is time to reflect on the progress made.   This week’s six features some very new flowers, some settling in and some so well established that they need taking in hand.  All delivered with a splash of rain.

One

Hemerocallis ‘Gentle Shepherd’.  I recently opined that I really wanted H. Floro Pleno but when I went shopping for some anemones (another story) I fell for this. A little bedraggled by the rain but on a sunny day it is truly wonderful.  I bought two and should have bought more.

Two

I had a flurry into dahlias last year but decided they are not my thing, except these white ones which are Blanc y Verde if I remember rightly.  I grow them in pots along the thin border.  I don’t lift them, just covering them with mulch over winter.

Three

The hosta Francee, planted in a pot about a month ago, has flowered and I am impressed.  I was quite happy to enjoy the leaves but the delicate flowers are a great bonus.

Four

It’s a lemon flower and I am very excited by this.  Having nearly killed the lemon tree two winters ago – beast from the east etc – the poor thing limped along last year.  This year there is plenty of new foliage and finally a few flowers.  I don’t suppose they will get to be lemons before it goes back in the greenhouse.  I shall enjoy the flower and the wonderful scent.

Five

Verbena bonariensis.  By contrast to the lemon tree the vb is very happy in the garden.  I brought a few pots of it from the last garden and in three years here it has spread itself into every nook and cranny.   I need to keep this plant under control.  It has been brilliant for adding colour and height to a new garden and I do let it self seed into pots of agapanthus but now I am being ruthless.

Six

Rose of the week is  a climber, James Galway.  It looks perfectly lovely here and I am sure that once it becomes established I will really enjoy it.  At the moment it is only half way up the trellis.  More growth please!  Perhaps the rain will help it along.

More garden sharing posts are to be found on The Propagator’s site.  Our industrious host shares the links to posts from around the world.  Always worth a look.

 

Six on Saturday: Flowers are hiding a multitude of sins

/ n20gardener / 17 Comments

Continuing on from the theme of last week: losing the plot, all is still chaos in the garden. It’s been a busy week. The house is encased in scaffolding. Painters and roofers are everywhere. Good for them that it hasn’t rained, not so good for me.  There is watering to be done and weeds to be pulled.   It is time to cut back the hardy geraniums and delphiniums, which, once done, will definitely bring the garden back into some sense of order.  But then who wants order in the garden? Let the flowers rule!

One


I call these shasta daisies, but I have a distant memory that they have been renamed. Or maybe it is just that they have a formal classification name as well. Of course I didn’t get round to giving them a little bit of support so they have happily sprawled over the path. That path is getting hard to find these days. These have been in the garden, grown from seed, for three years now. Doing well I think.

Two

Suddenly the day lillies have burst forth.  I have ‘Golden Chimes’.  I can’t quite remember why  I chose these.  I really have a hankering for ‘Flore Pleno’.  But these will do – for now.  Day lillies are a sign, for me,  that the season is moving on.

Three

Sidalcea also indicate a change over is taking place.  This is ‘Stark’s Hybrid’.  This came to the garden last year and is beginning to clump up.  It should be very good next year.  It is in the mallow family and is not too dissimilar to hollyhocks but quite a bit shorter.

Four

Speaking of which, the hollyhocks this year are not quite at the giddy heights of last year but there is still time.  They seeded everywhere and I have realised that you need to be quick to pull out any unwanted ones. They develop very long roots that put up quite struggle.

Five

Gaura lindheimeri ‘Whirling Butterflies’ was a feature of SOS posts last year and after spotting it in a garden in France I was convinced that I had to have it here.  This is the first summer of flowering and it is not an established clump.  It does look beautiful swaying in a breeze, very summery.  I have high hopes of this making a bigger impact next year.

Six

There always has to be a rose at this time of year and this week it is ‘Darcey Bussell’.  Beautiful scent, fabulous colour and full of flower.  What more can you ask for?

For more summer highlights visit Mr P’s garden and you will find yourself meandering down garden paths from around the world.  Highly recommended.