#hydrangea

Six On Saturday: It’s a beautiful day (2)

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Apologies, I couldn’t resist re-using last week’s title. Blue skies and and a gentle breeze are lifting the soul. In between last week’s post and this, I snuck away for a few days to Cornwall. I tipped my hat to Jim, host of this meme, and to Hey Jude, fellow SOSer, en route. They live in a beautiful part of the country and during our stay the sun shone. Perfect. Back home the garden is… well, is what it is. An autumn garden settling down for the winter. So my SOS this week is part holiday, part garden.

One

As part of the short break a night was spent at one of those hotels that curate a lifestyle that one is meant to aspire to. Of course it was wonderful. This is the view from the front door of our ‘cottage’ room. I am envious because it has that gardening symmetry with the grasses that I aspired to in my garden. Here, you may remember, one side flourishes and the other sulks. Hey ho!

Two

Next on the envy list was the immaculately tended walled kitchen garden. Row upon row of plumptious crops: Leeks, Kale, Chard, Radishes, Parsnips with no sign of slugs. They must have teams of under-gardeners whose sole job is to pick them off. But I think I did spot some woody swedes!

Three

Lastly, and I’m pleasantly envious of this, the mushroomery. I’ve made that up. The room devoted to growing mushrooms. Very lovely.

Four

Ah well, back home again. The last of the chillies were picked. Three. But they look good.

Five

Most of our apples were picked in September, producing 53 bottles of apple juice. These braeburns grow in shade of the fig tree and are a little later to ripen. The fig dominates but the apples get to a reasonable size and will be checked over this weekend to see if they are ready for picking.

Six

My flowers have all but finished. But I was dazzled by the sight of new blooms on the hydrangeas. Gloriously white in the sunshine. Yes. It’s a beautiful day again.

SOS starts to get serious now. Join in again next week to see what on earth can be found to keep us going through autumn. All this mindfulness will be very good for us.

Six On Saturday: Scorchio!

/ n20gardener / 21 Comments

It’s too darn hot to garden and almost too darn hot to write. But I’m giving it a go. The apples had to be picked this week, other commitments meant this was the best time for us if not for the apples. The pips were brown and the job was done early one morning. The quote for the new paving and veg beds arrived and was a third more than I was expecting. I should not be surprised by that. It is very likely that I will have to scale down my ambitions but that will have to wait for cooler times. I managed to snap (photograph not break!) a few things in the garden as I watered the pots and threw a large courgette on the compost heap, I am sure many will recognise that summer ritual! Here’s my six for the week.

One

A boot full of apples, ready to be taken to be pressed and bottled. The three cox’s pippin trees did not perform so well this year but the other three trees will have probably made up for them. On these trees the apples were much bigger than in previous years, no doubt due to all that rain in July.

Two

A surprise aster. Could this be a come back kid or is it a new arrival? A few years back I dug out some tall thuggish asters from this spot. Those were bright pink so I guess this one has seeded itself from somewhere else. I’ll see how it goes.

Three

The grasses are beginning to flower. This is calamagrostis × acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’. It’s lovely. So lovely that I planted another one the other side of the steps for some of that designery symmetry. Of course the second has just sulked and refused to bulk up. What can you do?

Four

The lemon tree that suffered near death last winter has put on some lush new growth after being cut back. Being a softy, I did not throw it out as I said I would but there is no greenhouse now for overwintering so if a similar fate occurs this winter it will have to go.

Five

Although the new paving is under review, the gooseberries are definitely going to be replaced by two hydrangea quercifolia ‘ Snow Queen’. There was money off being offered so I couldn’t resist. They are now inhabiting a shady corner until the gooseberries are cleared.

Six

And speaking of hydrangeas, those in the garden are turning to their autumn colours but with one or two new flowers still coming through.

I am still looking for plants to fill winter losses. Does anyone grow osmanthus delavayi? I’m thinking of this for a partial shade spot. What do you think?

If you have time, please stop by and visit our host, Jim, in his garden. He generously provides the glue that keeps us all together and has some fabulous plants too. Stay well everyone.

Six On Saturday: Gone missing

/ n20gardener / 23 Comments

Definitely the sun has gone missing and one or two other things. I read a post on Twitter(?) about the amount of plants that gardeners lose over the years. I lost so many last Winter. I can’t see any sign of a monarda I added to the garden last year, all this year’s annuals failed to thrive and don’t get me started on the plants I lose to slugs and snails. It is part of a gardener’s life. I don’t worry it about it too much now. I walked the garden this morning, braving the rain, and laughed out loud when I saw that every single lettuce planted out two weeks ago had disappeared. On my journey round I collected twelve fat slugs which were served as breakfast to the toads in the compost heap. I hope they get to them before the slugs escape. Here’s six things that were found.

One

Let’s start with some brightness. Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’. I think the slugs did have a nibble at the new shoots earlier in the year but ‘Goldsturm’ fought back and shines in the gloom. This does spread very happily and I have given many a pot to friends.

Two

More cheer in the shape of shasta daisies. These were grown from seed many years back. Some have been flattened down by the rain but this group, in the shadow of an apple tree, have remained upright – so far.

Three

Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Album’ also manage to shine out through the low light. I’ve had these for about five years and it’s only now that they seem to have settled into a good strong clump. The RHS does indicate that it takes five years to reach ultimate height and I can’t argue, well perhaps a little. I don’t think they’ve made it to 1.2m yet!

Four

New to the garden last year to replace a blighted box shrub, this hydrangea ‘Limelight’ isn’t doing too badly. It’s in the shadow of a very large and very old rhododendron so it has had to compete. This year’s rain will have helped it get its roots down.

Five

These kniphofia nearly went missing, one of the early spikes was felled half way up the stem by the munching menaces. I moved one clump last year and it doesn’t seem to have enjoyed it as so far there have been no flowers.

Six

I am considering abandoning all hope here. This is/was hosta ‘Thomas Hogg’. From time to time I have wondered if it was the birds or the slugs who were shredding the leaves. This morning the culprits were caught with their mouths full. Off to the compost heap they went. Maybe it is time for the hosta to be relocated to a pot.

Losses, yes. Gains, yes: from the many self seeders, from plants shared by friends and from new purchases that settle in and last for years. On balance I will keep gardening. It’s a wash out this weekend but I’ll be back out there as soon as possible. Jim, host of the links for this SOS posting meme, continues to show great variety from his garden. Join him and the others for a cornucopia of gardening news.

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: Those flowers keep coming

/ n20gardener / 19 Comments

Spoilt for choice this week. Those second half of summer flowers are coming through and a handsome downpour of rain on Tuesday perked everything up. Here’s my six for this week.

One

This is a plant I never would have chosen to add to the garden. It graces the front garden under a bay window and its intense blue really is quite an eye catcher. I still can’t decide if I like it but it is an inheritance I won’t be rejecting. Lacecap hydrangea btw!

Two

This is a hydrangea I did choose for the garden. It is hydrangea macrophylla ‘Blushing Bride’. I’ve looked this one up and I find that it is that it is part of the Endless Summer range and can flower on old and new wood. Thereby giving flowers from June to October. Well I never!

Three

Hurrah. A Winter survivor. Some penstemons were lost but this is a very healthy looking specimen. If I remember rightly it is ‘Plum Jerkum’ but please correct me if I’m wrong.

Four

I think it is obligatory at this time of year to show a pollen soaked bee in a hollyhock flower. I am happy to oblige.

Five

Here’s my collection of allium sphaerocephalon. Unspellable, unpronounceable and previously a little underwhelming. This year, after about four years in the ground, they have bulked up and their stems can now happily support the flower head. I’ve looked these up as well and belatedly see that they could look good against a backdrop of ornamental grasses. Here they work with gaura and day lilies. Not too bad.

Six

Speaking of day lilies, here is my only other variety. ‘Golden Chimes’ is its name, it’s been in the garden a few years now and about every other year it is divided and spread around a little more.

I’ve had to make a few decisions this week. Gone for the aging choisya, gone for two skimmias and gone for a euphorbia mellifera that I thought would pull through. One border looks a little thin now! On the plus side I spotted new growth from some dahlia tubers left in the ground and a salvia microphylla, aka Blackcurrant sage, has also woken up. I’m looking forward to a few more showers today to keep the hydrangeas happy. I hope the gardening space provides happiness for you this weekend too. Jim, our host, has a fabulous selection to share. Stop by for a visit and drop in on the other SOS bloggers for more gardening delights.

Six On Saturday: Billowing roses

/ n20gardener / 9 Comments

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: And we are off!

/ n20gardener / 20 Comments

The Spring equinox seems to be the jumping off point I was waiting for. The garden has crept forward once again, fed by the magic of rain and a few degrees more warmth. Of course there’s a downside. The snails are eating the tête-à-têtes and the perennial ground elder and cinquefoil weeds are running riot once again. But these are old friends (foes), and signal warming soil and better things to come. I think the garden is behind last year but finally buds are opening out and the bees are flying. Here’s my six from the garden this week.

One

By this time last year the clematis armandii ‘Apple Blossom’ was in full bloom. This year there are plenty of buds still to open but flowers have started to appear and on sunny days the scent emerges.

Two

The muscari are also on the edge of revealing their full potential.

Three

These are early tulips ‘Purissima’ chosen to flower to coincide with the hellebores. They are ‘scheduled’ to flower in late March/early April. Almost there then.

Four

The first of the cowslips have opened, encouraging me to really believe that Spring has arrived in this garden.

Five

Heralding promise for later in the year, the leaves of the climbing hydrangea have opened up. I have two of these, which have been in the garden about three years. They are slowly spreading themselves across a north facing fence and have almost met in the middle. I have high hopes for a good display this year.

Six

I can’t ignore that other indicator of the garden on the move: tree seedlings. Oh my, what a crop of them I have this year. The back of the garden is set aside for the veg and fruit growing and this particular space is destined for potatoes. The asparagus bed, in its second year of growth, is also showing a healthy crop of seeds. There’s work to be done here!

It was not a week for getting out in the garden, the rain was welcome but I could have done without the gusting winds. There wasn’t even time to sow seeds in the shelter of the greenhouse. I managed to pot up dahlia tubers and cut out the dead wood in the choisya. It might survive, as might the cistus. Today I spotted some new green growth in amongst the dead looking stems. There is hope. There’s plenty more to see in Jim’s garden, he hosts the Six On Saturday meme so stop by and take a look at his six and the links to all the other SOS gardeners. Happy gardening.

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

/ n20gardener / 10 Comments

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: New projects

/ n20gardener / 21 Comments

Misty mornings, rain, gusty winds. It really does feel like Autumn now. I have resisted buying bulbs this year but those end of season discounts are beginning to look tempting. I had two projects on my gardening ‘to do’ list. One was the new greenhouse and the other, a revamp of a corner of the garden. The greenhouse situation was speedily resolved when I discovered that the local fox had started excavating a rather large hole inside the greenhouse. Another attempt to re-attach the door was made and, no doubt also spurred on by the cost of a new greenhouse, would you believe it, it was a successful attempt. Infact the door is now moving better than it ever has done since we moved in here and so project New Greenhouse has been abandoned. The second project has been started and finished within the week. The new rose ‘Lady of Shalott’ arrived this week which kick started the clearance of the border. Phloxes were divided and re-planted. Kniphofia moved, tulips bulbs unceremoniously turfed out and the rose and a new shrub sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ were added. The zinnias were dug up and optimistically re-planted on the veg plot. Two or three heavy downpours then followed which should give everything a good start. Onwards, now, to this week’s six.

One

The colours in the garden have begun to turn. The persimmon in front takes on reddish hues and behind it the large fig tree moves from green to yellow. Leaves are flying of the trees and sycamore seeds rain down from the skies. This stage just before winter arrives is truly a lovely time of the year. Next year as I once again deal with all those sycamore seedlings, I shall curse a little!

Two

The hydrangeas move into autumn colours at about this time. The effects of the summer drought are all too evident in the blackened flower heads but there are enough of the surviving flowers heads to present a generally appealing appearance – if I close one eye and squint slightly.

Three

The mexican daisy, erigeron karvinskianus, continues to froth its way through the year. This fronts up the border that I have just re-planted and one or two new seedling plants were moved further along to extend their exuberance a little further.

Four

I added in a new anemone to a shady corner at the back of the garden. It’s a smaller growing variety that just suits a front of border position, I wish I could share its name but where has the label gone?

Five

This week’s Six On Saturday links are being hosted by Jim at Garden Ruminations. Jim also posts on his allotment plot (amongst many other things). Recent discussions have included green manures and the benefits of keeping soil planted over the winter. I’m in the third year of sowing green manure seed. This year it’s a mixture of vetch and Westmorland rye grass. Here it is after three to four weeks growth. I have a row of parsnips left on this patch but unless I locate some veg plugs that will be me done for the winter.

Six

Lastly, as usual, a rose to finish on. This is Darcy Bussell, with some salvia ‘Amistad’ in the background. I love this combination.

I’ve a few phlox left over from the divisions, so I shall be trying to squeeze them into the borders somewhere. I’ve also moved some libertia to sunnier spots. At the beginning of the week the ground was easily workable, now it’s much wetter and moving plants will be harder work. It feels like this phase of the gardening year is coming to an end and the next few weeks will be about bringing in tender plants and gathering fallen leaves. I really recommend stopping by Jim’s garden in Cornwall, he’s a plantsman by any definition! Happy gardening everyone, it’s the best place to be!

Six On Saturday: Glass half full thinking

/ n20gardener / 8 Comments

I’ve had a spell of not gardening: either it was too hot or I was busy elsewhere. The UK Bank Holiday weekend offered up cooler weather and some precious time. The garden was looking scruffy and I thought I’d give an honest six this week showing it’s disarray. But this morning’s walk round revealed a few positives and I have been persuaded to look on the bright side. Here they are, mixed in with a some reflections on the less successful aspects of the garden.

One

The roses continue to push out new growth and are the mainstay of colour in the garden at the moment. This is ‘Madame Isaac Péreire’. Nearby there should be a pop of helenium ‘Short and Sassy’. Not a sign of it, eaten by the slugs in it’s first year in the garden. That’s heleniums crossed off the grow list.

Two

Sorry to be repetitive but not being a fan of dahlias I don’t really grow them. However I do recognise their valuable contribution to late season colour and so I try one or two here and there. This year’s trial was the orange flowering ‘David Howard’. I was going to kill two birds with one stone here, beautiful chocolate leaves giving me a break from green and ochre orange flowers for contrast. The aforementioned slugs got in first and nibbled down the top growth. The dahlias fought back and the foliage is lush, but as yet not a sign of flowers. I wait patiently, maybe they will come.

Three

The back border was newly planted this year with a selection of grasses and three persicaria polymorpha. The white frothy flowers are exactly what I had in mind, but the stems do not seem to be able to support the flower heads and I regularly find snapped stems languishing in amongst the froth. This is most strange as the description suggests it is a ‘bulky feature plant making strong stems’. Next year perhaps?

Four

Before the back border was planted up I used it as a heeling in space for various self seeders from the main garden. In one of those serendipitous moments this astrantia ‘Roma’ combined well with periscaria, survived the drought and has won a permanent place in the back border where I hope it will self seed some more.

Five

I’m definitely focusing on the positives in this photo. The hydrangeas are a sad scorched affair this year but with the help of a few showers of rain they have shown their resilience. There’s new growth to be seen and one or two heads of new flowers have appeared.

Six

Apologies for sharing more tomato photographs. The San Marzano in the greenhouse have been amazing this year. I was extravagant and bought new seed, then planted the seedlings in a new bed on the other side of the greenhouse and focused my watering attention on them. We’ve been eating them for a few weeks and have also frozen a batch of cooked up passata.

Oh the joy of selective photographs, my scruffy gone-to-seed garden offers up some gems and I can put together a positive viewpoint. My mind is racing with plans to replant certain areas and I have been sowing seed of echinacea pallida and e. ‘White Swan’ in preparation. I have not ordered any spring bulbs and have no plans to. Those late offers may tempt me of course but for now I am reviewing what I have and looking at how to rework plants to better advantage. It all begins again, another year, another chance.

For more gardening thoughts take a look at The Propagator’s site, he’s not in this week as there is another mammoth run to be completed but as always the links to other SOS posts will appear over the weekend. Happy reflections on your gardening year. I will soon be collecting the juice from this year’s apple crop. That’s one for next week already in the bank.