Tag Archives: Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace'

Six on Saturday

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We were away for a few days in the frozen north (Sheffield!) looking after grandchildren over half term, and came back to a garden awash with colour and scent! This is my short rambler rose ‘Ghislaine de Feligonde’, almost thornless and very well behaved. She is not very smelly but looks gorgeous on the fence mingling with the wisteria.

Pulling the old carpet back on one of the compost heaps, I was very pleased to find a family of Slow Worms having a nap before venturing out this evening on slug patrol. They are not snakes but legless lizards, and completely harmless. They are long lived, so these could be the same ones I found last year and the year before.

It looks like it’s going to be another bumper grape harvest this year. The embryonic Pink Fox Grapes are forming well and I already have requests from some of my jam and jelly making friends. If there are enough to go round, I might even try my hand at making some wine this year!

The Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ is also showing signs of producing a great crop of flowers and berries. I love the pretty pink flowers and dark, almost black foliage. It gets pruned hard every winter, but seems to thrive on it and comes back bigger and better every year.

The dainty little Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Lady in Red’ is in full flower but getting swamped by a huge Photinia on one side and an even bigger yellow Tree Peony on the other. However, I love the contrast of shapes and colours in this shrubbery border.

The majestic spires of Delphinium ‘Black Knight’ are now well over 2m tall and at risk of getting snapped if we get any strong winds, which is what normally happens! They are supported with hoops but these provide the perfect snapping point! In the meantime the bees are having a great time.

I have been picking my autumn sown sweet peas for two weeks and they are coming thick and fast so I am cutting a bunch every other day. The scent in the kitchen is overpowering! I suddenly remembered why I love gardening so much!

Have a great weekend

David

Six on Saturday

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It would seem that Autumn is upon us already and the turning leaves of the Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Worplesdon’ are always the first to confirm it in my garden. Not really surprising as these acer relatives are primarily grown for their glorious autumn hues of red and orange.

The fruits of the dark leaved elder, Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’, are also a sign that the seasons are slowly changing. It won’t be long before the birds will pick them clean in preparation for whatever sort of winter we are going to have this year!

The red tips of the Photinia fraserii ‘Red Robin’ have appeared again just a few short weeks after their mid summer trim and in rude health after the disappointingly wet July & August. A final trim might be in order at the end of the month just to keep it tight and tidy for the winter.

One of the benefits of being the National Collection Holder of hardy Tradescantias is the potential for new cultivars from the hundreds of self sown seedlings I get each year. The Tradescantia Andersoniana Group is very promiscuous and hybrids are plentiful as in many species, and new varieties are often selected from the result of cross pollination. Very few are sufficiently different to be worthy of the work and cost required to progress them via micro-propagation but occasionally an unusual colour combination catches my eye as the one above did yesterday. I have provisionally called it ‘Lavender Blush’ and I will grow it on to see if the colours remain stable next year. Fingers crossed!

A month too early but the Hesperantha coccinea are beginning to flower, again probably due to the wet July & August mimicking the summer rains in their native South Africa. The pale pink and white varieties are yet to show but it surely won’t be long now.

Finally for this week, the little patch of Persicaria affinis under the Rowan tree has finally formed a beautiful mat of pink tufty bunny tail flowers which, for a pleasant change, is exactly what I planned and wanted! Six plants, well spaced out, have knitted together over the last three years to replace the dwindling Osteospermum jacundum and have now fully done so. I love it when a plan comes together which, in gardening, I find quite rare!

Have a great weekend

David

Six on Saturday

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Autumn has arrived in style and the Liquidamber styraciflua ‘Worplesdon’ is putting on her beautiful display. I always marvel at the way shorter days trigger dormancy and leaves stop making chlorophyll causing them to change colour and fall off the tree.

Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’ has been rather shorter in stature this year, only 150cm tall, probably due to the dry summer we have had and the adjacent hedges and trees sucking up the available moisture. They don’t need much water but if dry, they don’t wilt like other plants, they just don’t seem to grow as tall.

The Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’ have been extraordinarily good this year and we have taken armfuls of flowers into the house and given bouquets to friends and family, but still they go on! Twisting and pulling rather than cutting does seem to stimulate more and more flowering shoots as the advice suggests. It’s a bit like pulling rhubarb!

We have a squirrel problem. They are always on the bird feeders and are costing me a small fortune in sunflower hearts which, incidentally, have increased in cost by 50% since Brexit! However, the new ‘Squirrel Buster’ feeder really works and the squirrels have given up and gone somewhere else for their daily fill. I would highly recommend it, very well made, sturdy and weatherproof. £30 well invested!

The very last Phlox flowers nestled amongst the agapanthus foliage. It has been a wonderful year for garden phlox and they have given me a lot of pleasure, although I am gradually reducing them or banishing them to less front and facing positions. I love the flowers but hate the foliage and their weedy appearance. Too old fashioned and a tendency to get mildew unless constantly moist makes them a bit-part player nowadays.

In just three years this Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ has gone from a self sown seedling in a 9cm pot to a 3m tall giant! What a performer. It must be its common hedge cousin genes which makes it so prolific. I stupidly planted it close to the driveway so it’s going to need hacking back in the early spring. Knowledgeable gardening friends tell me that ‘coppicing’ produces better foliage but less flowers so maybe a more selective approach is in order!

That’s my six. I look forward to seeing yours.

Have a great weekend

David

Six on Saturday

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Late to the party today due to some real, actual proper gardening. All day, since 9am, non-stop. Loved every minute and enjoyed the endorphins it brought me after so many weeks of waiting and planning.

The flowering currants are looking good today although still some way to go before that Ta-dah! moment.

This lucky Lady found a home with its own water supply for the winter. Several of her sisters unfortunately disturbed today but those that were awake got relocated to a new home.

Very pleased with my rose cuttings which have all seemingly formed roots and are sending up new growth. Those that know about such things tell me to leave well alone until next winter and then pot them up separately ‘bare rooted’ and they should flower in 2022. Am I alone in marvelling at such a thing? Even now, I get a huge kick out of bringing cuttings to life.

.My first time using Strulch as a weed suppressing mulch and I have started with my strawberries. The mineralisation process of the straw is supposed to inhibit slugs and snails so this was a good place to start! I have another 5 bags to go so watch this space for opinions and results.

The new shoots of Sambucas nigra ‘Black Lace’ are stunning before they unfurl into leaves.

Myrtle got hit by the frost. Her new shoots will be snipped off and she will look as pretty as ever in a new outfit next week.

The thick layer of composted bark fines I used to mulch the Silver Birches has not deterred the spring bulbs which have had an extra 75mm to push their way through. Another couple of years and it should be spectacular.

Have a great weekend and stay safe

David