Six on Saturday

Posted on May 11, 2024 by davidsgardendiary

Good weather at last! Warm sunny days have boosted growth in already moist soil and things are looking great! This shot of the middle garden captures the intensity of the late afternoon sun. The Thalictrum, in particular, has really enjoyed all the rain.

The China rose, Rosa mutabilis, is always early; her delicate floaty pink petals enjoying the conditions. This amazing rose will flower consistently from now until November without a break. I find it needs a bit of support but that may be because it is relatively young and hasn’t got a lot of roots to anchor it yet.

The evergreen Agapanthus africanus ‘Glenavon’ is excelling itself this year with 14 flower spikes currently, and possibly more to come. This usually means it is pot bound and ready to be divided! Overwintered completely dry in the cold greenhouse for 5 months, and then fed and watered like mad, seems to mimic the conditions it would find in its native South Africa. The only thing missing is fragrance. If it was pleasantly scented it would be amazing.

Easy to overlook, but shouting to be seen and heard is this tiny Euphorbia cyparissias peeping out beneath some Lysimachia ‘Firecracker’. An unintended combination, but a pleasing one nevertheless.

Thanks to this blog, a kind friend gave me some pink Hesperis matronalis last year to compliment my forest of white. I now have a modest quantity of both. It is a very pleasant native but can be a thug if it likes your garden. It seeds prolifically and would take over this border if I allowed it free reign. A very useful early spring flower to break up the mass of green. Pleasantly scented, particularly in the evening, as it is also pollinated by moths and other night flying insects as well as bees and butterflies during the day

.Another kind friend gave me what she thought were 4 white camassia bulbs which have turned out to be Anthericum liliago, commonly called St. Bernard’s Lilies. I grew them in a pot this year, but now I know what they are, I will find a suitable spot in the garden. The creamy white star shaped flowers do resemble camassia and they are in the same family, Asparagaceae.

And finally for this week, the earliest flowering Thalictrum in my garden is always this Thalictrum aquilegiifolium which found its way under the beech hedge some years ago and seems to enjoy the company. The frothy pink flowers are loved by bees and provide much needed early nectar. Easy to grow, tough as old boots and flowers for weeks on end.

Have a great weekend.

David

Six on Saturday

Posted on July 15, 2023 by davidsgardendiary

It rained all day on Friday and is still raining this morning here in the Cotswolds so these pictures were taken earlier in the week when the weather was still mild and sunny. As I look out of the window today, all I see is the devastating effects of wind and rain on anything above a foot tall. My Sweet Pea obelisk is lying horizontal on the ground and the tall, swaying Leucanthemums are now flat on their pretty white faces. And to top it off, we are forecast 40mph winds today!

My Dahlias are all either short varieties or young plants this year, and anyway they love the rain, the more the merrier for them. This one isn’t a named cultivar yet, it is a hybrid from days gone by but I keep the tuber going in the vain hope that it might be the next ‘Big Thing’. I have called it ‘Radiant Heat’ which I thought was quite apt. Hoping that Thompson & Morgan might be reading this and will make me an offer I can’t refuse!

The Agapanthus are flowering a month later this year, probably due to the difficult winter they had. I have met a lot of people who have lost them completely, fleshy roots turned to mush by the harsh conditions in December. I always overwinter my evergreen ones in their pots in the greenhouse and keep them bone dry from October onwards until I start them off again in March. The herbaceous ones, also now in big terracotta pots, are turned on their sides and put in a sheltered spot behind the shed to keep the worst of the rain out.

Once again this year, the Diascia personata has been the subject of much discussion on walks around the garden with visitors and friends. I think 99/100 people think of Diascia as miniature plants in a variety of different colours, a bit like Nemesia. But this species of Diascia grows to waist height and is always lipstick pink. I find it doesn’t overwinter well in the ground so I take cuttings in June and July which grow into stocky little plants by September and survive in the cold greenhouse until spring. They are so floriferous, they almost flower themselves to death. By the end of the year, having flowered for nearly 10 months, they are exhausted!

This is one of several summer flowering ornamental onions I now have in the garden. I like them because they are short and flower reliably every year, unlike Spring flowering versions which I find are quite variable and often don’t appear the following year. The one pictured is Allium angulosum, or Mouse Garlic as it is often called. I now also have Allium ‘Millennium’ and Allium cernuum as well as Allium ampeloprasum, better known as Elephant Garlic. The flowers are beautiful purple lavender globes and highly attractive to bees and other pollinators.

As I have mentioned many times over the years, I am not a big fan of Garden Phlox but they are such reliable plants, given enough moisture, that I am reluctant to get rid of them. I keep splitting them and they seem to do even better! I believe this one is called ‘Blue Paradise’ but I couldn’t swear to it. The previous owner planted a few different ones in the 60’s and they are still growing strong which is a testament to their longevity. They can suffer from mildew if they get too dry at the roots which is why they probably went out of favour.

No roses worth showing this week so I decided to feature the delightfully named Clematis ‘Yukikomachi’ which is a short viticella variety ideal for a trellis panel next to a gate which is where mine is and gives me pleasure every time I pass through. I just hope it is still there tomorrow!

Have a great weekend

David

Six on Saturday

Posted on July 2, 2022 by davidsgardendiary

The evergreen Agapanthus africanus have just begun to flower and they look stunning this year. I have reduced my stock to just three plants in 20 litre plastic pots which are now in their third year since splitting them. 16, 18 and 20 flower stems which is the most ever. The heads are fully 30cm across on stems 1.2m high. They make quite a statement!

Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ almost at full throttle now with her big beautiful creamy flowerheads being cradled by hazel supports beneath. I love this shrub but it does need a lot of water and support to do well. Quite a needy plant in my garden. Others tell me it is trouble free in theirs. It’s all about the soil!

Just behind Annabelle sits pink Linaria purpurea ‘Canon Went’, alongside his common purple cousin and the indestructable and long lasting pink Diascia personata which should definitely be grown in more gardens. I haven’t met anyone who knows this plant which is such a shame as it is such a good doer.

This is an extra pic to show how well the combination works.

This was controversial at my garden opening recently. It is the true Valerian, Valeriana officinalis, the root of which has been used since Roman times to treat insomnia. It is a very tall plant, 1.8m high, with a beautiful pinky white umbellifer flower which has an odd sweet smell which, as I found out, is not to everyone’s liking! I think is is rather musky and spicy but one visitor described it as the smell of “wet pants”!

The Petchoas (a cross between a Petunia and a Calibrachoa) in the basket are doing rather better now but not showing much sign of trailing yet. The colours still don’t excite me, I find them too subtle and a bit dull for the impression a basket by the front door is supposed to make. I think they work better in pots at low level. I won’t be using them in baskets again!

Some years ago I grew seeds of common Scabiosa atropurpurea, a distant cousin of the common field scabious, which thrives in my dry summer clay and self seeds everywhere. They now pop up in every variation of red, pink, purple, white and cream. One of the best plants for pollinators, tall and self supporting, long lasting, unfussy and beautiful. All from a single free packet of seeds on the front of a gardening magazine.

That’s my six for this week.

Have a great weekend

David

Six on Saturday

Posted on July 17, 2021 by davidsgardendiary

Absolutely delighted with this self sown hybrid Dahlia which has just come into flower. A seedling picked at random from one of last year’s pots of overwintered tubers. It looks good enough to be a named variety so I have called it ‘Radiant Heat’ !

I have been very impressed with these Calibrachoa this year. I have given up on the big blousy trailing petunias in favour of these mini ones and they have proved to be a great success in the baskets.

There is no blue quite like this chicory, it is unique and very easy to place. It combines well with most other colours and is tall and statuesque, a good 2m and still growing. The flowers close at night so I assume it is pollinated by bees and other day flying pollinators. It is certainly a popular pit stop in our garden!

The heat on the patio was intense this morning, reflected off the stone walls and paving, but the roses, nepeta and veronicas are revelling in it. I will be on a 2 hour watering session this evening though. Good opportunity to combine with a cold glass of Sauvignon blanc I find!

There has been some recent debate on forums about the virtues, or otherwise, of Agastache. This ‘Liquorice Blue’ has been with me for years and is a valuable addition to the early summer border but some people say it looks like a weed, having nettle-like leaves and relatively insignificant flowers, For me, its value lies in its attractiveness to pollinators, particularly bees, which find it irresistible.

Just one of many roses gracing my garden at the moment. The air is filled with scent and the sound of buzzing busy bees. This one is ‘The Generous Gardener’ which has the most wonderful pink buds opening to creamy white flowers and a delicious citrus scent.

Finally, (and I know it is the seventh image!) is the evergreen Agapanthus africanus which has only just come into flower, 6 weeks later than usual. Summer has finally arrived!

Have a great weekend

David

Judgement Day!

Posted on July 20, 2015 by davidsgardendiary

I don’t consider gardening to be a competitor sport but when the opportunity arises, it’s nice to see how you’re doing by getting the opinion of those in the know. So I entered the Charlton Kings In Bloom competition for the second time and it will be judged today! Sunday 19 July 2015 It’s 4pm and I am waiting for the judges to appear to inspect and critique my garden in the annual Charlton Kings in Bloom competition. My judging slot is 4.30 – 5.30pm which is the last of the two days and the 30 gardens which have entered. I hope they are not fed up and dying to go home! The weather is beautiful, warm and sunny with a light breeze, perfect for garden visiting. Officially, I am not even supposed to talk to the judges, I don’t even have to be here. They usually just turn up, walk around, take loads of photos, mark the scores on their clipboards and leave. However, I have a cunning plan, I am going to greet them and offer to give them the tour! I have spent the last two days pruning, plumping, propping and preening…….weeding, watering, mulching, deadheading, mowing and edging……weeding, weeding and weeding! It looks good…not perfect but good enough I hope. It has been so warm and dry that many of the plants I hoped would be in peak condition are already over, the delphiniums, knautia macedonica, salvia greggii and microphylla are past their best but balanced by the echinaceas, heleniums and some of the early chrysanths which are out earlier than usual.

4.50pm They have arrived…..six of them! I know three of them including a former nursery owner and a professional gardener. This is going to be difficult. Wish me luck!5.35pm They’ve gone! Phew! Actually it went very well. They loved the design and planting schemes, raved about the Agapanthus africanus lined up in front of the bungalow and looked at everything with experienced and critical eyes. They were keen on finding any rare or unusual plants and were furiously writing notes on anything they found. I suppose there are only so many petunias, begonias and pelargoniums you can take! This worked to my advantage as there are several unusual things around the garden one of them being the Leopard Lily, Belamcanda chinensis, which no-one recognised. Others were Salvia uliginosa and the beautiful but easy white Lysimachia ephemerum which got them talking and writing even more furiously.