Six on Saturday

Posted on August 26, 2023 by davidsgardendiary

Back in the day, my Mum & Dad raved about Rosa ‘Blue Moon’ and so when I heard about Rosa ‘Twice in a Blue Moon’ I thought it must be pretty special. What a let down! Pale, floppy, untidy and uninteresting muddy purple flowers following a perfect pink rose bud. Just goes to show, don’t believe the hype!

The Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’ are providing some much needed interest and colour in the herbaceous border and cover the greenery of earlier plants which have finished for the year. Lovely pops of yellow dazzle and crave attention.

I just love bright red Geraniums (actually Pelargoniums but everyone calls them Geraniums!) these beauties were 79p each in modules of six from the forecourt at Lidl and such great value for months of colour. They are forgiving if you forget to water them for a week, need hardly any feeding and keep flowering until the frosts cut them down in November. They add a touch of glamour to the steps too!

The Silphium perfoliatum, or Cup Plant, is a tall perennial daisy from the prairies of North America and a reliable hardy addition to the shrubbery where it provides height and late colour. I grew it from seed several years ago and it now self-seeds freely which provides me with spare plants to offer in plant sales and to exchange for things I want. Very attractive to bees, bulletproof and a great alternative or addition to perennial sunflowers, Rudbeckia and other yellow daisies…..if you like yellow daisies….which I do!

I wonder if anyone can help me identify this plant please? I have a suspicion it might be a variegated form of Ophiopogon but it could equally be a Carex, Liriope or similar grassy plant. A kind friend gave it to me without a label, because she didn’t know what it was either! It is short, 30cm, hasn’t flowered (yet) and seems to spread by underground runners (like Ophiopogon). I look forward to suggestions please!

Finally for this week, Astrantia major which is having a second flush of ‘Hattie’s Pincushion’ flowers, probably thanks to the warm and wet July and August. It is usually over for the season by now, just another oddity in an odd year for the garden.

Have a great weekend

David

Six on Saturday

Posted on May 27, 2023 by davidsgardendiary

Aren’t gardeners kind people. After my post last week I was contacted by a lady who lives not far away, offering to replace my lost purple Hesperis and craves the white one, of which I have seedlings galore. I always find that gardening folk are keen to share and help others. The dainty bells of this Clematis integrifolia remind me of this when I recall the kind gardening friend who gave it to me many years ago.

The Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’ hedge is bursting with blossom despite the rather pale and chloritic colour of the foliage! I believe it is suffering from a deficiency of some sort but not sure what. It could be a form of rose replant disease, the hedge being in the position of old roses. Comments and suggestions welcome!

Not Geranium ‘Rozanne’ as most people might assume, but ‘Orion’, another sterile hybrid with very different foliage but the same red veined, violet blue flowers but slightly less of a white centre. Looks very interesting under polarised sunglasses!

Allium ‘Mount Everest’ looking splendid in the long border and towering above its purple cousins. The leaves, however, have been shredded by our slimy friends and must now be removed. I am reliably informed that this will not affect next year’s flowering as it has already formed in the bulb. Just noticed the aircraft coming in to land from the West!

I struggle to grow Astrantias in my garden, even the tough old Astrantia major, unless I am constantly watering them over the summer, something I neglect to do. I have tried to grow the dark pink ones like ‘Roma’ but they just curl up their toes. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and move on!

Finally for this week, Lonicera nitida ‘Baggesen’s Gold’ which I grew from cuttings many years ago and about which I now have mixed feelings. In my ordered world of ‘painting with plants’, I find this scruffy and untidy, extremely fast growing and therefore high maintenance. I fear it may be time to consider a more attractive replacement……or maybe topiary!

Have a great weekend.

I’m off to Sheffield for our Granddaughter’s Christening tomorrow.

David

Sandywell Barn House

Posted on June 23, 2013 by davidsgardendiary

The garden visiting season is well under way and I decided to get my ‘looking for new ideas’ head on and take a look at Sandywell Barn House just a couple of miles from home but, remarkably for such a wealthy town, the one and only private garden which opens for the National Gardens Scheme charity in Cheltenham.

This two and a half acre walled garden is the former kitchen garden of Sandywell Park, a grand country house built in 1704 by Henry Brett, an army colonel, Tory politician and ‘man about town’. The Estate was broken up in the 1980’s and the house turned into posh flats. The barn was bought in 1985 by Shirley & Gordon Sills who set about a complete restoration of the garden once their children had grown up and left home. The remarkable transformation from asparagus beds and apple trees to a fully landscaped country garden is a testament to their hard work and dedication over the last fifteen years.

Shirley kindly showed us her photograph album charting their progress and it is hard to understand where they found the time, energy and money for such an endeavour in what is, in gardening terms, a relatively short period of time. Shirley is largely self taught although she did attend local gardening courses which helped her understanding of design principles. She is now Assistant County Organiser for the NGS in Gloucestershire and obviously knows a thing or two about how to prepare a garden for opening.

This is not a review of their garden, more a collection of my thoughts on how and why people like them open their garden for charity, what it takes to do so and a record of the things which made me stop and look and photograph. Despite it being 23 June, gardens are generally a month behind schedule in Cheltenham this year and this one was a further 3 weeks behind that, being 750 feet above the town and very exposed to the elements.

Shirley must have a thing for the ‘Barlow’ series of aquilegias because they were the predominant variety and in all their colours. They certainly seem to stand well in the weather with strong upright stems and durable flowers. I was particularly drawn to the dark red which I believe is called ‘Bordeaux’ and the white form as below.

Astrantias also play a big part in the spring planting here and the dark red ‘Ruby Wedding’ is one I definitely must get as it is our 40th next year!

I am not known for my diplomacy skills (!) and am openly critical of gardens I feel are not worthy of opening but this one had me from the moment I went through the gates. Everything was right. The sign boards were timely and well placed, the parking adequate and clearly signed, we were warmly welcomed by the owners and £4 seemed good value compared to some we have been to recently. It was an hour well spent, inspirational and educational, and an example of what can be achieved by an excellent, passionate plantswoman. I have put together a gallery of other photographs which amply demonstrate her skill.

Of course, it’s not perfect….nowhere is… and it is always reassuring to find a patch of ground elder, the odd bit of bindweed and particularly at this time of year aphids!

A lovely garden, well planned, well executed and well maintained. Good ideas for plant combinations and new plants to try. I couldn’t ask for more.

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.