#knautia

Six On Saturday: Sun and rain

/ n20gardener / 17 Comments

Definitely a week of two halves. Glorious sun, soaring temperatures followed by torrential rain and tumbling temperatures. The magic water was much needed though and I managed to give the apples trees a dressing of bonemeal which is now well watered in. The zinnias are all planted and the last of the tomatoes are out. My bête-noire, the fox, snapped a beautiful cucumber plant but luckily I had a spare. Here’s this week’s six, mostly taken when the sun was shining.

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The garden was filled with the scent of roses on those sunny days. Here is Darcy Bussell. I usually have a row of salvia ‘Amistad’ running behind these which looks glorious late in the year. The salvias have not survived the winter so I set about a re-think. I was dissuaded from my first choice of verbascums after a conversation with The Quilting Gardener – who warned of mullein moth caterpillar attack and of course slugs. I’ve decided to leave the space free this year and give the roses room to roam.

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The euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii seed heads were popping on Monday so it was time to pull on the protective clothing and cut back the flowering stems. Here the sisyrinchium striatum works well against the background of the euphorbia. There’s a cheeky photo-bomb from geranium ‘Brookside’.

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The delphiniums are towering high this year, and only just about surviving the heavy rainfall. I collected seeds from these dark purple ones last year and now have new plants that will add more colour to the garden for next year.

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This tiny plant lives at the front of a banked up part of the garden so even though is small it is high enough to be enjoyed. It’s ‘Ballerina’, a dwarf geranium with beautiful veining.

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A combination of self-seeded knautia ‘Macedonica’ against a wall of climbing ‘Blush Noisette’ roses. A happy chance.

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Oh dear me. Not everything is glowing. The cutting patch which was topped up with home compost has just revealed what was in hiding: thousands of baby verbena bonariensis seedlings. I do not need more of these so they will be ruthlessly culled. I will use some more of the dahlias and asters grown from seed to fill the space.

Don’t forget to visit The Propagator’s site for all the SOS posts. More rain forecast here for the beginning of the week but then perhaps we will be into a settled patch again. I will just enjoy the thought that all that water must be good for the potatoes!

Six On Saturday: Pop, pop, pop!

/ n20gardener / 27 Comments

As usual just as the garden got going I headed off to Suffolk for a week. I emptied out the greenhouse and soaked everything as best I could. But the week turned out cooler than forecast and on my return I could breathe a sigh of relief and give a smile of delight. The warmer temperatures that followed the rain had done its work. The garden had popped.

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These lillies were in bud as I left.  They’ve definitely popped and now flood this corner of the garden with their beautiful scent.  They’ve been growing in this pot for many years now, when I remember they get fed but otherwise they are left to their own devices.  Thankfully no sign of lilly beetle yet.

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The lavender is sparkling in the sunshine today.  Last year I needed to replace a French lavender that didn’t over winter.  I picked up a  ‘Hidcote’ but then changed my mind and bought a ‘Munstead’ and I am enjoying the softer colour.

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The knautia macedonica have burst forth and are humming with bees.  They are just at the stage when I can cope with dead heading them – cutting out the first flowering middle stem is easy but a week on and I will be lost in a sea of new blooms and seed heads.

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The hydrangeas that suffered so much last year have fought back and look rather stately against the backdrop of the sage mound.  I think they will suffer today if temperatures reach predicted heights.

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Penstemon ‘Plum Jerkum’ has joined the gang, a lovely deep colour.

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These are the trays of annuals that I have left to plant out.  That’s my gardening job for the weekend but I will save it for tomorrow when the heat is less intense.  I have cleome, zinnia, a few nicotiana and other assorted bits and pieces.  They are going to fill the gaps where the agastache and pennisetum villosum didn’t over winter.  I also have dead heading of roses and picking of sweet peas to do – sounds like a perfect summer.

Mr P , host of this meme, shares his six wonders and the comments section gives the links to other posts from around the world.  Worth a look when it all gets too much in the sun!

Six On Saturday: Reaching the heights or lost in the foothills?

/ n20gardener / 25 Comments

I’ve definitely had the feeling of losing the battle this week.  Slugs and snails are eating their way through the young plants – cosmos, lettuce, borlotti beans are high among the casualties.  The parsnips are refusing to germinate – third sowing and the last! And it looks like the fox has taken a shine to wandering through the agastache at night. I’m also losing the battle to keep everything watered, no rain and the water butts are empty again.  It looks grim.  But this is Saturday and optimism rules:

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Definitely reaching the heights are these delphiniums, I think they must be six feet tall.  Taken as a division from the parental garden many years ago, they were divided again when we moved here and I am very pleased to see them thriving this year. I was meticulous about staking and tying them in but they have exceeded my expectations!

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Also climbing upwards are the stems of Knautia macedonica.  These were planted out from 9cm pots last autumn and have settled down well.  They seem slug proof unlike some of the plants I have recklessly invested in.  Fortunately I remembered to stake them – just in time.  The bees love them.

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Down in the foothills where most of the slug damage is being done are these delightful dianthus deltoides.  They sulked after the garden move last year but have come good now.  No damage to report.

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Up again in the heights is this lovely clematis, inherited from the previous owner.  I thought I had killed it last year as I tried to separate it out from the bindweed and lemon balm but it made a comeback.

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A combination of higher foothills and the heights is provided by the lovely rose Blush Noisette and the Astrantia Claret featured in an early six.

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And seeming to be safe in the foothills but, I hope, heading for the heights are these Tithonias.  Grown from seed, one group was planted out a few weeks ago, straight from modules into the ground.  The other group I potted on, returned them to the greenhouse and finally planted them out in the week. This group has made much more growth.  So it looks like potting on is the best option.  The final height is said to be 8 feet.  I’ll report back!

It’s June and I hoped I would be pottering by now.  Well almost, I have some spare cosmos and some zinnias which really do need to go out.  And I’m going to count watering as pottering – so nearly there.  I hope you are too.  Take a look at  The Propagator’s blog , where you’ll find the host of this meme, the ‘rule book’ and all the links to other sixer posts.