My Garden This Week – 1 August

Posted on August 3, 2013 by davidsgardendiary

Alstroemeria ‘Sweet Laura’

So what’s new this week? Well, quite a bit actually. Now that we have had some welcome rain and it has cooled down a bit, the plants are enjoying better conditions and putting on a fantastic show. These Alstroemeria ‘Sweet Laura’ are not everybody’s favourite colour but they are certainly eye-catching and prolific. Just seven plants have produced hundreds of tall stems each topped with 8 – 10 flowers. They are in a raised bed of well drained soil with added compost and organic fertilizer. The flowers last 2 weeks in a vase.

The Echinaceas in the front border are in full flower now and covered in bees and butterflies all day; a wonderful sight and sound given their current decline. The hybrids I grew last year did not survive the winter so it was just the purpurea and a few ‘White Swan’ that continue to be hardy and reliable here. They are so easy to raise from seed I wonder why more people don’t grow them.

All the books say don’t use supermarket garlic because it has been chilled and won’t produce good bulbs. Nonsense! I grow them every year and never have a problem. They might be a little smaller but always come up, regardless of the variety. I have just lifted, washed and dried this year’s crop which look good to me. One bulb produced 10 cloves which produced 10 plants and probably 100 cloves, and all for 30p! Some are for the kitchen but the rest get stored and used for making garlic wash to keep snails off the Hostas.

Leucanthemum ‘Banana Cream’

The Shasta daisies are out and as usual, the tall ‘common’ white form are everywhere. But this year I decided to branch out and grow a couple of yellow varieties. They do so well in my clay soil that I thought they would make a nice change. ‘This is Banana Cream’ and not far behind is ‘Broadway Lights’ which is a darker yellow.

Lophospermum erubescens

The climbing foxglove, Lophospermum erubescens has reached the top of its obelisk and is heading for the bungalow roof. Three metres high is not unusual and the continuous display of pink flowers makes this plant very striking. It produces lots of seeds which store well and are easy to germinate in spring. This is last years ‘mother’ plant which overwintered in Paddy’s heated greenhouse but the plants I grew this year and gave away to friends are just as prolific.

Maurandella antirrhiniflora

This years newcomer is the climbing snapdragon, Maurandella antirrhiniflora, which is a little more dainty than the Lophospermum but just as beautiful. This one is a twining climber whereas the Lophospermum climbs by wrapping individual leaf stalks around a support. A very attractive dark blue fading to white in the throat.

The Rudbeckia laciniata is now 150cm tall with 10 flowers and a lot more to come from the many emerging side shoots. It has an ethereal quality, it’s tall wiry stems waving above most other plants in the border and light yellow swept back flower petals are thin and separated with a bright green prominent cone. I look forward to seeing it again bigger and better next year.

The Redcurrants and Gooseberries have been wonderful this year and Cathy has been busy making jam, cooking and freezing the surplus fruit. The Blackcurrants were not so good this year and I am wondering if I pruned out the right stems. I will have to read up about it and try again. It looks my pruning and thinning of the apple tree was better because the fruit is swelling and ripening nicely.

I love the colour of this Monarda didyma, a soft mauve purple which goes surprisingly well with the adjacent clump of Heleniums

and the dark pink Echinacea ‘Purple Magnus’

Even though I have grown nearly everything in my garden from seed or cuttings, I still forget what and where everything is. It’s nice to get surprises now and again and today,hidden in the back of a border amongst the tall Physostegia stems I discovered this little beauty.

I am assuming it is a very small Inula or Helianthus, although I can’t remember growing either. It is only about 30cm high so not what I would have expected from either species.

And then there is this which I think must be a form of Cosmos I got from a seed exchange but I seem to have lost the label! It is an unusual fluorescent orange which certainly stands out.

Finally, a success story. Some readers may recall that I discovered a couple of fuchsias buried in the compost heap that were showing new shoots. I rescued them and planted them up and here they are! No worse for wear and twice as beautiful as last year. Now I’m not sure whether to throw them away again or try to overwinter them!

My Garden This Week

Posted on July 20, 2013 by davidsgardendiary

The high temperatures this week have made watering the garden a twice daily challenge and this has highlighted a problem. Do I want to continue to garden in this high maintenance way? If I want colour, scent and variety in my borders then yes, I do. On the other hand, we don’t want to become slaves to the garden, particularly if and when grandchildren come along and we we want to spend more time away from home.

However, for now we both love the pleasure we get from this cottage garden style of planting, despite the work it entails.

Sadly, the impressive Agapanthus africanus are now going over and will probably be cut down next week to make way for the potted Cannas and Dahlias waiting in the wings

I have been very impressed with the drumstick Allium sphaerocephalum bulbs in the pots which are now fully open and attracting lots of bees. I must remember to buy more in September. I like the fact that they are much later to flower than Purple Sensation and Cristophii and so keep the theme going for longer.

Argyranthemum ‘Donnington Hero’ acquired in the Plant Heritage plant exchange is in full bloom and if I can find any non-flowering shoots I’ll take some cuttings in case we have a hard winter.

The basket of Sanvitalia ‘Million Suns’ is beginning to live up to it’s name and should be totally covered in flowers in a week or so if the hot weather continues.

I am not a fan of Hollyhocks and so didn’t plant this one. However, I do admire plants that seed themselves and then go on to survive and prosper. This one came in from next door and has done itself proud. So far no rust. It gives height and stature to the border and a leg up to the Verbena bonariensis growing through it.

I like this Ammi majus even though it reminds me of posh Cow Parsley. It gives the border height, movement and grace which few other white annuals achieve.

It is a good foil for Echinacea purpurea and manages to get it’s head up above just in time!

The Turk’s Cap Lily ‘Leichtlinii’ is just beginning to open amongst the Ammi and the Gaura. Not supposed to like my limy soil but doesn’t seem to mind.

The Agastache ‘Apricot Sprite’ grown from seed has done well planted on top of the dwarf narcissus in the stone pot by the front door. I like the anise or liquorice smell of Agastache although I have since discovered that a lot of people don’t. I grew a lot of plants this year and couldn’t even give them away!

This is the first sign of a new plant to my garden. Rudbeckia laciniata which I grew from seed last year and thought I had lost over the winter. However, it seems to be hardier than it’s delicate appearance would suggest.

This Echium ‘Blue Bedder’ grown from a free packet of seeds has once again proved itself to be invaluable as a rich source of nectar for hungry bees. Reliable, drought tolerant, low growing and attractive front of border cousin of the usually enormous spires the name Echium conjures up.

I love it when a plan comes together. This Verbascum olympicum planted with Verbena bonariensis certainly works well in the hot, dry poor soil and full sun.

Finally, this is for one of my followers who has dovecotes in his garden. My advice is don’t get the doves ‘cos this is what happens!

And there’s more……

Posted on July 10, 2013 by davidsgardendiary

I found it difficult to stop taking photos this week, there is so much happening in the garden. The sunshine has prompted everything to put on their best clothes and shout out for the paparazzi.

These beautiful un-named Asiatic lilies grew in a pot last year and have done even better in the ground. They mingle with with blue and red salvias and the forthcoming Echinacea buds and shriek to be noticed.

The more demure and sultry Lily ‘Landini’ keeps a lower profile but is just as stunning.

The pollen free ‘Elodie’ may lack any fragrance but is nevertheless a statuesque beauty and has done well in the same pot for two years so must be tough and hardy.

The Inula helenium(?) mentioned in my previous post is a big hit with bees and hoverflies and provides a perfect landing pad.

The Alstoemerias grown last year as immature bare roots from The Daily Telegraph are now established in a well drained raised bed and have rewarded me with a wonderful crop of tall yellow/orange flowers which last well for at least two weeks in a vase.

It is a little disappointing that they are all the same colour but on the other hand they probably look better on their own and certainly make a statement.

These egg shaped Allium sphaerocephalon are the last to flower and do so in a most unusual way. The papery bud splits open to reveal a totally green flower head which gradually turns purple from the top down. They have done well in a pot, taking over from the narcissus and tulips planted with them.

The pond surface is now covered in water lily leaves and water soldiers keeping the water clear and providing shelter for the fish who have no eye lids and hate the glare of the sun.

The Sempervivums in pots around the pond are beginning to send up their strange, almost pre-historic looking flower spikes after which, the centre of the rosette dies but not before giving me plenty of babies to replace them.

The more I see the flowers of Dahlia ‘Twynings Smartie’ the more I am beginning to like them.

The creamy white flowers and dark foliage of Twyning’s After Eight’ are an unusual combination which could easily have come from the ‘Bishop’ series. Perhaps it started life as ‘Bishop of York’.

And finally……the beautiful simplicity of Dahlia merckii, a species from which many modern hybrids and cultivars have no doubt been bred. Easily grown from seed and apparently hardy in the ground, the lilac colour blends well in a mixed border. I find they are a bit floppy and need the support of a cane or other plants around them. Lovely!

My Garden This Week

Posted on July 9, 2013 by davidsgardendiary

The temperatures have shot up this week and the plants have responded. The recently acquired Monarda didyma ‘Squaw’ from the Crocus nursery post-Chelsea plant sale is still only small but has produced a few of the bright red shaggy flowers I love so much. It is pictured here with pure white Ammi majus ‘Graceland’ which is just coming into flower.

The ‘grow anywhere’ Leucanthemum superbum or Shasta Daisy is out and will go on flowering for several weeks. It should go even longer this year because it had the Chelsea Chop in May. I have grown ‘Silver Princess’ and ‘Crazy Daisy’ from seed this year and bought the yellow ‘Banana Cream’ and ‘Broadway Lights’ from Malvern. They are one of the few plants that enjoy my sticky clay inthe ‘difficult’ area of the front garden.

The first flowers have appeared on Gaura lindheimeri ‘Whirling Butterflies’ which will go on opening up the long stems until October. It is reliably hardy here but I know most people say it disappears over winter. I think I must have raised seeds from a tough plant!

Geranium pratense ‘Splish-splash’ is not so splashed this year.

Now on to the main event. Two years ago I obtained seed of Inula hookeri from the Cottage Garden Society seed exchange and managed to raise just one plant. It grew well last year in my sunniest border but refused to flower. This year I have been watching the buds form with great anticipation and this week an explosion of yellow flowers has begun. However, after consulting the books and the websites which can usually be relied upon, I am not convinced that it is Inula hookeri bit in fact is Inula helenium. It doesn’t really matter but I would like to know for sure if anyone has an opinion?

The first of many Echinacea purpurea which could be a natural hybrid judging from its form and colour. These are amongst my favourite plants, hardy, reliable and trouble free, sturdy stems with no staking required, long lasting flowers, loved by bees and butterflies and seed heads that feed the birds in winter. What more could you ask of any plant?

It even attracts Ladybird larvae! I just hope that is not Vine Weevil damage I can see!

The Toscana F1 strawberries I managed to germinate back in February have grown into nice plants and are about to be planted out. Their bright pink flowers were a pleasant surprise.

My Garden This Week

Posted on June 30, 2013 by davidsgardendiary

The pots of tender Agapanthus which languish at 10°C in my friend Paddy’s heated greenhouse all winter came out a few weeks ago in bud and are now gracing the south facing front of the bungalow. They attract admiring glances and some longer lingering looks from those who either don’t know what they are or who do know and just want to savour them. We split them two years ago from 2 pots to 4 which has done them good. The biggest one has 8 flower spikes this year.

We have been picking Sweet Peas for two weeks and now get armfuls every day. This is ‘Painted Lady, one of the oldest and most fragrant of all. But my favourite at the moment is the one I bought on a whim because it’s name is also my wife’s, ‘Cathy’. She is stunning (and the Sweet Pea!) in a shade of creamy white with a wonderful scent and is a strong grower, the tallest of the 20 varieties so far and very floriferous.

The raised bed behind the sweet peas is full of Sweet Williams grown from a packet of seeds last year. Like a lot of biennials they looked half dead from October to March but perked up when the sun finally came out and the weather warmed up. Now they are in full flower and getting picked every day for the house. They have a light sweet scent and last well in the vase. Behind them, the blackberry Rubus fruticosus ‘Bedford Giant’ planted last year is in full flower and covered with bees all day so pollination is assured. The flowers themselves are huge, almost like white dog roses, so I am expecting equally huge fruits. The ‘Black Satin’ and ‘Ruben’ are weak by comparison and a big disappointment. The ‘Bedford Giant’ takes some managing due to it’s vigour but looking at the sheer size of the stems and side branches and the number of flowers, it should be worth the effort…and the scratches!

The little north american woodlander, Gillenia trifoliata bought at Gardeners World Live last year and planted in my shady area has delighted me with strong growth and the dainty pure white flowers again after a shaky start. I hadn’t appreciated this was an herbaceous perennial and when it disappeared in the winter I thought it had died. It looks like a sub-shrub with woody stems but is not. Everything dies back to the ground.

Hemerocallis fulva

The inherited orange day lily, Hemerocallis fulva, is exceptionally tall this year, a good 150cm and covered in masses of buds. It must have enjoyed the division from a huge clump into several smaller ones two years ago.

Osteospermum jacundum

On the edge of the drive in full sun and dry poor soil, the Osteospermum jacundum is pushing it’s many heads to the sky and looking glorious. The pinky white flowers shine and can be seen for a hundred metres down the road!

Front border with Salvia greggii ‘Royal Bumble’

This is my first year with shrubby salvias and so far they haven’t disappointed. The current red ones will soon be joined by purple Salvia ‘Christine Yeo’ and even darker purple Salvia greggii x serpyllilifolia.

Sysirinchum with Lysimachia and Geranium

I love it when combinations work well and these three seem to be in perfect harmony. The pale creamy yellow of Sysirinchum striatum with that well known spreader Lysimachia cilliata ‘Firecracker’ and supported by tall pale blue Geranium pratense ‘Mrs Kendall Clark’.

Thalictrum rochebrunianum

And finally, my current favourite plant in the garden, for the second year running, the gorgeous Thalictrum rochebrunianum. Five feet tall with strong glaucous foliage and the most exquisite flowers of lilac petals and bright yellow stamens.

Plenty more to come next week!

My Garden This Week – Part 2

Posted on June 20, 2013 by davidsgardendiary

Osteospermum ‘Cannington Roy’, remarkably hardy and has overwintered for two years successfully in the gravel margin between the path and house wall. Incredibly floriferous and will keep on going until November if it is deadheaded continuously.

Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ against Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’, a fetching combination and lucky accident! A good ‘doer’ compared to a lot of others; strong, tall and has clumped up well in poor dry soil in full sun.

Astrantia major with pink and blue hardy geraniums, a perfect combination. This Astrantia pops up in various places where it is happy so I leave it and let it flourish. It seems to like the company of other ground cover plants which probably keep the soil cool and moist.

A scented leaf pelargonium with an exquisite scarlet colour, almost fluorescent.

I have no idea what this Iris sibirica is called but it is simply beautiful. The seamless blend of white, cream and yellow is perfect in every detail.

Yes I know it’s only a daisy but this Erigeron karvinskianus has my respect and admiration for it’s sheer tenacity and determination to succeed in the face of adversity. It manages to get it’s seed into every crack and crevice and is slowly but surely colonising the four corners of my garden.

This remarkable bi-coloured Foxglove, Digitalis grandiflora, opens creamy yellow and gradually turns light pink creating this lovely two colour effect. I will collect seed from it but I doubt if it will come true again.

My Garden This Week

Posted on June 20, 2013 by davidsgardendiary

Unashamedly pinching an idea from other garden bloggers, I have decided to put up a selection of photos each week of the things I am most pleased with. These would not warrant a post of their own but deserve to be recorded and published for my records and others’ pleasure. So, in no particular order, a quick tour.

The Kolwitzia amabilis ‘Pink Cloud’ commonly called the Beauty Bush is in full flower and laden with pink and white blossom. It only has a faint scent but the bees don’t seem to mind. It is absolutely buzzing.

I love alliums and this Cristophii really captures the attention. It is not tall, perhaps 60 cm or so but the flower head is a good 25 cm in diameter, a perfect circle of tiny star shaped flowers. How does it do that???

The height and intense colour of Purple Sensation makes it stand out in the borders and I think it looks good paired with Nectaroscordum siculum, the Sicilian Honey Garlic, which is a major bee attractor and totally hardy.

The first red dahlia of the year is Arabian Night and what a stunner! Very early but one of the benefits of starting them off under glass.

The gorgeous fuchsia pink of Gladiolus communis ssp. byzantinus, apparently a good old English cottage garden plant despite it’s obvious Mediterranean origins. I bought a 9 cm pot at Malvern last year with one bulb in flower and popped it into the front border. This year it came up strongly and with 7 separate flower spikes so it seems to naturalise and multiply well.

It’s really difficult to get a good photo of this plant and despite several attempts this is the best I can do with my basic Nikon. It is Silene dioica ‘Firefly’, a cultivated double form of the roadside wild flower, Pink Campion. Very floriferous over a long period and fully 120 cm tall but needing support to stop it flopping. I put in some hazel twigs early which are now doing their job beautifully and inconspicuously.

The annual Skizanthus and Sweet Rocket are providing some colour in the front border while the late summer perennials are preparing to put on their show next month. I have kept some wallflowers going as well for the same reason. I hate ripping them out in full flower, it seems such a waste. Anyway, it’s only tradition that they are removed to make way for summer bedding so they can stay a while longer.

Aquilegias have been fantastic this year. They have popped up all over the garden and in every shade of pink, purple and blue. I let them grow wherever they want because their slender stems always seem to fit in and never get in the way of other things. This incredible self-sown hybrid has an amazing number of flowers and is 120 cm tall. If only they had scent they would be the world’s favourite cottage garden plant.

In the back garden, the poor dry soil in front of the beech hedge doesn’t support much life but it has been colonised by Geranium macrorrizhum ‘Bevan’s Variety’, Geranium magnificum and hybrid Aquilegias. I don’t care if the path gets covered for a couple of months, we walk on the grass and in August they get cut to the ground when I trim the hedge and then they grow back in a few weeks and sometimes give me another show of flowers in October. One of the hardest working plants in the garden and the least fussy.

And just one more Aquilegia, this one is ‘Nora Barlow’ one of the Barlow series of cultivars which is truly perennial and comes back true every year. It lacks the ‘spurs’ of the hybrids and species but has wonderful double flowers instead.

There is lots more about to happen. The Inula hookeri is in bud for the first time, the lilies are about to open and, best of all, we have started picking Sweet Peas!