#spring

Six On Saturday: Filling out nicely

/ n20gardener / 8 Comments

The garden is plumping up nicely. A little rain would help it on its way and I can’t believe I am saying that after the deluges of the first part of the year. Dry as it is the slugs are out and have nibbled the first of my asparagus spears. I spotted a thrush running across the lawn this week, I hope the food supply is suitable. Here’s six things from my garden this week.

One

The apple blossom has been out for a few weeks now, but this week it really was shouting ‘look at me’. Looks like another good crop to come.

Two

Another shouter: Euphorbia palustris. I gave this one a go when I kept losing e.wulfenii to the wet weather. It’s a yellow zinger and perhaps a little too brash for my taste but it seems to love it in this spot.

Three

The camassias have opened up. Here they are combined with a geum. I’m pretty sure it’s ‘Totally Tangerine’.

Four

I planted a sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ about three years ago and it’s making good progress. It works well with the ‘Negrita’ and ‘Ronaldo’ tulips nearby.

Five

The Hart’s tongue ferns cling on stubbornly in a really dry part of the garden – for which I am very grateful. Here are this year’s emerging fronds.

Six

The iberis is another plant that has been in flower for a few weeks now but this week it looked particularly profuse. A simple doer that falls nicely over the wall.

It was a glorious start to the day but clouds have moved in. I’ve got plenty of weeding to do and some watering of pots. I hope the weather is enticing you out to enjoy your garden spaces. Jim at Garden Ruminations will be hosting as usual for which I send much appreciated thanks.

Six On Saturday: A song on my mind

/ n20gardener / 15 Comments

I’m not sure of the rules re trademarks but I am sure if I say that there’s a Paul Simon song that talks of ‘the nice bright colours’and ‘the greens of summers’ you will know where I’m coming from. Here we had a few of those sunny days and it cheered us all up. The garden has plenty of green and more and more other colours. Here’s six that I found this week.

One

The germanica irises opened this week. They went through a rough patch for about two years, overcrowding perhaps but they didn’t seem that crowded. I dug them up, didn’t manage to replant all of them in one go, left a pile to languish in the shed and eventually threw those out. These are the survivors and they seem happier.

Two

The early ‘Negrita’ tulips have been joined by ‘Spring Green’ and one or two ‘Ronaldo’ These have lasted extremely well, in their third or fourth year I think. I hope that doesn’t jinx it.

Three

I managed to get the second early potatoes in the ground this week. They are in the patch behind this row of miscellaneous tulips that also come back every year.

Four

This is a woodland anemone, a lovely plant that is entirely neglected from year to year. I think I say this every year but I’ll say it again – I must add more of them.

Five

These are some of the first tulips I planted in the garden about nine years ago. Have they all lasted all that time? I’m not sure, I know I have added to them over time. The combination is ‘Queen of Night’, ‘Shirley’, and ‘Barcelona’.

Six

Here’s the oddity of the week. I ordered 40 ‘Maureen’ tulips to fill a gap in my otherwise splendid row of these white gems. This is the first of the new batch to open and it is clearly not white. I think about 3 others will also open up orange. Not what was planned. I will post again when the real ‘Maureens’ have opened, it could be quite a contrast.

I broke a fork last week at my daughter’s garden. I seem to have lost a trowel – in the compost bin perhaps? It’s clearly time for a visit to the garden centre just when all the new stock is arriving. What a challenge. I’ve plenty of gardening jobs to do: finishing off cutting back the hydrangeas, weeding the raspberry plot, spreading out the leaf mould and sowing a few more seeds. April is a busy time but it’s good to be reconnecting with all that is growing. Happy gardening to you all. No post from our genial host Jim this week but his Garden Ruminations site will still host all the links.

Six On Saturday: Bits and pieces

/ n20gardener / 14 Comments

There is no doubt that the garden is moving along. This week’s cold winds, sleety snow and showers may have deterred me but things keep popping up in the garden. Here’s six things I found this week.

One

A miracle! I planted probably fifty of these a couple of years back and they have come to nought, except possibly they are fighting back. I have this one and potentially one or two more that might flower this year. Pheasant’s eye narcissus or Narcissus poeticus var. recurvus to be correct.

Two

A random tulip, one of a group that came free with an order of other tulips. Incredibly resilient, it has been re-flowering for about five years now.

Three

The white anemone blanda, a favourite of mine.

Four

Blown in on the wind? These violets have colonised the base of the vine. I’m very happy to see them in the garden.

Five

More of the fritillaries, this time in combination with a euphorbia and some ipheion or starflower.

Six

This really was blown in on the wind, from my neighbour’s garden. It almost dies but then rallies again. You can’t beat a free plant!

My gardening job this weekend is to finish off the rebuilding of the compost heap. It was a false economy to hope to reuse some of the old slats. They had warped and would not fit into the nice new posts. More had to be ordered and have just arrived. I have plenty of other jobs to do: more twiggy brown stuff to cut back and the dead heading of the tête-à-tête daffodils which are rapidly going over. The first mow took place last week and is waiting patiently to be moved to a compost bin. The clocks go forward this weekend. It must be Spring and Jim’s camellias still look good – take a look at Garden Ruminations. Happy gardening to you all.

Six On Saturday: Delightful daffodils

/ n20gardener / 13 Comments

Confession: I had to get the winter hat out again. The winds have been cold but at least the weather has been a little drier. Here’s a quick look at the garden this week.

One

The narcissi in pots have opened up in the last few weeks. Here’s ‘White Petticoat’, a hoop variety.

Two

This one is ‘Toto’ according to my order and the label.

Three

This one is ‘Snipe’. Spot the difference. I’m sure there must be some but it’s hard to tell them apart. Perhaps Toto has a narrower corona.

Four

The short lived euphorbia oblongata lives on for another year, possibly eight years now.

Five

I had to include these tulips in bud, showing to much promise of things to come.

Six

This last one is a bit of a cheat. Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’, a cheat because it’s in my garden at the moment but will be heading off to my daughter’s garden along with a few other things that tempted me when I went to buy my compost. It’s that time of year.

No gardening for me today but I hope to be out there tomorrow, cutting back the stems of perennials and pulling a few weeds no doubt. I’ve got the potatoes chitting and my over-wintered perennials seedlings from last year have really picked up in the last few weeks. There a good feeling developing. Thank goodness for that. Don’t forget to check up on Jim’s news and see the other SOS blogs. Happy gardening.

Six On Saturday: Popping!

/ n20gardener / 18 Comments

I’ve put away my winter gloves and hats. The weather can be variable even so but the sun has been seen a few times in the last week. Spring flowers are emerging and encouraging me to garden more. Here’s six from the garden this week.

One

The first flower of Leucojum aestivum ‘Gravetye’ popped out during the week and today from the kitchen window I saw that more had opened.

Two

The first flower of ipheion, the spring starflower, also opened and was then drenched by rain.

Three

Another first, the blue scillas that I bought last year have survived the slug attack that followed their planting out. Well at least this little clump survived. Such a beautiful blue colour.

Four

Just opening up, the various clumps of muscari that are dotted along one border. These have been in for a few years now and are beginning to spread which is fine by me.

Five

The very first of the fritillaries, very low down at the moment, it will probably be eaten by slugs by the end of the weekend.

Six

I had to snap of photo of the clematis armandii on a blue sky day. It’s the ‘Apple Blossom’ variety. This is definitely a sign that Spring is here.

I’d love to be mowing the grass soon but I need help reinstalling my collapsed compost bins and don’t want to add the grass to the heaps before they are moved. Help is arriving in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime I am visiting my daughter’s garden for the first time this year. I suspect it will too wet to do much but we are stopping off at the garden centre with a long shopping list. That should be fun. I hope you get to have fun in your gardening spaces. Jim has a great display as usual and all the links to other SOS posts from around the world.

Six On Saturday: More delights

/ n20gardener / 23 Comments

It’s a holiday weekend here and I have managed to keep two extra days for gardening! In reality this means two days of weeding, mostly. I can sometimes understand the non-gardener’s take on things. I do also have some seedlings and divisions to pot on. It’s not all bad. Here’s six good things from the garden this week.

One

The first camassias are out. They opened up last weekend which seems rather early but they are coinciding nicely with the euphorbia.

Two

There are more tulips to enjoy, these are at the shadier end of the garden and are a mixture of ‘Shirley’, ‘Barcelona’ and ‘Queen of Night’.

Three

The iberis is in full flow, cascading down a wall and there are one or two ‘Thalia’ narcissus in the background.

Four

I have my first asparagus spear, several of the later ones have been nibbled by the darling ones.

Five

The forget-me-nots have flooded the veg plot this year. I’ll have to been pretty quick to pull those up before they go to seed but for the moment they are a cheerful sight.

Six

I have one lone tulip ‘Cairo’ of about twenty I planted a couple of years back. It’s a lovely colour and I am tempted to add some more. I just have to accept that they don’t always stick around.

So it’s weeding and watering the pots for me. We had one good shower but that’s all and only light showers are forecast. I had a rest from my daughter’s gardening – avoiding the dismantling of the tree house but I did see that a mystery tree there is now in leaf and flower and is clearly a laburnum. Not one of my favourites but as I keep saying, it’s not my garden!

I’ll will be stopping by Jim’s garden this weekend to see what’s going on there and with the other SOS gardens. Wishing everyone a happy time in their gardening spaces.

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: Crocus time

/ n20gardener / 20 Comments

There’s a certain energy beginning to build. Goldfinches have started to come to the bird feeder and this morning a Great Tit was singing it’s heart out in the nearby hornbeam tree. A little warmth towards the end of the week encouraged a few more spring flowers. It’s all very inspiring. Here’s six from the garden this week.

One

I have a habit of buying a bag of bulbs from market stalls. The bulbs are always named varieties and I fully intend to remember which ones I have planted where. Last year I bought a bag of Jeanne d’Arc crocuses and planted them here. Perhaps I didn’t, perhaps I planted them somewhere else, perhaps they were not Jeanne d’Arc at all. But this is what has grown. Lovely but clearly not Jeanne d’Arc.

Two

I’m pretty sure these are Ruby Giant, a tommasinianus variety. Quite happy with these.

Three

I love these dark purple ones. I have no idea what they are!

Four

That little bit of extra warmth persuaded the ‘Tête-à-tête’ daffodils in pots to open. These are going to be dropped into the borders when I see where the gaps are.

Five

I love the white primroses that sometimes pop up in the garden. This delight has been battered by life but still looks lovely.

Six

Lastly an evergreen filler from the front garden. The silver edge to leaves looked particularly wonderful today. Its a brachyglottis, could it be Silver Wave?

I’ve had my first gardening visit to my daughter’s new garden. Priority number one was to start on the brambles that are invading it from a neighbouring garden. Of course, a thankless task. But a start had to be made. I discovered four pots of climbing plants that looked newly bought. I think the previous owner’s health took a turn for the worse and a new project couldn’t be completed. Sadly I think they are all dead. But maybe they are just dormant. I will update as the seasons progress. Jim as ever, hosts the SOS meme at Garden Ruminations and all the other SOSers gather there for a weekly catch-up. Stop by, join in, all welcome.

Six On Saturday: Reasons to be cheerful

/ n20gardener / 12 Comments

We have blue skies here. A beautiful sight. This means low temperatures tonight, minus two is forecast, but I’m going to enjoy the sunshine. January is coming to an end and the garden is beginning to take shape again. Here’s six things I found this week.

One

The hellebores are popping up, these are unknowns that self seed very happily and I let them do their thing freely.

Two

This is hellebore ‘Pretty Ellen Red’ that was in bud a few weeks back.

Three

I planted euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaiety’ around the hellebores but hardly ever share a photo of it. It does a good enough job of covering the ground so I shouldn’t be so mean.

Four

Speaking of ground cover, I also planted some pachysandra terminalis. Various people frowned and looked concerned, but I did it. It can spread to 1.5 metres but so far it’s been a little slow to get going. It has lovely glossy leaves and looks very fresh at the moment

Five

These are absolutely tiny but they are the first snowdrops in flower. Already nibbled of course.

Six

The asplenium scolopendrium, or hart’s tongue fern has also done well over this winter. These splashes of green keep the spirits going.

There are plenty of bulbs nosing through now. I’ve spotted the first shoots of tulips and muscari and the ipheion uniflorum has put up grassy leaves. All very encouraging. I’ve also spotted green shoots among some of the grasses which means I must get out there and cut the old stems down. Thanks to Jim, our host and his garden can be admired at Garden Ruminations where you can find the links to other SOS posts. Happy gardening.

Six On Saturday: Cold winds but progress is being made

/ n20gardener / 23 Comments

I was in Dorset for the best part of this week where the locals are quite hardy, shorts and flip flops were popular whilst I was wearing a hat and scarf. The sun did shine but the wind was cold there and so too on the return home. I felt a pang of sorrow for the plants that are emerging only to be blown about by icy blasts. Here’s my chilly six.

One

The camassias moved on to more flower just before I left and I shared this view on Twitter(X) and shamelessly share again. I had planted ‘Cairo’ tulips in amongst them but they have all failed to reappear this year. I was thinking of going again with a pinker tulip but then was tempted by the new season’s ‘Totally Tangerine’ geums that are appearing in the garden centres. Reliable and slug resistant, I may well stay with this choice and add a few more.

Two

Elsewhere other tulips are more reliable. This one is ‘Barcelona’. It has been in the garden for several years now, dwindling slowly but each survivor has such a beautiful shape. I may replant these.

Three

New to the garden this year is tulip ‘Maureen’. It is part of the gooseberry patch revamp. I have never grown such tall tulips, they are 83cms. The Peter Nyssen website gives a height of 60cms. They seem to be standing up well to the wind and I love the creamy yellow that opens into a white. Very elegant. This is classified as an heirloom tulip from the 1950s. It’s a winner this year. I think the old gooseberry patch must be in good shape soil wise.

Four

I have just a few wood anemones and every year say to myself I must add more. Of course they are a slug’s delight. But they have battled on.

Five

The weather may be cold but the garden is moving on at pace. The melica altisssima ‘Alba’ is glowing green in a dark north facing corner. It seeds prolifically and in it’s third or maybe fourth year I have the job of thinning out the unwanted seedlings. I’ll add that the endless task of pulling up sycamore seedlings then!

Six

Two years ago I dug out this end of the border to rid myself of bluebells. Churlish of me, and foolish. I wasn’t going to succeed there was I? This is the corner with the ailing daphne, so it is likely I will be digging through the border again soon. For the moment the bluebells stay and at least the bees enjoy them. Perhaps I can find a scheme that incorporates their early colour. The slugs have fun here too.

I have that ‘rabbit in the headlights’ feeling that comes with this time of year. The rain is encouraging most things to grow at double the pace. Weeds are romping away and the rose bushes look as though they have never been pruned. I am contemplating one last round of flower seed sowing and weeding will be a priority this weekend. Thank you for all the lovely suggestions of shrubs to grow. The scented ones are very appealing. For more SOS conversations please stop by our host Jim’s garden. Happy gardening to you all.