#verbenabonarensis

Six On Saturday: Last Hurrah for November

/ n20gardener / 12 Comments

I am going to ignore the gloomy wet week that has just past and revel in the blue skies and frosty morning of today. The water in the bird bath is well and truly frozen and the grass is fully frosted. It was a cold night. Time to enjoy the winter garden.

One

The beautiful view from one end of the garden.  Most of the leaves are now down but this tree is still glowing with autumn colour.

Two

The frost made finding six garden delights much easier.  These are the frosted leaves of  Cistus × purpureus ‘Alan Fradd’.

Three

Frosted Primrose leaves.  A sigh of relief goes with this picture. There were some lingering scented leaf pellies in this pot and I just got them into greenhouse in time.  Last night in the greenhouse it was -.08 degrees.

Four

The seeds of the verbenia bonariensis are going to provide a chilly snack for the birds today.  But if they come late morning things might have improved.  As I took these photos the sounds of dripping water indicated that the sun was melting the frost away.

Five

My parsnips.  They’ve had a couple of frosts now so its time for me dig up a few and see how they fared over the summer.  Definitely an improvement on last year when none of the seeds germinated.

Six

More beautiful leaf colour but also a bit of fail here as I didn’t prune the gooseberries in July and haven’t yet got round to doing the winter prune.  Still there’s plenty of time – if I can be persuaded out into the garden.

So now we settle into winter dormancy for the plants.  For me,   I will finish the rose pruning, take down the passion flower and prune the soft fruits and the grapevine.  I will, I will.

I wonder what is on Mr P’s to do list?  Stop by and find out and catch up with other SOS news from around the 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.