Blackspot on Roses | Davids Garden Diary

Six lovely things for a rainy Saturday, starting with Alstroemeria ‘Princess Sophia’, of which I am a Plant Guardian for Plant Heritage. This means that, for some reason, known only to the Nursery trade, this cultivar has gone out of favour and is no longer being sold. It is in danger of becoming obsolete, so we try to stop that happening by propagating and passing plants to others to look after and do the same. Worth keeping I think.

Sweet Peas are one of my favourites and there is simply nothing better than the scent of a bunch on the kitchen window cill. This one is ‘Betty Maiden’ which I trialled for Which? Gardening magazine in 2019 and have grown every year since from saved seed. Like most members of the pea family, it is self pollinating so you won’t find the bees swarming all over it like most open pollinated plants. Fortunately though, this means they will come true from seed, keeping the cultivar going forever.

I sowed seed of Phlomis russeliana many years ago which did well and have gradually self-seeded in various parts of the garden, mostly in places I don’t mind. They seem to like the company of other plants and squeeze themselves into tight spaces. For what is supposed to be a Mediterranean sun lover, they certainly like my clay!

There is a lot of Ammi majus around at the moment which, to me, is just posh cow parsley. But this is different. Orlaya grandiflora, the White Lace Flower, is exquisite in it’s delicate design and composition. Like mini lace handkerchiefs on a creamy white flat umbellifer flowerhead. Nature at her beautiful best.

There are hundreds of shrubby salvias available and they are all good, but some are better than others. Personally, I think this is one of the best, Salvia greggii ‘Icing Sugar’ which is a double pink variety emerging from dark, almost black buds. Given to me last year by a friend, it is thriving in a pot at the moment while I try to find a space for it!

The rose garden is looking good so far this year. The rain has certainly helped, and I am using Uncle Tom’s Rose Tonic this year to try to ward off the dreaded blackspot. Only two sprayings so far, but they do look healthier than last year. I don’t use insecticides in the garden as the Blue Tits do a wonderful job of clearing the early aphids and caterpillars in May to feed their youngsters. And the Robins are already on to their second brood!

Have a great weekend

David

You know it’s been a ‘funny year’ when your perennial sweet peas don’t flower until August! This one, Lathyrus latifolius ‘White Pearl’, is normally out in June but it will flower right through until October now. Sadly, it has no scent, but the brilliant pure white flowers shine out from the gloom of the arch where it is competing for space with Clematis cirrhosa ‘Freckles’ and Rosa ‘Dorothy Perkins’.

I may have found a good reason to keep the Phlox! It seems to be a favourite flower of the Hummingbird Hawk Moth. This is the best pic out of the 32 I took! The wing beats are so fast, my ageing digital camera had no chance. I felt quite privileged that it came to visit.

When he came to my Open Day in June, a kind friend gave me a small seedling of Physalis peruviana, the Cape gooseberry or Peruvian groundcherry. From these little green lanterns it will produce the familiar orange fruits in papery cases. It is a very thirsty plant but very productive. I enjoy growing something new each year, something I have never grown before, and often something a friend introduces me to, as in this case.

This little houseplant is the well-named ‘Mother of Thousands’. It’s proper name is actually the impossible Bryophyllum daigremontianum or Kalanchoe daigremontiana, a tough tropical succulent from South America and Mexico, and its clever trick is to produce its baby plantlets on the edges of its leaves! These babies then drop into the pot or on the ground in the wild, and produce new plants.

This Michaelmas Daisy just popped up all by itself in the front garden. I certainly didn’t plant it and I don’t think any of my neighbours have it in their gardens. How it came to be here is a mystery but in a good way. No idea which one it is but a good guess would be Symphyotrichum novi-belgii, the New York Aster, which is now widespread in rough grassy areas in the countryside, although it is flowering a little earlier than normal, Michaelmas Day being 29th September!

Some of the repeat flowering roses are putting on a second flush of flowers. Rosa ‘Roald Dahl’ and ‘Boscobel’ are just two of many. Sadly, most of my roses now have the dreaded blackspot and are defoliating. I will once again try to pick up all the fallen leaves but it is tricky getting under such large prickly bushes! I don’t like spraying chemicals in the garden but a few friends have recommended Garlic Wonder from Solufeed, a concentrated solution derived from garlic and other natural plant based compounds which is diluted into a spray and applied throughout the season. Those who have tried it say it is excellent as a natural alternative to insecticides and fungicides, and they don’t get blackspot or mildew!

In early 2020 I began to eliminate all the pink Japanese Anemones from the garden and just keep the white ones which I believe to be ‘Honorine Jorbet’. The pink ones were spreading like mad and dominating the borders so they had to go. It has taken me 4 years but I have not seen any this year so I think the garden is free of them at last. The white ones are much better behaved and stay in their allotted space without spreading unduly. The little patch has doubled in size over 4 years which is what I wanted and expected. If only all plants did what you expected!

Have a great weekend

David