#muscari

Six On Saturday: First tulips

/ n20gardener / 10 Comments

Top amongst the exciting signs of new life are the first of the tulips. They are my favourite bulb plant, I forgive them for not always coming back, having a particular fondness for those that do. There are other encouraging signs: the dead looking ‘Hawksmoor’ fuchsia has the very first new leaves opening along the dead stems. More seeds have been sown and I have made a start of cutting back the hydrangeas. Here’s my six for the week.

One

Always the first tulip to open in this garden. The cheerful yellow of ‘World Friendship’ This one has been around for three or four years.

Two

In the east facing corner, this is…now which one is it. I think ‘Negrita’ but if not then it’s ‘Ronaldo’. I think Ronaldo is deeper in colour and later to flower.

Three

These are ‘Purissima’. they go completely mad in the sunshine, opening up to show off a yellow inside. They are planted to flower along with the hellebores and fritillaries. They have managed to coincide well this year.

Four

At a lower level, the muscari have opened up and after a couple of years in the garden are filling out well.

Five

I have to include this erythronium ‘White Beauty’ before it has fully opened. Mainly because it is so perfect but also because by next week the slugs may well have found it.

Six

I’ve include a photo from my daughter’s garden this week. The tree, so far unidentified, has some very close neighbours. Immediately in front is a broom and intertwined between the two is some other unknown shrub. Time will tell. The trailing wire in the background is electricity for a tree house! It’s time is nearly up.

Another afternoon was spent in my daughter’s garden, the feared bamboo-spread into the lawn seems to be a false alarm. But the culprit is a very wide leaved, fast growing grass. I’ve no idea what it is. That was strimmed again. Elsewhere bindweed was found and there is nothing like an afternoon spent digging out bindweed to wake up the gardening muscles. Fortunately there is not much in the borders to get in the way of the digging. Next week I must include a photo of the tree house before it is dismantled! There’s plenty going on in SOS host Jim’s garden, stop by and take a look. Happy gardening everyone.

Six On Saturday: Nearly there

/ n20gardener / 15 Comments

I’m just back from a few days in Italy and even that short break gave me the opportunity to see the garden with fresh eyes. The tulips are opening up and the green shoots seem to have doubled in size. There is much promise of things to come, but for the moment a cold wind blows. Here’s six from a chilly walk around the garden today.

One

Last week’s tulip buds have moved on a stage, ‘World Friendship’ seems to be a reliable returner and is a lovely warmer yellow colour.

Two

The muscari have also opened up that little bit more and this year have increased in quantity to give a good sized drift along the path.

Three

These are tulip ‘Purissima’ before they get to their overblown state. I planted them to complement the hellebores and this year they have just about coincided.

Four

Isn’t there always one thing that you said you would have more of next season and then you don’t buy any? Here’s mine: Leucojum aestivum ‘Gravetye Giant’. I think I am going to pick up some pots of flowering bulbs and drop them in where needed. More expensive, but I am sure I will forget again if I leave it until bulb buying season.

Five

Well, lookey here! Some thalia that the slugs haven’t found yet. Last week I said ‘no more’. Unfortunately fickle is my middle name. These are so lovely that I think I am going to be tempted again. Somebody save me from myself, please!

Six

I have been picking up stray primrose seedlings from around the garden and planting them in a corner to see what colour they are when in flower. I now have a Persian carpet of them. The plan was to move them into the appropriate spot in the garden according to their colours. I think I can be persuaded to leave them as they are.

The fig tree had a prune just before the departure for Italy. This annual task is to keep the height down and this year one of the lower branches was removed. It will make it harder to pick fruit but there will be less ducking when the lawn is mowed. This weekend I will try to give the roses a feed with some fish, bone and blood and then I will dither about whether it is time to cut back the hydrangeas. Two degrees overnight on Sunday may persuade me to leave it for one more week. I will also start to think about seed sowing. There’ll be many a relieved SOSer this week as it becomes easier to find six delights in the garden. Stop by Jim’s place to see the show. Happy gardening everyone.

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: It’s getting better

/ n20gardener / 22 Comments

The garden has been surging forward in this last week of sunshine. But hold on, there is cold weather to come. April can be a cruel month. Even so, gardeners are getting busy and anticipation is high. Here’s six from this week’s garden.

One

The thalia have arrived, my favourites. But no sooner do they open out then the slugs slither up the stems and nibble the flowers. Sad, but I have learnt to shrug my shoulders, sigh and move on.

Two

I am showing the muscari again! I had some left overs in pots, awaiting an opening in the garden. I have now put them into a shadier border and the colour looked so strong in the shadows. I’ll get away with it this year because they benefited from the warmth of a sunny corner before I planted them out. Next year I might find that this spot is just too shady for them.

Three

The perennials are really bulking up and the lovely leaves of thalictrum ‘Black Stockings’ look great. The dark stems are already quite striking. These are in a shady spot too and do very well.

Four

The seed potatoes are chitting away but back in February I planted up three or four in an old compost bag and left them in the greenhouse. The top shoots have just come through so another layer of compost will be added. I might have some early new potatoes in April.

Five

The tomato seeds sown in early March have been potted on. These are destined for the greenhouse. For the moment they are in the spare bedroom.

Six

The pergola project is moving forward with very little sucking in of breath! There is a possibility it will be done next week. In anticipation of a smart new pergola, a smart new garden table was purchased. The old pergola is doing a good impersonation of being a solid structure, but the truth is hidden. All four support legs are rotting away. Now I am anticipating the sunny months to come. In my dreams I also see a trachycapus fortunei swaying in the breeze. Does anyone have experience of growing those in pots?

I am, as always, delighted to compliment The Propagator on his dedication to SOS. All the links to this joyful meme will be found there. Wishing everyone a great gardening weekend.